New Super Mario Bros. 2 Critic Reviews

With its well-balanced gameplay and the high long-term play value, New Super Mario Bros. 2 offers a nearly perfect Jump & Run experience. The levels and boss fights could be much more difficult.

One of the most enjoyable titles for the Nintendo 3DS, and one that perfectly captures the essence of the platform genre.

The very definition of bitter-sweet, giving with one hand and then taking away with the other. By default it's the best side-scrolling platformer on the 3DS and yes, it's even better than the original New Super Mario Bros. But that came out six years ago now, and in that time we'd really expected the series to have progressed a little further than just a 3D effect and Coin Rush mode.

It may not be as gleefully experimental as Super Mario Land 3D, but New Super Mario Bros. 2 intelligently recycles past glories and consequently offers the comfort of what is arguably one of the most enjoyable video game franchises ever.

Though we've seen this formula before, New Super Mario Bros. 2 finds a way to keep itself just fresh enough while still hitting platfroming perfection.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is not as innovative as Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy, but all in all it's a 2D Jump'n'Run you'll have plenty of fun with.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is yet another superb platformer from Nintendo, filled with all the elements fans crave.

It's a side-scrolling platformer where goombas are flattened, blocks smashed, turtle shells hurled, and tricky platforms navigated by, what else, jumping. And the coins... so many coins.

It is impossible not to be drawn in by the simple perfection of New Super Mario Bros 2's mechanics and level design – this is as pleasurable and effortless as 2D platforming gets. But it's also impossible not to be disappointed that it's over so quickly, and doesn't offer anything really new.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a fine, quality Mario title that deserves a mention in the same breath as Nintendo's finest 2D platformers. It doesn't hit their highest highs, but comes much closer than the other games in the New Super Mario Bros. series.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 goes for gold with golden themed levels that bring simple, yet fun platforming action. It's not a punishment to play levels over and over again, finding all the secrets or trying to set a new record in Coin Rush. The addition of a compelling cooperative multiplayer experience makes New Super Mario Bros. 2 the best side-scrolling Mario-game to date.

Nintendo clearly took an "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality to this sequel, and given how good this game is, I can't fault them for it.

While it doesn't offer anything new and innovative, the new adventure of Mario is by all means faithful to the high quality standards set by its predecessors.

It definitely lacks the high level of polish we've come to expect of the series, however, and settles at merely "very good" in that regard. It also pales in comparison to the previously released (and far superior) 3D Land, making an otherwise very good game seem somewhat lacklustre when held up against its older brother.

New Super Mario Bros. 2 may not feel as fresh as last year's Super Mario 3D Land, but there's no denying that it's a terrific Mario title, and one of the best of it's genre on N3DS.

It's still faithfully wedded to its classical framework, but by manipulating the way the audience thinks about what has always been one of the most arbitrary elements of the Super Mario Bros. series, it makes the game even more of a challenge than before. There are new dangers to confront and new reasons to repeat worlds, and this prompted seachange in the way we think about Mario yields results both fascinating and entertaining.

New Super Mario Bros. 2's tricks may be old, but they are still some pretty darn good tricks. Length is one of the game's rare shortcomings.

Very fun, addictive and recommended, with the same great gameplay we are used to, but we also find it too conservative, as we hoped for some new features for the series.

A Mario expansion still beats out most other platformers out there in the control and polish department. I can't deny that I still enjoyed kicking koopa shells, climbing fences in castles, and hopping on the flag at the end of a stage. On the other hand, players have grown to expect innovation out of Mario, and this game makes a strong case that perhaps it's time for Nintendo to move on from the "new" formula.

While it may not push the series forward quite like some of Mario's earlier titles, that hardly matters in the long run; what's here is a heck of a lot of fun to play, with enough content to keep fans busy for a long time.