So I just got a 3DS and was thinking about getting this game. I know it got a lot of negative press, but it seems a lot of that comes from it being not much more than another version of New SMB1. So my question is, is this game going to be a good experience if I never played any of the New Super Mario Brothers games? Or should I just get the first one?

I think its a fine purchase if you've never played a NSMB game before. Its controls are spot on, and the level of challenge is pretty reasonable between balancing rewarding moments and good old fashioned platforming dickery. The only real let down is that it doesn't really do much "new" with itself, which is pretty much the common consensus.

While I don't think you can really go wrong, there are more interesting games to check out, like Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Kid Icarus: Uprising, and of course the eShop games like Crashmo, Mighty Switch Force, and the Guild 01 games (I only have Liberation Maiden, but they're all at least interesting)

I had played very little of the first DS game, but I still found NSMB2 to be incredibly boring. I really struggled to finish it. If you haven't got 3D land that is the Mario game you need.

I don't think many people think it's a bad game; just that it's more of the same. If you haven't played the other NSMB games, you should be fine. I liked the first one, but after a while I just couldn't help feeling that I've played enough 2D Mario for one decade. It's nice to reminisce about the NES and SNES days, but that only gets you so far.

It's quite fine. Yeah, it's more of the same, but since it will not be "more of the same" to you, nothing to worry about. It's a bit off-putting how easy these games have become, but otherwise fun!

@Zippedbinders:

Thanks for the answer. I already got 3D Land and am planning to get Pushmo, but I'm not really interested in Mario Kart or Kid Icarus. I never had a DS, so I'm probably going to work on that backlog before getting into the newer 3DS games. Do you have any suggestions regarding DS games?

I haven't played this one but if it actually as similar to the original as people are saying then unless you want to satisfy your 2D Mario fix, get Super Mario 3D Land. I just got a 3DS as well and I am having a blast with 3D Land. There's lots of references to old Mario stuff we haven't seen in a long time, including a bit of SMB3 stuff and Super Mario World, which is pretty cool.

If you've never played a NSMB game then you should be impervious to what seems to be this game's biggest issue: its closeness in release date to other NSMB titles that are very similar to it.

I also don't think it is a bad game, though I haven't played this one yet.

@Kaibar said:

@Zippedbinders:

Thanks for the answer. I already got 3D Land and am planning to get Pushmo, but I'm not really interested in Mario Kart or Kid Icarus. I never had a DS, so I'm probably going to work on that backlog before getting into the newer 3DS games. Do you have any suggestions regarding DS games?

The World Ends With You and Picross 3D are musts, Ghost Trick (The Phoenix Wright Trilogy if you can swing it), Castlevania (Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia), Shantae: Risky's Revenge for the DSi, The Professor Layton Series (or just one) and then a slew of RPGs depending on your preferences, Dragon Quest IX, M&L Bowser's Inside Story, Final Fantasy 3/4, SRT: OG Saga Endless Frontier, a bunch of Pokemans, there's just a bunch of stuff out there for the DS. Its honestly one of the best gaming systems ever.

@Kaibar: I like 2D platformers made by Nintendo. So any 2D Mario is good for me. As for good DS games, my favorite platformers (really all I bought the system for) were New Super Mario Brothers, Yoshi's Island DS, and Kirby Super Star Ultra. Also The Legendary Starfy is okay, and Kirby Mass Attack is very creative. As far as games outside of the genre, I liked Professor Layton a lot. No one else is going to pull for this, so I'm going to say Orcs and Elves. Great classic style RPG. There are a bunch of Japanese games that are similar but they are all super hard and obtuse. I also liked Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. Mario Kart is fun of course. Never was a fan of Castlevania so I didn't play those. I loved the GBA Mario and Luigi game so I'm sure the DS ones are grand as well. The second game is pretty much impossible to find but the third is supposed to be better anyways. I think that covers my suggestions. There are a ton of great JRPG's on the system if you are into that type of thing. Pretty much every major series has at least one entry on the system.

I don't know, I enjoyed it, but it was the first New Super Mario Bros game I had finished. I didn't enjoy the original DS one and I got bored of the Wii one. But I am having great fun with the Wii U game, If you haven't played any then I think you will enjoy it,

Thanks for all the recommendations! I guess I have a lot of games to work through, good thing the holidays are coming up.

@Kaibar said:

@Zippedbinders:

Thanks for the answer. I already got 3D Land and am planning to get Pushmo, but I'm not really interested in Mario Kart or Kid Icarus. I never had a DS, so I'm probably going to work on that backlog before getting into the newer 3DS games. Do you have any suggestions regarding DS games?

If you at all enjoy Metroid and/or the Alien franchise, Aliens Infestations is a must.

@Zippedbinders: Maybe read a positive opinion coming from a place of understanding the game's design for a change: http://www.1up.com/news/1up-favorite-games-2012-nsmb2