Some games touch the soul despite not dealing with deep storylines or innovative gameplay. On the other hand, about 30 years ago, the goal, while we turned on the console, was not to find touching content, but a search for carefree fun. After a few decades, although the video game has reached some truly amazing content goals, every now and then we have to go back to those colorful jumps, those imaginative sounds, that videogame innocence. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe it's not really something new and fresh, counting that it comes directly from the WiiU game of the same name, but certainly this time the console on which it is presented is more widespread and placed than the previous one, reopening the doors to a world we did not see wait to explore again.
For those not familiar with it
I challenge anyone, highlighting name and surname, to write in the comments who has never seen one of the "classic" episodes of Super Mario: a platform 2D based solely on levels to overcome and enemies to take down by jumping on them (often). So widespread is his knowledge that the mustachioed ex-plumber has become an icon that transcends his media. New Super Mario Bros. Ultimate Deluxe therefore offers 8 game worlds, each characterized by a different setting, where in the various levels you will have to reach its conclusion using the ability of Mario, of power-up scattered throughout the game and the various platforms created and with various mechanics capable of giving an ever-increasing challenge to the player. After this first obstacle of difficulty, the three star coins appear for the bravest, which you will have to collect in each level and which will lead you in some cases to retrace your steps to look for secret areas.
The game, being a reinterpretation of the previous one, offers all the updated mechanics that had taken time to arrive on the WiiU: Luigi then appears, together with his reduced-time mode, and all the other characters return (such as the Ruboniglio, Toad), together with the new entry Toadette (who can transform into Peachette thanks to the crown power-up). This time the various characters will be usable in both the standard Mario story and the (former) DLC New Super Luigi U.
Speaking of gameplay, the game unfortunately has the same defect as the previous one: the game difficulty is not always balanced enough, sometimes boring the most experienced players or boring newbies. The fact that the game then features the same power-ups seen in the previous title removes the veil of magic that usually surrounds classic Mario titles: discovering the new form capable of giving fun and spectacular skills to Mario and companions is something iconic, capable of further pushing the player towards the conclusion of the game. Certainly the sense of already seen weighs too much, but we cannot make a drama out of it: in all respects the game is an improved port, and as such it goes to point precisely to fans of the saga or to those who have not tried the game.
A questionable but not necessarily wrong choice revolves around Toadette, or rather, its version Peachette. Playing with this character - with the crown power-up - reaching high (and perhaps secret) platforms will be really very easy, almost child's play. In this way, completing the game 100% becomes within everyone's reach, something that rarely happened in Mario titles. Toadette herself will also move the time hand from 100 to 200 seconds in the New Super Luigi U mode.
Certainly this does not make the game inferior or damaged, it simply takes away that pinch of charm that instead had to have to sweat seven shirts to achieve that result. The magic of having to learn Luigi's different tempos, of figuring out how to take full advantage of well-placed jumps, becomes obsolete in favor of an easier solution.
Not just a plot
Apart from the fact that the plot of the game is certainly not the only selling point of the product, it remains obvious that the title does not only present the base game: in fact, inside we find challenges, turbo mode and coin hunt, three additional modes already present on WiiU, which return with great fanfare bringing further gameplay to the game. With the challenges you will find individual game mechanics separated from the context and inserted in challenge easy to understand but difficult to complete; the turbo mode will offer you a slightly "faster" gameplay, while the coin hunt will insert a very different objective in specially created levels.
Two other modes are present in the game, although they are not properly active: the first, called Advice, will give you hints to perfect your game while Movies will give you access to an encyclopedia of videos of all levels, challenges and modes, so as to show you the best way to complete them.
Data in hand
Nintendo Switch to date has amazed us in many technical aspects, and returns to do so in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe: on TV the game arrives at 1080p, with bright colors and spectacular fluidity. In portable mode you are satisfied with a 720p still well done and satisfactory. The controls are comfortable with both a single Joy-Con and the Pro Controller, but this has always been the magic of the simplicity of the Super Mario platformer.
In short, what you will find packaged inside the box in the store is a sort of legacy, a tribute to that game that unfortunately was not seen by everyone during the previous Nintendo generation, but which can now spread like wildfire and bring every single owner. of Switch to approach it. Origins are important, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe will remind us of this.
