Everyone knows Mario and his twin brother Luigi. One of the biggest franchises in history and the face of Nintendo for a few decades now. The pair along with many of their friends having being trying to kick Bowser’s butt and rescue helpless Princess Peach for endless years and always eventually succeed in their efforts. When Mario isn’t trying to kick Bower’s butt he invites go-karting, what a top Italian plumber he is, right?

Everyone has played a Mario game and if you haven’t then well please leave the room now! You clearly aren’t a gamer of any kind. As a kid I remember owning Super Mario All-Stars and the massively popular Super Nintendo (SNES) and spending endless hours on the various Mario games included on the cartridge.

The games haven’t changed much over the years, some new power ups have been added in, but generally the different worlds always feel very familiar to their predecessors but that’s still a good thing right? Why fix something if it isn’t broken? The New Super Mario Bros 2 on the 3DS doesn’t break the trend and its familiar 8 worlds will keep you entertained for hours as you smash your way past every obstacle, collecting as many coins as possible and try to hit the top of the flag pole at the end. No point going into the story as it’s the same thing, Bowser kidnaps Princess -> Mario to the rescue -> defeat Bowser or Bowser side kick in the castle -> On to the next world -> Rinse and repeat. I loved the New Super Mario Bros on the DS because you had the same old story campaign you could play or you could go and play mini games that they put in. I spent hours on end playing that silly Wanted poster level!

New Super Mario Bros 2 is a 3DS title, so woo yeah 3D that’s so cool...NOT! The games a platformer so 3D is totally useless on the game and to top it off Nintendo only released on 3DS to pump an extra £5-10 out of customers for the latest title and maybe more for people who have to buy a 3DS in the first place to play the game. Then when you play the games it’s the same as the original New Super Mario Bros, I expected that to behind with obviously but I thought they would have some cool extra modes for me to sink my claws into. But alas I was let down, not even the mini games from the first New Super Mario Bros title are on the second one. I personally think that if you want to get this then get it, it’s not a bad game at all, it has everything that you would “expect” from a Mario game. However if you want value for money then I’d recommend buying the New Super Mario Bros that was released on the DS back in 2006. You will save yourself about £10 and get way more game modes and hours of game play. If you want to be super awesome and retro then pick yourself up a second hand SNES and a copy of Super Mario All-Stars and relive the original Super Mario Bros series along with a few extra games all on one cartridge! I guarantee you wouldn’t be disappointed with that, even if it is over 20 years old!

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is available now for 3DS.

Review in association with Subsonic Gaming Accessories, which are available from Amazon, Play.com and Zavvi.com Review by Thomas Thompsett, White Room Games.