Genre: Platformer
Year: 2012
Developed by: Nintendo EAD
Published by: Nintendo
Platforms: Wii U, Switch
#234
Feeling Like: U2
I’m a Nintendo fanboy.
That has to be it. I grew up playing the NES, I’ve owned every console they’ve ever put out and most of their handhelds. Nearly all my favorite games appeared on a Nintendo system. While I can recognize their decisions can range from baffling to maddening, the magic is always there. I’ll be purchasing the new Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at launch.
It’s the reason that New Super Mario Bros. U is this high on the 500. Has to be. Or, is it just that average Mario games are just that good?
It’s impossible to have any kind of discussion about New Super Mario Bros. U without making immediate comparisons with its predecessor, New Super Mario Bros. Wii. There’s not that much different about it, save for the Wii U gamepad (which could be used to create temporary platforming blocks) and the graphics were in High Definition. Honestly, gun to my head, I can’t tell you a single difference otherwise.
The Wii U was a spectacular flop, even with the Wii’s atmospheric rise in popularity around the world. What’s in a name? Well, “Wii U” might be the dumbest possible. Marketing didn’t help either – is the console the game pad? Was it a true successor to the Wii? It’s amazing the same company did both, though some say Nintendo used the experience as a launching pad for the Switch, another massive success.
It wasn’t as if the system didn’t have any good games; here’s one of them! I would’ve thought this would be a staple on Nintendo consoles going forward, but no such luck and with the Switch’s lifespan coming to an end (surely?) we may just have to wait a little longer for a threequel.
I’m tapped out on this one, sorry reader. I guess it shows how much fun trying to whirl your way through traditional-ish Mario levels with three other players is.
The 500 