Super Mario World Nostalgia – New Super Mario Bros. U Review

With the release of the Wii U last Sunday, Nintendo fans were treated to a new Super Mario Bros game. This is the thirteenth game in the Super Mario series. With the ability to play with up to 5 players, essentially this is the ideal game for both solo players and party players. The game took about 3 years to develop and was developed shorty after the release of  New Super Mario Bros Wii. This is the first time that we see Mario and company in HD and fans are excited to see it.

[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnr2kM-VATI[/tube]

The game art on the box is nothing short of it’s predecessor. It almost looks the same expect the box is blue for the Wii U. The game disc are is very unique and looks great. The Disc has the rounded off sides as well. It looks as if all Nintendo Disc’s will be this way. I was a little excited at first because the book felt heavy and I was expecting to see a lot more info. But alas, the rest of the book was just the games 1st 3 pages in different languages.

So that plot is a bit different in this one, prepare to have your mind blown. Princess Peach is NOT kidnapped! I repeat NOT kidnapped. She is held hostage in her own castle…. what? I told you she wasn’t kidnapped. Finally Bowser changes the pace of things and switches up the routine. Bowser, along with the Koopalings, decide to invade the castle, using a giant mechanical arm to throw Mario, Luigi and the Toads far away from the castle. Mario and company must now travel across the land to and find their way back to the Castle and save Princess Peach from Bowser.

The game is almost identical to the same Gameplay as the Wii version with the exception of being able to play on the Gamepad. The goal to each stage is the same, reach the flag pole at the end of the level while avoiding death from all the hazards thought the stages. When playing with a group and one person on the Gamepad, the Gamepad player takes the roll of an assist. Essentially, the player of the Gamepad has the ability to create blocks for other players to land on stun enemies and other moving platforms.

Along with some returning items and abilities, such as the Fire Flower, Ice Flowers, Stars, Mini Mushrooms and Yoshis, the game also introduces a new power up item called the Super Acorn. When a player touches the Acorn, it grants the player a Flying Squirrel suit. The suit allows players to glide across long distances or slowly descend down vertical paths and cling to the side of the walls. Baby Yoshis were re introduced to the game. They haven’t been seen since Super Mario World. These Baby Yoshis can be carried around and each Baby Yoshi has a special ability based on its color, such as inflating in midair (Pink), blowing bubbles (Blue) to attack enemies and illuminating dark areas (Yellow). New Super Mario Bros. U features one large map containing all the game’s worlds and levels, similar to that of Super Mario World. Some levels have multiple exits that lead to the different areas on the map. So you defiantly get that nostalgia feeling when playing some of the levels since so many parts of the game give you that trip through memory lane.

The game bring two new modes of play to keep that replay value fresh and challenge the most seasoned and veteran players, Challenge Mode and Boost Rush. In Challenge mode there is a challenge where you have to get as many 1-Ups as possible without touching the ground and in Boost Rush takes you and others through an automatically scrolling level which increases in speed as players collect coins, with the goal to clear the stage as quickly as possible.

The game uses Miiverse as well, it allows players to post comments and frustrations from the game. Example, if you die so many times in one stage the game will ask you if you want to post up your frustration about the stage or if you beat a stage without getting hurt it will ask you to post up a warrior cry or something along those lines. The posts all go to the special thread made just for the game.

The game does a good job returning to the it’s roots, I felt many of the Super Mario games i grew up with mixed into this one.  Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3 is a huge influence in the game. Fans of both Nintendo and the Super Mario series will not be disappointed. On a scale of 1 through 10 with 1 being the worst the game gets a 8/10 from me. I’m sure many fans would agree that most Mario games have a small room for improvement. But the game stays true to it’s roots and colors and will be enjoyed by all.