New Super Mario Bros 2 (3DS)

So this went on sale in the eShop late last night, and I'm up to world 2-A... It's a fun game, just like NSMB was on the DS and Wii, but I have to admit that as I play it, I can't help but think that the series needs a bigger shakeup than just "collect 1 million coins!"

Has anyone else tried this yet and feels the same way, or is it just me?

Another thing that's stupidly disappointing. There's a quick-save function in the game that lets you save at any point. So how come when I close out of the game from the menu screen, it doesn't automatically do a quick save and instead just loses any data since the last save? I only did one level and then tested it to see, but it just is kind of dumb on Nintendo's part, as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah, I'm not talking about a save state, but the game does have the option to do a "Quick Save" anywhere from the map, which lets you save it and return to the menu at any point, but it deletes that save as soon as you load it. As far as I'm concerned, it should automatically do one of those quick saves to at least the last level you completed before you close it. I realize that save states aren't possible, but it doesn't seem like there's any limitation that would stop you from doing this, especially since other 3DS games do save when you close them.

Anyway, that's the most minor of annoyances.

As far as the game itself, I'm up to something like World 5 now, and I am enjoying it, but like I mentioned above, having played NSMB, NSMB Wii, and Super Mario 3D Land to completion, the gameplay does feel a little stale. In my mind, they need to go with the Mario Galaxy route. That was the same basic idea as Mario 64, but introduced an entirely concept to make the gameplay seem really fresh. Other than the coop in NSMB Wii and local coop in this, nothing has been done to change it up, except for the "collect a million coins" which just isn't enough as far as I'm concerned.

At the very least, they should move to the mechanics from Super Mario World at some point, maybe that would help. (And personally, I know I'm one of the few, but I wouldn't have minded a NSMB2 based on the mechanics of SMB2.) The problem is just that there's nothing in my mind to make this stand out from the other two NSMB games.

Yeah, it's going to take a lot of dedication to get a million coins. I've unlocked most of the levels at this point, except for the first secret world, and I'm at somewhere around 40,000 still. I've heard the reward isn't even really worth it either.

As for the stale thing, like I said it's definitely not a bad game, I just feel like they could have probably done more. That's still better than most platformers, but I wouldn't personally put it at the level of NSMB Wii or Super Mario 3D Land. I'd probably give it a 7 or so out of 10, personally.

I also think it's a mistake not taking advantage of the 3D a little more to make it stand out some. I know, a lot of people just turn the 3D slider off anyway, but Wario Land on the Virtual Boy did a much better job of using the 3D as a part of the game, while still being a 2D platformer. (And now that I think about it, I'd love to see that on the Virtual Console, preferably a full color version, but even if they kept the all red look).

Coin Rush is a great twist, I just wish Nintendo would step into the modern era and do online leaderboards for something like that, instead of it only being via StreetPass.
Edited by jhoff80 - 8/23/12 at 12:40pm