Topic: New Super Mario Bros. 2

[nickmitch]

Finally got a zero coin run! Got stages 1-3, 2-1, and 2-Castle. The last few attempts saw me beating the boss at 5 seconds or running out time right before the last blow. But I did it.

[TrueNerd]

Well, I finally gave in and I'm currently downloading this game cuz I'm a filthy Mario whore.

[TrueNerd]

Two levels in and here are my thoughts!

This NSMB music has to go. Remember the music from Super Mario World? Of course you do because it's some of the best video game music EVER. It's bad enough that this music is generic but they don't even bother making new generic music. It's the same old generic music we've always had with this series which makes it a lot worse. 

3D actually detracts from the experience in this game. The 3D effect makes it so depth of field blurring is unnecessary as this game proves. Yes Nintendo, I want less detail on my backgrounds. Thanks.

Alright. My bitching is done and now I'll say some nice things. I already like the coin emphasis this game has. It changes the focus of Mario just enough to make the game feel somewhat novel. I know that this element isn't as cohesive as it could be and they don't really reward you for doing it, but it's genuinely fun getting assloads of coins really fast. It's a weird sensation to put into words. The best so far is the coin blocks getting stuck on your head and racking up coins while running and jumping. I dunno if this will keep up for the rest of the game but it's working for me right now.

[tendoboy1984]

Some levels are more generous with coins than others. But even so, there are so many ways to rack up coins that you'll easily get over 1 million by the end of the game. And Coin Rush is a great way to farm for coins. If you land at the top of the flagpole in each of the 3 stages, your coin total will double.

[TrueNerd]

I'm a world and a half through now. Still really liking the coin gimmick, especially when there's coin treasure troves in hidden areas, but man, those halfway castles in all of the NSMB games are 100% interchangeable and unmemorable. I'm very done with them. Also the world structure in general is wearing on me. I'm really glad NSMBU changes that. Hopefully they don't go back to this structure ever again. But, while in the level, this game is fun.

[nickmitch]

I think the game's longevity (at least for me) is gonna come from trying to beat people's street pass records. I've pretty much beaten the game, but am still only at a quarter million. If you want a million, you'll be playing coin rush for a while.

[tendoboy1984]

I'm a world and a half through now. Still really liking the coin gimmick, especially when there's coin treasure troves in hidden areas, but man, those halfway castles in all of the NSMB games are 100% interchangeable and unmemorable. I'm very done with them. Also the world structure in general is wearing on me. I'm really glad NSMBU changes that. Hopefully they don't go back to this structure ever again. But, while in the level, this game is fun.

I actually think NSMB Wii had the most memorable castles and towers. My absolute favorite level of any Mario game is the World 6 (Mountain) Tower, the one with the dual gigantic spike pillars that crash from the floor and ceiling. World 7 (Sky) Castle is good too, because some of the spike pillars move very fast. World 3 (Water) Castle is fun because of the looooooong horizontal spike pillars that move across the floor.


Overall, I think NSMB Wii's level design is much better than NSMB 2.

[alegoicoe]

a couple of days ago i reached the 500000 mark, damn getting to a million is a chore.

[tendoboy1984]

I beat the game a few weeks ago. In between replaying levels and Coin Rush, I now have 1,222,089 coins. There's no way I'm going for 10 million coins... That will take forever.

[Pixelated Pixies]

I actually think NSMB Wii had the most memorable castles and towers. My absolute favorite level of any Mario game is the World 6 (Mountain) Tower, the one with the dual gigantic spike pillars that crash from the floor and ceiling. World 7 (Sky) Castle is good too, because some of the spike pillars move very fast. World 3 (Water) Castle is fun because of the looooooong horizontal spike pillars that move across the floor.

You REALLY seem to like spike pillars.

[tendoboy1984]

I actually think NSMB Wii had the most memorable castles and towers. My absolute favorite level of any Mario game is the World 6 (Mountain) Tower, the one with the dual gigantic spike pillars that crash from the floor and ceiling. World 7 (Sky) Castle is good too, because some of the spike pillars move very fast. World 3 (Water) Castle is fun because of the looooooong horizontal spike pillars that move across the floor.

You REALLY seem to like spike pillars.

It brings back memories of Super Mario World. And those spike pillar castles give me a good challenge.

[TrueNerd]

So I spent half an hour looking for the free DLC on the eShop to no avail. Then I looked in game for the DLC, also to no avail. It wasn't until I closed the system that Spot Pass notified me that by reading this message, I now had access to the Mario shop to get this stuff. I'm very sure I had put my 3DS to sleep since getting NSMB 2. I do kind of like that Nintendo can do this stuff passively, but there has to be a way we can actively get an update for 3DS games too and actively get add ons for DLC in the eShop.

Also, is it possible all of the Coin Rush packs were already on the game? All of the downloads are three blocks at most.

[TrueNerd]

Well. I have played the free Coin Rush Classic levels now. By far the most fun I've had with this game so far. On the surface it looks like levels you know by heart but it's the ways they're NOT the same that make them exhilarating. Plus there's a **** ton of coins. Good stuff.

[Mop it up]

Also, is it possible all of the Coin Rush packs were already on the game? All of the downloads are three blocks at most.

Level files in Mario games are incredibly small. As a tile-based platformer, the graphics, music, enemies, etc. are all already stored in the game, the level file just contains the position data, so to speak, of where all the objects, graphics, enemies, etc. are placed. 3MB actually seems large for a pack of five levels; NSMBWii's level files are 25KB or less each.

[UncleBob]

I do wonder if it's even possible for them to include new (i.e.: not in NSMB2) enemies, power ups or such in the DLC...

[Mop it up]

Do you mean to have those new enemies or powerups appear in the main game, or in a new DLC Coin Rush pack? The latter should be possible, I can't think of a reason why it wouldn't be, but the former would probably be difficult to do and wouldn't work so well. But I'm no expert.

[UncleBob]

Yeah, just in the coin rush packs.

As for if it's possible, it just depends on how the game is programmed.  If it only has hooks for including DLC that tells it how to arrange the "tiles" to create the levels, then we're SOL.

[tendoboy1984]

Also, is it possible all of the Coin Rush packs were already on the game? All of the downloads are three blocks at most.

The level packs were developed after the game was shipped, so no.

[Pixelated Pixies]

I just traded this game in and therefore won't be able to play the new (old) DLC levels. I have to say though, the inclusion of a Super Mario Bros. 3 level is pretty awesome. The comparison isn't doing NSMB 2 any favours but it's still cool to see.

[Mop it up]

If it only has hooks for including DLC that tells it how to arrange the "tiles" to create the levels, then we're SOL.

Even if this is the case, couldn't they patch the game to allow for other types of DLC? I'm not very clear on how patching works on the 3DS so I don't know if that is possible or not. I know that they patched Mario Kart 7 but that may have been a part of a system update and not applied to the actual game.

[tendoboy1984]

Good thing I have the digital version. Now I can take it with me without having to swap carts. And the best part about having digital media... If I accidentally delete anything, I can simply download it again for FREE!

[ThomasO]

3D actually detracts from the experience in this game. The 3D effect makes it so depth of field blurring is unnecessary as this game proves. Yes Nintendo, I want less detail on my backgrounds. Thanks.

The 3D also doesn't really make sense. Objects that look like they should be closer to the screen are in fact the same  distance as other objects and it's really off-putting, especially the levels with Boohemoth, who looks like he's melding with the scenery. So all the objects as a result have this weird flat look.