SUPER MARIO MAKER Review

It doesn't take much to notice that the Mario series has been relatively quiet lately. The previous big game, 3D WORLD, came out two years ago. If that wasn't sad enough, 2014 broke the chain of an important game coming out yearly. Yes, we got Mario Kart 8 and...Captain Toad(?) but it was the first year in quite awhile not to feature the next 2D or 3D adventure. 2015 went vacant to the point I was starting to question if Nintendo was starting to run out of ideas or even go the Capcom or SEGA route...which is cease and desist for their mascot. Enter SUPER MARIO MAKER. This announcement was a complete surprise. At first the concept was just a little intriguing. "Create your own levels? That could be fun." was the mindset for many. As the months went on the hype level went extremely high as Nintendo really marketed it as the next big thing. By the time release day hit, it was one of the most hyped games of the year. Mario Maker is an amazing game, and really something we never knew how much we wanted. As a 30th anniversary celebrator, it's perfect.

One of the early criticisms was that everyone would have to wait 9 days to fully unlock all the features, backgrounds, etc. (Some have been able to bypass that, but for the review we'll talk about how it's meant to go down.) I too thought it was at first silly to have to wait, but as I went through the days I actually started to appreciate this. Mario Maker's stage building ability is not complex like Little Big Planet's, but you'll want to experiment slowly to fully appreciate each individual feature. For example, we don't have access to pipe sub-worlds until the final day, which might sound tedious on paper. But during those eight days the player would have mastered all the other features and they could prepare for the pipes because they know it's coming.

Once you have everything, the sky is almost the limit on what one can do. There are over 1,000,000 levels uploaded online. Some are fun, some are excruciating, and some are both. It's amazing what can be done because one can literally almost create their own game with these tools. Of course, while creating levels represents 50% of the draw, the other half is of course playing other creators' levels. A person can literally sit for hours just going through other creations. Plus, for a more standard way to do it we have the 100 Mario challenge. It's a great feature to play other levels in a systematic way. Expert mode is actually extremely difficult and I would say even more challenging than The Lost Levels!

The usage of Amiibos in this game might just be the most innovative. If you for example put a Pac-Man Amiibo the Gamepad, you can summon the chomper himself. You put him as a Mystery Mushroom and when you or someone grabs it, they instantly transform into Pac. It's a really neat gimmick since there are lots of characters whom can appear. (Even those without a 2D sprite, such as Olimar!) It's also fantastic how Nintendo added the little touches and didn't just make the Amiibos palette swaps of Mario. For example, when running as Sonic he does Spin-Dash, and with Pac he goes into his classic arcade self. It's a shame these only work in the 8-bit gameplay, but it's understandable.

One of the most interesting things about Mario Maker is its ability to play with backgrounds not seen in respective games. For example, Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced the airship level. So, if you were to switch to 8-bit mode, we would get a retro version of the airship. It's the same with Super Mario World's ghost house. The possibilities will always be endless. One will be spending a lot of time in the Course World (online) part. There's a great level of satisfaction every time one uploads a new level. The problem is that everybody is limited to 10 at first. This wouldn't be a problem if say every month we're able to upload more. But that isn't the system. The system is that you're only able to upload more once a bunch of people star your levels. Here's the thing: there are over a million levels, so there's a good chance yours will get lost in the shuffle. I've had the game since about opening day and still stuck at 10 levels. It's a disappointing system because the player becomes less motivated to make new stages since it forces them to delete old ones.

While making levels is absolutely glorious, there are still some interesting loopholes one comes to notice as they make more and more. For one thing, boss fights are basically non-existent. Sure, we can have Bowser at the end with the axe as usual. But how about those Bowser Jr. battles in NSMBU where you have to beat him to proceed? In Mario Maker there's no real way to make a set boss battle where it requires the player to beat it. In the 10 Mario challenge for a primary example Nintendo obviously wants you to beat Bowser Jr., but why bother when you can just bypass him and hop in the pipe? Another thing is that while 1-Ups are always nice, there's technically no real use for them since each level is self contained. If there was a checkpoint system, then the 1-Ups could be utilized. In fact, it's strange that there's no checkpoints since Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros. U both have a checkpoint system.

