New Super Mario Bros. Wii game information, media, videos, trivia and more

The primary control scheme — held horizontally like a classic controller. D-pad to move, 2 to jump, 1 to run/use powerup, shake to spin-jump.

Shake the Wii Remote mid-jump for a spinning move that defeats certain enemies and interacts with specific platforms — a versatile new tool.

Shake the remote while wearing the Propeller Suit to launch straight upward, reaching normally inaccessible areas.

Three hidden Star Coins in every level. Collecting them all unlocks hint movies in Peach’s Castle and World 9 stages.

In multiplayer, any player can press A to enclose themselves in a protective bubble — floating safely until another player pops them. Prevents runaway deaths.

Fail a level 8 times in single player and a green box appears. Hit it to watch Luigi automatically complete the level — you can take back control at any point.

The star of the show. Available in all modes. Standard stats across the board — the reliable all-rounder.

Mario’s brother is taller and jumps higher but is a little slippier to control. Available in multiplayer and as the Super Guide character.

The two generic Toads available to players 3 and 4. Smaller than Mario and Luigi and slightly faster, but otherwise similar. Their lack of individual identities was a mild criticism at launch.

Yoshi appears in certain stages and can be ridden. He can eat most enemies, spit them out as projectiles, flutter-jump for extra height and swallow powerups to use later. Different colour Yoshis have different abilities.

Rolling green hills near Peach’s Castle. The ideal introduction to the game’s mechanics — lush, bright and forgiving. A Warp Cannon blasts players ahead to World 5.

Unlock: Start a new game

A sun-baked desert with crumbling ruins, ancient architecture and sand that shifts underfoot. Airships make their dramatic appearance here for the first time.

Unlock: Complete World 1-Castle

A frigid coastal world mixing icy slopes, underwater caverns and frozen platforms. The Penguin Suit debuts here and is essential for several levels. Warp Cannon to World 6.

Unlock: Complete World 2-Castle

A sun-drenched archipelago connected by bridges over sparkling water. Bowser Jr. attacks on an Airship for the first time here. Warp Cannon to World 6.

Unlock: Complete World 3-Castle

A dense rainforest of poison swamps and giant insects. Dark, atmospheric and more challenging than anything before it. Warp Cannon leaps players to World 8.

Unlock: Complete World 4-Airship, or use World 1 or 2 Cannon

A sweeping mountain range where each level climbs higher. Icy summits and volcanic passages both feature. Has its own Airship level and a Warp Cannon.

Unlock: Complete World 5-Castle

A dreamy sky world of floating platforms, cloud castles and treacherous aerial levels. Ludwig deploys homing magic blasts in his second encounter.

Unlock: Complete World 6-Airship

The dramatic final world — a hellscape of volcanoes and lava. Three boss fights back to back: Kamek in the Tower, Bowser Jr. on the Airship, and Bowser himself in his castle.

Unlock: Complete World 7-Castle, or use World 5 or 6 Cannon

A star-shaped secret world in space featuring 8 levels that blend every world’s themes into a single, punishingly difficult gauntlet. No boss — just survival. Each level is unlocked by collecting all Star Coins from a specific world.

Unlock: Complete World 8-Bowser’s Castle

The classic — transforms Small Mario into Super Mario, doubling his size and letting him break brick blocks. The most fundamental powerup in the series.

Brand new to this game. Shake the Wii Remote to blast upward like a propeller — Mario spins and ascends rapidly, then slowly drifts back down. Excellent for reaching high platforms.

New to this game. Grants ice ball projectiles (stronger than Fire Flower), the ability to slide on ice and belly-slide into enemies, and underwater swimming control. Primarily found in World 3 and 4.

Shoots ice balls that freeze enemies solid on contact — frozen enemies become Ice Blocks that can be picked up and thrown at other enemies.

A franchise classic — throws fireballs that bounce along the ground, defeating most enemies on contact and collecting coins through certain blocks.

