New Super Mario Bros. U
- This article is about the 2012 Wii U game. For the Nintendo Switch port of this game, see New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe. For the microgame from WarioWare: Get It Together!, see New Super Mario Bros. U (microgame).
| New Super Mario Bros. U | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 North American box cover For alternate box art, see the game's gallery. | |||||||||||||
| Developer | Nintendo EAD | ||||||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||||||
| Platform | Wii U | ||||||||||||
| Release date | Template:Release[?] | ||||||||||||
| Languages | English (United States) English (United Kingdom) French (France) French (Canada) German Spanish (Spain) Spanish (Latin America) Italian Dutch Portuguese (Portugal) Russian Japanese | ||||||||||||
| Genre | Platformer | ||||||||||||
| Rating |
| ||||||||||||
| Modes | Single-player Multiplayer | ||||||||||||
| Format | Wii U:  Optical disc Digital download | ||||||||||||
| Input | Wii U:  Wii Remote (horizontal) | ||||||||||||
| Serial code | WUP-ARPE-USA (U.S.) | ||||||||||||
- Everyone
- Three years and older
- All ages
- General
- All ages
- General audience
New Super Mario Bros. U is a 2012 side-scrolling 2.5D platforming game, and a launch title for the Wii U. It is the sixteenth entry in the Super Mario series[1] and the fourth New Super Mario Bros. game. As a sequel to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the game is a follow-up to New Super Mario Bros. 2. It is the first Super Mario series game to be released as a launch title for a home console since Super Mario 64. An expansion pack for this game was later released in mid-2013, titled New Super Luigi U.
Based upon the New Super Mario Bros. Mii tech demo shown at E3 2011, the game uses new, more detailed background styles and models and introduces the Flying Squirrel power-up, acquired by Mario and his friends from an item called the Super Acorn, as well as utilizing the Wii U GamePad in Boost Mode.
The game was originally purchasable at the Nintendo eShop, requiring 2301.7 MB (about 2.25 GB) to be downloaded, but with the retail release of New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U, it is no longer possible to purchase New Super Mario Bros. U as a standalone game in regions outside of Japan.
A port titled New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was released for the Nintendo Switch in January 2019, and once again contains both New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U.
Story
Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad are with Princess Peach in Peach's Castle dining together. Bowser and the Koopalings suddenly arrive in their Airships, with the former sporting a Mecha Hand that smashes and launches the brothers and the Toads away from the castle. Mario and his friends crash into the Acorn Tree, launching Super Acorns through the area. They then tumble out of the tree, passing by a Bubble Baby Yoshi and Balloon Baby Yoshi, and they then look into the horizon to see Bowser beginning a siege on Princess Peach's Castle, setting the Mario Bros. and the Toads to go on a new adventure and to save Princess Peach.
As the game progresses, the view occasionally shifts to Peach's Castle, showing the flags being replaced by Bowser's flags (after Tilted Tunnel), and the castle being surrounded by a thin tornado-like cloud that is made thicker by Magikoopa's magic (after Stoneslide Tower), entirely obscuring the castle (after Giant Skewer Tower or Freezing-Rain Tower). Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, and Blue Toad also encounter Bowser's forces, including the Koopalings, Boom Boom, Magikoopa, and Bowser Jr., who occasionally attacks the heroes with his father's airship. All of them are defeated, and Bowser Jr. causes the airship to crash after making the mechanical hand punch through it. After reaching Peach's Castle and defeating Bowser, the group moves onward, but Bowser Jr. appears and urges Magikoopa to spread his magic across the area. After heading to the castle exterior, Mario and the others see Peach in a tower. Before they can save her, she is locked inside the tower and Bowser appears, now at a giant size, alongside Bowser Jr. Eventually, Bowser is defeated and Bowser Jr., embarrassed, flees. The character that defeated Bowser gets to Peach and bows down to her, and is then kissed by her, to their shock and delight, as the clouds surrounding the castle disappear, restoring it to its former state.
Outside the castle, the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. are fleeing on the airship as Bowser, who has returned to his normal size, recovers. Noticing the escaping airship, he climbs up onto one of the castle towers and leaps onto the ship, but his weight causes it to plummet into a hill nearby; they then fly away hanging onto Bowser Jr.'s Junior Clown Car while Mario and Blue Toad watch. They then turn back to the others, who are celebrating their victory, with Mario delivering a final victory pose.
