{"id":137222,"date":"2026-05-15T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-201248"},"modified":"2026-05-15T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T20:00:00","slug":"anniversary-super-mario-first-went-new-20-years-ago-on-the-ds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2026\/05\/15\/anniversary-super-mario-first-went-new-20-years-ago-on-the-ds\/","title":{"rendered":"Anniversary: Super Mario First Went ‘New’ 20 Years Ago On The DS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span> Image: Zion Grassl \/ Nintendo Life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

20 years ago today, something New was on the horizon. Yes, it’s time to feel extremely old, as New Super Mario Bros.<\/a> launched for the Nintendo DS on this very day in the US in 2006.<\/p>\n

Back then, New Super Mario Bros. was a big deal; it was the first new side-scrolling Mario platformer game since Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins<\/a> and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island<\/a>, reintroducing the classic Mario formula to a whole new audience, and it kickstarted a whole new sub-series for the plumber.<\/p>\n

Because there have multiple ‘New’ games over the years, it’s sometimes difficult to appreciate just how big the game was at the time. Imagine being an adult who grew up with Mario on the NES or SNES, picking up a DS and playing through a whole new 2D-esque adventure? Or showing it to your kids, who have only ever known Mario via the N64 or GameCube era?<\/p>\n

But New Super Mario Bros. was special: it blended the old and the new, giving Mario and Luigi classic power-ups alongside shiny new ones \u2014 who doesn’t remember picking up their first Mega Mushroom? That jingle is stuck in our heads, now…<\/p>\n

The brothers also have new movement abilities like double jumps, triple jumps, and many other skills only seen in Super Mario 64<\/a> or other 3D games previously. Mario and Luigi could also swing on ropes and tiptoe across wires, allowing for even more creative level designs. And there were some excellent ones in NSMB.<\/p>\n