Review for New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. Game for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 11/01/2019
There is practically no gamer, passionate or even just occasionally curious, who does not know the progenitor of the platform genre: Super Mario Bros. Since 1985 the most famous plumber in the videogame medium has always been synonymous with platform and home entertainment, and today finally lands on Nintendo Switch the last chapter of the genre: New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, already seen on Wii U, in all its magnificence… and after all there could be no Nintendo console without its Mario!
Some might turn up their noses thinking that this is a mere port, but don't worry: New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a revamped collection and with multiplayer implementations capable of enhancing the merits of a magnificent title, already poor in defects, and which impresses for quality and quantity of content.
Sorry Mario, the Princess is in another castle
The plot is still the same, but this time Bowser, the famous archenemy in love with Peach, is not so much for the subtle: aboard his flying vessel armed with a mechanical arm he grabs our friends during a banquet and throws them violently away, Plain of Acorns, and then calmly devote himself to the kidnapping of the princess. Thus begins our adventure in the intent to overcome, scheme after scheme, all the enemies scattered along the way in order to finally arrive at the castle, face Bowser, free Princess Peach and return the kingdom to its usual sugary splendor.
The road is long and fraught with dangers and news that will put our protagonists to the test: already why in this adventure we will be free to face any scheme with Mario, Luigi, Toad, Ruboniglio or Toadette at any time. One at a time or in groups of four, each scheme can be faced during the game both with friends and alone with the character of your choice, considerably increasing the fun that the gaming experience offers. Pattern after pattern, between frozen, underwater, desert or air worlds, our friends will face different scenarios and opponents but with a common element: an excellent level and character design studied in every detail.
Attention to detail
What makes New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe great is the care for every single detail: every platform, be it a simple wall rather than a waving mushroom, a cloud or a moving platform, is placed within the scenario with a care and maniacal precision. If you see something that you think is beyond your reach you are wrong: there is certainly a way to get there, it is only up to you to find out how. Each platform is accessible, each tunnel is within your reach; you may need some power ups from time to time, but rest assured that nothing is in fact unattainable.
Not to mention the huge amount of secrets placed in every single scheme you will face: hidden cubes, plants that reach the sky and invisible walls are hidden everywhere, ready to transport you to secret areas or extra schemes full of prizes and coins. Yes, because coins are a constant in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, and here as well as in other previous chapters you will have a whole series of coins that, from one hundred to one hundred, will reward you with points and extra lives. Of course, here too there are the classic coins, three for each scheme, to find and collect and you can be sure that at least one of these will always be crammed in a secret place, difficult to find and reach.
The road is long and fraught with dangers
In New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, even the map becomes interactive and fun, without being just a mere interlude between one scheme and another. First of all we will find the houses of the Toads, green or red: with the first we will be able to face mini games that will reward us with power ups to be taken before starting a game scheme, while the second will reward us with the mythical green mushrooms, always useful extra lives in case of difficulty. Also scattered around the various worlds make the appearance of the sated and relaxed mini Yoshi, who if reached will accompany us in battle providing hilarious and above all useful power ups.: squeezing the belly of baby dragons we will get fireballs, air bubbles, extra light and of course we will be able to eat enemies and bullets.
Always on the playing field of the map it will happen from time to time to meet some enemy in the pay of Bowser: if you are quick to reflex you can simply avoid the confrontation and move on, but if by chance you collide with them you will be immediately catapulted into an additional stage in which you can kill or be killed. In the first case you will get an additional power up, in the second you will lose a life and go back in the map to be able to continue along the path.
The power ups of Mario and his travel companions
As always, the gameplay of this genre of Nintendo titles is reduced to the bone without losing depth, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is certainly no exception. You move with the directional keys, one key is used for jumping, one for running / fire and a third allows you to pirouette to slightly lengthen the range of the jump. This simplification proves to be functional in single player and vital in multiplayer: thanks to it, in fact, a single Joy-Con is much more than enough to be able to face the game without delay and obviously this allows a fast multiplayer, perfect both in portability. than on the TV at home.
