New Super Mario Bros.: 6-A

This level takes place in the desert, where Lakitu flies overhead. There are tordadoes in this level, which spin you around and launch you in the air. You'll slowly descend to the ground, so pick up any coins you find in mid air. Enter the first tornado from the left side so you'll exit with enough height to reach the first Star Coin in the air. It's to the right; just follow the trail of coins. Soon after you get the first Star Coin, you'll find a patch of quicksand that's higher than the rest. Let the quicksand pull you under to a cave below. In this cave, wall jump for the second Star Coin. Go up the yellow pipe to return to the main level. Past the midpoint you'll find an item block that you can't normally access. Let the quicksand in front of it pull you partway down, then hop up after you go under the rock. It will give you a Starman to make your life easier. Towards the end, you'll find two pipes in a large gap between two large sets of pipes. Go down the yellow pipe and jump over the giant Piranha Plant for the third Star Coin. You'll come up a pipe to the left of the yellow pipe you just when through. A nearby green pipe in that cluster is a cannon that will blast you over the gap, which will trap you with invisble blocks. After that is the pipe to the flag.

New Super Mario Bros.: 6-1

World 6 is a rock world. In this level, we have to dodge Bullet Bills while platforming on some new terrain: thin ledges on cliffs. Mario has to slowly sidle along these ledges, or he can hang below them. Mario can't jump as high while standing on thin ledges, so be careful. After the first set of thin ledges, wall-jump up for the 1st Star Coin. Go down and wall-jump up a different set of walls for an item block. The 2nd Star Coin is accessible by wall-jumping up a little farther along. The 3rd Star Coin is below a thin ledge. Hang from the ledge to get it. From there, it's a straight shot to the flag. See how many Bullet Bills you can get on screen when you reach the flag for more points and possible 1-ups.

Nintendo 3DS News

Nintendo has given us some much needed release dates for upcoming Nintendo DS and 3DS news, including Paper Mario: Sticker Star. It will be released in the United States on November 11. We've been waiting a few years for this title and now we know when we can get it. Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 will be available October 7. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon has been delayed until early 2013. The full list of games is available on your region's Nintendo website.

I'm glad to have a release date on Paper Mario: Sticker Star. It was unveiled alongside the 3DS in 2010, so it's been a while. I'm also glad that Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon was delayed. I would have been swamped with games this fall, especially Mario games. With Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon coming in 2013, I won't have to choose between 3 Mario games to play. We're still waiting on an official launch date on the Wii U and I can't wait for that.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-Castle

It's time to deal with another castle. As seen on the Touch Screen map when outside the castle, the path forks, like it did in World 2. The castle contains lots of conveyor belts, most of which will try to drop you into the void or into the path of enemies, such as Dry Bones and Piranha Plants. If there is a Dry Bones walking on a conveyor belt, stomping will typically get rid of it because its body will be pushed into the void. Where there isn't a conveyor belt, there's ice. The first Star Coin is on an icy platform below some conveyor belts. Get there quickly as there is a Piranha Plant that will land nearby. Some more conveyor belts will lead to a long conveyor belt with an infinite stream of a spring, a couple of Dry Bones, and a giant Dry Bone. Near the ceiling is the second Star Coin. Bounce off the spring or the giant Dry Bones to reach it. After a few more conveyor belts and giant Piranha Plants, you'll end up on solid ice. Near the boss door, you find an item block directly below a gap in the ceiling. There are a Dry Bones and a giant Dry Bones in the area. You'll want to jump on the block (which is easier as Mini Mario) and wall jump up, then run over the ceiling. You'll go past the boss door and drop down to where the third Star Coin is. It's to the left of the boss door. Going through the boss door, we'll find Petey Piranha. He'll fly around the room, then angle his body and try to land on you. He'll fall down with his belly up, so stomp it or ground pound it if you're Mini Mario. Do this three times for victory. Mario will get the key and Bowser will take off with Peach, to World 6 if you're not Mini Mario or World 7 if you are. We're going to World 6 first.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-4

