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New Super Mario Bros. U
Wii U
Isn’t This a Little Formulaic?
4/5 stars
I was one of the happiest people in the gaming world when Nintendo announced “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” (“NSMBW”) as the first 2D, non-handheld ‘Mario’ game since “Super Mario World.” I never got into the whole 3D gimmick introduced by “Super Mario 64,” and the return of the world’s premier 2D platformer was certainly something to get excited about. That was in 2009. In 2012, Nintendo gave us yet another ‘New Super Mario’ game in the form of “New Super Mario Bros. U” (“NSMBU”). But without the epic wait between titles, would this latest entry taste as sweet? And without time to work on the mechanics, could Nintendo produce something to improve upon its predecessor?
Presentation
“NSBMU” uses the same game engine as “NSMBW.” It has the same 2D backdrops with polygonal characters on a single plane in front of the backdrops. The only difference is that “NSMBU” renders the graphics engine at 720p and the WiiU upscales it to 1080p whereas “NSMBW” struggled along at a flat 480p. While there are a few interesting stages with novel new graphics (like the Vincent van Gogh-inspired swamp), almost everything about this game’s visuals is a rehash. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! “NSMBU” takes the “NSMBW” engine and puts a shiny coat of paint on something that already looked great.
Soundwise, “NSMBU” continues to rehash its predecessor. There’s little in the way of new music, if any, and all of Charles Martinet’s grunts and groans still come out of Mario’s and Luigi’s mouths.
I can’t blame Nintendo for re-using the “NSMBW” engine, as it was pretty darn good in 2009, and re-using perfectly good computer code can drastically cut down production costs… but if “NSMBU” was just a cheap game bashed out using a pre-existing game engine, why did Nintendo feel the need to charge $60 for it? Why does this game cost more than “SNMBW,” when the earlier game had all the hefty R&D costs sunk into it? Why, instead, didn’t Nintendo make “NSMBU” a pack-in exclusive with the WiiU with no expensive retail version? Alas for missed opportunities!
Story
Usually I give ‘Mario’ platformers a bit of a pass in the story department. Usually Mario just needs an excuse narrative to get him off of his butt and out on an adventure rescuing a damsel in distress.
However, the only distress in “NSMBU’s” excuse narrative is how it exactly copies the excuse narratives of every other ‘New Super Mario’ game. Bowser, Peach, kidnapped, koopalings, 8 elemental-themed worlds. All of these things are getting a bit too formulaic for me.
I remember when the 8-bit and 16-bit ‘Mario’ games each threw Mario into a vastly different world. The Mushroom Kingdom looked very different in “Super Mario Bros.” and “Super Mario Bros. 3.” Sub-Con was wildly different from the Mushroom Kingdom in “Super Mario Bros. 2.” Dinosaur Land managed to be different yet again in “Super Mario World.” Yet the ‘New Super Mario’ games mimic each other so closely that I’m finding it increasingly difficult to find any meaningful differences between them.
With the rich history of the series, not even taking into account the creative and original scenarios that have taken place within the ‘Mario’ RPGs, Nintendo could have at least scraped-together something resembling “Super Mario Bros. X,” but instead chose to go formulaic. My guess is that the new interns being groomed to replace Shigeru Miyamoto when he retires are terrified of stepping on the big guy’s toes.
Gameplay
“NSMBU” plays nearly identically to its predecessors. Mario, Luigi, and two generic Toads can all team up for simultaneous shared-screen play through a variety of cleverly-designed and sometimes very challenging 2D platforming stages. When playing with multiple players, everyone needs to use a sideways Wiimote to control the action, as the WiiU GamePad is reserved for Boost Mode (which I teasingly call ‘Wife Mode,’ for its ability to appeal to non-gaming wives). Boost Mode allows the tablet ‘player’ to poke the screen, which displays a copy of the TV screen, to place a number of temporary blocks. Many of the game’s stages seem to be designed around using Boost Mode for help, as the skills required to clear some obstacles without help border on the savant. And for the savants among us, “NSMBU” also includes a single-player challenge mode with a focus on speed-runs and scoring ridiculous numbers of 1ups within set parameters. I don’t care for this type of obsessive perfectionism, but I do know some people who do.