Gameplay
Overview
New Super Mario Bros. U is a platform game which plays very similarly to that of past New Super Mario Bros. games, especially New Super Mario Bros. Wii, with the return of the 4-player multiplayer functioning identically to the Wii game, while most of the elements and design found in the game make heavy reference to Super Mario World. Many other gameplay elements from the Wii game, such as the Super Guide, Enemy Courses, and the bubble function, also return. In certain modes, players can play as their Miis, including the first player, who can also choose whoever to play as. Power-ups, like the Fire Flower, Ice Flower, Penguin Suit, Propeller Mushroom, and the Mini Mushroom return. The game also features a new power-up, the Super Acorn, which gives Mario and co. a Flying Squirrel form, which lets them glide and grab onto walls.
New Super Mario Bros. U features two main controller options: single-player using the Wii U GamePad, and single-player or multiplayer using Wii Remotes and/or Wii U Pro Controllers; the player can switch controllers at any point between the GamePad and a Wii Remote or Pro Controller by pausing the game, either in a level or on the world map, and selecting the "Change Controller" option. The game supports up to five simultaneous players, with up to four being able to play as the characters with a Wii Remote or Wii U Pro Controller, and are able to drop in and out at any point while in a stage by pressing 
on the GamePad and selecting a character, or on the map by pausing and selecting "Number of Players". Another player is able to use the Wii U GamePad in what is known as Boost Mode. In Boost Mode, the GamePad player can assist the other players by placing blocks for them to stand on and stunning enemies. Boost Mode can be used at any point when playing with one of the other controllers; when playing with just the GamePad, it supports Off-TV Play.
After clearing Layer-Cake Desert-1, an enemy called Nabbit appears and steals an item from a Toad House connecting that level, heading back to Acorn Plains-1. When the player enters a stage with Nabbit, the objective is to race him to the goal, trying to catch him before he can get away. If the player succeeds in catching Nabbit, they are rewarded with a P-Acorn. Replacing the Toad saving in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Nabbit only appears in one stage in the first seven worlds.
The first update to the game added Miiverse support. With Miiverse functionality enabled, players can read each others' posts on the world map by viewing the map; when not viewing the map a Miiverse post is indicated by a red balloon, generally near a stage, and can be hidden by pressing 
; when on the World Map while using Boost Mode, the GamePad player can scroll across the map on the GamePad screen and view Miiverse posts. At certain times throughout gameplay, such as when the player dies several times or reaches the end of a course in a specific way (collecting all the Star Coins, clearing in a certain amount of time, clearing without taking damage, etc.), they are given a prompt to post a message to Miiverse. Players can also see Miiverse posts after they die in a stage. Miiverse settings can be changed at any point on the world map by selecting the pencil and envelope icon on the bottom right of the pause menu.
The sound is in stereo, with no support for 5.1 surround.
Controls
Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the Wii Remote is the primary controller for the game, allowing players to shake the controller to perform a Spin Jump, dismount Yoshi, and pick up objects. However, players can also play the game normally with the Wii U GamePad (single-player only) or the Wii U Pro Controller (after the 1.3.0 update). In the case of the Wii U Pro Controller, actions that require motion control on the Wii Remote and Wii U GamePad are replaced with button pressing, as the Wii U Pro Controller lacks motion controls.
Unlike New Super Mario Bros. Wii, this game lacks Nunchuk support.
