New Super Mario Bros. Wii was released on November 15, 2009 and was easily one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. The game combines the classic side scrolling gameplay found in Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, & 3 and Super Mario World with the newer features and additions found in New Super Mario Bros. for the DS plus some extras. Elements of almost every Mario game can be found here like power-ups, costumes, warp pipes, and even Yoshi, but there hasn't ever been a cooperative play side-scrolling Mario game until now. The game can be played solo or with up to three friends for extra multi-player fun. Friends can even jump out and back in if they need to skip a hard part and let their buddy get past it. As an added twist, players can pick up each other. This can lead to helping your buddy up to a high platform or even tossing them off a cliff to their death.

The motion sensitivity of the Wii controller can also be used in several ways such as getting a boost at the peak of a jump or using an item like the propeller cap to soar to new heights. Shaking the controller while holding a button picks up items or other players and just wiggling the controller a bit performs a spin jump. In some cases the Wii remote will help to interact with the level mechanics such as spinning a bolt or tilting a light in a cave so the party can see.

When playing in single player there is a new addition to the game that makes getting past a level that is too difficult a thing of the past. It is the Super Guide. When a player dies eight times in a given level he is given the option to watch Luigi go through the level for them. The player can jump back in at any time or let Luigi complete the level, in essence skipping the level and heading onto the next. At the end of some levels are mini-bosses which are Bowser's children which haven't been seen in the Mario franchise in a while and are a welcome addition. The game even has some great replay value. After reaching the final boss and defeating him, the game begins again to play through and collect three coins in each level in order to unlock more levels.