Each of the main game’s stages includes the now-obligatory three Star Coins to find, as well as a variety of traditional and new power-ups. While the horrible Mini Mushroom is still marginalized to about 3 stages (I would like to see it GONE), the rest of the power-ups are mostly old stand-bys like the Mushroom, Starman, and Fire Flower, along with the newer Ice Flower. The only all-new power-up in the game is actually the new flight-related suit, a Flying Squirrel Suit that replaces the Propeller Hat from “NSMBW” (though the Propeller Hat and Penguin Suit both make return appearances in the bonus world). The Flying Squirrel Suit is a pretty cool flight power-up, as it both allows Mario to glide and to get a secondary boost jump at any point. Yoshi makes a return as well, but is limited to stages where his eggs are found, which are sadly too few. Aside from regular Yoshi, it’s possible to acquire Baby Yoshis of three different colors that CAN be taken into any stage. The pink one turns into a balloon, allowing the character holding it to essentially perform a quintuple-jump; the blue one blows bubbles that characters can bounce off; and the gold one glows in the dark, lighting the way in caves and frightening ghosts. All of the Baby Yoshis can also eat enemies they touch and absorb a hit from an enemy if the character holding them gets hit from the front. I was disappointed that the Baby Yoshis never ‘grow up’ into regular Yoshis of various colors, and even more disappointed that the pink one is the only one that doesn’t feel completely useless.
Between stages, Mario & co. navigate the Mushroom Kingdom via a top-down map with path connected by dots… just like every 2D ‘Mario’ game since “Super Mario Bros. 3.” However, “NSMBU” has one noteworthy difference from “NSMBW,” and that is the number of secret exits. While it’s not nearly as many as in “Super Mario World,” there is at least one stage in each of the game’s 8 worlds that includes an alternate ending flag. Finding these hidden exits can open-up shortcuts between the various worlds as well as access to secret stages.
“NSMBU” is a lot of fun, especially with a group of friends. But the entire time I was playing, I couldn’t help but chafe at small exclusions of things that used to be in the older ‘Mario’ games but have yet to find their way into the ‘New Super Mario’ series. Why don’t stage icons on the world map have red dots to indicate that they have multiple exits? Why can’t Mario toss koopa shells straight up or set them down gently instead of chucking them straight forward? Why can’t Mario go into a completed stage, grab a power-up, then exit the stage while KEEPING the power-up? When the ‘Mario’ series was young, small tweaks like these were added to each successive game, and the tweaks made each successive game better. While the ‘New Super Mario’ series at least has Nintendo back on the right track as opposed to the direction they took with “Super Mario 64” and “Mario Sunshine,” leaving off the final layer of polish will always keep this reboot series from matching the pinnacle of “Super Mario World.” Thanks to the fact that nothing on the Internet ever dies, gamers everywhere have free access to “Super Mario Bros. X.” Until Nintendo learns from the example set by that Indie effort, I’m afraid the ‘New Super Mario’ series will just keep getting more stagnant from here on out.
Overall
“New Super Mario Bros. U” is yet another solid entry in the venerable ‘Mario’ franchise, bringing that classic brand of 2D platforming to a new generation of gamers. But thanks to an overly-rehashed game engine, stupidly-formulaic story, and un-perfected gameplay, I fear for where this franchise is headed. “NSMBU” is still a good game, but not $60 good. And while “NSMBU” is good, how will we feel when we get yet another ‘New Super Mario’ game next year, built on the same engine, missing all the same small refinements, and siphoning another $60 out of our wallets? The wow-factor of Nintendo getting Mario back on track has worn off… now they need to work on achieving perfection, not carbon-copying almost-perfection.
Presentation: 4.5/5
Story: 1/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Overall (not an average): 4/5
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