What else can I say about New Super Mario Bros that hasn't been said already? The DS version was great. The Wii version was pretty damn good. The 3DS sequel was easily the weakest. This one, while not as bad as the 3DS version, felt like the same old.
Story, as typical, Peach has been kidnapped and it's up to Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad and Yellow Toad to save her. The Koopalings are back again (you can't get enough of these seven little kritters) now sporting personal airships donning their faces (narcissistic but cool).
As with any Mario game, you travel from Point A to Point B in a 2D environment reaching the Koopaling that resides there and venture through six other worlds taken over with the Koopaling in question before reaching the final world where Bowser and his son resides all by yourself or with three other friends. A lot of the old power-ups make their high-definition debuts on the Wii U along with a new one: the P-Acorn. Collecting one turns Mario into Squirrel Mario. Not only does it enable him to take an extra hit, Mario can hover for a brief period of time, get a bit of extra air with a brief press of the ZR button and can hug the walls.....like a flying squirrel. It is a.....unique power-up to say the least.
New Super Mario Bros U is also the HD debut of Mario and his friends (along with enemies) and it clearly shows here. This game looks pretty phenomenal along with plenty of the soundtrack (including the remixes). Another addition added to the series is the use of the Miiverse. Well, all games have use of the Miiverse but I believe this game was the first to implement it. By any chance you die anywhere, several random Miis will appear on the screen or Gamepad either boasting about how they beat this particular level or how 'hard' it was (which is not that true) at that particular point. Pretty neat.
Sadly, as stated, New Super Mario Bros U felt like the same old with Mario which is never a good side seeing as how I am a fan of Mario and 2D platform games. But never mind, Luigi is here. Around the time this game was released, there was also The Year of Luigi. Basically, Nintendo released DLC for New Super Mario Bros U called New Super Luigi U. What they did was revamp ALL of the stages that you took your time getting through in the main campaign and turn them all into speed run mayhem. Basically you have 100 seconds to beat the levels while collecting the Star Coins that are placed in rather ridiculous spots to reach without dying at all. Even the boss levels are limited by 100 seconds but Nintendo gave leeway to the boss fights by giving extra time to fight them. This is great. After going through the main campaign, tacking the levels (redesigned) at a much quicker pace to suit Luigi and increasing the difficulty (which is amplified even more with extra bodies having to scramble to the end as well) makes for an entertaining addition to an otherwise decent game.
To tell you the truth, New Super Mario Bros U is still a good game in its own rights. Don't get me wrong. But after 3 other ones in the past and several older titles (that are great and available on Nintendo eShop), it needed a face-lift to make it feel fresh. New Super Luigi U that can be bought separately or comes bundled with limited editions is the face-lift that the series needed. Traditional 2D platforming for everyone to enjoy and hectic, fast-paced 2D platforming for the diehards to tackle. Can't get any better than that when it comes to Mario.