This one is hard to pinpoint a "score" for. The single player aspect is totally fine. If anything, I think the "New" SMB games are actually a downgrade vs. Super Mario Bros 3 and World, at least aesthetically. They also feel a bit more "floaty" which is not something I like platformers to feel like.
BUT - those minigames, man. Those are what make this game special. I spent a ton of time playing them with friends and family.
BUT - those minigames, man. Those are what make this game special. I spent a ton of time playing them with friends and family.
Loved it more than the Wii game. Despite the somewhat repetitive Bowser Jr. fights in every Tower, I do like that they get progressively harder every World and he eventually hides in his shell whenever you get near him and you have to throw shells at him. Every Castle boss was unique and weren’t Koopalings and sometimes you had to use a Mini Mushroom to get to a certain world if you wanted to 100% the game. The final fight with Bowser Jr. and Bowser was decent for what it was but definitely the weakest final boss out of the NSMB series. I loved the Blue Shell and Mini Mushroom and having to use them to get secret exits and star coins wasn’t as annoying as I thought it would be. The Ghost Houses are easily the best they’ve been in the NSMB series, all of them were really fun to play and never had me confused or frustrated. Overall a great start to the New Super Mario Bros series. Although that third Star Coin in W7-Castle can go fuck itself.
Easily my favorite entry in this series. It kinda gets forgotten about because they released so many games in this style in such quick succession, but the first game was so fresh and exciting when it came out, being that it was the return of 2D Mario. Even now, it's still the most enjoyable one for me to go back to (though I still enjoy the rest of the series).