Stages
| Action(s) | Wii U GamePad | Wii U Pro Controller | Wii Remote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move, swim (Baby Yoshi) |  / 
|
| |
| Jump, swim, glide (hold), wall jump, Flutter Jump (Yoshi; hold), double/triple jump (press right upon landing) | Option 1:  / Option 2:  /
|
| |
| Run, carry objects (hold); shoot fireballs/iceballs, extend tongue (Yoshi) | Option 1:  / Option 2: /
|
| |
| Ground Pound (normal, simultaneous*) | Jump + (down) / 
|
+ 
| |
| Crouch, slide (on slopes) | (down) /
|
| |
| Climb (on fences, ladders, poles) | (up) / 
|
| |
| Bubble* | N/A | 
|
|
| Enter door/Warp Pipe | Door: (up) / Pipe: / (in direction of entrance)
|
Door: Pipe: (in direction of entrance)
| |
| Spin Jump, Baby Yoshi abilities, dismount Yoshi, Flying Squirrel jump, spin underwater (Baby Yoshi) |  (shake) /  /  /  / 
|
/
|
 (shake)
|
| Grab other players*/frozen enemies | Run + (shake) / / / / (release run button to throw) |
Run + / (release run button to throw) |
+ (shake) (release to throw)
|
| Tilt Tilt Lifts | Tilt GamePad | Alternate between pressing and
|
Tilt Wii Remote |
| Pause |
| ||
| Boost Mode* | 
|
N/A | |
* Multiplayer only.
| Action(s) | Wii U GamePad/Pro Controller | Wii Remote |
|---|---|---|
| Move, select option | /
|
|
| Open inventory |
|
|
| View map |
|
|
| Pause |
| |
| Zoom in/out (map view) | /
| |
| Confirm, hide/show Miiverse posts (map view) |
|
|
| Back |
|
|
Yoshis
Green Yoshis make a return, acting like in New Super Mario Bros Wii. Green is the only color available for Yoshis that the players ride on, unlike New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Yoshi now has a meter that tracks how many fruits he eats, instead of showing a number each time he eats one. As usual, eating 5 makes him lay an egg containing an item. Like in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Yoshi cannot leave the courses that he appears in.
New Super Mario Bros. U also features the return of Baby Yoshis, having been absent from the Super Mario series since their debut in Super Mario World. The game features three differently-colored Baby Yoshis, each one with a special ability. They differ from the adult Green Yoshi in terms of gameplay. Being babies, they cannot be ridden, so characters must carry them throughout the levels. Baby Yoshis also instantly eat almost any enemy that is in front of them. Unlike in Super Mario World, however, Baby Yoshis no longer grow into adults after eating several enemies, instead remaining as babies. Two types of Baby Yoshis found on the overworld can be taken into any course, with the exception of Fortresses, Airships, and Castles.
Inventory
The world map inventory, seen in Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, returns in New Super Mario Bros. U, allowing players to store items that can be used before entering a level. Unlike the other inventories, this is limited to ten items only. If more items come in, the player will have to discard items from the inventory until they have ten. Players can gain items into their inventory by playing Red Toad House minigames, collecting items on the world map itself, completing an Enemy Course, catching Nabbit, or finishing a level with the final two digits of the time matching.
Extra modes
In addition to the main adventure, New Super Mario Bros. U features three additional bonus modes to play. The first of these is Challenge Mode, in which players must complete a given objective on a given stage, some within a specific time limit. In most cases, after the player completes a challenge, they are ranked with a medal depending on how well they did. There are five types of challenges: Time Attack, Coin Collection, 1-Up Rally, Special, and Boost Mode.
Another mode is Boost Rush Mode, where players have to reach the end of two or three selected stages in the lowest possible time, similar to the Coin Rush mode featured in New Super Mario Bros. 2. Unlike Coin Rush, the stages scroll automatically, meaning the player has to keep up with the stage, which speeds up every time they collect coins.
Coin Battle from New Super Mario Bros. Wii is also available. However, in this version of the mode, players can be grouped into teams against each other or play free-for-all, rather than just the latter. The Wii U GamePad can also be used for Coin Edit, in which the GamePad is used to customize the coin placement in the Coin Battle-exclusive courses.
Unlike in the main game, player 1 can choose any character in these modes.
Worlds
Unlike the previous New Super Mario Bros. titles, where worlds are separated like in Super Mario Bros. 3, New Super Mario Bros. U has a contiguous world map, similar to Super Mario World. Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, the worlds include Toad Houses and Enemy Courses, though only red and green Toad Houses return. Also returning are Towers, Castles, and Ghost House-related levels. The music changes instruments throughout the world map similar to Yoshi's Island.
