There are curmudgeons out there who will skip this game because of the liberal Mario throwbacks, but they're missing the forest for the trees. Inventive level design, loads of content, and the shockingly profound boost mode make this one of the best 2D platformers out there.
Mario doesn't want to change what works. The GamePad gets an episode that continues all, also the fun. High Definition to support the color and the design, with many challenges ahead for up to 5 players.
Nintendo rediscovers fun for the core gamer: New Super Mario Bros. U is hardly surprising, but delivers quite a challenge with its classic jump & run roots.
While it seems that all the games, even the most forgivable ones, feel the need to have a twist in them to break or turn upside down an established code, how can one with "retro" and a certain "opposition to change" both carved into its DNA surprise? In New Super Mario Bros. U, the princess doesn't get kidnapped, it's the hero that gets booted outside the castle to the far end of the realm. But it doesn't change anything: the game is a clear declaration that one does not need to change what already works perfectly.
Everything about New Super Mario Bros. U is pretty exciting, except the game itself. Is it possible that this is the best game in the "New" series to date--not to mention one of the best exclusive Wii U games on the market, by default--and at the same time kind of flatly uninteresting? Apparently so. The game is perfectly well made for what it is, and I had plenty of fun playing it in short bursts here and there, but at this point the series' by-the-numbers design philosophy is starting to lend the name "New Super Mario Bros." a degree of unintentional irony.
A good game, but in retrospect, a terrible launch title for the Wii U. It did a poor job demonstrating the console's capabilities, both in terms of HD graphics and utilizing the GamePad in a compelling way. Not to mention the fact that it released the same year as NSMB2, cannibalizing sales between both games. This was never going to be a system seller, (which a first-party launch title should be) considering there were three cheaper, practically identical alternatives available on other consoles.
If this game has anything going for it, it's the challenge mode. I sunk 15+ hours into finishing that alone, and I enjoyed it considerably more than the main campaign. However, there's really not much else notable about it in comparison to the other games in the series, which appears to be a running theme. The NSMB series is so overdone at this point (and was 11 years ago) and this isn't the big refresh 2D Mario needed and the Wii U deserved, which we seem to be finally getting with Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
SummaryIt was just another dinner at the castle with Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Peach... Until suddenly the vicious Koopa fleet invades Mushroom kingdom airspace and launches a full-scale assault! With Bowser at the helm and his Koopalings each in their own custom airships, the castle is under attack with the Princess trapped inside—and t...