We’ve been clamoring for several things from Nintendo here at the TVG offices for quite some time. One of the biggest things is a return of the classic Mario elements that Mario games have been missing for quite some time.

Well, it looks like we might be getting our wish in a new title from Nintendo; known only as “New Super Mario Bros.”.

Not much has been revealed about this title yet, but what we know and what we can infer from what we’ve seen is more than enough to get us excited at what could be a significant step for Mario.

It may have taken 9 years, but it looks like classic Mario gaming is coming back. It seemed only a matter of time after Nintendo started releasing the Mario Advance titles that they would release a brand new 2D Mario game, and it looks like they finally will be.

Not only does the as-yet-officially-unannounced game boast fully 3D character models in a 2D sidescroller environment, but it looks like Mario’s going to be back throwing fireballs in his white dungarees, growing to super sizes and bottom-bouncing like only Mario can.

It’s interesting to note that this game is not dubbed Mario DS, but it bears the “Super Mario Bros.” brand, which is something which has not been seen for quite some time, and is surely something to note.

The very limited footage we’ve seen of the game seems to indicate that it is in the very early stages of development. What we have seen though is Mario in Fire Flower mode shooting fireballs in classic Mario style, backflipping and uppercutting in modern Mario style, followed by a goomba collecting a mushroom and growing to gigantic proportions and finishing with Mario himself growing to gigantic full screen height proportions and rampaging through the level before bouncing on a waist height Bowser at the end.

Only one screen appears to be used at a time, and it is unclear what use is made of the action moving from one screen to the other. We can’t help speculating all the various potential uses that could be made use of the other screen – although we have to believe that Luigi will turn up on it at some stage, especially given the multiplayer emphasis on every other DS title on show.

Hopefully this game being seen at this early stage of the DS’s life is an indication of Nintendo having learned their lesson of not having a Mario game available as a launch title, though it does seem somewhat rougher in appearance than some of the other demo titles on show.

In the absence of any news on Mario 128 this surprise title has us happier than any pre-NES character revival could, and leaves us hoping this is an indication of a return of true Mario style to the series.

We’ll bring you all the Mario news as it comes in…