There's a new 'Super Mario' game for Nintendo's Switch, and it's a modern mash-up of classic Mario

New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

Nintendo just dropped a major re-release on the Nintendo Switch with "New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe."
The game originally launched on Nintendo's failed Wii U, but is getting new life on Nintendo's Switch as a repackaged "Deluxe" edition which includes a bunch of extra stuff.
Having spent several hours playing "New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe," I'd strongly recommend it to any classic "Super Mario" superfans.

"New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe" is Super Mario as pastiche: It's composed entirely from bits and pieces of various classic, 2D Super Mario games.

Character selection is lifted from"Super Mario Bros. 2," and the overworld map is from "Super Mario Bros. 3." Each Koopa Kid boss fight is directly reminiscent of the same boss fights in "Super Mario World." That's blended with elements of the more recent "New Super Mario Bros." series, and it produces a delightful evolution of both.

If you're looking for dozens of hours of Nintendo's smartest, toughest, most traditional "Super Mario" gaming, look no further than "New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe."

Here's what I mean:

"New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe" is two games in one: Both "New Super Mario Bros. U," and "New Super Luigi U."

Though "New Super Mario Bros. U" was a hit on the Wii U, it still sold under 6 million copies — a surprisingly low number for one of the world's most popular gaming franchises. It wasn't the game's fault, but a measure of the Wii U's failure.

With that in mind, Nintendo is giving the game a new chance with a major re-release on the Nintendo Switch. It's a smart move, as the game feels purpose-built for the kind of gaming that the Nintendo Switch allows — it's exactly the type of game that's easy to play on-the-go or at home.

So, what is it?

It's two games — "New Super Mario Bros. U" and "New Super Luigi U" — combined into a single, $60 package. It comes with a new playable character in "Toadette." It's a re-release that gives an already great set of games a chance to reach new players on a far, far more successful Nintendo platform.

What's the difference between the two games? Difficulty.

If "New Super Mario Bros. U" is the base game, "New Super Luigi Bros. U" is the master quest.

It would be reductive to say that the latter game is a harder version of the former, but it's not inaccurate. You can't actually play as Mario in "New Super Luigi Bros. U," but you can play as everyone else: Luigi, Toad, Toadette, and Nabbit.

Part of the challenge is that Luigi is a more difficult character to control than Mario, and part of the challenge is that the entire game is rebalanced around being more difficult. Enemies act differently and appear in greater numbers. Platforms are in different places, or outright removed. Levels are designed to put challenge above all else.

If you've ever played literally any 2D Super Mario game, included "Super Mario Run" on smartphones, you're familiar with the gameplay of "New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe."

In "New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe," you're stomping on goombas and eating power-up mushrooms and always, always seeking out the next flagpole.

It's a pixel-perfect, 2D-style, classic Mario game with a ton of polish.

It plays like the memory you have of "Super Mario Bros." on the original Nintendo Entertainment System, albeit with far prettier visuals, more complex level design, and better controls.

Unbelievably, after 30 years of "Super Mario" games, "New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe" still packs in plenty of incredibly impressive, delightful game design. Much of the game makes you feel clever, which is a testament to the subtlty of the game's developers. It's just difficult enough.

There are a few new additions you might not be ready for if you've never played the "New Super Mario Bros." series. Did you know that Mario is now regularly capable of wall jumps? Pretty much all the new gymnastics Mario learned from his 3D jaunt in "Super Mario 64" is now built into the 2D series as well, from ground pounds to wall jumps.

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