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New Super Luigi U
Wii U
NSLU - A Wife Mode Perspective
3/5 stars
While I was a fan of New Super Mario Bros. on the Wii as a fun throwback to the heyday of Mario games, and the WiiU version was still fun (if more of the same) going back yet a third time to this well has finally gotten a bit stale. As this Luigi game is more of a companion or DLC as opposed to a full game release, it still feels like more of a letdown than anything else as, aside from a few game mechanics, really brings nothing new to the table.
Presentation: If you've played New Super Mario Bros. U - it's pretty much exactly the same thing, slightly changed around, but pretty much the same level design, character design and enemy design as before.
Story: Hey, it's another Mario game and guess who needs to be saved from Bowser yet again? Yes, it's yet another "Princess Peach is captured by Bowser" story - only this time Mario is MIA, so you get a (nearly) invincible Nabbit to go along with your toad companions. And that's a good thing, as the difficulty seems a bit ramped up - especially for a usually-forgiving Mario title.
Gameplay: As I really wasn't looking forward to tackling this one, I took on the role of "wife mode" that is - holding the WiiU Pad and creating blocks while the other two actually did all the heavy lifting. But it was actually a good decision, as I think some of the placement of the Star Coins and overall difficulty of some of the levels would have been much, much worse without some backup.
The game introduces a new feature - that is every level must be completed with haste - as you only have 100 seconds in each to get to the end. Plus the Luigi-esque physics (long jumps, problematic stopping) makes it even more fun to try making improbable jumps - especially on the levels where a misstep can send you plunging to your death. Granted, my "wife mode" skills are debatable (especially when the blocks suddenly go from regular-sized to tiny for no discernible reason I could tell) and having to keep track of two characters - and trying to keep an eye on the timer - is difficult. But wife mode is also the only way to create Moon Blocks - which pump out three-ups instead of one-ups - usually once per level (though often in hard-to-reach places).
Luckily the game also introduces the wily Nabbit as a playable character. He's pretty much immune to all enemy damage (though he can still fall in pits or get knocked back by bosses). The downside is that he cannot pick up any powerups (including POW, Yoshis and the like) and instead converts them all into 1-ups. The Nabbit is pretty much key if you don't want to pull your hair out trying to reach some of the hidden Star Coins (even with Wife Mode, some are a bitch to get).
NSLU almost ramps up the difficulty a bit too much - making something that was fun and cooperative into more of a slog.
Replayability: Pretty much only collecting all the Star Coins, completing levels without damage or chasing Nabbit (if you somehow don't have him in your party) are the only reasons to go back to this one again. Not much incentive if you ask me.
Overall: This just feels like a cop-out on Nintendo's part. Sure, Luigi never gets the attention he deserves, but games like this don't help his cause much.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 1/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Replayability: 2/5
Overall (not an average): 3/5
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