New Super Mario Bros U was one of the launch games to accompany the Wii U at launch time. Serving as the 4th entry in the NSMB series, this gave everyone the first ever look at Mario with HD graphics. As you would probably expect, Nintendo games look especially pretty to look at. Most of the game is fairly reminiscent of past entries in the franchise with new level designs and power-ups. Does this give a fresh new taste or is it pretty much a rehash of old mechanics?
The story is as old as time, Princess Peach is celebrating with a giant cake over at her castle alongside Mario, Luigi, and two Toads. Bowser shows up and kicks the guests out of the castle and holds Peach captive. So as always, it's up to you to travel across 8 worlds fighting through the Koopalings, Bowser Jr and the Koopa King. All the worlds have fun names and the Overworld map looks gorgeous. You can play alone or with friends. The GamePad in multiplayer can serve as a helpful tool which allows the user to place blocks to either help or hinder the other players using a remote. Another feature is the Squirrel Suit which allows Mario to glide after you jump and you get an extra boost if you shake the controller when in the air.
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| The painted background here is beautiful beyond words. |
The level design is greatly improved from past games. For me this meant lots (and I mean LOTS) of frustration from repeatedly dying over the course of playing. MiiVerse plays an engaging part in NSMBU with allowing fellow players to leave messages, drawings and hints to levels should you be stuck on a level. Also the Super Guide makes a return. For those unfamiliar, the Super Guide would appear after repeat deaths and would allow Luigi to take over with clearing the level properly for you. The level can be then completed by him or you can stop him and take over to finish it off.
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| Pretty snow backdrop! |
Staples from past entries appear including Toad houses which give you power ups and extra lives. Speaking of which, you get many extra lives due to increased difficulty as you progress through the game. Star Coins are available in each level and collecting them all results in secret levels you can play through once the game is cleared. For my play through, I cleared through the main story alone and explored some of the challenges. The challenges include time trials, coin collection and boost rush modes. I won't go into them too much since to be honest, it didn't interest me as much. Like I mentioned before, the graphics really stand out in this game and I was just in awe as to how amazing Nintendo did in that department.
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| Here's a glimpse of what the first level looks like! |
Other than what I explained, not much has changed from the previous entries. I picked this up due to the nature of it being free with registering another Nintendo game and this was the only one out of a selection of 4 that interested me. The game was enjoyable at times as well as being very frustrating.
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| Think you can handle these guys again? |
Should you Play this Game?
Yes and No. If you're able to get this for a cheap price and you have nothing to play at the moment then it's definitely a great game to pass the time. Otherwise if your backlog of game is sufficient, then feel free to take a pass. The Nintendo polish in HD looks amazing but same old mechanics just make this another Mario Bros game.
