This was the last 2D Mario platformer of my marathon. How did it end? Not bad. There was a “new” flying squirrel power up. But really, it was nothing more than a tanooki rip off without the tail whip. I liked how I could view the entire hub world right off the bat, cause it gave me a sense of what to expect, and allowed me to better manage the power ups I had in storage. Speaking of that. The green toad houses put me in a small mini game where two cannons shot 1-ups and bowser faces. Every 1-up I got was a +1 life, and every Bowser I got was a -1 life. The problem was the hitboxes on these cannon balls. Here, you can clearly see the 1-up intercept Toad’s body, yet it wasn’t captured. And another one here. This happened multiple times. I know this was just a bonus mini game, but it none the less still infuriated me cause I got a couple game overs because I was short a life or two, which could have been avoided if the mini game wasn’t broken. Plus, this game reused the bull shit saving system as the other New Super Mario Brother games, meaning I could only save after boss fights. So game overs were extra punishing.
Aside from that, the game basically reiterated most of New Super Mario Bros Wii. Though I did like the obstacle design in this one more. Namely, the long retracting platforms that quite a few levels had. The haunted mansions were never my favorite, and it was no exception here. Like this one in world 6. I was stumped for so long. Had the timer run out multiple times, only to learn the solution was to walk into a wall that actually wasn’t a wall. Sure, this has always been a trademark for the mansions, but I’m sick of it. Forcing the player to randomly walk into walls to progress isn’t fun, at least not for me. A little hint of where the false wall is would have been great.
I don’t know what they can change, but the side scrolling Mario series needs a change. The kind of change we saw from Super Mario 64 to Super Mario Sunshine...then to Galaxy. The “New” Super Mario Bros series isn’t NEW anymore. The title is a blatant lie. It has turned into the Nintendo version of the Call of Duty series. I want something new. Now, the Super Mario Maker series is great, which I’m not getting into in this video, cause that’s more of a player created content peer to peer game. Nintendo, please put an end to the New Super Mario Bros series. I want a truly NEW side scrolling Mario platforming experience.