Shrinks Mario to tiny size — he can run on water briefly, fit through Mini Pipes, float gently when jumping, but is defeated by a single enemy hit. Required for certain Star Coins.

Grants temporary invincibility and speed boost — Mario flashes and defeats any enemy he touches. The classic series powerup with its unmistakable jingle.

An extra life. Collect 100 coins for the same effect. Hidden in blocks, earned by defeating multiple enemies in a row mid-air, or found in secret areas.

Three hidden per level — the game’s primary collectible challenge. Spending them at Peach’s Castle unlocks hint movies. Collecting all Star Coins from each world unlocks that world’s World 9 stage.

Collect 100 for an extra life. Scattered everywhere — in ? blocks, brick blocks, from defeated enemies, and hidden in the environment.

Pass through one and 8 Red Coins appear. Collect all 8 before time runs out to earn a powerup or 1-Up Mushroom.

A throwback to the arcade original. Carry and slam it to shake the screen and defeat all grounded enemies at once. Can be thrown against walls for repeated use.

Activates temporarily, transforming coins to brick platforms and bricks to coins, or revealing Blue Coins. Timing is everything.

Grab it and shake the Wii Remote to launch upward — a non-powerup alternative to the Propeller Mushroom found in certain levels.

Found in dark cave and ghost house levels. Carries a small torch — players must hold it to illuminate the path while still controlling Mario.

Spend Star Coins at Peach’s Castle to watch Nintendo-made videos hinting at how to find the most difficult Star Coins in each world.

The youngest Koopaling. Attacks with a magic wand that fires blue energy blasts. In his castle rematch the floor divides into five sections that alternate moving up and down.

The brawler of the group — heavy, physical and intimidating. Stomps the ground to stun Mario. His castle rematch has him leaping between warp pipes in the ceiling.

The acrobat — balances on a ball and fires smaller balls across the arena. His castle rematch uses a much larger ball, requiring higher jumps to reach his head.

Fires rings that bounce around the arena. Her castle battle takes place over rising and falling water — timing jumps around the water level is key.

Eccentric and unpredictable. Rides a Chain Chomp in his castle battle, bouncing around chaotically while Mario must hit him three times mid-chaos.

The heavy hitter — large, slow and devastating. Ground pounds create shockwaves. His castle rematch features moving elevator platforms that complicate the fight.

The most technically challenging Koopaling. Uses homing magic blasts in his first fight. His second encounter adds elevators and multiple simultaneous projectiles.

Appears on multiple airships throughout the game, using his Koopa Clown Car as both a vehicle and a weapon. He swoops and dives, drops bombs and requires three hits each time.

The court sorcerer. Uses his magic wand to transform the arena and enlarge obstacles and enemies. Must be jumped on three times while dodging a barrage of transformed enemies and magical projectiles.

The classic two-stage final battle. First fight: normal Bowser chasing Mario across a crumbling bridge. Second: Kamek transforms him into a screen-filling Giant Bowser for the true finale.

The fireworks at level end mirror those in the original 1985 game. A secret tune plays the original level clear music when the timer ends on a matching double digit. Warp Cannons recall the warp pipes from World 1-2.

The overworld map format — moving along a fixed path through worlds — is directly inherited from SMB3. The Airships also return as a key level type and visual motif.

The checkpoint flag system is directly borrowed from SMW (touching a checkpoint as small Mario grants Super Mario status). World 9’s space theme echoes SMW’s Star Road and Special World.

The final boss sequence — where Kamek uses magic to transform Bowser into a giant — mirrors Kamek’s role in transforming Baby Bowser in Yoshi’s Island’s finale.

Dorrie the water dinosaur and Sushi the shark, both from SM64, make cameo appearances in NSMBW water levels — a gift for fans of that game.

The POW Block returns from the original Mario Bros. arcade game, functioning almost identically — carried, slammed and bounced off walls for repeated use.