Topic: New Super Mario Bros. 2

[tendoboy1984]

Coming to North America and Japan in August!

Source:

• http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=175936
• http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/ehSBsDqZYxWzmHC9ODf7wDDu5_TdrXhw
• http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/fNAKMuYWn3aOn_fRdQwAh-4HFhhyyMLu

[GoldenPhoenix]

Raccoon suit and what appears to be flying and the return of the P-Meter? OK I'm interested, just wish they would do something unique with the visuals instead of reusing the same 3-D model style of the previous two games.

[tendoboy1984]

Needs a level editor or I won't buy it. And for those of you who might disagree with me, consider this: LittleBigPlanet, FarCry 2, and the "Mario vs DK" games all had level editors. There's also Mario Builder for the PC.

[Adrock]

It still has that awful art style but the return of raccoon Mario makes up for it. I'm excited!

[GoldenPhoenix]

It still has that awful art style but the return of raccoon Mario makes up for it. I'm excited!

My opinion exactly! Hope it is a homage, maybe even a slight re imagining of SMB3!

[Adrock]

3D Land did a pretty good job of re-imagining SMB3. I may have fainted if Mario had his cape here instead.

[UncleBob]

It's weird to me that everyone is griping about the re-use of the NSMB artstyle and how Nintendo's "run out of ideas", but act like this game's one saving grace is the return of the Raccoon Tail powerup - an idea that's now been recycled for the third 3DS game in less than a year and a half.

Can't wait to see what kinds of NEW powerups we get.  Also, Mario vs. Luigi 2 mode, please.

[Adrock]

The art style sucks. Racoon Mario is awesome. That's the difference. I wouldn't mind Nintendo reusing the art style if it was aesthetically pleasing to me.

[GoldenPhoenix]

It's weird to me that everyone is griping about the re-use of the NSMB artstyle and how Nintendo's "run out of ideas", but act like this game's one saving grace is the return of the Raccoon Tail powerup - an idea that's now been recycled for the third 3DS game in less than a year and a half.

Can't wait to see what kinds of NEW powerups we get.  Also, Mario vs. Luigi 2 mode, please.

The flying mechanic hasn't, the reason why we are excited is that it opens up the level design a bit more to do different things. Even though the raccoon ability is my favorite power up in the Mario series, the part that makes me interested is how this will affect the levels themselves. I've also wanted to see a reimagining of SMB3 with 2-D esque visuals. I've yet to play Super Mario 3D Land, but everything I've seen is that it is still in many ways a 3-D platformer.

And the NSMB artstyle was never interesting to me, it always came across as lazy and generic. The NES and SNES Mario games each had a different art style (well besides SMB2 Japanese). So there is no real contradiction, I NEVER found NSMB that interesting art style wise, while I LOVED the raccoon suit. It is like saying you are excited for a sequel to a favorite movie of yours, and someone come back at you "Well there is a sequel coming out for this terrible movie, you are such a hypocrite for criticizing it and not being excited!"

[FZeroBoyo]

Given the number in the title that implies it's a direct sequel, what if Nintendo made this game balls hard like The Lost Levels? Well, maybe not that hard, but a difficult Mario game would be pretty rad. As in, get difficult halfway through the main quest and then get insane in the bonus worlds.

[Adrock]

To me, the art style lacks charm. I wouldn't call it lazy because Nintendo wants the game to look like that. It's just so plain and has no personality.

[tendoboy1984]

My opinion exactly! Hope it is a homage, maybe even a slight re imagining of SMB3!

That's what NSMB Wii was.

[Caterkiller]

Someone go to E3 and start a fit! Not really. But be vocal about the art style in interviews, it won't change anything, but maybe it will cause the developers to think about the following game more.

I wonder what their BS answer will be to the art style. Aside from the specific act of flying and climbing on a web, I would hardly notice it is a brand new game.

Man... 2D Mario has adopted an element that I can't stand with modern FPS and even 3rd person games, they all look the same.

Still excited to fly in with the raccoon tail for real this time and not only in the credits! Hope a penguin or frog suit returns, both were awesome and made water levels so much more fun.

[Adrock]

Man... 2D Mario has adopted an element that I can't stand with modern FPS and even 3rd person games, they all look the same.

