New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

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Adamant1
Posts: 2088
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Adamant1 » July 28th, 2012, 11:56 pm

Having a Japanese 3DS pays off. This game came out in Japan today, as a simultaneous cart-and-digital-download release. I picked up the digital release: Not only did it save me a hefty shipping fee and import tax, but the digital version ALSO comes with a free port of the arcade Donkey Kong.

As for the game itself, it's very good. Not sure if I'd call it better than New Super Mario Bros Wii yet, but I like it a lot more than the first New SMB. The game tries to stand out by focusing on coin collecting, which is actually a lot more fun and a lot less obstructive than I feared. The levels are designed like you'd expect from a Mario game, and the coins are scattered in places you'd expect them to be in a standard game, rather than all over the place like in the Wario Land games. There's just more of them this time, that's all.

There's only one new power up this time, the gold flower, which functions much like a fire flower, except there's a huge explosion every time the fireball hits something, which will take out all nearby enemies. It can also destroy brick blocks (turning them into coins), and you gain a bunch of coins automatically when you kill enemies with it. It's pretty overpowered (so it's rather rare, and once you beat a level with it, you revert to plain Fire Mario, like the P-Wing in SMB3), but it's great fun to play around with.

Besides the main quest, there's also a "Gold Rush" mode, were you play through three randomly selected stages and try to gather as many coins as possible under a strict time limit. It's a fun diversion (and it supports streetpass, allowing you to have hi-score contests with your buddies - once you save a record, the three random stages you played get tied to this record, and people challenging this record will then play those same stages), but the real meat is the main game, of course.

Absolutely recommended.

Blueguy1
Posts: 620
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Blueguy1 » July 29th, 2012, 1:51 pm

Glad to hear the game lives up to the standards set by previous Mario games. I personally enjoyed the DS version a lot, and the Wii version was a hit with me and my friends as well. I think the Wii version was the best imo.

Unfortunately, the rest of us Americans have to wait until August 19th to enjoy this game, and it's probably going to sell like hotcakes (typical for a Mario release). I'm also psyched for the Wii U version. From what I've seen, the graphics look a lot better than previous games, and the game looks more spectacular.




Blueguy1
Posts: 620
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Blueguy1 » July 29th, 2012, 1:55 pm

One more thing, how is the 3D effect in the game, Adamant?

Adamant1
Posts: 2088
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Adamant1 » July 29th, 2012, 3:34 pm

[QUOTE=Blueguy]One more thing, how is the 3D effect in the game, Adamant?[/QUOTE]

Barely noticeable. The intro, which has a 3D model of Peach's castle, is the only place I actually noticed there actually WAS an effect.

Blueguy1
Posts: 620
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Blueguy1 » September 5th, 2012, 5:40 pm

Just got this game Saturday, and though I was skeptical at first, I ended up falling in love with this game. It's the same old NSMB action, except even better. The game feels more challenging than 3D Land, The hidden areas are much better hidden, there are secret worlds, and the coin collecting part is addictive as hell. I love the new golden flower power-up, which is actually quite rare compared to the other items to get.

On the 3D effect, it's not nearly as effective as 3D Land's was, but I do like how the background blurs, as if the focus was more on the foreground. For some reason it makes me want to explore the levels a little more.

Overall it's nothing new like past Mario games have proven, but what it does it does really, really well. Another solid 3DS title that will probably occupy me for the next month if not more.

Blueguy1
Posts: 620
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Blueguy1 » September 5th, 2012, 6:07 pm

Oh yeah and one more thing. My only complaint is that Coin Rush isn't very fun. Other than that, well done Nintendo.

steephen1
Posts: 239
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby steephen1 » September 12th, 2012, 3:18 pm

I picked it up today. It's rather fun to collect coins. It looks like NSMB U won't be as fun. Since my local store bundled it with the 3DS XL, I was very pleased. I can't say that it was a challenge, because with all the coins, it's easy to get 1-ups, perhaps TOO easy. It's because of this one complaint that I think NSMB Wii was a MUCH better game. When a game has no challenge, it's NOT fun. That's why I DESPISED the first NSMB. It's still a nice game. I give it a "B", it would be an A+ had they added some decent challenge. But still, it's a nice game.


Blueguy1
Posts: 620
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Blueguy1 » September 13th, 2012, 9:03 pm

[QUOTE=steephen]

I picked it up today. It's rather fun to collect coins. It looks like NSMB U won't be as fun. Since my local store bundled it with the 3DS XL, I was very pleased. I can't say that it was a challenge, because with all the coins, it's easy to get 1-ups, perhaps TOO easy. It's because of this one complaint that I think NSMB Wii was a MUCH better game. When a game has no challenge, it's NOT fun. That's why I DESPISED the first NSMB. It's still a nice game. I give it a "B", it would be an A+ had they added some decent challenge. But still, it's a nice game.

[/QUOTE]

I thought the first game was great, but the second one was probably the best if only because it was on the big TV's and the four player co-op was an excellent bonus. This one isn't AS good, and the music, which is the exact same as before, is annoying (I really hate seeing those Koopa's dancing to it, especially since I've seen it for the other two games. ENOUGH!), but it still manages to be extremely fun. It's got more secrets than the Wii version, and I like the new Cannon stages, probably the only seriously challenging part about this game.

I'd give it a B+ or an A-. It doesn't feel like a 3DS game, like Super Mario 3D Land was, but it's still a solid title.



steephen1
Posts: 239
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby steephen1 » September 23rd, 2012, 10:16 pm

The credits sequence was awesome (I took the game in small doses, beat it today.). The coins are nice in the ending. It was a short game, but fun nonetheless. Having already collected 148,942 coins, I'm curious to see if there is a reward for collecting 1,000,000 coins.

Blueguy1
Posts: 620
Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)

Postby Blueguy1 » September 24th, 2012, 2:18 am

[QUOTE=steephen]The credits sequence was awesome (I took the game in small doses, beat it today.). The coins are nice in the ending. It was a short game, but fun nonetheless. Having already collected 148,942 coins, I'm curious to see if there is a reward for collecting 1,000,000 coins.[/QUOTE]

I beat it about three days ago. The last boss actually took me a few tries to beat; pretty challenging!

There actually is a reward for getting 1,000,000 coins, and though I'm nowhere near it or your level, steephen, I do know what it unlocks. Fortunately, I won't spoil it.


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