New Super Mario Bros. 2 Preview

Gotta get those coins.

When Nintendo revealed New Super Mario Bros. 2, I figured it would be a game that continued to push the great run Mario has had on Nintendo handhelds. Super Mario 3D Land felt as new and fresh as Super Mario 64, so following that title up will be no easy task.

While NSMB2 is a return to the 2D action, it's also a drastic departure from the kind of platforming action people have come to expect from the portly plumber. Instead of speeding through levels, only stopping for a mushroom or a fire flower, Mario is out for a huge cash grab.

NSMB2's big focus is on coins and comparing high scores with your friends. To that end, players can pick up the Golden Flower, a power up that turns every... single... thing... into coins.

Seriously, nearly everything in a level will turn to coins once you put the power of the Golden Flower on it. In the three levels Nintendo had on display at E3, one of them featured the Golden Flower. Once I picked it up in an underground passage, I held onto it for dear life.


NSMB2's new Coin Rush Mode is a high-score attack that pits your score against anyone you happen to connect with via Street Pass. Players can select three levels and collect as many coins as they can muster. The game will record this score and challenge other players via StreetPass to beat the high score you set on those same three levels.

Factoring in valuable golden enemies, cooperative play with Mario and Luigi, and a more familiar SMB3 Tanooki suit, there's a lot of coin to collect. NSMB2 will be available both as a download in the eShop and as a retail title on August 19th, 2012.