We will also find all the power ups that have made Super Mario famous over the years:
- The classic Red Mushroom, able to increase the size of Mario;
- Il Fire Flower, which makes Mario capable of shooting fireballs from his hands;
- Il Ice Flower, which allows you to shoot balls that freeze enemies and extinguish flames;
- Il Mini Mushroom, which drastically decreases Mario's size and weight, allowing him to jump farther and higher and reach inaccessible areas;
- The inevitable Green Mushroom, because a spare life is always convenient;
- La Little Star, which as you all know makes the character in use invulnerable;
- La Acorn, who transforms Mario into a flying squirrel capable of hanging, gliding and giving himself an upward momentum;
- La Acorn Power, identical to the previous one but able to make Mario fly indefinitely;
- La Pink Crown, usable exclusively by Toadette, who transforms her into Peachette and allows her to glide with the dress instead of falling and allows her to climb up a cliff in case of need;
- La Penguin suit, suitable for sliding and only available in the Superstar world unlockable at the end of the game;
- Il Propeller mushroom, also available only in Superstar, which allows characters to fly vertically upwards.
Next to the usual Mario's companions of all time - Toad and Luigi in the first place - in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe we also find Toadette and Ruboniglio. These characters have specific abilities aimed at simplifying the schemes to allow even the smallest or the less experienced to enjoy the game experience to the fullest. Toadette can take on all the power ups and has a specific one, the Pink Crown which - transforming her into Peachette - will allow her to glide in a fall and rocket up from the bottom of a precipice. Despite the hopes of the fans of the Japanese company, we confirm what they recently communicated by reiterating that the crown is an exclusive power up of Toadette and therefore cannot be used by any other player.
The other novelty character is Ruboniglio: a purple rabbit with a quick hand that occasionally appears in the game world and must be caught to earn a power up. In this edition, however, he is also a playable character, especially suitable for children given his peculiar peculiarity: he is absolutely immune to blows and opponents of any kind and loses a life only if crushed by elements of the scheme or if he falls on a cliff . Ruboniglio therefore becomes the perfect character for multiplayer games in which even a younger child or a particularly inexperienced player wants to play without actually impacting the team's gameplay.
Because of their powers that simplify the game, both Toadette and Ruboniglio, when used in single player, allow you to advance in the game but do not consider the scheme as concluded. Finally, honorable mention for Yoshi's cameos in many schemes that are well thought out and suitable to capture the attention and sympathy of the players with their performances.
Challenges and multiplayer
Needless to say, with such simplicity of the controls and with such a masterfully transposed game pattern, the multiplayer experience becomes a joy to share with friends. All together on the TV at home or on the small screen in portability you can try your hand at overcoming the schemes thanks to the interaction itself between the characters who can use each other as a springboard to reach inaccessible areas. In case of death we will see the character return in a bubble that will float without taking damage until one of our friends does not burst it. It is therefore impossible not to end up jumping on your head at random just for the sake of interacting, unleashing everyone's fun.
An added value is also given by Challenges. These are goal-set schemes: collect a certain amount of coins, finish in a given time, resist enemy fire and so on. In these challenges the achievement of the objectives will be rewarded with prizes in gold, silver and bronze and each personal record will be saved with a video and compared to a world ranking with which, in case of exceptional performances, it will be shared. Then there is also the Turbo match which will allow you a fast run on multiple schemes divided by degree of difficulty. Concludes the accessory game package the Coin Hunt with its Editor which will see you busy grabbing all the coins in the shortest possible time, and if you want to change something you will have an editor available to increase the difficulty of the challenge with your friends.
An almost flawless porting collection
We have talked about collections so far because it should be emphasized that New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe includes the titles New Super Mario Bros. U e New Super Luigi Bros. U. The latter presents a higher difficulty level and allows Luigi to jump a little longer and a little higher. Counting both titles, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe features over 150 rich and curated levels: enough to have fun for hours.
From a technical point of view, the title does not have any kind of problem thanks also to its decidedly parking computing needs. No hesitation and no defects were detectable in our accurate test and, thanks to an exceptional audio sector as always in its ability to provide a perfect frame to the gameplay, the final experience is to be praised. To want to be picky we would have appreciated the touch mini games present in the previous chapters of the brothers for DS and 3DS that have been so successful in the hearts of the little ones. Even greater use of Nintendo Switch features such as gyroscope and infrared sensors not that Amiibo would have been appreciated, but basically this does not affect the excellent final result. It must be admitted that a better platformer than this could hardly be done.
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is the most complete and definitive platformer you can imagine. Precise, clean fun both alone and with friends, it offers a complete and fulfilling experience at any age and with any spirit you face it. Whether you want to satisfy your craving for completeness or just laugh with friends, you will find the perfect solution to your needs in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. Incredible in any respect, it is a title practically without defects, thanks to a long previous experience on Wii U. The only detectable defects are subjective and in any case not limiting. In short, yet another center and yet another title to have, whether you are a die-hard fan or just curious.
► New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe is a platform-type game developed and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 11/01/2019
