Game #1349: New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe

 Might as well carry on.

 Alright, alright, let's catch up a bit, now with New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. I probably won't write about games I played last year, too late for that now, but it's not too late for this one!

 So, I'll make it quick and snappy. New to this subseries is the Squirrel power up, which is an alternate take on the Propeller costumes but with better vertical gliding and the ability to cling to walls. You also get baby Yoshis, which are Yoshis you have to carry and they get different abilities, such as encasing enemies in bubbles or producing light.

 Something I kinda hated is that they removed the Blue Toad, kinda. He is hidden behind the yellow Toad, you have to hold down the L button to pick him... but the Blue Toad and the Yellow Toad can't be used at the same time. If you are playing with four players, one of the players HAS to play as Toadette, which is sort of an easy mode, as she gets multiple jumps, gliding and her own unique power up... or they can either play as Nabbit, who can't use power ups, and is the most boring character, but he is invincible to anything but bottomless pits... being the extra easy mode. Forcing players to use easy modes is downright stupid.

 Packed alongside the main game is New Luigi Bros. U, which was a DLC campaign. This has as many levels as the original, they share an overworld, but stages are compltetely different. They are much shorter, but much harder. Of course, you can always use Nabbit to cruise through it.

 So... Well, it's more of the same. What was once new now feels predictable, as there really isn't much that makes this New NSMB stand out from any others in the series. So yeah, it's a perfectly safe game, it's fun, the stages are creative, but there's nothing really new about this franchise anymore. I won't fault it for it as long as the quality remains above par, unlike Pokemon.

6.0