New Super Mario Bros. 2

From the acclaimed Nintendo Franchise, comes New Super Mario Bros. 2. A game that reverts the franchise back into its 2D side-scrolling roots, and it also became the first entry to be available in physical and digital editions. Published by Nintendo and released in July 2012, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is one of the best platformers for the 3DS. This platformer offers a single-player campaign experience as well as a multiplayer option.

The Coin Collector Bros.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the third entry of the series and is a sequel to New Super Mario Bros and New Super Mario Bros Wii. The story is the classic one, Mario and Luigi - if played on multiplayer - are tasked with rescuing Princess Peach from the evil Bowser and Koopalings. Returning players will be very familiar with the style and pace of the game, where you simply have to jump, dodge, and defeat enemies in a straightforward fashion.

The game's design is very similar to other Mario games, where different worlds, have different stages and challenges. In total players have six worlds, three special worlds, and over eighty levels to complete, as well as secret passages and hidden rooms to find. New Super Mario Bros. 2 has a different focus from earlier entries and invites players to dedicate more focus than ever to acquiring the golden coins. This is amplified by the fact that an entire game mode is called “Coin Rush”. Here players have to complete stages as fast as possible while collecting as many coins as they can.

Mushrooms, Leaves, and Platforming

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a game full of collectibles, secrets, surprises, and returning features. There is a lot to be explored and found, with so many levels, high replayability, and fun gameplay it’s hard not to love this title. Add to that the fact that coupled with a friend on his own Nintendo DS, you can do everything through multiplayer mode like Mario & Luigi and you have the recipe for a great game.

Returning features such as the Super Leaf, Mini Mushroom, and Mega Mushroom that were seen in previous entries are all back. This gives a sense of familiarity to the title, however, New Super Mario Bros. 2 might feel too familiar at times. With a decent time frame between releases, players would expect a game that brings more to the table than updated graphics and a new game mode.

Conclusion

This is not to say that the title isn’t a great game, in fact, it might be one of the best platformers on the Nintendo 3DS console. The industry gave it an overwhelmingly positive reception, praising the game’s level design, a great amount of content, and providing a fun experience.

PROS

• Very Entertaining
• A Lot Of Content
• Collectibles, Secrets, and New Worlds
• Easy to Play
• Highly Addictive
• Great Visuals
• Amazing Level Design

CONS

• Not Much Is Actually New
• Extremely Similar To Older Entries

Mario and his brother are back for another adventure in New Super Mario Bros. 2, a generous sequel that's full of amazing platforming gameplay. As the most popular platforming series around, it's hard to find a flaw with the Super Mario games, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 continues that benchmark of quality. All of your favorite power-ups and characters are here, as well as some new features to spice up your play, so don't delay, give New Super Mario Bros. 2 a try.

Main Game Features

• Iconic platforming gameplay
• Over 80 levels to enjoy
• New Coin Rush mode

Story

If you've played any of the Super Mario Bros. games in the past, the story of New Super Mario Bros. 2 won't be much of a surprise, but that doesn't change it from being a total classic. Once again, Mario and Luigi are two plumbers who live in the Mushroom Kingdom, and one day during a coin hunt, the royal Princess Peach is kidnapped. Swifted away by the treacherous Koopalings in their Koopa Clown car, Princess Peach is once again the prisoner of King Bowser, leading Mario and Luigi to exact a daring rescue.

During this adventure to save Princess Peach, you'll explore six unique worlds, reminiscent in style to other Mario games. This includes the Mushroom World, Desert World, Ice World, and more, before eventually leading you to Bowser's lava covered land. Borrowing assets from both New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, this game has colorful and uplifting graphics, but the 3D effect feels slightly tacked on. The entire adventure is playable either solo or with a friend, and if you both have copies of the game, you can play simultaneous multiplayer locally.

Gameplay

New Super Mario Bros. 2 follows the standard Mario formula, as you must travel across a stage and reach the goal post at the end in the allotted time. Various enemies and obstacles stand in your way, but thanks to a nice selection of power-ups new and old, you'll be able to blast your way to victory. Fans of Super Mario Bros. 3 will be excited to see many returning features from that game, including the P-Wing, Mario's raccoon suit, and of course, the Koopalings. There's tons of level variety too, including classic stages, fortresses, floating levels in the sky, ghost houses, and more.

The big focus this time is on collecting cash, with an overall objective of filling your pockets with a whopping 1 million coins. Certain power-ups make it easier to collect coins, like the Golden Flower, and stages are packed to the brim with these precious metal collectibles. Once you've beaten the first world of the game, a new mode, called Coin Rush, is available to play. In this short but exciting addition, players dash through three randomly selected stages and try to collect as many coins as possible, and extra levels are available for download.

Conclusion

While New Super Mario Bros. 2 doesn't change the formula much or add any significant new features, it's still a very fun adventure, complete with a flashy focus on coins. Special worlds, branching paths, and plenty of unlockables are there for players who want to get invested, along with that tough goal of 1 million coins.

Pros

• Platforming feels perfect
• Collecting coins is awesome
• Simultaneous multiplayer

Cons

• Not many new power-ups
• Some underwhelming levels
• Very similar to the first game