It is also worth noting that the average level in Mario Bros 3 was as short or shorter than these levels. I replayed all of the 2D Mario games over the past few months and this was one of the things I noted about 3. Short levels.
I just start going through all the 2D Mario games myself. I've only made it to Lost Levels and it's already evident how much modern gaming has softened me.
The more I play of this Luigi DLC the more I like it. His slowdown sliding animation when you stop running on ice is the best.
I just start going through all the 2D Mario games myself. I've only made it to Lost Levels and it's already evident how much modern gaming has softened me.
Have you found yourself automatically trying to do wall jumps and thus falling to your death? That was happening to me all the way through Mario World.
Have you found yourself automatically trying to do wall jumps and thus falling to your death? That was happening to me all the way through Mario World.
Yeah, I think my game is broken. Mario doesn't ground pound, triple jump, or do backflips! It had been a while since I played the early games, it's such a stark contrast between the barebones original and everything that came after it.
So I've been arguing with this guy, who has been trying to say that the Borderlands 2 DLC is better than this. I'm sorry I just can't see that being true.
So I've been arguing with this guy, who has been trying to say that the Borderlands 2 DLC is better than this. I'm sorry I just can't see that being true.
Got my five stars, fire bar sprint man, FIRE BAR SPRINT!
Talk about a stage that will set you straight, just when you think you've grown the chest hair to stack up to it it gets burnt straight off, and that third star coin, what a fantastic way to make me feel disappointed by finally getting through the stage.
Contrary to the name Impossible Pendulums was anything but, fortunately Luigi's adventure ends with a nice little finale unlike that shell chasing disappointment that had NSMBU end with a whimper.
I want to buy this but DKCR is totally kicking my butt at the moment and this sounds like more punishment. Don't want to burn out on platformers. I almost threw my 3DS last night on that mine cart level in world 6.
Haha woops I should have clarified... some people just want to beat the game and be done with it. I don't see why you would use short cuts to beat the game, complain about how it's too short and never play it again. It was a long day.
Yeah, I completely agree with you. In my personal opinion, you haven't beaten a Mario game until you've cleared every level. I would even go so far as to add collecting all of the Star Coins on top of that [as well as finding every Secret Exit], but I know that might be taking things a bit too far.
So I've been arguing with this guy, who has been trying to say that the Borderlands 2 DLC is better than this. I'm sorry I just can't see that being true.
Borderlands is a boring, overrated and badly designed piece of crap. FACT. "It's fun with people" is not an argument, even Monopoly can be fun with friends.
Constant backtracking, horrible empty level design, and don't get me started on the quest system.
It's skyward sword levels of "wtf were they thinking"
I would rather play E.T.
I didn't think the challenge was ramped up much from the original. If the levels were the same length then yes it would be quite a bit harder but it's NOT punishing like the more difficult 3DS NSMB DLC or Super Meat Boy or later DKC Returns levels. Just incredibly well-balanced levels in terms of having challenge for those who want it but still be very fun just to complete without getting any coins or topping the flag.
The dpad placement makes the pro controller unusable to me for a game like this. They should have added classic controller support instead...
At least the gamepad controls are great if you hold it right (index fingers supporting it below the dpad and below the buttons, NOT on L/R) but I find it impossible to play looking at the TV with the gamepad screen showing a moving image.
It's a good thing my hands are small enough for a sideways Wii remote.
I tried it a bit last night before I went to bed. I don't understand the reason behind the 100 second time limit but hopefully it will grow on me because I hate feeling rushed in Mario platformers.
Although this is supposed to be a Luigi platformer so...
I tried it a bit last night before I went to bed. I don't understand the reason behind the 100 second time limit but hopefully it will grow on me because I hate feeling rushed in Mario platformers.
Although this is supposed to be a Luigi platformer so...
I guess it does kind of fit Luigi's character though. He's always seemed to be on edge, nervous, scaredy cat type of person. To me, the thought of him rushing through a dangerous situation makes sense. While Mario was always the cool, calm, and collected brother.
