Mario's latest 2D adventure is a fun Goomba-stomping romp that feels familiar in areas.
As usual, the plot is Peach being kidnapped by the Koopalings. You'd think that Bowser would get tired of kidnapping Peach over all these years, but he refuses to give up, and takes the princess. Yeah, the plot is almost non-existent, but you don't play a Mario game for the plot.
There are 6 regular worlds in the game, plus 2 hidden worlds which are accessed through cannons, and a special bonus world, which is accessed by beating the game and collecting 90 star coins(which I will get into later). At the middle of each world there is a fortress, and at the end of each world is a castle featuring a Koopaling as a boss. In each level, there are 3 star coins to collect, which will allow you to pass signposts which will allow access to Toad Houses that offer items and 1 UPs.
As I said before, this game revolves around coins. Not only is there a regular coin counter in every level, the game keeps track of how many coins you collect in all of the levels. Also, all of the coins that players of this game collect are kept track of, and you can get certain things via SpotPass.
There's also an extra mode called Coin Rush, where the main goal is to go through 3 regular levels to collect as many coins as possible. These records can be saved and transferred through StreetPass, and you can try to beat other player's records. Now, you can buy all new packs of levels through the eShop as downloadable content.
Most of the power ups are returning from previous games, including the Fire Flower, Tanooki Suit, and Mega Mushroom. The only new powerup is the Gold Flower, which is found in a few levels. This will let you shoot gold fireballs and turn things into coins, hence the game's focus on coins.
The graphics are good, I guess. They do match the system's capabilities, and the 3D effects are good too.
The controls work great as well. Control stick to move, A to jump, B to run/shoot fireballs/spin.
If I had anything to complain about anything in this game, I would have to say that there isn't really much new to this game. Don't get me wrong, it's a solid Mario game, but the problem is that there's not much more to say about it compared to another Mario game.
Overall though, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is still a good game, and it's worth getting if you're looking for a Mario platformer. I give it an 8/10.