Hoppin' and boppin' their way to the top.
I’m not here to tell you how New Super Mario Bros. U changed the way you’ll play platformers. Its spot on our list isn’t earned by innovation or a successful revamp of the formula. Why it tops the chart is because it earns high marks where it counts. Fun needs to come before anything else, and I’m happy to report that NSMBU is an incredibly fun game.
While it catches a lot of criticism for being the fourth iteration of the New Super Mario Bros. series, this Wii U launch title shows a lot of growth. It is the effort of a team that has learned along the way, a team that is more confident than ever.
Across its nine worlds, New Super Mario Bros. U allows players to delve as deep into the experience as they want. Simple run-throughs are encouraged just as strongly as those with a more completionist edge. It’s friendly and inviting, a terrific tool to gather friends and family around the Wii U. However, while few would argue the NSMB series’ welcoming nature, U makes great strides to appeal to us more hardened gamers. Secrets are tucked into places only the most skilled of us dare to explore, and I couldn’t have been more grateful. While the time spent playing with my wife and kids was easy-going, on my own I became a monster, exploring its nooks and crannies. NSMBU can be quite devious at times, omething I had never felt in previous entries. This dichotomy of accessibility and challenge is a great example of the game’s fun, and showcases NSMBU’s efforts to draw in an audience not with its name, but with its quality.
But Nintendo’s efforts didn’t end with making the best New Super Mario Bros. title they could, they still had to justify the console it runs on. Such are the duties of all these launch titles. Unique to NSMBU is the way it unites a community. Through the Miiverse, players can share their thoughts and feelings the moment they happen. Both triumphs and frustractions are asked for, then beamed across these internets for all to see. Advice can be sought, braggings can be sent out, all bringing fans of Mario together. While the functionality has always existed in forums, the broadness of the internet has only splintered the numbers. Miiverse and NSMBU bring us together to share in the fun.
The intention of games is to provide fun, first and foremost. NSMBU may not provide social commentary, or challenge our perceptions of the medium, but it certainly succeeds in providing the necessity of the hobby.