Thanks for the impressions. As soon as I saw the emphasis on coins, I was disappointed. It seems more like a gimmick than an actual meaty gameplay enhancement. I'll still buy it though. It is, after all, a Mario platformer, and you can never go wrong with that.
I think the idea to bring a scoring element to Mario is pretty brilliant and a major turn in the series, changing its replayability, but it all depends on the leaderboards.
@vids Not speed, but score, probably. And the scoring system seems very analog with all of those craaaazy coins.
@Hinph Most probably, yeah. Wouldn't you put the B-Team on the handheld version? But Nintendo's farm team should still be capable of making 2D Mario, and they are differentiating it, at least.
LOL, listen to us. What video game nazis we've become!
It's not perfect, but I guess I'll enjoy it.... *sigh*
Oh man, sometimes I wish I was a kid again and was able to enjoy something just because it was fun, and I didn't worry about details or specs or tried to compare it to everything else out there. Things were so much easier and more enjoyable. (or was it because everything was so new to me back then?)
Tezuka directed the first NEW Super Mario Bros. on DS, didn't he?
I'm in the minority, but I really enjoyed that game. If he's helping out with the 3DS sequel, then I'm very much looking forward to this one now. I wonder if the Blue Shell Suit will make a return? I kinda like that one. So different than any other Mario power-up I can think of.
I liked it, too. Because it was weird and challenging to use. It probably didn't even really give you an advantage, all things considered. But I tried to use it EVERYWHERE.
It was great for speed-runs. And it really helped out in the underwater stages. So much better control...though not as helpful as the Frog Suit was, ha ha.
Well, I think Tezuka is just producing both of the new New games... Like Miyamoto, I don't think he directs anymore, which is a shame. I'm sure his input is invaluable, though.
This writeup from IGN gave me more faith in the game - I think I begin to understand what the hook is now. The coin chasing dynamic sounds like it changes up the gameplay quite a bit.
I can see his point. Personally I did find the way you could screw yourself out of some coins with the Golden Flower clever, but at the same time it is very much like the Giant Mushroom in the original NSMB in that it's so powerful, all you need to do is run forward and destroy everything. But that was probably just the level it was introduced in, I'm sure there will be more challenging platforming awaiting you.
Not to get all doomsday prophet on everybody, because that's not my vibe, but if Nintendo fails this generation, expect the gold-collecting aspect of this game to be brought up time and time again as a kind of Freudian slip. Expect sentences like "NSMB2 was an all too appropriate symbol of where Nintendo's head-space was around the launch of the Wii U. They were all about chasing the money. Precious, precious gold coins in every direction."