NSLU is arguably on par with NSMBU itself and I can easily see the argument for it being better, it takes the existing stage ideas and pushes them a bit further in regards to difficulty, yet it just about falls short of NSMBU to me at least.
NSLU is a bit of a tease, it drops delightful level design in front of the player demanding more from them to pass the stages this time around yet just when things really get going you suddenly find your next big leap has sent you soaring into the flagpole.
Reaching the end of a stage should fill me with a feeling of success yet often in NSLU the moment I sighted the end of stage flagpole I almost felt a hint of sadness, it's like i'm having fun but now play time is over. NSLU focuses on shorter, snappier stages that put a greater emphasis on flow than ever before, straight from world 1 you can tell that this time they're not going to ease you into the eight world journey, this time you're thrown straight in under the assumption that you get how these games play. The various bits and pieces that make up the stages are often more in motion and less static than ever before alongside the more formidable foes turning up earlier than usual and with craftier placement. Despite this more aggressive angle the game actually retains a pretty steady difficulty curve throughout, while it does step up as it progresses it only takes small steps for the most part so those dreams of a lost levels experience NSMB style are not quite realised nor do they stack up to some of NSMBU's more punishing challenge mode outings, it is however a game that will keep you on your toes throughout especially when aiming for the star coins.
Heading back to my earlier point on level length, I think I see why they took this approach, in a way it allows the less skilled players to still make steady progression through the game even if they're having trouble, while a longer stage may be made up of a bunch of tricky sections causing those who keep falling short to frequently retread them over and over a shorter stage will only require a few hurdles to reach the finish line and is therefore less likely to frustrate. Star Coins do a decent job of adding another layer of difficulty to the proceedings but their placement in this game both works with and against the stage setup.
See by slamming a 100 second timer on each stage this means the coins placed in positions requiring some fancy athletics or retaining a power up from earlier are much more preferable to the more hidden variety. Hidden coins and exits will have you trying to scope out the lay of the land for clues all with a timer breathing down your neck, it feels a bit at odds with the game flow. Unfortunately the NSMB team haven't lost their burning love for fake walls, some are quite noticeable, some not so much, yet they still are host to many of the stages secret exits or coins, it feels a bit lazy really. While I managed to find everything myself bar the 2-4 secret exit which someone in here had to point me to I still think the NSMB team veer into some outright obtuse or almost luck based solutions to some of their various coin and exit hiding places.
Some of the stages here play with some interesting ideas even basically forcing certain powerups like the Penguin Suit (aka: Best Suit) on the player as they play a crucial role in the upcoming level design whether it's a stage based on sliding across hilly ice or freezing lines of Fuzzies to create makeshift platforms. Most stages are based directly upon their NSMBU counterparts with a twist, especially noticeable in Superstar Road which holds some of the games most inspired outings,
a stage that builds itself up as you go, a Lakitu stage that actually dares to be different and outright demands the use of his cloud or a maddening sprint through a tunnel of fire bars demanding some incredibly specific timing on how you first start your heated dash.
Elsewhere I found the tower stages particularly interesting, i'm usually a bit indifferent to the vertical focused tower stages yet here they shine brighter than ever before possibly due to Luigi's greater jump allowing far more playful vertical progression. But as great as the level design is it all falls back to that point from earlier, it feels like it gets brought to a jarring stop just as it was getting started. I think there's a missed opportunity for the difficulty in each stage to ramp up once more, the stage having presented its main gimmick and having allowed the player to get a feel for it can present one final challenge before granting you access to the flagpole and in turn sweet relief but as it stands even a stage with the name "impossible pendulums" can end too soon.
But what about Luigi himself? well Luigi adds a fun twist on the familiar NSMB style, his flutter like jump combined with the air spin give him greater aerial mobility which can be great fun, his traction troubles help the player commit to their actions and keep things moving. Interestingly a post game feature is
the ability to play a stage with Mario Physics opening up a perhaps trickier outing as the stages are designed with Luigi's bigger jump in mind, a neat bonus, I wish it worked both ways and gave me Luigi physics in NSMBU
. I used Nabbit once after getting five stars on my file, I love that they actually let the single player try him out but there's not much to say about him.
