" But while the 3D games continue to dazzle and surprise, the New games are stagnating."
Bingo.
My interest on the 2D games waned after Nintendo inexplicably announced NSMB 2 and NSMB U for the same year. Never bothered acquiring them, and I can't say I'm missing them. Compared to that, Super Mario 3D World entered in my list of wanted games and I fell in love with it from beginning to end. It even manages to bring a lot of elements that weren't present in 3D Land, so it doesn't feel like a rehash at all.
Sometimes I lament that Super Mario Bros. 3 was too good or too famous. It's the game Nintendo looks at the most and the game most subsequent game have been modeled after. I'd really love to have an experience like that of Super Mario World or even an oddball like SMB 2 or Yoshi's Island.
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Mario's not the only one after money. Save yours.
For better or for worse, Nintendo is evolving into a modern game company. They've introduced Nintendo Network, DLC (in this very game), and other good stuff. On the other hand they've struggled to adapt to the times, and they haven't found quite as much success as they'd like. The 3DS had a barren launch and the Wii U is still struggling to make headway in sales. Nintendo's response to this was to cling to their money-making franchises, most noticeably Mario, and churn out games. Back in the days of the SNES and N64, a new Mario game was an event that only occurred every 6 years or so. But in 3 years, we've seen Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. U, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario 3D World. They are all great games; there is no question about that. But while the 3D games continue to dazzle and surprise, the New games are stagnating.
And thus my verdict for the 3DS game: It's a rock solid platformer with almost zero innovation.
Everything is taken from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Let's start with the graphics; none of them are new (except, obviously, for a handful of new palette-swap enemies and the Gold stuff). All the music is taken from the Wii game as well, with the addition of a few "bah"s to the castle/tower themes. Sound effects are all the same.
NSMB 2 doesn't do much to alleviate this. Bafflingly, this game has one of the worst uses of 3D on the 3DS: it blurs the backgrounds, making them muddy and look worse, and that's all. Considering what 3D Land managed to do with 3D effects, this doesn't make any sense, especially from a game by Nintendo. It attempts to introduce variety with the Gold gimmicks, but "get as many coins as you can" is the shallowest of shallow gimmicks, with no tangible reward for doing so. I might as well tell you your "reward" for getting 1,000,000: a statue of Gold Mario on the title screen. Yes, that's it. No new characters, stages, or level changes. Just some rearranged pixels on a 5-second screen.
Overall, this game disappointed me more than any Nintendo game in recent memory. It's a pity because they can do better- and they did, with the Wii U game. As for this one, wait for this one to get a heavy discount. Mario's got enough coins for now.