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3DS

Japan

New Super Mario Bros. 2

by Danny Bivens - July 31, 2012, 9:38 pm EDT
Total comments: 8

Everyone's favorite fat red plumber is back on 3DS.

While New Super Mario Bros. 2 might be extremely similar to past games in the “New” series, a new group of developers are trying their hand at bringing everyone’s favorite plumber to life in a sidescrolling adventure. While some of the young developers have little experience working on 2D Mario titles, they are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to working on 3DS projects, taking part in the development of Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7. At this point, I’ve put about three hours into New Super Mario Bros. 2, and while there are a lot of familiar aspects to the game, there are a few new high points that show that these guys know what they’re doing.



So far I have almost made it through the first three worlds. Of course, for those of you out there that have played New Super Mario Bros. on DS or New Super Mario Bros. Wii, there will be many familiar aspects here. For starters, the visual aesthetic remains largely unchanged as does most of the music. Personally, I wasn’t expecting a complete overhaul but was hoping for more changes in these areas than what was made. Of course, I’m still fairly early in the adventure, so perhaps things will change a little bit down the line.

When it comes to the game's visuals, after E3 2012 some complained that the game looks only slightly better than the original DS title and lacks visual pizzazz. Yes, character models and assets are very similar to those of previous titles, but they still look pretty sharp, and maybe even a bit better than the Wii version. The 3D effect is used sparingly, offering only minimal enhancement to gameplay. It’s a little disappointing, but it doesn’t take away from the experience.



One of most important aspects of any Super Mario title is its level design. New Super Mario Bros. 2 is no different. Again, I haven’t seen everything that the game has to offer, but the cohesion between the levels and the gameplay aspects are pretty well done. Like the music and visuals, the aesthetics of previous titles make an appearance here. For example, a desert theme in the second world isn’t something that’s exactly fresh. The levels themselves can be pretty easy to blow through but are full of nooks and crannies that hold secrets here and there.

Perhaps the biggest focal point of New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the emphasis on collecting coins. As many of you know, items such as the golden flower that transforms Mario into Golden Mario turns blocks into coins and Golden rings, and also changes enemies into potential gold spouting lunatics. While it might seem a bit gimmicky, the collection aspects of the game aren’t nearly as annoying as you might have encountered in other games. I find myself going out of my way to make sure I pick up as many coins as I can in each level.



I did get a chance to try out Golden Mario, too. It feels very satisfying to shoot golden fireballs, transforming the blocks around me into gold. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend very much time with the game’s new coin rush mode, in which players go through three levels with one life and try to collect as many coins as possible. The level design makes it easy to go through levels very quickly in this mode, but it can also provide quite a challenge. Trying to get through a castle, which is usually a little slow going in the normal game, is a little tricky when trying to go through quickly.



New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a solid game that builds off of a solidly established brand. While there aren’t a whole lot of surprises, Nintendo has given us an extremely polished game.

Talkback

cL7oudAugust 01, 2012

i hope nsmbu will havee mor pizazz. its interesting how pretty much everyone is saying the same thing. there is no parity in reviews and whatnot

Chocobo_RiderAugust 01, 2012

Sounds great, Danny.  Thanks for the write-up!  Looking forward to this intriguing game.

Pixelated PixiesAugust 01, 2012

Polish is great and all, but I'm still kind of bummed that this game seems so uninspired. Ah, well. As long as they keep putting out awesome games like the Galaxy games and 3D Land alongside these more casual templated Mario titles I'll be happy.

leahsdadAugust 01, 2012

Quote from: Pixelated

Polish is great and all, but I'm still kind of bummed that this game seems so uninspired. Ah, well. As long as they keep putting out awesome games like the Galaxy games and 3D Land alongside these more casual templated Mario titles I'll be happy.

Yeah, but if 3D land and the Galaxy games sold like the 2D games, we wouldn't be having this conversation.  Nintendo would be pumping those suckers out like crazy.  I hate to do the fingerwagging and say "We get what we ask for" but....

Pixelated PixiesAugust 01, 2012

Quote from: leahsdad

Quote from: Pixelated

Polish is great and all, but I'm still kind of bummed that this game seems so uninspired. Ah, well. As long as they keep putting out awesome games like the Galaxy games and 3D Land alongside these more casual templated Mario titles I'll be happy.

Yeah, but if 3D land and the Galaxy games sold like the 2D games, we wouldn't be having this conversation.  Nintendo would be pumping those suckers out like crazy.  I hate to do the fingerwagging and say "We get what we ask for" but....


True. There's been a thought that I've kicked around in my mind for the past few weeks, that Nintendo has these two sides. The first side is what I would call their 'Activision' side, which you can see on display with releases like NSMB 2, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mario 3D Kart, and every mainline Pokemon game released since Blue and Red. This side is motivated by money and is of course a completely necessary attribute for any business. This side, however, also tends to result in Nintendo releasing quality games which are safe and a little humdrum.

The other side is what I would call their 'Wacky Uncle' side. This is the side which motivated Nintendo to put a water jet pack on their plumber protagonist and release Super Mario Sunshine as a sequel to Super Mario 64. It also led Nintendo to greenlight things such as a first person Metroid series, a loopy and dark sequel to Ocarina of Time which bore little resemblance to it's forebearer, Wii sports and motion controls, and yes the Virtual Boy. While the decisions motivated by this side of Nintendo's brain aren't always financially successful, they're always fresh and interesting.

The majority, if not all, of Nintendo's releases are probably influenced by both sides to varying degrees, but with games like NSMB 2 I can't help but wish that there was a little more 'Wacky Uncle' and a little less 'Activision'.

tendoboy1984August 01, 2012

Do you really need a "pop-out" or "window" 3-D effect in a 2D sidescroller?

tendoboy1984August 01, 2012

Quote from: leahsdad

Quote from: Pixelated

Polish is great and all, but I'm still kind of bummed that this game seems so uninspired. Ah, well. As long as they keep putting out awesome games like the Galaxy games and 3D Land alongside these more casual templated Mario titles I'll be happy.

Yeah, but if 3D land and the Galaxy games sold like the 2D games, we wouldn't be having this conversation.  Nintendo would be pumping those suckers out like crazy.  I hate to do the fingerwagging and say "We get what we ask for" but....

Over 8 million sold for Galaxy 1 and 2 (each), and over 5 million sold for 3D Land are still great. You expect every game to sell like GTA 4, NSMB, Wii Sports, Halo, and Call of Duty?

Pixelated PixiesAugust 02, 2012

Quote from: tendoboy1984

Do you really need a "pop-out" or "window" 3-D effect in a 2D sidescroller?


Probably not, but do you really need colour in a 2D sidescroller either? Some things are simply augmentative.

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3DS

Game Profile

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Box Art

Genre Action
Developer Nintendo
Players1 - 2

Worldwide Releases

na: New Super Mario Bros. 2
Release Aug 19, 2012
PublisherNintendo
RatingEveryone
jpn: New Super Mario Bros. 2
Release Jul 28, 2012
PublisherNintendo
RatingAll Ages
eu: New Super Mario Bros. 2
Release Aug 17, 2012
PublisherNintendo
Rating3+
aus: New Super Mario Bros. 2
Release Aug 18, 2012
PublisherNintendo
RatingGeneral
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