Still, despite those loopholes, make no mistake: the level making is a true achievement in the history of gaming.

Overall, Super Mario Maker is a special  game, and fitting for the franchise's 30th anniversary. It's extremely fun creating stages, for there are almost limitless things one can do. Amiibos are put to fantastic use. It's disappointing that one can only upload 10 levels at first, since there's a good chance the player will be stuck at that for awhile. Still, don't that deter you from picking this game up. Trust me, there's nothing like it on the market.

New Super Mario Bros. U Review

I remember getting the first New Super Mario Bros. eight years ago on my birthday. (Or Christmas, time gets hazy as the years go by.) It was a lot of fun, and very significant. It brought back the classic side-scrolling action for a new generation. It was beautifully crafted with exciting levels and good music. Then three years later Nintendo blew everyone away with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It was a great sequel, it grabbed the previous game and made it better. (With two-player co-op!) Unfortunately, the series started to show its wear with the release of New Super Mario Bros. 2. two years ago. It was a complete rehash of the previous two, it used a lot of the same music and had a virtually identical story. It wasn't a bad game, but it didn't seem like Nintendo tried to do anything new. That's why I was a bit worried for New Super Mario Bros. U. After playing through it, I can say two things. One, it's a rehash but to a much lesser extent. Two, it's time to retire the 'New' series because it has gotten old.

The story sadly is virtually a remake of the Wii game. Bowser and his kids besiege Princess Peach's Castle. They throw Mario, Luigi, and two Toads far away. So the heroes will have to journey back to the Castle. Now to be fair, as you can see the story takes a more interesting turn. Instead of us having to travel to Bowser Castle, it pulls a Mario 64 where Bowser takes control of Peach's Castle. If it wasn't for that, the story would have been almost unbearable since it would have been too similar to the Wii one. Of course, with these Mario games you can't expect a really engaging plot. (Isn't that sad?) Can the gameplay make up for it?

The 'new' thing is the Super Acorn power-up. It's pretty cool, but isn't too different from the Super Leaf. There's not much else to say about about the gameplay, it's the same as previous installments, which isn't a horrible thing. It was cool how Baby Yoshis appeared and you used their abilities to get through some obstacles. It's a shame they weren't more utilized. The stage backgrounds I gotta say are some of the most impressive in the series. I was absolutely floored at the background to Painted Swampland. They fully realize the Wii U's HD capabilities.

Once again, sadly most of the soundtrack is lifted from previous games. Yes, you'll hear the same fortress and castle theme once again over and over. And yes, you will get tired of hearing that Ghost House one. I'm sorry but every video game should have an original soundtrack. It's fine if it borrows a couple of themes, but too many are rehashed. Perhaps the best part of the game is the final level and boss, appropriately titled, 'The Final Battle.' The big Bowser fight at the end ranks as one of the finest for the franchise, easily beating the lackluster final 'battle' in 3D World. Sure, the fight becomes simple once you know what to do, but those first few minutes of Bowser roaring like a true monster shooting fire while Mario runs around will never be forgotten.

Overall, New Super Mario Bros. U is an improvement over the second DS game. It's not amazing however, since it rehashes a lot of things from previous installments. It's still fun, though it's quite easy to rack up 50 lives in under six worlds, so you'll never truly be in danger. It seems Nintendo is in a rehashing stage with Mario, hopefully this won't continue. Regardless, NSMBU is not a bad starter for the system. It has great replay value thanks to the Star Coins and bonus modes.

