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Screenshots for Mario's 'New' adventure give away some tantalizing details. How does it pay tribute to Super Mario Bros. 3? Read on!
The recent Nintendo Direct conference brought with it a handful of cool announcements, from an updated Pokedex 3D and Pokemon AR shooter to a Kirby 20th anniversary campaign to a new global 3DS firmware update. Probably the biggest news was when company president Satoru Iwata let loose some information about that mysterious 2D Mario game coming to 3DS this year.
Turns out this title is actually New Super Mario Bros. 2, a 3DS sequel to the original New Super Mario Bros. for DS. Little was revealed about this new Mushroom Kingdom adventure, aside from the fact that it will be coming to the U.S. and Japan this August. Otherwise, only four screenshots were shown… but within these images, some tantalizing details are hidden. Take a look at our screenshot analysis below, then let us know anything we missed in the comments section afterward.
Let's start with the screenshot above. Set in a snowy level (similar, no doubt, to many of the levels in World 5 of the original New Super game), the most noticeable thing about this screenshot is some of the color choices on display. As you can see, the pipes are pink instead of green or red, the brick blocks are grey instead of reddish brown, and the Pirahna Plant and Koopa Troopas are solid gold.
The grey brick block harkens back to World-e of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. This world, which made use of the Game Boy Advance's e-reader peripheral, is the only Mario game (until now) to contain grey brick blocks, which could only be destroyed by Hammer Mario or by Tanooki Mario's statue form. This could perhaps indicate that one or both of these powers will be making a return in New Super 2.
There's no telling for sure just yet, but the golden enemies may perhaps have something to do with the Super Star item, which makes Mario invincible for a limited period of time. Are there perhaps invincible enemies you have to dodge this time around? The screen is also full of sparkles, further indicating that some special effect or something similar is in place, disrupting the normal state of things. It's also possible the golden Stop Watch from Super Mario Bros. 2 is back, which allowed Mario to briefly stop time and freeze everything on screen.
And does it look like Mario perhaps just bonked a hidden block? If so, that could be the cause of all this golden mischief, as well as a happy confirmation that hidden blocks are back. Or maybe all these shiny enemies are somehow related to the Gold Fuzzy from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (we somehow doubt it though).
This next screenshot is certainly enough to get excited about, as it heralds the return of the P-Wing and Raccoon Mario from Super Mario Bros. 3. In fact, this image seems to indicate that New Super 2 will be drawing heavily from the legacy of SMB3 - which most definitely is a good thing. Unlike the more limited abilities of Tanooki Mario from Super Mario 3D Land, Raccoon Mario is able to fly high into the air then slowly float down. When this ability is gained via the P-wing, which you can see an icon for at the bottom-left of the screen, Mario is able to soar through the sky for an unlimited period of time (at least until he's hit by an enemy).
The power meter (which you can see beside the P-Wing icon) is also returning from Super Mario Bros. 3. This bar measures how much power Mario has built up by running without stopping. When this meter is full, it allows the plumber to fly as Raccoon Mario. In SMB3, the P-Wing power-up keeps this meter full at all times. One final note about this screenshot pertains to that big, blue block to the right.
As you can see, that block bears a striking resemblance to the colored blocks from SMB3 (which you can see in the screenshot above). Does this mean we'll be able to sink behind the level once more, and maybe even nab a Warp Whistle from a helpful Toad? Only time will tell.
These last two images aren't quite as telling, but there are still a few things worth pointing out. In the above image, you can see the return of Scuttle Bugs. These spider-like monster bug things originally appeared in Super Mario 64, but have also popped up in both Galaxy games, as well as both of the previous New Super Mario titles. Along with these bugs, we also see the return of climbable spider webs. Perhaps the return of climbing also means the return of those fences from Super Mario World that you have to punch to flip over to the other side. They were in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, after all, so it's not the biggest stretch in the world.
The last screenshot (above) shows off a sparkling, golden Mario in an underground area, which could perhaps be a castle level of some sort. If our previously stated hypothesis about the golden enemies is correct, this could be Mario under the influence of a Super Star - which might be why it looks like he's barreling fearlessly towards those red Koopa Troopas.
