The 'Shroom:Issue XLV/Beta Elements
Should Have Been
by MrConcreteDonkey (talk)
Hello, readers. I am MrConcreteDonkey, and welcome to my Should Have Been section. Here, I will discuss, in every 'Shroom issue, things that should have been in a game, and/or the Beta elements of said game. Today, I will be talking about New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
What Should Have Been in This Game?
New Super Mario Bros. Wii was a great game on all accounts. It brought back many old features that weren't in the Nintendo DS version of New Super Mario Bros. (which I admittedly didn't enjoy as much), and added many fantastic new features, including the 4-player co-operative mode. However, I believe there should have, and could have, been more to this game.
Firstly, the 4-player mode is fantastic as it is, but there were a few problems. Usually, it's hard to find enough people to play it with, if you even own 4 Wii Remotes.
For some minor changes, I think that there should have been more Airship levels-there were only three in this game and usually Airships have more action than regular levels, because the level is always moving, fast paced, and there are cannons everywhere. Plus, you fight Bowser Jr. at the end, each battle with an awesome innovation not to be seen ever again. I would have liked to see the Mario Car (from one of these boss battles) used in regular levels. I also would have liked to see a Sound Test, where you could listen to the music and sound effects from the game. Plus, in multiplayer, they should have stopped the 'A' button making the player retreat into their bubble. It's annoying and an unexpected way to lose lives.
There also should have been more secrets and secret parts of levels. The new Mario levels all seem more linear than the old ones, and I believe the lack of secrets, like Coin Heaven, is one of the reasons for this.
Enemies Who Should Have Appeared More
I will normally do this for enemies that didn't even appear in the game, but more or less every enemy appeared in the game, so this time I'm doing it about enemies that should've appeared more than they did.
- King Bills – These one-appearance enemies were hilarious. These chubby-faced giant Bullet Bills only appeared in the last level of World 9. They were also very destructive, even able to destroy Brick Blocks...but apparently not Goombas...
- Para-Beetles – Para-Beetles are a good idea for an enemy and should have at least appeared twice. They were more obstacles than enemies, as Mario could use them as a platform and they would not harm him willingly.
- Fuzzies – Fuzzies were arguably the funniest enemies in Paper Mario and I'm very glad to see that they have been making a comeback recently. Fuzzies only appeared in some of the later levels and were fun enemies to avoid.
- Broozers – A ghost with boxing gloves-you don't see that every day. They were fast and very aggressive enemies with a taste for ectoplasm </badjoke>.
- Wigglers – Wigglers do appear a lot in most Mario games, but, strangely, only once in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They had a lot of potential for this game, especially in some of the World 5 levels.
Beta Elements
There were a few major differences in the Beta of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but most were minor. These are all from E3 2009, so some features, songs, etc. may not have been added or just briefly touched upon. Starting off, the Propeller Mushroom was originally a Propellor Suit, much like the one the character wears when using the Mushroom. The Penguin Suit originally going to have white eyes with blue pupils, which are black in the final version. Also, there is concept art of a bizzare chicken suit, which can be seen on the image to the left. Also seen on this image is what seems to be an even earlier version of the Penguin Suit.
Coins originally had 8-Bit sound effects, and the HUD (the bar at the top) was originally transparent and in a different, more generic font. There were a few unused platforms, including a trampoline, the four rotating Ferris wheel-like platforms (like the ones Reznor was fought on in Super Mario World), a see-saw and a platform that was from two levels in the DS prequel, New Super Mario Bros. More platforms from the prequel were going to be used, including the pendulum platforms from the World 4 Castle and the one-way gate from World 2-3
The music for the underground, castle and desert levels was the same as the prequel, as was the athletic theme. Two unused enemies appear in the Beta-one is a giant Buzzy Beetle, whom Mario is able to stand on, and the other has not been seen, but is an object called 'EN_GHOST_JUGEM', which is most likely a Fishin' Boo. ? Blocks were once grey in snow levels.
Originally, Red Yoshis and Blue Yoshis were in the game, but were replaced by Pink and Cyan Yoshis, respectively. After entering a Boss door, you would drop down from the top of the screen, instead of just stand in front of the Koopaling. Finally, the Midway Point flag had a skull on it originally.
Thank you for reading my section. Sorry if I went on a bit. If you think that there should have been something in New Super Mario Bros. Wii that I have not mentioned, please PM me on the Forum and I will mention your idea in the next issue.