This is a tricky automatic sidescroller. We have to deal with two kinds of special mushroom platforms. The yellow ones bring you down and the red ones raise you up when you step on them. They will return to their original position when you jump off. Making you life even more difficult are the Bullet Bills that fire off screen at your current position. If you're up for the challenge, try to collect the Red Coins. Immediately afterward, jump up high from the last mushroom to reach the first Star Coin and possibly the second if you're Mini Mario. If not, jump back down and quickly go around to the right, go up, and back left to get it. Use a shell if you need to. Just past there is the midpoint. You can get a 1-up with a shell here. Next are more red and yellow mushrooms. You'll find a red mushroom by itself at the end of that set of mushrooms. The third Star Coin is there. You can try to quickly get it or use a shell. After that are more red and yellow mushrooms to the flagpole. Be warned that the last two are yellow.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-C

It's another underground level. This time, the place has both Buzzy Beetles and Bruisers. Let the Bruisers break through the blocks for you. They can help you reach the first Star Coin encased in brick blocks. Past the first Star Coin are infinite platforms moving towards the ceiling or the void. Once past those, use a Buzzy Beetle shell to get the second Star Coin, floating over the void under the higher route. You'll soon find a Bruiser on some stairs. Clear away the top middle blocks near the ceiling. Hit the far right block in the row below to make a vine appear. It will take you to an area with a P-Switch and a Bruiser. Hit the switch, then lure the Bruiser to the left so it will destroy the blocks protecting the third Star Coin. From here, you can drop down to the goal. There's a ? Switch after the vine which makes red blocks appear over the void. Bruisers will periodically drop down and destroy the red blocks. Take it to the end, climbing quickly, as vertical walls will get in your way. At the end is a pipe to the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-Ghost House

Bruisers are crawling all over this Ghost House. They'll be doing the dirty work of breaking stone blocks for us. Let one of them break the stone blocks on the right side so you can wall jump up to get it. When you see a door on the left side, do a running jump to get it. Through the door are some Bruisers and some stone blocks. The Bruisers will be coming towards you. Quickly wall jump up the stone blocks to the second Star Coin above, avoid the Bruisers, and return the way you came. As you ascend, you will see a row of three blocks on the left side. Jump onto the row of blocks and jump up over each of them to reveal three invisible blocks. Jump on the middle block that was formerly invisible, duck, and jump while ducking to reveal another invisible block with a vine in it. The vine leads to a door guarded by a Bruiser. Let it walk off the ledge without hurting you and go through the door. You'll find yourself on a rising platform. Pumpkins will periodically drop in and the platform will tilt, trying to make you fall off. Stay on the right side and run off for the third Star Coin. There's a vine that will take you to the door you would've reached on the platform. There is a Boo guarding the door. The door leads to a Boo and the Red Goal to the cannon. If you don't go to the secret goal, go to the top of the ghost house where there's a door. You'll find a similar platform rising toward the ceiling, but this time, you'll have to contend with Boos. The door takes you to the regular goal to 5-4.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-3

It's time for another ice slide! Stay sliding until you stall to take out enemies for a 1-up. Jump to the right from where the ice plateaus to get the first Star Coin. When you land, you'll find some blocks. The highest item block contains a vine so you can reach the next ice slide. Underneath the area with the vine, break the blocks for the second Star Coin. The low road is more difficult with Snailicorns. The high road has lots of sliding. You can wall jump up the ice or drop down the gap to reach the third Star Coin. Slide down the ice and jump before you reach the end to reach the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-B

This is an ice level. We'll find a new enemy, the Snailicorn, which looks like a snail shell with a pointy nose. We can't defeat them, but can stomp on them and they will slide to the left or the right. Push them off ledges to get rid of them. We're going to slide down the ice a couple of times, then get the first Star Coin under a ledge using a Paratroopa shell or just jumping for it. The item block to the left contains a brick block. The P-Switch will convert brick blocks to coins so we can jump and slide over the ice to get the second Star Coin, which is protected by brick blocks. The third Star Coin can be reached by taking the lower path and getting past the Snailicorn. Keep going to reach the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-Fort

