[3DS] New Super Mario Bros. 2

[CeeKay]

itsa Mario!  and he's coming back this August!

[The Grue]

IN!

[Harpua3]

In as well!

[Bullwinkle]

Yeah, this is pretty cool.  And it'll probably get me to finish the first one.

[Lordnine]

Day one purchase for me.  I wish they would go back and recapture the feel of Super Mario World (SNES) though instead of Mario 3.  Something about the over world mechanic with multiple interconnected hidden areas was just so appealing and something I truly miss out of the more recent games.

[CeeKay]

buyers in Japan will get a free copy of Donkey Kong.

The free copy of Donkey Kong is notable due to its inclusion of an extra stage that was removed from the original 1983 version of the game for the Famicom. This so-called “original edition” has never been sold, although it was included as a freebie for European customers who bought the Mario 25th anniversary red Wii in 2010.

[Eel Snave]

Day one purchase for me.  I wish they would go back and recapture the feel of Super Mario World (SNES) though instead of Mario 3.  Something about the over world mechanic with multiple interconnected hidden areas was just so appealing and something I truly miss out of the more recent games.

Part of that was because they had to rush SMW to the market, so they couldn't quite finish it. That's why there are certain things that loop back into each other, extra levels that don't really go anywhere or cause anything new to happen, and things like that.

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Super Mario World, but it turned out the way it did purely by accident.

[CeeKay]

new box art leaked:

Spoiler for Hiden:

in case anyone doesn't figure it out:

Spoiler for Hiden:

it's fake.

[TiLT]

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Super Mario World, but it turned out the way it did purely by accident.

Super Mario World ranks as one of my favorite games ever, and the best Mario game I've ever played by a wide margin. It's more than just the brilliant overworld design, but also the perfect controls (the newer Mario games all feel too sluggish and unresponsive to me after SMW's tight, responsive controls) and the obscure secrets (including an entire series of very difficult maps!) that require perseverance and a deep understanding of the game's mechanics.

This is coming from someone who never really got into consoles in the NES/SNES era, so very few of the console games from back then resonate much with me.

[CeeKay]

3.5 out of 5 from Joystiq.

[Eel Snave]

So who picked this up? I did, and I have to say... eh.

[The Grue]

So who picked this up? I did, and I have to say... eh.

I picked it up and love it.  It's nothing ground-breaking, but very few Mario games are.  It gives me more of what I love.

[Eel Snave]

I dunno, it just seems like Mario overkill. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the level design or anything, and it feels like Mario, but maybe it's just too much Mario too soon for my tastes.

[Bullwinkle]

I was just playing the 3DS Mario right before this, and that felt entirely fresh and was really fun to play.  This one is a little BTDT to me, too.

[Lordnine]

Played it about an hour.  It’s exactly what you would expect from the title, more of the same.  That’s not a bad thing but it would be nice to see some innovation. 

A disappointment is that the supposed hitch of the game, collecting coins, appears to be completely pointless.  A shame since Nintendo has already shown that they can make a meta game like that interesting.  In the Wario games on the original Gameboy they actually had a mechanic where the ending you got was based on the wealth you stole throughout the game (Wario could end up with everything from a birdhouse to a palace).  As far as I can tell there is nothing like that here.

I also find it amusing that this is the worst showing of 3D on the system I’ve seen.  It’s like they didn’t even try, instead of the typical layered look turning on the 3D slider just blurs the background.  I don’t really care about 3D but a strange choice from a first party title.

[Eel Snave]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think they don't want to push the 3D too hard on this one, since they want everyone to pick it up without worrying if they can see it or not.

[Harpua3]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think they don't want to push the 3D too hard on this one, since they want everyone to pick it up without worrying if they can see it or not.

Bingo. On that note, after have been away from 3ds for awhile and mainly playin my vita, I love 3d, but if you even so much as tilt the screen a fraction away from the perfect viewing angle, fun over. I understand it is new, awesome tech. Still it gets annoying while playing it on the couch. I can't imagine using this this out on a bus. 3d would have to be off to play anything...

Back to the point. I'll grab this sooner or later, but after the first Mario on 3ds, this might disappoint me a bit from what I've read..

[CeeKay]

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think they don't want to push the 3D too hard on this one, since they want everyone to pick it up without worrying if they can see it or not.

if they didn't want to push 3D they should have just made it a DS title.  they'd have had a lot more sales from both groups then- people who got the 3DS and others who didn't want to jump ship quite yet.

[The Grue]

One could argue that a game like this is a 3DS seller. Best to put it on 3DS to get new system sales over selling software to existing systems.

[Bullwinkle]

One could argue that a game like this is a 3DS seller. Best to put it on 3DS to get new system sales over selling software to existing systems.

Also, even without the 3D, the 3DS has more processing power, so hopefully it's using it.

[Lordnine]

I recently finished world 3 and the game has grown on me a bit more than when I started.  The first world really doesn’t sell the game very well and is just a complete retread of past games.  While not a revolution in the series the later levels do actually offer some interesting new mechanics and also look considerably better than the early areas. 

A growing problem I do see is the game seems pretty short.  If I had to guess based on my own playtime I would estimate that the whole thing could be unlocked and finished in about 6 hours (probably a lot less if you knew where all the secrets were).  This sadly puts it on par with the length of Super Mario Land 3DS.

[Lordnine]

Well, I’ve unlocked every level in the game.  I figure about 10-12 hours to unlock everything except the silly 1 million coin goal.  There are six main worlds, two special worlds you have to unlock by finding secret exits plus star world that you unlock once you beat the main game and collect the right number of star coins.

And if anyone is curious what the reward for 1 million coins is well here you go!

Spoiler for Hiden: