PixlBit

Rather than tell you some elaborate story of what The Great Giana Sisters is and how it came into existence (feel free to read up on that on Wikipedia), I’ll tell you all you need to know. The Great Giana Sisters is a Super Mario Bros. clone released originally in 1987. Since then, a new version of the game has been created for the Nintendo DS, which features new levels, items, and goals. While I can’t tell you much about what has been borrowed from the original release, as I’ve never played it, I can tell you that this latest release is enjoyable.

Funny enough, this updated title reminds me quite a bit of the Super Mario Bros. update for the DS, New Super Mario Bros.. In Giana Sisters DS, players try to make their way to the end of a level, all while collecting blue and red gems, which are analogous to coins and big coins in New Super Mario Bros.. Though similar, Giana Sisters DS is nowhere near as complicated as Nintendo’s title; levels are shorter and far less complex in their design.

While simple, Giana Sisters DS is still quite a bit of fun. What the developers have managed to perfectly capture from Nintendo’s popular series are the solid mechanics that make those games enjoyable. Though not identical to its influencing material, the game feels very natural. Giana runs and jumps as you’d expect and navigating the obstacle-laden stages is a cinch right from the get-go. The only game element that threw me off initially was the fireball.

Unlike Super Mario Bros., Giana only has two forms: regular Giana and punk Giana. Punk Giana can take one hit without dying and shoot fireballs after picking up a red orb, which is spawned from a question mark block. These fireballs have a direct course when initially shot and do not bounce when hitting the ground. It didn’t take long to adjust to this change and before long it felt as natural as the rest of the controls.

While extremely similar to Super Mario Bros., the game does differentiate itself with a couple of new power-ups. Bubble gum puts Giana in a bubble and allows her to careen through the sky until coming in contact with an object in the level. Players can keep the bubble afloat by either blowing into the microphone or by tapping a button. Soda pop, the other power-up, allows Giana to blast bricks away with a stream of liquid from a bottle. Both serve as a nice distraction from the typical run and jump platforming gameplay.

Outside of collecting gems and making it to the end of a level, there's really not a lot to Giana Sisters DS. As it has been explained by Miyamoto in the past, part of the reason Super Mario Bros. succeeded is because every action in the game is fun. Here, the same holds true; jumping around in the levels, collecting gems, using the power-ups, and defeating enemies is just plain fun.

While the game contains an abundance of levels from the get-go (over 80 to be precise), collecting all of the red gems within a world will unlock a bonus level to further expand the experience. As an extra incentive to explore each level to its fullest, players will unlock a port of the original Commodore 64 version of The Great Giana Sisters for collecting every red gem in the game.

Assuming the game’s original graphics were somewhere on par with the NES, the updated presentation is quite gorgeous. The sprites and backgrounds are crisp looking, and the sound is equally sharp to match. Unquestionably, whether you are familiar with the original title or not, it looks great and does an effective job of conveying the game’s unique personality and worlds.

Fans of 2D platformers shouldn’t miss out on this gem; it’s full of character, offers great mechanics, a slew of unlockables, and enjoyable gameplay that encourages players to explore each and every level. While it may skew easier than Nintendo's Super Mario series, it is an enjoyable romp nonetheless.