So I just literally put my 3DS back into it's cradle, and have finished my first run of New Super Mario Bros. 2. Am I disappointed? No. Am I Satisfied? Not yet. Do I think it was worth the RRP of $69? Hell No! (That's why I picked it up from Big W.. $54 people, grab it for that.)
Anyway. This isn't going to be a review, it's going to be more about the quality and quantity of this title, and whether it was really worth the $54 - $70. So Let's Start this off.
So *New* Super Mario Bros. 2 obviously stuck to the same formula as it's predecessors did, but actually did more to re-hash than introduce anything that was new. The levels were fine, the music was "meh", and the design was pretty much what we have seen in the past games. It was... the same... Nintendo have seem to run out of design ideas for this game while making it, or they had designed this originally for the Wii U and decided to scrap it and place it on it's handheld. Remember when they announced "*New* Super Mario Bros. Mii" and it looked exactly the same as "*New* Super Mario Bros. Wii"? Well this game was an obvious rip of the Wii version, and made portable, now that the power of the 3DS can handle that. There was obvious take off's of Super Mario Bros. 3 in the game that was not subtle at all, and the Reznor Battles were outdated, to say the least. Beat those without breaking a sweat. Don't get me wrong, it's always nice to see a nostalgic throwback in a game, but a throwback should be in subtle doses. The Reznors were pretty much whored out by the 4th World. Every Mid-Fortress was a Reznor Battle.. they couldn't mix it up a little? Maybe have Bowser Jr in some Mid Fortress' or even a Boomer? That would have been epic to see his return in a 2D Platformer, stomp him once, Shell Spikes, *MAGIC WINGS*. Anyway, repetitive gameplay is a major issue in this game, which I hope Nintendo decide to fix once they start dishing us some DLC. Unfortunately we know at the moment the only DLC we get in this game will be for Coin Rush Mode, but hopefully Nintendo will come to their senses and give us something more to play with. Which brings me to our next Subject.
Oh boy, here's where it definitely hits hard. 6 Worlds. Only 6. (Excluding Star and the hidden worlds). Nintendo, I don't want to tell you what to do with your Mario games, or how they're designed, but everyone knows, and especially if you're a hardcore Mario Fan like myself, traditionally, Mario Games (Except Mario USA(2)) has 8 Worlds. Eight. Eight, regular worlds to complete this game. It is piss poor that you guys decided to cut out 2 worlds on us. If you were taking the traditional" *New* route, you completely cut Mountain and Forest. Not good enough. Every other Mario Game that you have released has had the decency of giving us that satisfaction, that "Over the line" feel to it, where there was EIGHT REGULAR WORLDS, and then the extra's. I feel completely ripped of those 2 worlds that led to the Quality that we have expected from you Nintendo. I don't know whether the case is that you guys have gotten lazy now? or whether it's that you are too busy with Wii U development? but the Mario Franchise is Nintendo. And we expect our Fill. Especially Australia, we expect our fair share, if you expect us to shill out $70 over your short arse, piss poor of an excuse. So do I feel ripped off? Yes. I only spent $54 on this game, and your excuse is.. did you collect 1,000,000 coins? NO! Because I know that the pay-off is probably going to be even more piss poor than what you gave us anyway. Your repetitive gameplay, repetitive music, repetitive bosses and complete rehashes, has the whole title of this game completely Wrong. It's not *New* Super Mario Bros. 2, It's "Super Mario Bros: Million Coin Challenge". Because at least *New* Super Mario Bros. had a sense of quality and quantity to it, because it was a fresh idea, that became great once you put it on the big screen to the Wii, but now I feel you're whoring it out. It was a Mario Adventure, that was a REAL DEAL Mario Adventure. Not some cheap-arse excuse to pick up the game to get a million coins. That's a real shameful excuse in my opinion. Now I still support you guys and I hope you don't let me down on *New* Super Mario Bros. U, I have already Pre-Ordered my Wii U, since June, and Am planning to get *New* Super Mario Bros. U on it, but maybe not right away now, this is the first time i'm actually going to wait out on getting one of your *New* games, and I can't believe it. I can't believe i'm actually second guessing a 1st person Mario Game here, but I am. I'm not completely disappointed Nintendo, but I am disappointed that you guys made me feel ripped, because there was just not enough, I finished the game in less that 4 hours. My 3DS Activity Log reads 3:25, that's the amount of time it took for me to complete this game, and I did not rush, and I did not try my best on it. Meaning I didn't Speed-Run nor did I spend all the time I had in each level to find each Gold coin, but I did the best I could. Now, that being said, that's just mind blowing. Anyway, Nintendo, release some REAL DLC, and give us some extra worlds damnit for a good price, 90c for a world, hell I'll buy that!
But I'm going to finish it off with this. I have deep faith in Nintendo, always have. But as of late, my faith has been toyed with. I wish sometimes Reggie would take off the suit and be straight with us, but as long as he's the prez, that's never going to happen. But, I'm not disappointed with Nintendo, nor am I completely disappointed with this game, I still think it's a good 3DS Title, it's not a strong one, But it's one that I will definitely revisit from time to time. BUT NOT WORTH THE MONEY, not even the Big W Price. My advice to anyone is this, and i'll give it to you in bullet points:
- DO NOT BUY THIS FROM THE eSHOP, YOU ARE GETTING RIPPED OFF HARDCORE.
- DO NOT BUY THIS AT FULL RRP (REGISTERED RETAIL PRICE). YOU ARE GETTING RIPPED OFF.
- UNLESS YOU DESPERATELY WANT TO PLAY THIS TITLE, BUY IT FROM BIG W OR BIG W PRICE MATCH (until the 22nd of August), IF YOU'RE NOT DESPERATE, DO NOT BUY THIS AT BIG W PRICE, YOU ARE GETTING RIPPED OFF.
It's simple, the amount you get in this game, is not worth the price of admission. Wait for it to get below $50 and then it'll be worth it. Sorry Nintendo.