This level is an automatic sidescroller. We start on a platform that slowly rises. There are Dry Bones on the platform, so just stomp on them to stop them temporarily or dodge them. The first Star Coin will be on the right side, so look out for it. After a while, spike balls will roll in. They'll get rid of the Dry Bones, but still make your life difficult. Keep dodging them and get the second Star Coin in the middle. Soon, a large spike ball will roll in and destroy the smaller spike balls. This will be in your way for a while. The third Star Coin is on the right, over some bricks, and you should stay on the right side of the screen because the path will be split by a wall. The large spike ball will be trapped on the left side for a while. When you see brick blocks in the center wall, get up as high as possible as the large spike ball will break through the brick blocks and exit the stage on the right side. At the top is the boss door. We have to deal with Bowser Jr. without his mask on an icy surface. Use fireballs or jump on him to defeat him. Once again, he runs off with Peach to the castle.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-2

This level takes place underground. This level has Spike Buzzies crawling all over platforms and they're not easy to get rid of, so we have to dodge them. Making life more difficult are the bats you'll find periodically hanging from the ceiling. You'll also come across Piranha Plants in some of the pipes. You'll need to be at least Super Mario to get the first Star Coin by breaking brick blocks. Along the way, you'll find a couple of springs. The first spring will be near a yellow pipe overhead. Spring into the pipe and you'll go outside and find a Moneybag disguised as a coin. Follow it to the end of the area and bounce off it to reach the second Star Coin. The third Star Coin floats between two platforms where Spike Buzzies crawl. Time your jump from the spring to get it. Near the third Star Coin, the path splits. If you take the top route, you have to deal with Spike Buzzies and Piranha Plants. The bottom route has lots of bats. There are more bats and Spike Buzzies up until the end.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-A

This level is has more unusual mushroom platforms. These blue mushrooms will  expand and cntract periodically, allowing us to reach certain areas. Before we reach the midpoint, there is a Red Coin Ring. The first Star Coin is under a ledge that we can reach when a blue mushroom expands under it. There is a ! Switch to allow us to get back up. Nearby is a brick block containing a vine that leads to Coin Heaven. Hit the P-Switch, then use the spring to reach the second Star Coin. We then drop back down to the main level. The third Star Coin is over a blue mushroom. We reach the flagpole and a path to the fort opens up.

New Super Mario Bros.: 5-1

World 5 is an ice world, so we have to deal with slippery surfaces and deep snow. Here, we'll find Snow Spikes creating snowballs that they throw. The snowballs take out enemies and increase in size, and have the potential to hurt Mario. There are trees here with snow covered branches. If the branch shakes, the snow will fall, possibly burying Mario if he's in the way. In some parts of the level are patches of deep snow, which it's difficult to jump and dodge enemy attacks. You'll come across some item blocks high up. Bounce off of them to reach the first Star Coin. Soon after, you'll reach the midpoint. You can get the second Star Coin by boucing off a Paratroopa or the floating item block. Soon after, you'll see a Snow Spike on a ledge to the right of a yellow block with a face. Hitting the block will stack more blocks on top of it temporarily. It will block the snowballs. To get past it, you have to kill the Snow Spike. You'll use a similar block to reach the third Star Coin. The flagpole is at the end. The path forks to 5-2 or 5-A.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-Castle

It's time for another castle! This one has pendulums with platforms with Dry Bones that we can walk on. The pendulums will get very close to each other, so just wait instead of just jumping whenever. If you run up the third pendulum, using it as a ramp, you can reach the first Star Coin. Next are a few large Thwomps. The first one is over the second Star Coin, which is under some stone blocks. Approach the Thwomp to make it drop down and crush each row of blocks. Then drop down to get it. Then run under a series of Thwomps to reach the midpoint. From here until the boss door are pendulums. Under the first from the midpoint is the third Star Coin, so drop down to get it. The boss is a giant Goomba. You can use fireballs or hit the ? Switch to make green springing platforms appear for a limited time. The platforms will rise up to the level of the top of the Goomba when you stand on them. The ? Switch will still be available after the platforms disappear, so you can get the platforms any time. Ground pound the giant Goomba three times to defeat it. Bowser Jr. takes Princess Peach off to the fort of World 5.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-6

