Did you play New Super Mario Bros Wii?
Another Nintendo platform and another game for their famous mascot. It isn’t hard to see the formula at work here and why should it be? It has only been the exact formula that has allowed Nintendo to still maintain relevance all these years later. Upon the launch of the 3DS Nintendo has released a slew of Mario themed games for it. New Super Mario Bros. 2 is just another in that list. The difference is that I happen to have a copy of it so I can provide you with my thoughts on it. In case you missed the memo, the main point this time around is amassing a large horde of coins. But the point of the game doesn’t change the fact that this Mario game is like the rest, which is a good thing right?
New Super Mario Bros. 2 doesn’t even attempt to break the mold this time around. If you have played another New Super Mario Bros. game or any game since Super Mario Bros. 3, then you will be well familiar with what is going on here. The often kidnapped princess finds herself in the clutches of the nasty Koopalings once again. So Mario (and optional Luigi) chases after them, defeating them one by one, in the hopes of, well I am not qualified to explain the relationships between those two or what happens when he is not running to her rescue. However you don’t play a Mario game for the story because we all know how it ends. You play it for that distinct satisfaction that you can only get from these games. Well satisfaction is delivered. Once again.
Hey guess how many worlds there are! That’s right, 8. Those eight worlds are filled of hidden exits, ghost houses, fortresses, castles, and a few standard type levels for good measure. Oh and a whole bunch of coins. That is the twist this time around. You are challenged by Nintendo to collect a million coins. It’s more of a “I can get a higher score then you” kind of thing then a story thing. That is where the streetpass mechanic comes into play, but that really doesn’t interest me. But what does are new powers! Yay! We have 2 joining the timeless fire flower, raccoon suit, mini mushroom, and of course regular mushroom. One is the gold flower which is like the fire flower except it fires off giant gold balls that turn just about everything into coins. The other is like a cheater suit. If you appear to take too many attempts to beat a level a special block appears that contains a special white raccoon suit. This gives you invincibility through the whole level along with the normal raccoon powers. It even dispatching bosses with ease but turns to a regular raccoon suite upon completion.
On the whole, this is a true to form Mario game. In a long line of predecessors, this one is far from the best. But it is also not the worst. You might say they are all the same game in reality. The only thing that is ever changed are the levels, which even those feel eerily similar to the ones I just played on the Wii. There are the new powers though, that is something. The golden flower is neat. The white raccoon suit is not. I suppose I should also mention the coin block that sticks to your head for a limited amount of time further boosting your coin count. But coin collecting is still optional and does not affect your ability to get to the end. The thing about it is that I have a hard time recommending this game. Sure if you are a fan of Mario games, you will find exactly what you are looking for here. But for someone who is kind of tired of them, like myself, maybe you should just skip this one. Take some time away from Mario and when you get back it may seem new and refreshing. For me, I just played this game on the Wii, so it is not special in any way.