This is the first 2D Super Mario game to use completely unique names for each of its levels, and the second after Super Mario World to name its greater areas in-game. Both games use food and beverages as the theme for their world names.
| Worlds | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Color-link | Template:Color-link | Template:Color-link | |||
|
|
| |||
| A grassy world with plenty of shrubs, slanted mountains, and the Acorn Tree. This world resembles many other first worlds in the Super Mario series. | A desert dotted with melting ice creams, giant cakes, and a sea of sand with Moai-like statues. | A chain of tropical islands and sea stacks, similar to World 4 from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. This world can be entirely skipped for Frosted Glacier. | |||
| # | Level | # | Level | # | Level |
| 1 | Acorn Plains Way (Grass) | 1 | Stone-Eye Zone (Desert) | 1 | Waterspout Beach (Beach) |
| 2 | Tilted Tunnel (Underground) | 2 | Perilous Pokey Cave (Desert/Underground) | 2 | Tropical Refresher (Underwater) |
|
Crushing-Cogs Tower (Tower) | 3 | Fire Snake Cavern (Desert/Underground) |
|
Giant Skewer Tower (Tower) |
| 3 | Yoshi Hill (Grass) |
|
Stoneslide Tower (Tower/Desert) | 
|
Haunted Shipwreck (Shipwreck) |
| 4 | Mushroom Heights (Sky) | 4 | Spike's Spouting Sands (Desert) | 3 | Above the Cheep Cheep Seas (Beach/Sky) |
| 5 | Rise of the Piranha Plants (Grass) | 5 | Dry Desert Mushrooms (Desert/Sky) | 4 | Urchin Shoals (Beach) |
|
Lemmy's Swingback Castle (Castle) | 6 | Blooming Lakitus (Desert) | 5 | Dragoneel's Undersea Grotto (Underwater) |
|
Blooper's Secret Lair (Underwater/Underground) |
|
Morton's Compactor Castle (Castle) |
|
Larry's Torpedo Castle (Castle/Water) |
|
Piranha Plants on Ice (Snow) | 
|
Skyward Stalk (Sky) | ||
| Template:Color-link | Template:Color-link | Template:Color-link | |||
|
  |
| |||
| A snowy mountain set at night, filled with stars and constellations. This world can be entirely skipped for Sparkling Waters. | A rainforest flooded by purple poison, based on the Forest of Illusion from Super Mario World and World 4 from New Super Mario Bros. | A rocky region with tall, holey mountains. Several red and blue switches similar to ! Switches appear in this world, and pressing them activates Stretch Blocks with their corresponding color. | |||
| # | Level | # | Level | # | Level |
| 1 | Spinning-Star Sky (Snow) | 
|
The Mighty Cannonship (Airship) | 1 | Fuzzy Clifftop (Mountain) |
| 2 | Cooligan Fields (Snow) | 1 | Jungle of the Giants (Jungle) | 2 | Porcupuffer Falls (Mountain/Water) |
|
|
Freezing-Rain Tower (Tower/Snow) | 2 | Bridge over Poisoned Waters (Jungle) |
|
Grinding-Stone Tower (Tower) |
| 3 | Prickly Goombas! (Snow) | 3 | Bramball Woods (Darkness Jungle) | 3 | Waddlewing's Nest (Mountain) |
| 4 | Scaling the Mountainside (Snow) |
|
Snake Block Tower (Tower) | 4 | Light Blocks, Dark Tower (Underground) |
| 5 | Icicle Caverns (Snow/Underground) |
|
Which-Way Labyrinth (Ghost house) | 5 | Walking Piranha Plants! (Mountain) |
|
|
Swaying Ghost House (Ghost House) | 4 | Painted Swampland (Haunted forest/Painting) | 6 | Thrilling Spine Coaster (Underground) |
|
|
Wendy's Shifting Castle (Castle/Snow) | 5 | Deepsea Ruins (Underwater/Underground) | 2
|
Screwtop Tower (Tower) |
|
Fliprus Lake (Snow) | 6 | Seesaw Bridge (Jungle) | 7 | Shifting-Floor Cave (Underground) |
| 7 | Wiggler Stampede (Jungle) |
|
Roy's Conveyor Castle (Castle) | ||
|
|
Iggy's Volcanic Castle (Castle) | ||||
|
Flight of the Para-Beetles (Sky) | ||||
| Template:Color-link | Template:Color-link | Template:Color-link | |||
|
|
| |||
| A world above the clouds. Two levels take place at sunset, and this world's Castle takes place near the tornado surrounding the next world, as marked by different cloud coloration. | Peach's domain, initially in its welcoming usual state but slowly transformed into a lava-based area by Bowser. This world must be completed to beat the game. | A secret world unlocked after beating Bowser's final battle. Its levels must be unlocked with the Star Coins collected from all the levels of the previous worlds. | |||
