20 Years Ago, Nintendo Helped Revive an Entire Genre With This Game

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Gaming, like any other popular art form, experiences changing trends. Certain game types and visual styles become popular, then fade away, only to sometimes reappear later. This often happens in a cycle, as new creators are inspired by games they enjoyed growing up and reimagine those older concepts for modern audiences. When successful, these fresh takes can revitalize classic ideas and turn them into hits all over again.

Occasionally, a new game can spark a revival of an entire genre. This is exactly what happened when New Super Mario Bros. was released on the Nintendo DS. Launched on May 15, 2006, this fresh take on the classic side-scrolling adventure quickly became a huge success for Nintendo. Beyond simply making this style of Mario game popular again, it helped bring the side-scroller genre back to life, paving the way for many excellent modern games.

New Super Mario Bros. Was A Perfect Retro Reimagining

A major goal in creating New Super Mario Bros. was to revitalize classic gameplay ideas. The game’s development started when director Hiroyuki Kimura felt the Mario series needed something new, rather than just another updated version of an older game. While New Super Mario Bros. featured improved 3D graphics and models for the Nintendo DS, it intentionally kept the traditional side-scrolling gameplay style. The developers added fresh elements like new items, power-ups, and enemies, building on the established platforming mechanics that had made the series so successful for years.

After a long wait of over a decade since Super Mario Land 2 on the Game Boy, New Super Mario Bros. arrived with a lot of hype. It didn’t disappoint! Critics loved the game, and players bought it in huge numbers, making it the best-selling title on the Nintendo DS. As of today, it remains one of the best-selling video games ever, ranking 27th overall and 11th among all Nintendo games.

New Super Mario Bros. Helped Set Off A Side-Scrolling Revival

Although New Super Mario Bros. successfully reintroduced the classic Mario gameplay to a wider audience, its biggest achievement was bringing 2D side-scrolling platformers back into the spotlight. This genre was popular on older consoles, but the move to 3D graphics changed gaming. Even established series like Mario began focusing on 3D worlds. While games like Castlevania, Metal Slug, and Mega Man kept the side-scrolling format alive, it had largely become less popular by the early 2000s. The success of New Super Mario Bros. demonstrated that the genre could be updated for modern gamers and that classic franchises still had a place in the gaming world.

Since New Super Mario Bros. came out, I’ve seen so many games try to capture that same magic. Some were classics getting a makeover – like Contra ReBirth, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and Rayman Origins, all updated with a fresh look. Others were completely new games, but they clearly took inspiration from those old-school side-scrollers, adding their own spin to the formula. It’s cool to see that the 2D style can still be really successful with modern graphics and technology. They all proved that 2D platformers can still feel new and exciting!

Developers had a lot of artistic freedom, letting games like Cuphead recreate classic cartoon styles or Shovel Knight build detailed worlds with pixel art. They could also use visuals to create specific moods, like the eerie atmosphere in Limbo, the intense action of Super Meat Boy, or the emotional stories in Braid. Many fantastic games—including Dead Cells, Katana Zero, Pizza Tower, Hollow Knight, Silksong, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus—have successfully used this approach. They’ve found inventive ways to build compelling worlds and stories while still keeping the simple, enjoyable gameplay that makes side-scrolling games so popular.

Beyond reminding us why Mario is so beloved, New Super Mario Bros. showed that side-scrolling games still had a lot to offer. It proved that revisiting older game styles wasn’t just about nostalgia, and that modern games could actually learn from the past while still moving forward. Though other Mario games are more popular or well-known, New Super Mario Bros. brought an entire genre back to life, leading to many fantastic games over the last twenty years.

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2026-05-15 19:14