The last time a true 2D Mario game was released on a home console George H.W. Bush was President. New Super Mario Bros. Wii was Nintendo's big title for the 2009 holiday season, and it lived up to the hype. All but one of our respondents listed it in their top three Wii titles of the year, and our two reviews gave it a 9.5 and a perfect 10, respectively.

Zach Miller:

In a year mostly filled with mediocre third-party efforts on Wii, New Super Mario Bros. Wii was a nice surprise. While I was initially wary at E3 (didn't I just play this on the DS?), NSMB Wii won me over within minutes of turning it on. The single-player mode is great and finding all the Star Coins is delightfully challenging. Toss in some more people, and it's a totally different game. When you think about it, NSMB Wii is pretty standard 2D-Mario fare, but isn't that what makes it great? You might wish that Yoshi was more prominent, but I daresay the game's showdown with Bowser is a series highlight. If you own a Wii, you really should be playing this game.

Tilt the platform up, that pipe has something in it!
UP, NOT FIREBALLS!
I HATE YOU!

Andy Goergen:

Nintendo kicked off the first half of the year with a rather lackluster lineup, so it was certainly a nice surprise to see an amazing game like New Super Mario Bros. Wii at the end of the year. While it certainly shares a similar style with its DS predecessor, the Wii version completely blows it out of the water. Not only is it one of the more difficult entries in the series, but the addition of the Super Guide allows both newcomers and veterans alike to make their way through the game. As if that wasn't enough, Nintendo threw in a great multi-player system and Yoshi, making this one of Mario's best outings in recent years.