I’m going to start this review with an honest confession: I’m a big fan of the Super Mario games. I’ve played them all and enjoy them. However, that’s not to say this is going to be a biased review. Nintendo, in a questionable decision, have milked their plumber (sounds painful) to within an inch of his life with his core games and spin-offs. In the past few years we’ve had more games released with his name on them on the DS, Wii and 3DS than I care to mention and though the recent ones ‘Super Mario 3D Land’ and ‘New! Super Mario Bros 2’ just about kept up the quality thanks to some innovation in both games, even if the latter recently annoyed me with its really lacklustre reward for completing the challenge of getting one million coins. And, though the games were fun and more challenging than the ones that preceded them, we’ve never had so many Mario 2D platformers in such a short space of time and the magic soon wears off.
Nintendo’s solution to this is still to be revealed but in the meantime they keep plugging their plumber to death, this time releasing ‘New! Super Mario Bros U’, a launch title for their new console. And, though it’s not particularly revolutionary, it’s by far the strongest Mario title for a long while.
(Though at least they do make a nod to the familiarity by shaking up the ‘plot’ a little, by keeping the Princess in the castle and catapulting Mario away to get back to the Princess).
Seemingly taking on board the feedback from gamers over the years, the developer has realised they need to be more like ‘Super Mario World’ and indeed this game is. The map isn’t made up of small worlds, it’s one massive sprawling continent with moving elements, secret paths and puzzles built into it. It might lack the charm of the original but is a brilliant over-world map, borrowing elements from all the games and bringing them into HD. The worlds are as familiar as you’d expect but the levels are varied, new baddies introduced to balance against the returning foes and bosses, and more secret routes and levels than many recent games, even if some of them are a pain to find with no indication on a level if there is a secondary exit, which makes some of the bonus levels nearly impossible to find. But at least there’s a challenge, and a big reward for some of them that allow you to skip many levels, so big thumbs up for the speed runners.
The gameplay is as tight as ever and Mario controls well, and the new power-up of the flying squirrel is a fun one that basically mirrors the controls of SMW’s cape but without the ability to continue flying upwards. The game looks crisp and glorious in HD, though it’s not the best example of a graphical style to show off 1080p, and the music is as catchy as ever with old and new tunes mixed in. Yoshi returns in the game in both adult form and three baby forms, each with their own unique power up, but it’s only really the purple one that is any huge help. The difficulty is up so older players will get a buzz out of the game but the help block returns to show lesser able players how to complete a level after dying several times.
Bosses are varied and the Koopalings have never been this tricky to defeat, but it’s still business as usual with three hits and their out. The end boss trick is pulled again and it’s a little bit more difficult than the Wii boss but not quite as enjoyable.
Each level also contains three star coins, as per, and there is much fun and challenge in getting these and they’re not all a walk in the park. Power ups can also be collected with ten stored in your inventory, with power ups collected at mushroom houses or by capturing Nabbit, a blue rabbit who appears once in each world who gives up a P-Mushroom (this game’s equivalent of SMB3’s P-Wing) when captured in a speed-run challenge. P-Mushroom’s allow you to constantly fly through a level until hit, allowing you to skip a level you may have struggled with.
The levels are varied, though all mostly familiar, and there are plenty of them, with a bonus world for hardy players and a whole lot of statistics available upon completion to challenge the 100%ers to get all the fireworks, finish all the levels with Yoshi and get all the applause for pulling off great moves etc.
The GamePad is a neat addition to this game. In single player you can play the entirety of the game on the screen so if someone is using the TV you can still play. Plus, through in the Miiverse compatibility where helpful hints from other players appear hovering on the map screen and you get a Mario game that feels much more connected. The game can, though, be also played with the traditional Wiimote, of which four are needed to get the most out of the game.
Alongside the main single-player game are loads of other options that really bulk out the package and help make this the strongest yet. Getting the multiplayer out of the way first it’s still pretty weak, unchanged from the Wii version and pretty infuriating to play so it’s best avoided unless you want to lose friends or see them sending your GamePad through the nearest window. The GamePad player – pushing it up to a five-player game – can aid or hinder the players by placing down blocks using the touch screen so this adds a certain Dick Dasterdly element to it, which makes it a little more tolerable. The main problem with this mode is the brief stutter of everyone as someone gets hits or picks up a power up. It’s distracting and should be removed!
It’s the other elements that make this game. The challenges menu, the first one I’ve truly enjoyed since the days of Worms, is brilliant, with a seemingly never ending list of challenges based on speed runs, not touching the ground or destroying enemies, and various iterations of them, with bronze, silver and gold medals up for grabs. With a steady increasing difficulty, there is much fun to be had here.
There is also a boost rush game where the scrolling level speeds up for every ten coins you get, up to a maximum speed, proving a challenge for even the best players over a range of packs of three levels, with more promised soon via DLC.
Finally there is also the multiplayer coin rush game which is more fun to play with friends.
Overall, ‘New! Super Mario Bros U’ is as familiar as you expect from a 2D Mario game as Nintendo have pushed the releases to the limit. Thankfully this is the best of a still strong series of games but hopefully this will mark a break for the plumber for a few years 3D games notwithstanding. It’s graphically beautiful and the game play, level design and play is as fun as ever. The map with its Miiverse integration is the most welcome addition, but the challenges menu is the most surprising but must-play addition to the game.
Don’t expect any major surprises and those with nostalgia for the series will get the most out of it, but it’s a must play if you have a WiiU thanks to its varied and challenging levels, additional features and easy to play, hard to master gameplay.
8/10
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