The recent Nintendo Direct conference brought with it a handful of cool announcements, from an updated Pokedex 3D and Pokemon AR shooter to a Kirby 20th anniversary campaign to a new global 3DS firmware update. Probably the biggest news was when company president Satoru Iwata let loose some information about that mysterious 2D Mario game coming to 3DS this year.
Turns out this title is actually New Super Mario Bros. 2, a 3DS sequel to the original New Super Mario Bros. for DS. Little was revealed about this new Mushroom Kingdom adventure, aside from the fact that it will be coming to the U.S. and Japan this August. Otherwise, only four screenshots were shown… but within these images, some tantalizing details are hidden. Take a look at our screenshot analysis below, then let us know anything we missed in the comments section afterward.
Let's start with the screenshot above. Set in a snowy level (similar, no doubt, to many of the levels in World 5 of the original New Super game), the most noticeable thing about this screenshot is some of the color choices on display. As you can see, the pipes are pink instead of green or red, the brick blocks are grey instead of reddish brown, and the Pirahna Plant and Koopa Troopas are solid gold.
The grey brick block harkens back to World-e of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. This world, which made use of the Game Boy Advance's e-reader peripheral, is the only Mario game (until now) to contain grey brick blocks, which could only be destroyed by Hammer Mario or by Tanooki Mario's statue form. This could perhaps indicate that one or both of these powers will be making a return in New Super 2.
There's no telling for sure just yet, but the golden enemies may perhaps have something to do with the Super Star item, which makes Mario invincible for a limited period of time. Are there perhaps invincible enemies you have to dodge this time around? The screen is also full of sparkles, further indicating that some special effect or something similar is in place, disrupting the normal state of things. It's also possible the golden Stop Watch from Super Mario Bros. 2 is back, which allowed Mario to briefly stop time and freeze everything on screen.
And does it look like Mario perhaps just bonked a hidden block? If so, that could be the cause of all this golden mischief, as well as a happy confirmation that hidden blocks are back. Or maybe all these shiny enemies are somehow related to the Gold Fuzzy from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (we somehow doubt it though).
This next screenshot is certainly enough to get excited about, as it heralds the return of the P-Wing and Raccoon Mario from Super Mario Bros. 3. In fact, this image seems to indicate that New Super 2 will be drawing heavily from the legacy of SMB3 - which most definitely is a good thing. Unlike the more limited abilities of Tanooki Mario from Super Mario 3D Land, Raccoon Mario is able to fly high into the air then slowly float down. When this ability is gained via the P-wing, which you can see an icon for at the bottom-left of the screen, Mario is able to soar through the sky for an unlimited period of time (at least until he's hit by an enemy).
The power meter (which you can see beside the P-Wing icon) is also returning from Super Mario Bros. 3. This bar measures how much power Mario has built up by running without stopping. When this meter is full, it allows the plumber to fly as Raccoon Mario. In SMB3, the P-Wing power-up keeps this meter full at all times. One final note about this screenshot pertains to that big, blue block to the right.
As you can see, that block bears a striking resemblance to the colored blocks from SMB3 (which you can see in the screenshot above). Does this mean we'll be able to sink behind the level once more, and maybe even nab a Warp Whistle from a helpful Toad? Only time will tell.
These last two images aren't quite as telling, but there are still a few things worth pointing out. In the above image, you can see the return of Scuttle Bugs. These spider-like monster bug things originally appeared in Super Mario 64, but have also popped up in both Galaxy games, as well as both of the previous New Super Mario titles. Along with these bugs, we also see the return of climbable spider webs. Perhaps the return of climbing also means the return of those fences from Super Mario World that you have to punch to flip over to the other side. They were in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, after all, so it's not the biggest stretch in the world.
The last screenshot (above) shows off a sparkling, golden Mario in an underground area, which could perhaps be a castle level of some sort. If our previously stated hypothesis about the golden enemies is correct, this could be Mario under the influence of a Super Star - which might be why it looks like he's barreling fearlessly towards those red Koopa Troopas.