This game is amazing, to sum it up. Pretty much any Mario game would be amazing in my opinion. The objective of this Mario game is to hit the ground above you (when there's an evil dude coming) to flip them over. Once you've flipped them over, you can then run up to them and kick 'em away. Just a note, to kick the evil dudes, all you need to do is run into them. The game has different levels, and with each level that you advance to, you face a different evil guy.
I have a few Super Mario Bros. games, and the old Mario Bros. comes built in with it, so whenever I got stuck with Super Mario Bros. adventures, I would revert to Mario Bros. so I could smash some evil guys. The only bad thing about this game is that after a while, some of the evil dudes will change colors (which means that their speeds change). It is definitely harder to K.O. the guys when they are faster.
Also, if you buy an older version of the game, the graphics are pretty bad. Remember the old pixel graphics where Mario looked like an oddly shaped block? Sorry to say this, but, it's that kind of graphics for this game.
Another hard thing about this game is that you only get three lives to start with. If you use up those three lives, it’s game over and back to the beginning. I got up to about Phase 17 when I used to play.
My favorite part of the game was hitting that big ol' POW button in the middle. I personally recommend that you guys get the new Mario and Luigi games for Nintendo DS. I mean, after a while, games just aren't interesting anymore, and that's what happened for me and this game. I would play it nonstop, but when I kept getting K.O.ed, I started to get bored. I would leave it for a few months and then come back to it. It would keep me busy for a while, but then the same thing happens again. I can't beat my record Phase, so I get frustrated and put it away. I must say that I liked the Super Mario Bros. games better, though. This game doesn't have the same controls, and you can't jump on the villains or throw fireballs, or even grow to Big Mario. There aren't any invincibility stars to use, either. This game is great for you old timers (just kidding, anyone can play it), so GET IT!
