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What's the best New Super Mario Bros. Game?

Jonneh

Jonneh

Good Vibes Gaming
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Oct 24, 2017
4,538
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The New Super Mario Bros. series is a hard one to judge. The classic games essentially reinvented themselves each time with the only iterative title being Lost Levels. Out of Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros. 2 USA, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2, you can quite easily select a favourite game simply by how they feel to play.

NSMB isn't like that. While they all have mild twists like the spin in NSMB Wii and U or the coins changing up the pacing to levels in NSMB2, they all essentially control the same and are designed with many of the same philosophies in mind.

For me I think NSMB U is the most inteligent in terms of level ideas. You're still going through the generic level templates but the extent the game goes to make each level distinct is executed smoother than other entries I feel. The squirrel suit power up was also far more interesting than NSMB Wii's propeller suit which was situational and had far too much down time.

There were some really cool and clever levels beyond just the awesome Starry Night inspired one (though that one certainly puts the art style into question).

So which game stands out to you the most and why?

New-Super-Mario-Bros-U-Screen-3.jpg
 

Syril

Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,895
I never played NSMB2 but NSMBU stand on top for me from the level design like you said. New Super Luigi U it's pretty outstanding too from what I've played of it.
 

Deleted member 23212

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I'd go with New Super Mario Bros. U, I think that it essentially took the NSMB series as far as it can go.
 
neon_dream

neon_dream

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Dec 18, 2017
3,644
NSMBU - Despite the complaints over art/music, NSMBU is the most impressive package in terms of level design and game modes. Levels in NSMBU are tuned for speedrunning and when you get good, moving through the levels is great fun. Beyond that the extra modes, like the challenge modes, are fantastic. In fact I think the extra challenge modes are much better than the main story mode.

NSLU - Tight, frantic level design that is the best in the series, imo.
 
Gartooth

Gartooth

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,440
Yeah its NSMBU. It may not be as well regarded since NSMB burnout was bad back in 2012, but it essentially took the best parts of NSMB Wii and built it up.
 
Jazzem

Jazzem

Member
Feb 2, 2018
2,680
U easily aye, has the most refined level design which especially shines in the challenges. Was obsessed with the time trial ones in particular, think I got gold on all of them.

Though man I desperately wish they changed the aesthetic by that point, the character models in particular seem to be lifted straight from the Wii iteration :/ But there's at least some nice original backgrounds and tunes.

Also, if Super Mario Run counts it wins best soundtrack for Remix 10 alone

JeremyParish said:
It's NSMBU. That's canonical, baby.
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Bahaha, you sure made friends with that ranking ;D
 
DeliciousSunnyD!

DeliciousSunnyD!

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Oct 31, 2017
9,621
I haven't played NSMB2, though I've wanted to and I have a 3DS (that I only bought to play 3D Land funnily enough...). But between New Super Mario Bros., NSMB Wii, and NSMBU, I think it's NSMBU quite easily especially when the Luigi expansion is factored in.

I think Mario feels the best to control in that, the levels are all well crafted and have a good escalation in challenge, and the actual challenge for the game itself is actually quite tough which is a good thing. It also helps that the world map is interesting and that there's quite a bit of secrets and stuff.

The contest between the Propeller Cap in Wii and the Squirrel Suit in U is quite tough as I like both, but I'd probably say the Squirrel Suit takes a bit more finesse which makes it slightly better.

I can definitively say it is NOT the original New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, that's for sure. That's easily the weakest game in the series at this point, and I think it's actually aged worse than a lot of Mario games.

I kind of want to hook up my Wii U now...
 
Jazzem

Jazzem

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Feb 2, 2018
2,680
DeliciousSunnyD! said:
I can definitively say it is NOT the original New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, that's for sure. That's easily the weakest game in the series at this point, and I think it's actually aged worse than a lot of Mario games.
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It's certainly the ugliest core Mario, 2.5D on 256x192 resolution isn't terribly pretty in 2018 D:

Super Princess Peach is the far better looking Mario platformer of that era

princesspeach.jpg
 
wiill64

wiill64

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,592
NSMBU is probably the best one but when I first played it the re-used Koopaling bosses and the fact that it came out 3 months after NSMB2 soured my enjoyment of the game

The original DS game is the one that stands out most to me because it felt like an evolution of the 2D Mario series. It might have been very easy but at least it introduced new bosses for the 2D games and had some nice secrets to find with the mini mushroom.
 
EnglandPrevails

EnglandPrevails

Member
Oct 27, 2017
199
NSMBU is probably the best one. Followed up by the first one. U really knocks it out of the park, especially with the Luigi DLC

I find the second one for the 3DS is one of my least favorite Mario games period. I was so disappointed by that game and its focus on coins and subpar level design.
 