3.5/5

New Super Mario Bros. 2 Review

The original New Super Mario Bros. came out six years ago, and is the best selling game for its system. It brought back the side-scrolling last seen in Super Mario Land 2 and proved that side-scrolling still works today. It was a simple game (but pretty challenging on its first play-through) that one can jump in and play, not to mention that it was fun and introduced many new concepts. It was only natural that a sequel would come, I was just surprised it took three years. New Super Mario Bros. Wii came out three years ago and to date is one of the best selling Wii games. It took the concept from the first one, added Yoshi, and many new power ups and concepts like the Super Guide, which would later be carried into future games in one form or another. Plus it had four-player co-op, which was fun. (Not to mention enraging for veteran players teaming up with rookies, or when one of your teammates purposely makes you fall into the lava.) Now with the 3DS, Nintendo decided to unleash the 'true' sequel to NSMB, New Super Mario Bros. 2. The thing about this one is the emphasis on coins. (Look at the pretty golden box-art.) Take out the New in the title and put in old, there is virtually nothing 'new,' it has a lot of the same everything. It's pretty much a placeholder for New Super Mario Bros. U.

This is one of the easiest Mario games I've ever played, I literally speed blasted it in three days. If you've been playing these games for a long time, this will be a walk in the park. You can literally speed blast almost every level. The challenge comes in looking for the Star Coins. Before anything else, know this, I'm not saying this is bad game, it's a really fun one. It's just that after two entries, this does nothing to change the formula. It's not a cash-in on the name, but it's close. Like almost an insult to the fans, the music is lifted from the Wii one, with very little modifications. The Ghost House theme? Check. Fortress? Check. Castle? Check. The exact sound files, they couldn't bother to do new music for this game. To even further insult the fanbase, the story is the exact same thing from the Wii game, minus the clever use of cake. That's right, if you love Bowser's bratty Koopa Kids, then you're going to love the story. (Though strangely Bower Jr. is nowhere to be seen.) They use the Clown Car and *gasp* kidnap the Princess. It's a joke because all Peach does is yell for help, yet she has enough room to fight to back, she doesn't even try to slap them. It's a joke. This is what twenty-eight years of Mario gaming have come to? I really thought Galaxy would set the tone for future games.

I just want to say that I think it's a little silly to have to 'unlock' Luigi. It New Super Mario Bros. It should be like in Mario World where you freely switch between characters. Let's talk coins. Unlike the previous games, this one puts a strong emphasis on them. Your goal is to collect a million of them, which I personally think is a cheap way for replay value. Fans of Super Mario Bros. 3 will be happy to see the Racoon Leaf back in action. It plays great here, it really should have been in the Wii one. (Guess the Propeller Mushroom took its place.) By far the most exciting power-up is the Gold Flower. Basically it's a souped up version of the Fire Flower, instead of throwing little fireballs, you throw large goldenballs, which gets you coins from the enemies and blocks it hits. The final battle isn't bad, but it should only take you two tries. It's not as good as the epic final Bowser battle in the Wii game. For the Star World, they re-use Dry Bowser. You beat him, and that's it. Nothing special happens.

The music is great but since 99% is lifted from the Wii game, can't really praise it all too much. (I do like the tweaking of the Atheltic Theme, catchy.) The part that gives the game challenge and replay value is collecting the Star Coins. This is by far where it's hardest to find them. On one level I want back over ten times cause I couldn't find one, they're smartly placed. Unlike in the previous game, the worlds are downgraded to six as opposed to eight. Yes, there are two secret worlds, but that's beside the point. This game really needed the two extra worlds for when playing through the game for the first time.

Overall, you probably think I truly disliked the game. That isn't the case, I enjoyed it. I just had to point out that this is barely New Super Mario Bros. If this is your first Mario game, or first game in the New series, then you would definitely give this a 9/10. But for the majority of the fans, people like me, who have been playing these games for years, I have to give it a bump down to an 8/10. It's a really fun Mario sidescroller, it's worth the buy, but it borrows too many things from the previous two games to stand alone as a true successor. I expect the WiiU game not to not follow the same mistakes.

8/10