So, I've finished this game recently:
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - a big pile of recycled content covered with a coin collecting gimmick. It's definitely not the first time that Nintendo recycled the content of one game to make another. But it's the first time that such a follow-up lacks any ambition. For Majora's Mask they reused pretty much everything from Ocarina of Time, even the characters. But the game was so full with great new ideas, interesting gameplay mechanics, dense atmosphere and amazing new worlds that only few people cared about the recycling. In case of New SMB2 it all just feels like an expansion pack for New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
They tried to hide this with the new main gimmick of collecting as many coins as possible. While this gives you tons of lives, it doesn't add anything else. There's a main counter for coins, but nothing to unlock except for a new title screens that gets unlocked by collecting one million coins. Nintendo actually advertises the game by challenging you to collect one million coins...
So, I've fully completed the whole game (five sparkling stars) and guess how many coins I've collected... probably close to the million, huh? ... Actually it's just around 50.000 - 1/20 of the main goal. What teh eff, Nintendo?
Well, I could start playing Coin Rush mode and grinding coins everywhere, but for what really? So, that the title screen changes? But even if I would go through the effort, there's actually another one for 10 million. That's just too much and collecting coins is not much fun at all.
How could Nintendo screw this up so badly? This is weird, because they made a game with similar mechanics, which got the coin collecting concept entirely right - The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition. This little free gem was all about collecting as many Rupees as possible. There's also a main counter for Rupees and you unlock harder levels by collecting more Rupees. You need 5.000 Rupees in a normal stage to get the best key and you need to collect 30.000 Rupees alltogether to unlock the Hero's Trial.
30.000 Rupees are not hard to get, you might even get them at once in the 12 floor version of Vaati's Palace. Still you might continue to play, because collecting Rupees in this game is fun and there are many different random levels. You will turn every rock, cut every piece of grass and fight with your buddies over all the treasure chests just to get those precious Rupees!
Right now I have collected a total of 410.000 Rupees. It's the entire opposite of New Super Mario Bros. 2! And instead of collecting one million coins in New SMB2 I'll challenge Zelda fans to collect one million Rupees in Four Swords instead. Probably the better waste of time.
UPDATE:
To encourage you to actually reach the million coins Nintendo of Europe gives away prizes. So, I thought, I'd give it a try. A Mario fan package is definitely more interesting than just a different title screen. Reaching the million by just playing is of course nearly impossible or you'd have to waste tons of time. So, you have to use some tricky farming methods to win as many coins as fast as possible. I started with the dual Goomba pipes in 2-4, but check this out. Extremely easy way to reach the 30.000 cap in Coin Rush mode. Got the million within two hours...
New Super Mario Bros. 2 - a big pile of recycled content covered with a coin collecting gimmick. It's definitely not the first time that Nintendo recycled the content of one game to make another. But it's the first time that such a follow-up lacks any ambition. For Majora's Mask they reused pretty much everything from Ocarina of Time, even the characters. But the game was so full with great new ideas, interesting gameplay mechanics, dense atmosphere and amazing new worlds that only few people cared about the recycling. In case of New SMB2 it all just feels like an expansion pack for New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
They tried to hide this with the new main gimmick of collecting as many coins as possible. While this gives you tons of lives, it doesn't add anything else. There's a main counter for coins, but nothing to unlock except for a new title screens that gets unlocked by collecting one million coins. Nintendo actually advertises the game by challenging you to collect one million coins...
So, I've fully completed the whole game (five sparkling stars) and guess how many coins I've collected... probably close to the million, huh? ... Actually it's just around 50.000 - 1/20 of the main goal. What teh eff, Nintendo?
Well, I could start playing Coin Rush mode and grinding coins everywhere, but for what really? So, that the title screen changes? But even if I would go through the effort, there's actually another one for 10 million. That's just too much and collecting coins is not much fun at all.
How could Nintendo screw this up so badly? This is weird, because they made a game with similar mechanics, which got the coin collecting concept entirely right - The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition. This little free gem was all about collecting as many Rupees as possible. There's also a main counter for Rupees and you unlock harder levels by collecting more Rupees. You need 5.000 Rupees in a normal stage to get the best key and you need to collect 30.000 Rupees alltogether to unlock the Hero's Trial.
30.000 Rupees are not hard to get, you might even get them at once in the 12 floor version of Vaati's Palace. Still you might continue to play, because collecting Rupees in this game is fun and there are many different random levels. You will turn every rock, cut every piece of grass and fight with your buddies over all the treasure chests just to get those precious Rupees!
Right now I have collected a total of 410.000 Rupees. It's the entire opposite of New Super Mario Bros. 2! And instead of collecting one million coins in New SMB2 I'll challenge Zelda fans to collect one million Rupees in Four Swords instead. Probably the better waste of time.
UPDATE:
To encourage you to actually reach the million coins Nintendo of Europe gives away prizes. So, I thought, I'd give it a try. A Mario fan package is definitely more interesting than just a different title screen. Reaching the million by just playing is of course nearly impossible or you'd have to waste tons of time. So, you have to use some tricky farming methods to win as many coins as fast as possible. I started with the dual Goomba pipes in 2-4, but check this out. Extremely easy way to reach the 30.000 cap in Coin Rush mode. Got the million within two hours...
