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New Super Mario Bros. 2   Nintendo 3DS 

A New Twist to a Great Formula    4.5/5 stars

New Super Mario Bros. 2 adds a twist to the familiar flavor of Mario platforming making me a believer that you can make a game feel "old school" while still adding something new and unique to it.

This game is a sequel to the Nintendo DS game New Super Mario Bros. It contains most of the same aspects of that game, too. There's your basic mushroom, fireball, mini and mega-mushroom power-ups. Also, the super leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3 makes a return. Pretty much, if you've played a 2D Mario platformer before the enemies, blocks, and obstacles will all feel familiar. That doesn't make the game feel old and boring. To the contrary, it makes the game better when adding the new twist to the game.

Coins, coins, and more coins. That's what this game is about. While it's technically true there is no minimum coins requirement to beat the game, you play this game to collect coins. If you're not, you just aren't enjoying it like you could. There's a total coin counter that adds up as you play. Every level you complete keeps track of the high coin total of that level, too. And, of course, there's 3 big coins to find in every level still as well.

There's a golden fireball power-up that can rack up coins quick. There are golden rings you can jump through which make all the enemies golden. If you take out a koopa-troopa in that state, for instance, and roll the shell down a hill, coins will spill out of it's back. Also, when you find a block that you can hit over and over again to get coins, if you do it fast enough, it will turn golden and you can stick it on your head. Not only will you collect coins while it's on Mario's head, but it makes you invincible for a free hit from any enemy and you'll keep your power-up.

With this new twist to Mario, levels were designed specifically with coins in mind. Going through each level is a free for all, trying to find the best way to collect the most coins. And, since pretty much every inch of each level contains coins, you're encouraged to find all the secrets, nooks and crannies to find them. Thus, the big coins pretty much find themselves and very rarely do you find yourself trying to just get to the end of the level.

There are secret endings to levels which will enable you to find new levels, warps, and worlds. The game isn't difficult by any means since you collect a ton of coins you rack extra lives by the dozens. In fact, by the time I finished the game I easily had over 600 extra lives. And, I died a lot at times trying to make sure I got all the big coins.

If collecting coins if what you're really into, then give coin rush a try. Each attempt takes less than ten minutes and you're given 3 levels to try and collect as many coins as you can. You can then share your records with your friends. It's a pretty fun mini-game.

This game isn't perfect. Nintendo still hasn't gotten the clue that you should be able to save anywhere. Yes, there is the quick save option as well as several points in each world where you can save. But, it just doesn't make sense to not just include it everywhere. That option does open up once you've beaten the game. One of the secret endings to a level is pretty hard to find and unfortunately that one leads you to a new world with a ton of levels to play so that's annoying. And, this was Nintendo's first attempt in trying to include micro-transactions which I'm opposed to in general unless the game is free to play.

However, all of those flaws are minor compared to fun I had playing the game. When comparing this sequel to the one released on the WiiU, I find this one much better. The level design was better. Collecting coins was a nice twist which encouraged exploration and the power-ups in this game are better in my opinion. Should Nintendo implement this idea in future games?...Probably not. This could get old if overused but for this game, I think it was great.

4.5/5.

PS - In case you wondering, the story is about taking out Bowser to save the Princess, just like every other Mario game ever.

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Jonzor- wrote on 01/20/14 at 05:50 PM CT   I haven't played this yet, but that's a good point that the game was probably balanced in a way that you aren't getting the most out of the game unless you're actively hunting for as many coins as possible. I bet if you just ignore the coin-hunting and play it like a standard Mario game it feels really familiar.