New Super Mario Bros. 2 Review

When New Super Mario Bros. released for the Nintendo DS in 2006, little did we know we’d be getting a plethora of Mario games the likes of which we haven’t seen since the NES era. After another 2D entry on the Wii, which featured 4-player cooperative play, Mario and Luigi make their way back to the portable space on the Nintendo 3DS in New Super Mario Bros. 2 for nothing short of a coin grab by both plumbers and Nintendo.

The most prominent feature of the 3DS system is that it can have glasses free 3D. This is a feature that does grab your attention most of the time, and in New Super Mario Bros. 2, this is no different. The game’s 3D effect is nothing short of lazy, making the depth of field go up by blurring the background. This ruins the texture work of vistas in the background, and does cause problems when turned all the way up. The best solution for this is by having the 3D slider partially up, being no greater than halfway for the best viewing experience. It’s disappointing since Nintendo usually has been the ones revolutionizing the tech.

Despite that, the levels look good, and have a definite flow to them. While some hardcore gamers will decry the easiness of the series, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is deceptively difficult. While the game wants you to collect coins, they often set up situations where your best interest is to rush in order to get them. The levels however are designed against you doing so, causing you to lose power-ups and unnecessary deaths along the way. Additionally, each level has 3 Star Coins hidden throughout them. While a definite majority are out in the open and will be found through simple exploration, a good portion of them are hidden cleverly throughout each level. It adds a bit of replay value if you desire to collect them all.

That’s a good thing since the game, straight through is relatively short, taking players three to five hours to beat. Most players will rush through the game though, since the game doesn’t start with a “Save Anywhere” feature like Super Mario 3D Land. Instead, it’s a step back to the previous New Super Mario Bros. games where you save after a Castle, and can Quick Save anywhere, but if you lose your progress, you’ll be put back at your last Main Save. Another thing that’s just like the original New Super Mario Bros. games is the music. Almost every track is ripped from previous entries with the exception of adding small vocals to them. It makes the game feel rehashed and uninspired at times, despite being enjoyable to play.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is simply more Mario. It’s not a groundbreaking entry into the series, and feels like it needed an extra year of development to provide a better experience. It’s fun, but it feels more like an Expansion than a proper sequel.

Pros
- Coin Rush is where most people will spend a lot of time in to get 1 million coins
- Level design is good, and rewards usage of different power-ups
- A Good Challenge

Cons
- Controls feel slippery, causing unnecessary deaths
- Cooperative Play is tacked on and pointless
- 1 Million Coin Reward is a joke, and not worth it

Score: 6 out of 10