Nintendo has brought Mario far throughout the years, so it’s no coincidence that there is still excitement when a new game releases. The confusion comes in however, when a game that has been released before uses the moniker “new.” The New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe title can be misleading since players have experienced this game on the Wii U. But, at least this comes with the New Super Luigi U expansion.
When getting in to the game, a lot of people, myself included, could easily feel the nostalgia and some disappointment too. Before you say I’m bashing the game, hear me out. The layout of the map is what we’ve already experienced. The grassy area, the desert, the ice area and so on. In this game, the 2D style is working and fun.
Levels are still built with a challenge but not too much. Each level creates a sense of completion and accomplishment. New enemies keep the game interesting from level to level. It’s the crown that seems to be the most confusing here. Only if you’re playing as Toadette do you get to use the crown you get to become Peach. When the transformation happens, you float, double jump and all of the other standard moves. These can be helpful in certain levels, but why is it that only Toadette (labeled as “easy” in the game) is the only one to transform? For what it is, we can work with it.
Players that want more of a challenge will be interested in the New Super Luigi U expansion. At first the levels don’t seem any different but what is actually happening is the levels are much more challenging and timed. Luigi must race through the levels in 60 seconds dodging the enemies and not dying of course. Sometimes it’s confusing the tell the two game layouts apart. Collecting the three gold coins in every level is still a fun element though for the completionist in me.
Overall, the game is the same as the previous release on the Wii U. Still very fun, maybe the game has become a little dated for those of us that remember the previous releases. If the game had not titled itself as new and added just a few different things, maybe this would be bit funner to play.
8.5 out of 10
Available on Switch