| # | Level | # | Level | # | Level |
| 1 | Land of Flying Blocks (Sky) | 1 | Meteor Moat (Volcano/Castle exterior) | 1 | Spine-Tingling Spine Coaster (Grass) |
| 2 | Seesaw Shrooms (Sky) | 2 | Magma-River Cruise (Volcano/Castle exterior) | 2 | Run for It (Desert/Sky) |
| 3 | Switchback Hill (Sky) | 3 | Rising Tides of Lava (Volcano/Underground) | 3 | Swim for Your Life! (Underwater/Underground) |
|
|
Slide Lift Tower (Tower) | 4 | Firefall Cliffs (Volcano/Castle exterior) | 4 | Hammerswing Caverns (Snow/Underground) |
|
|
Spinning Spirit House (Ghost House) | 
|
Red-Hot Elevator Ride (Castle) | 5 | Spinning Platforms of Doom (Haunted forest/Painting) |
| 4 | Bouncy Cloud Boomerangs (Sky) | 2
|
The Final Battle (Castle) | 6 | Fire Bar Cliffs (Mountain) |
| 5 | A Quick Dip in the Sky (Sky) | 7 | Lakitu! Lakitu! Lakitu! (Sky) | ||
| 6 | Snaking above Mist Valley (Sky) | 8 | Pendulum Castle (Fortress) | ||
|
|
Ludwig's Clockwork Castle (Castle/Sky) | 9 | Follow That Shell! (Sky) | ||
|
|
Boarding the Airship (Airship) | ||||
Other areas
| Template:Color-link | Template:Color-link | |
|---|---|---|
|
| |
| A small island between Acorn Plains and Sparkling Waters that houses a Purple Toad House, where the player can check several records. It is unlocked alongside Superstar Road. | A multiplayer-exclusive world found in Coin Battle, similar to World Coin from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. | |
| # | Difficulty | |
| Template:World-link (Grass) | ★ | |
| Template:World-link (Cosmic) | ★ | |
| Template:World-link (Beach) | ★★ | |
| Template:World-link (Sky) | ★★★ | |
| Template:World-link (Underwater) | ★★★ | |
| Template:World-link (Ghost House) | ★★★★ | |
| Template:World-link (Cosmic/Snow) | ★★★★★ | |
| Template:World-link (Sky) | ★★★★★ | |
Characters
Playable
Luigi (multiplayer only)
Yellow Toad (multiplayer only)
Blue Toad (multiplayer only)
Mii (Coin Battle, Boost Rush, and Challenge Mode only)
Supporting
Princess Peach and Toads
Transformations
 |
 |
 |
![Artwork of Fire Mario in New Super Mario Bros. (also used in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario 3D Land)[1][2]](/File:Fire_Mario.png) |
 |
(starting form) |
(  required) |
(New,  required) |
(  required) |
(  required) |
 |
 |
 |
 | |
(  required) |
(  required) |
(New,  required) |
(  required) |
(  required) |
Enemies and obstacles
Enemies and obstacles with an asterisk (*) first appeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The only two enemies that do not reappear are the Ghost Vase and the Bull's-Eye Bomber Bill.
Enemies
New enemies
Returning enemies
Obstacles
Bosses
Tower bosses
Castle/airship bosses
Items and objects
Items
Power-ups
Objects
Blocks
Transportation objects
Climbable objects
Platforms
Reception
New Super Mario Bros. U has received generally positive reviews. The game currently maintains an 84 average on Metacritic[2] and had an 84.48% on GameRankings.[3] GameXplain gave the single-player and multi-player modes 4 stars out of 5,[4] IGN gave it a score of 9.1 out of 10,[5] EGM[6] gave a score of 9/10, Joystiq gave it 4.5 stars out of 5,[7] Polygon[8] and Destructoid[9] gave the same score of 8.5/10, VentureBeat[10] gave it a score of 83/100 (83%), Games Radar gave it 4 stars out of 5,[11] and Gamespot gave a score of 8.5.[12]
The game has been praised for its balanced gameplay and challenge mode, with IGN's Rich George describing it as "the best thing to come to Mario's world since 3D", while criticizing it as not pushing the Wii U's visuals and audio potential. He also stated, "though it doesn't necessarily redefine Nintendo's iconic hero, it still manages to capture the sense of carefree adventure that many of us felt as kids." He also criticized the game's "weak graphics and audio, plus the return of the irritating chaotic, bouncy multiplayer mode." He praised the progressing difficulty in the game and the additional difficulty of Challenge Mode.