True. What's weird to me is how inconsistent Nintendo's attitude is towards the art style in their games. Sometimes they'll really shake things up like The Wind Waker and Skyward Sword. To use a Mario example, Super Mario Galaxy has a completely different look than Super Mario 3D Land. And both are vastly different from New Super Mario Bros. I wonder why they sometimes decide to go in new directions and sometimes they don't.

[Caterkiller]

They love to go nuts when people put pressure on them. Weren't people asking Miyamoto to make Yoshi's island in the syle of DK Country? Kind of like WW, kind of.

We gotta ask for something we don't want and hope they do the opposite giving is exactly what we do want.

[GoldenPhoenix]

My opinion exactly! Hope it is a homage, maybe even a slight re imagining of SMB3!

That's what NSMB Wii was.

I never got that feeling with NSMB: Wii beyond the Koopa Kids and some of the enemy types. The power ups were homages to SMB3. It was hardly a re imagining IMO, perhaps inspired in places but that is it. This game from the images appears to be a closer attempt at being a homage to SMB3.

[Kwolf]

Out of all the Nintendo series, I could see this one needing cel-shading the most.  I kinda agree with others that the art style and reuse of it is kinda hohum.   Not that I am really angered by it or anything, but if they want to mix it up, cel-shading might make it look pretty nice. 

[tendoboy1984]

To use a Mario example, Super Mario Galaxy has a completely different look than Super Mario 3D Land.

What? When I played Super Mario 3D Land, it felt like a scaled-down version of Mario Galaxy 2. It reuses many of the same assets and features (character models, textures, graphics engine, "Cosmic Mario" races, music, sound effects, etc.). It's basically Mario Galaxy 2 without the gravity gimmicks.

[tendoboy1984]

What I'm wondering is why do so many people dislike the New Super Mario Bros. games? The art style isn't that bad. They basically took the 2D art and revamped it with 3D-ish models.


And the gameplay is exactly the same as any 2D Mario game. You run and jump through colorful levels, collecting coins, stomping baddies, etc.


I still play NSMB Wii and NSMB DS often, and I love revisiting my favorite levels time and time again.

[Kwolf]

To me it's not that the art style is really bad.  It's just, when they seem to want experiment with zelda's art style so much.  I cannot help but to think, why don't they with New Super Mario Bros.

 It seems like a better suited place to experiment with.  They could try hand animation, classical sprites, cel-shading, or just different styles of what they are doing.   Seems like a good play ground for experimentation.   Then again that might be exactly what they are afraid of.   Those are just my feelings on it though.  I just see it as a good place for them to experiment with.

[Adrock]

It's basically Mario Galaxy 2 without the gravity gimmicks.

I didn't get that impression at all. 3D Land plays more like a 2D game.

As for the look, Galaxy uses a darker color palette and its space enemy designs really set it apart from 3D Land which, not surprisingly, is about what I would expect Super Mario Bros. 3 to look like in 3D. Galaxy is a bit more daring with its designs and set pieces though I'm drawn slightly more towards 3D Land. That's probably nostalgia talking.

[Rodrigue]

I like the graphical design.

[xcwarrior]

It's Mario, so I'm sure it will be fun. No worries about that.

[Guitar Smasher]

What I'm wondering is why do so many people dislike the New Super Mario Bros. games? The art style isn't that bad. They basically took the 2D art and revamped it with 3D-ish models.


And the gameplay is exactly the same as any 2D Mario game. You run and jump through colorful levels, collecting coins, stomping baddies, etc.


I still play NSMB Wii and NSMB DS often, and I love revisiting my favorite levels time and time again.

I love 2D Mario, but I agree that the art style is a weak point.  It's not that it's terrible, it's just that it looks like that they didn't put much effort into it; it was an afterthought.  Compare that with the Galaxy games where serious work was clearly put into the graphics.  Why can't NSMB be treated with the same care?  Again, I'll always prefer 2D over 3D Mario, but I'd appreciate it if the team developing it showed at least some enthusiasm.

[NWR_insanolord]

That's the thing, the art style isn't as much terrible as it is just incredibly uninspired. Though, I'd argue the same thing about Super Mario World.