Dyle

Dyle

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
29,903
NSMBU. NSLU has better and more interesting level design, but it sucks how short the levels are and it didn't expand the score attack/mission mode at all. In general it's the biggest and most polished release in the series and it is remembered poorly mostly because of how quickly it came after the release of NSMB2 and how it needed to hold up the launch lineup of the WiiU.

NSMBU
NSLU
NSMBWii
NSMB2
NSMB
 

rawhide

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,003
NSMB2 is not great on a casual level but the Coin Rush mode was a fun score-oriented way to play the game that will probably never return, and for that I feel it deserves more respect than it's bound to get in this thread.
 
banter

banter

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Jan 12, 2018
4,127
DeliciousSunnyD! said:
I can definitively say it is NOT the original New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, that's for sure. That's easily the weakest game in the series at this point, and I think it's actually aged worse than a lot of Mario games.
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Man, I haven't played it since its initial release, but I remember really enjoying NSMB DS... Has it aged that badly?
 
DeliciousSunnyD!

DeliciousSunnyD!

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Oct 31, 2017
9,621
banter said:
Man, I haven't played it since its initial release, but I remember really enjoying NSMB DS... Has it aged that badly?
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I haven't played it in awhile, but I remember thinking the last time that I played it that it feels really dated. It doesn't look that great, and after seeing the tropes more refined in the later releases, it feels far more generic than it did to even begin with. The levels are quite simple too. It's not a bad game or anything, I just would say they've definitely greatly improved on the "formula" it introduced.

I hear a lot of people make the same sort of complaints about 2, that the game's just too generic/bland and that the level design isn't that special, but I've been curious to play it for myself. Idk if I ever will though.
 
Blackpuppy

Blackpuppy

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Oct 28, 2017
4,191
I haven't played any of the WiiU games, but the Wii game is my favorite so far. Then the DS, and then 2, the latter of which is just simply forgettable.
 
Truner

Truner

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Oct 27, 2017
230
Hungary
Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii. No, really. It nails the "New" formula better than the official games.
But from the official releases, I thought U was the very best. Followed by Luigi U, Wii, DS and 2.
 
808s & Villainy

808s & Villainy

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Oct 27, 2017
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Truner said:
Newer Super Mario Bros. Wii. No, really. It nails the "New" formula better than the official games.
But from the official releases, I thought U was the very best. Followed by Luigi U, Wii, DS and 2.
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I have no idea what's going on with this post. What are the "official" games?

Edit: I misread "Newer" as just "New"
 
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Ge0force

Ge0force

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NSMBU for me as well. Great game with many fresh ideas, and it looks great (especially emulated on PC at native 1440p)
 
Piscus

Piscus

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Oct 27, 2017
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It's NSMBU. They need to move on from the "New" series, though. It's time for something.... new.
 
Chittagong

Chittagong

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Oct 26, 2017
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Think about the day when Nintendo releases a NSMBS. That money printing machine will become so heavy that it will have an event horizon.

On topic, I agree with the sentiment that NSMBU is the best, or Luigi.
 
Ravelle

Ravelle

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Oct 31, 2017
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Mario 3D Land on 3DS remains my modern favorite Mario Platform to date, it's the closest we got to a M64 successor.
 
Metallix87

Metallix87

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They're all good except for the original on DS, which is largely mediocre.
 
PedroRVD

PedroRVD

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NSMBU is the least terrible of them.

I hope these games never come back, even its horrendous music should be cut from smash Ultimate. I don't want to hear a "wah wah" ever in my life.
 
TheMoon

TheMoon

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Oct 25, 2017
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NSMB2 and NSMBU are both equally brilliant. NSMB2 is just a wild ride of a power fantasy showering you in gold all the way through, it was a great twist. Plus that Coin Rush mode. Then NSMBU just perfected the whole idea of multiplayer 2D Mario with Boost Mode and the incredibly cool Challenge Mode and the NSLU expansion (which I count as part of NSMBU).
 
mightynine

mightynine

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Oct 25, 2017
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NSMBU is the best of the series, IMO. But oddly, I don't have the desire to replay it, and I've tried numerous times.
 
hibikase

hibikase

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U is the best, they had some kinda interesting level design ideas in there, but there aren't a lot of them. And being on the most powerful platform of all of them so far also helps.

2 is the worst because the coins gimmick is stupid.
 
The Real Abed

The Real Abed

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Oct 25, 2017
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Pennsylvania
It's NSMBU and NSLU. But I hope they reboot the series with the Switch and give it fresh new art style and music. But I'd rather get more 3D World instead TBH.
 
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