“New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe” is a re-release on the Nintendo Switch of two games that were previously released exclusively on the Wii U. “New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe” includes both “New Super Mario Bros. U” and “New Super Luigi U,” giving the games a few new features and combining the two games into one cartridge. “New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe” was developed and published by Nintendo and released on Jan. 11, 2019, retailing for $60.
The gameplay in “New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe” remains the same from its past release, the same general gameplay popularized by “New Super Mario Bros.” for the Nintendo DS in the late 2000s. The player can play as either Mario, Luigi, Nabbit, Yellow Toad or the newly playable character Toadette. The player then traverses a 2D side scrolling world full of unique environments and enemies. The gameplay is fun and diverse, with different power ups affecting how a character plays through a level. Some of these powerups include a Fire Flower that allows the playable character to shoot fireballs to damage enemies or Mega Mushrooms that make the character extremely large, allowing the player to destroy enemies and platforms. A new power up was also added to this game, the Super Crown that only Toadette can use to transform into Peachette.
There is a lot of content in the game, with many hard levels and different modes to enjoy. Not only are the levels plentiful, but the each level has their own set of collectables called Star Coins for the player to collect. These collectables give the player an incentive to replay levels in an effort to collect all three of the coins hidden throughout the level.
The overall look of the game is decent. There is nothing special about it, although the look of the game is far from bad. The characters all look round and smooth, matching the cartoon style of previous “Super Mario” games. The characters have a multitude of animations that help instill life and personality into the characters. The environments in the levels are colorful, with soft shadows to create depth.
“New Super Mario Brothers U Deluxe” is a fun game, whether played alone or with other people. When played with a group of up to four people, the game becomes much busier. With four characters moving across the screen, it can add an extra level of difficulty, but luckily, as long as one player remains alive, the level can be completed.
The multitude levels are fun and unique, with varying environments to create an interesting world. Most levels are focused on creating longer, harder levels with interesting designs, while some levels are extremely fast, focusing more on racing against the timer to complete a level. The game’s difficulty truly depends on the character the player is playing. Characters such as Nabbit and Toadette being for players who want an easier experience, while characters like Mario, Luigi or Toad to give the player a harder challenge.
The biggest flaw with this game is the price point. The game is $60, the price of most new games, even though the games are both over five years old. Although the games are still enjoyable, they are not worth the full price for many fans, especially if they have played the game before on the Wii U. If this is the first time getting this game, then it may be worth the price tag.
Overall, “New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe” is joy to play, with addicting gameplay and a large amount of content, but whether or not this is a must buy depends on if the player has previously played or owned these games on the Wii U.