I just replayed Super Mario 3D Land (going for a 100% run with M/L/golden flags) for an hour and a half and I have to say that it is such a better game than NSMB2, it isn't even funny. The music, the level design, the implementation of the 3D effect and the interface features are all so much better.
True, NSMB2 has the better Streetpass features and actual DLC, but SM3DL curbstomps it in terms of sheer fun.
It's also the little things, like letting you save after you complete each level and not kicking you out of the level back to the world map when you die. In NMB2, it happened every damn time and it was infuriating.
HEY NINTENDO - Time spent hitting buttons in a menu system and waiting for canned animations to play out is time spent NOT playing your game. Also, it's time for Mario to get rid of lives. There is literally no penalty for running out of them, so find some other reward to hand out for collecting coins, like every 100 coins nets you a Invincibility Star, a Grey Leaf or a Hammer Bros Suit or something else that tangibly changes gameplay. Make that powerup rare in-game otherwise and BAM, you've got your incentive to collect coins.
How rad would NSMB2 have been if each time you died, you respawned immediately and collecting 100 coins in a level netted you a golden flower (on a time limit), so that every level becomes a race to get on a roll and stay on that roll for as long as possible? Make it so there's a risk-reward dynamic happening where there are a lot of platforms over bottomless pits that you could easily destroy by accident and you get some pretty fun levels.
YOU'RE WELCOME, NINTENDO!!!?!
