@GameDadGrant

Yeah, I just can't agree with the 'big step down from previous efforts' portion of your comment. I feel NSMBU has a lot of strengths over the previous games (NSMB 2 and NSMB Wii), and I love the level design. Like Zero said,

Zero said:

Those are pretty insane, but sometimes I'm getting into a nice run in some of these speed runs and I'm thinking how am *I* even doing this? But I really think that is more a testament to the design than to my own skills. Nintendo knows how to place everything just right so you can cruise through it feeling like a platforming god.

As for the difficulty, getting all Star Coins wasn't that easy, at least for me, and there was nothing easier in this game compared to previous NSMB games, IMO. Hmm, I think I'll post a poll about this...

GameDadGrant said:

But the overall game itself was basically more of the same, which was kind of disappointing considering how much praise everyone seemed to be giving it.

I don't want to sound like I'm picking on you Grant, but I was curious if you say the same thing about NSMB 2?

Hey, Karen, some friends and I played the game last night and we recorded this video. Yeah, that's totally us playing.

Progress report: My fiancé and I made it past the clouds area, I feel like the final world is about to be revealed. Loving the level design, the secrets, everything. The game is a fair bit more challenging than NSMBW I'm hovering around 25 lives in 2 player co-op, while I had a ton more on the Wii version.

@Guillaume
I'll never cease to be impressed by these super-play videos. The two-player boost mode challenges are really fun.

@roykoopa64

Some of my feelings of the Wii U game probably stem from the fact that I had just 100% completed NEW Super Mario Bros. 2 a few short months before (plus the random Coin Rush StreetPass challenge here and there), and really enjoyed it, and afterwards I may have been feeling some 2D Mario burn-out at that point.

Maybe if I played the Wii U version first, THEN played the 3DS version, my opinion of the two games would be flip-flopped.

@GameDadGrant

I just received NSMB2 as a gift, so I'll be playing the games in the reverse order (NSMBU first and NSMB2 second). It'll be interesting to see if I'll experience 2D Mario fatigue. I didn't buy NSMB2 last August for this very reason, as I wanted to go into NSMBU fresh.

Just finished the game yesterday! Last world was tough! The finally battle was good but not great... NSMBW did it better.

Now on to the snow world, which we skipped along the way, and collecting all the start coins for superstar world.

Looks like the Luigi DLC is coming in June in Japan. Earlier than expected. Link

Interesting that they are only giving you 100 seconds and making it more speed-running, but I'm liking that it's not "New Game+" type stuff. Still need to see price, though.

I hope there is an easy mode. I like the challenge, but there are Luigi fans out there who prefer a more casual game.

I'm not quite as excited about this Luigi mode as I should be. Too NSMB-ed out.

Of course I'm going to buy it anyway.

Just downloaded last night. Played the first few levels this morning. I skipped on NSMB2 (I think that's the one where you collect TONS of coins, right?), so this is my first 2d mario since NSMB Wii. Will try out some of the other modes tonight.

Nikki and I beat this the other night, but haven't 100%'d it. Gonna take a break for a while. Made it to Superstar Road and did the 2nd Level. We figured "lets just run for it!" and beat it. Nice!

Luigi (The Disc) drops next week? This coming weekend? I think its the 26th, yes? Reserved at Gamestop.

@Mr_Mustache

You could just download it though, right? Save yourself $10.

That green case is pretty cool, though.

GameDadGrant said:

@Mr_Mustache

That green case is pretty cool, though.

Hooray for 10 dollar plastic!

Sunday.

Ha ha! Eh, it'll look cool on your gaming shelf!

I went back today to play some of the challenges I never got around to when first playing the game. Man, they are tons of fun and such a good addition. Hopefully they're included in all future 2D Marios.

My one suggestion is for Nintendo to embrace what games like Super Meat Boy and Bit.Trip.RUNNER do and really limit the amount of time you're not playing. Just the little death animation and having to click Yes to Try Again really bogs down the experience. I'd love to just keep at these things continuously until I finally beat them.

@Jargon I actually timed NSMBU and RUNNER 2... NSMBU takes like 16? seconds to get back to playing, while RUNNER 2 is like... 1 second. Or something. I forget the exact numbers. Huge gap though.

That downtime is a major factor as to why I haven't stuck with the challenges.

Like 3D World with Odyssey, this game is easier to appreciate now that we have Wonder and 13 years of hindsight. Where Wonder is weird and puzzley, NSMBU is a hard platformer that's creative in a more straightforward way while being optimized for multiplayer. The wife couldn't get into Wonder, but we've been playing NSMBU DX, and she loves it. Reminds her of her beloved DS version.

I certainly wouldn't put this above any of the 3D games, or World, but I can see why Jeremy Parish ranked it so highly back in the day. It is maybe the best series of classic 2D Mario levels with no bells and whistles.

The multiplayer is part of the reason why I like this (and Wii) more than Wonder. I think the presentation of Wonder allows it to stick out more in people's minds since the wonder effects specifically highlight the creativity of each stage, while the bland, repetitive assets of the NSMB series belie the underlying uniqueness of much of its level design.