The extra visual touches do their part to freshen up the similar scenes from NSMBU, each stage tends to hide some kind of visual nod to Luigi, be it a hidden pixel Luigi, a kind of creepy Luigi cloud, an ice sculpture and so on, they're fun little easter eggs that help cement the whole Luigi angle.
When it comes down to it this DLC shows that Nintendo can still deliver quality level design even with old ideas (well that's like the NSMB experience in a nutshell), as far as DLC goes it's of a high standard offering plenty of new enjoyable content for a pretty reasonable price though the retail version seems like a bit more of a cash grab, but I guess some people really want their green box.
It comes close to bypassing the main game while carving it's own style into the pre-existing formula but once more Luigi is still barely in Mario's shadow, it all ends a bit too soon, i'm left wanting more of what these levels and Luigi himself presented me with, basically it was delicious but i'm still hungry, feed me more Nintendo!
I've finished the main game and started doubling back to collect star coins and work on Superstar Road. I'm afraid the game's difficulty hit a plateau rather early, so even though NSLU ramped up more quickly than NSMU, it ended up in about the same place as its predecessor by World 6 or 7, and the later levels rarely felt like they pressed hard enough on the original concepts from NSMBU to make up for their brevity. I've had a lot of fun, though, and I have to say that between this, Rayman Legends, and DKCTF, this is shaping up to be a great year for 2D platformers.
Cheers.
And yeah i'd agree that the difficulty level sort of plateaus some point around world 5 or 6 minus the odd outlying stage.
One thing I forgot to mention, since it focuses on fast stages with less time that means the few ghost houses that are here are a lot more enjoyable which is nice as they tend to be my least favourite stages in every 2D Mario game.
Alright, confession. I love Luigi, and I really appreciate great platformer design. But to be honest, I can't even beat all the challenges in New Super Mario Bros. U's Challenge Mode. You guys think New Super Luigi would just be frustrating?
Alright, confession. I love Luigi, and I really appreciate great platformer design. But to be honest, I can't even beat all the challenges in New Super Mario Bros. U's Challenge Mode. You guys think New Super Luigi would just be frustrating?
I think the challenges tend to be a lot tougher, especially towards the back end, I certainly haven't done all of them either, some of them just caused me to be like "nuts to this" but NSLU doesn't have anything on that level as far as i'm concerned.
I think the challenges tend to be a lot tougher, especially towards the back end, I certainly haven't done all of them either, some of them just caused me to be like "nuts to this" but NSLU doesn't have anything on that level as far as i'm concerned.
Thanks, Nocturnowl. I'm enjoying your coverage of the game. I might go ahead and jump on NSLU after I clear out my Wii U backlog, and this is nice to know -- I'm one of those guys that plays to have a good time, I don't really dig straight-up punishing games.
I think the challenges tend to be a lot tougher, especially towards the back end, I certainly haven't done all of them either, some of them just caused me to be like "nuts to this" but NSLU doesn't have anything on that level as far as i'm concerned.
I just start going through all the 2D Mario games myself. I've only made it to Lost Levels and it's already evident how much modern gaming has softened me.
The more I play of this Luigi DLC the more I like it. His slowdown sliding animation when you stop running on ice is the best.
I hear ya. I started playing Megaman 4 on 3DS and it made me mad at how rusty modern gaming has made me. I powered through though and I'm glad I still have it in me!
I downloaded it today. The way I see it is you have to put a disc in the machine either way (assuming you bought NSMU on disc). This way I can go back and forth with just the NSMU disc in the system.
I downloaded it today. The way I see it is you have to put a disc in the machine either way (assuming you bought NSMU on disc). This way I can go back and forth with just the NSMU disc in the system.
