New Super Mario Bros. U

The central power-up mechanic, the Super Acorn, is probably the most balanced flight power-up since the Super Leaf in SMB3, which was 22 years old at the time of this game's release. In addition to being able to stick to walls, it allows for a downward-slanted glide that surpasses the player's maximum running speed, with one large gust of upward momentum permitted by tapping the RT button. Should you use the gust, Mario descends much more quickly with slowed horizontal momentum. So you are somewhat punished for using its largest benefit at poor times, and rewarded for using the Acorn in smart ways, because your momentum will be preserved.

Aesthetically, this is the best looking NSMB game by a mile. HD textures and HDMI output aside, the colors pop compared to the duller DS and Wii entries, and the hand-drawn backgrounds are quite beautiful. The camera is also zoomed out quite a bit more, which I preferred immensely. Knowing what's coming is paramount in these sorts of titles.

My largest complaints are commons ones - it appears that Nintendo didn't really care much about any criticisms of the Wii version, notably its strict, generic world order, poorly design boss fights, and confusingly drab choice of P3 and P4 characters. All three problems are still present in NSMBU, and their continued existence put a ton of people off from even playing this game. I realize that the Switch port has been somewhat successful, but the days of 2D Mario selling a billion copies are over until major changes are made struturally. It makes no sense to pour half a decade of creative movement mechanics into every new 3D Mario release, and keep the equally profitable NSMB series away from any sense of evolution. With every new 3D Mario release, the NSMB formula feels more dated.

For those reasons, NSMBU is not going to make new fans. I sincerely doubt it is going to appeal to anyone as a single-player experience unless they are platformer enthusiasts. If you are, and you have a tolerances for Nintendo tropes, there is a high-quality, polished platforming experience here for you to explore. It just isn't going to shatter your world or provide any unique take on the genre. It's "merely" the best in a series that excels at treading water.