Typically the Japanese publisher of Metroid and Zelda ignores the common collectible trope many AAA games have fallen victim to. It's a very different feeling for a Nintendo game.
Now players will find themselves searching every nook and cranny for hidden coin boxes or unknown triggers that flip scores of coins into collectible space. When Nintendo and the team behind NSMB2 decided to focus on coins so heavily, they also slowed players down. My experience with Mario and company typically peaks when I'm breathlessly bounding over goombas and kicking koopa shells through waves of enemies. When I first tried this newly refocused gameplay at E3, I wasn't exactly impressed. These three levels are saved to the 3DS SD card and traded with other players through StreetPass connections so the people you walk by can try to beat your scores (and you theirs). To compliment this new scoring method, NSMB 2 also adds Coin Rush Mode, which allows players to choose three levels and go for their highest possible coin score. With the stakes so low, I found myself encouraged to try and try again anytime I missed a particular stack of coins or one of the three large golden coins hidden throughout each level. I arrived in World 2 with over 50 extra lives. The golden collectibles litter every single landscape and tally into the thousands over the course of the game.Įvolving the idea of collecting 100 coins in a single level giving an extra life, NSMB2 maintains your coin count across levels and regardless of whether you fall down a bottomless pit or fall victim to a stray koopa shell. NSMB2's big addition to the franchise is the focus on collecting coins towards a high score. The reality is that the struggle between yes and no actually extends to two core issues Nintendo faces, both in Mario games and on the 3DS platform.