It's another purple water level. To help us cross the water, Dorrie returns. She will duck under platforms, so you may have to climb on them to avoid being pushed off into the water. There's a Red Coin ring near the platform with the first Star Coin. The Red Coins go under the platform as well as over, so you'll have to double back to get them all. You'll have to go over the platform with the Piranha Plants. The second Star Coin is past the P-Switch, which you must use to reach it. It will turn coins into brick blocks, giving you platforms. The ! Switch will allow you to go up a green pipe, where you'll find the third Star Coin in a coin formation after you slide down. There is a 1-up near the pipe. You'll end up near the pipe to the flagpole. The path to the castle will open up.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-5

We take a pipe to go underground. We land on a mushroom and find the path blocked by some stone blocks shaped like stairs. Above them is a pipe with an endless supply of Bob-ombs so you can blow up the blocks. We'll be doing a lot of that here. We pass the midpoint without finding any Star Coins. The first Star Coin is encased in stone blocks, so have a Bob-omb destroy the blocks so you can reach it. Be careful not to blow up too much of the floor. Next is a series of drawbridges. The second Star Coin is surrounded by brick blocks above the second drawbridge, so hit the brick block under the Bob-omb walking around, and let it explode some blocks. Then use the drawbridge as a ramp and jump up through the gap to get it. Under one of the later drawbridges is a pipe covered with stone blocks. Carefully drop a Bob-omb down there, then enter the pipe. It will take you to the third Star Coin. In the last part of the level, there will be Spinies crawling on the ceiling, so watch out for them. At the end is a pipe to the flagpole, which opens the way to 4-6.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-Ghost House

This Ghost House can be a little complicated. Near where you start is a door on a lower platform. You'll find an orange ? Switch which will make four item blocks drop down from the ceiling on springs. The second from the left will give you a power up. While they're still in the room, hop on one of the item blocks and it will pull you into another part of the Ghost House when the timer stops. To the right, you will find the first Star Coin. Throughout the Ghost House are yellow platforms with red stripes. If you stand on one, it will take you around the wall into the next room, but will not take you back. Here, you'll find a special type of ghost, called a Balloon Boo. They won't attack you if you face them and will follow you when your back is turned, like a normal Boo, but when you look at them, they start inhaling air and increasing in size, but deflate while chasing you. A ! Switch will make a door to a new room appear. Another ! Switch will make red platforms appear. Wall jump up them for the second Star Coin. From there, you can take the pipe up and over into a new room. Take the high door to the flagpole. To get the third Star Coin and access to the cannon, on the pipe you need red blocks to reach, stand on the pipe as Mini Mario. Wall jump up and to the right to a narrow area. Wall jump up that to see a door. Before entering the door, wall jump up higher to reach the third Star Coin. The door will take you to the red flag goal.

New Super Mario Bros.: 4-A

To unlock this level, you need 5 Star Coins. There is purple water in this level. To help us get around, there are vines to swing on and platforms that function like a paddle wheel. We've seen them before in World 3, but we have to be careful not to touch the purple water. There are two of them before the midpoint. Making life difficult are Paratroopas. The first Star Coin is between a red and a green Paratroopa. Nearby is a vine. Bounce off the first green Paratroopa after the first Star Coin to the vine above to reach a pipe. There, you will find Koopas trapped in brick blocks with the second Star Coin. There is a P-Switch that will turn the brick blocks into coins so you can reach it and get coins. The pipe at the end will return you to the main level. This part has Piranha Plants in it. There is a set of three pipes: green, yellow, green. Enter the first green pipe to reach the third Star Coin. To reach the flagpole, take the vine at the end to the pipe, then another vine to the platform in front of the flagpole. This will open a path to the Ghost House.