| Reviews | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Reviewer, Publication | Score | Comment | |
| Jim Sterling, Destructoid | 8.5/10 | "New Super Mario Bros. U is a great little platformer that kicks off the Wii U launch with a bang. Players know exactly what they're getting with this one -- an entertaining and incomplex bit of gaming that provides challenge and smirks in equal measure. While certainly a "safe" game to launch with, it is by no means unremarkable, and the only people who would fail to have fun are those with a fundamental aversion to Mario or platformers in general. Literally everybody else would find it incredibly difficult to dislike this one ... even if some of those latter stages will make them temporarily despise it. Because nobody likes lava levels. Nobody." | |
| Christian Donlan, Eurogamer | 9/10 | "Is the plumber's Wii U debut as good as his recent 3D outings? Not quite, but for the New Super Mario Bros. series, it's a real step forward in detailing, imagination and character. There's always been a keen Mario brain working away inside these 2D design exercises. Now, it feels like there's a proper soul to go along with it." | |
| Richard George, IGN | 9.1/10 | "It's difficult to find freshness or brilliance in a 2D landscape. Mario's world is now three decades old. That would seem to suggest new territory is scarce, and in some ways the formulaic New Mario series had come to reinforce that fear. But New Super Mario Bros. U demonstrates there's not just life left in this type of game, but that it can be modern and nostalgic at the same time. Nintendo's approach here strikes a great balance in all areas, ranging from its difficulty to design to enemies and bosses. And for everything the basic Story Mode does right – and that's a considerable amount – the Challenge Mode will be remembered as a key moment in the life of the New Mario series, where Nintendo realized it didn’t have to sacrifice the core gamer’s experience at the expense of a more casual audience. This is how Mario can and will appeal to everyone." | |
| Aggregators | |||
| Compiler | Platform / Score | ||
| Metacritic | 84 | ||
| GameRankings | 84.48% | ||
Sales
As of March 31, 2014, New Super Mario Bros. U is the 3rd best-selling game for the Wii U, having sold about 4.16 million copies worldwide. As of September 30, 2021, it had sold 5.82 million copies worldwide.[13]
Updates
Release date: November 18, 2012
Released at launch, the first update adds the game's Miiverse functionality.
Release date: March 15, 2013[14]
The second update causes any Miiverse posts made in-game to be posted to a separate "Game Posts" community rather than the standard community.
Release date: June 20, 2013[15]
The third game update adds the ability for the game to receive the New Super Luigi U downloadable content and puts a prompt in-game to go to the Nintendo eShop to download it. The update also adds support for the Wii U Pro Controller.
New Super Luigi U
- Main article: New Super Luigi U
In July 2013, as part of the Year of Luigi celebration, a large-scale expansion pack titled New Super Luigi U was released as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U on the Nintendo eShop, and was later released as a standalone title at retail. The pack contains 82 new courses in place of the original ones, featuring Luigi as the main character in the place of Mario, who does not appear at all within the game.
The game features the same multiplayer, with the option of playing as Yellow Toad, Blue Toad, or Nabbit (who cannot power-up like the other characters, but is impervious to enemy damage). The game features similar physics to that of Luigi's style of gameplay in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, in that the characters run faster and jump higher, but stop slower. The levels have also been designed to be more challenging, with each one being shorter and featuring a 100 second time limit.
The Mario & Luigi Deluxe Set Wii U bundle released in November 2013 includes with it both games put onto one disc, titled New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U. In addition to being a compilation of both games, this release includes several bonus videos.
With the discontinuation of digital purchases for Wii U in March 2023, it is no longer possible to buy New Super Luigi U as DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U, though it can still be downloaded by those who purchased it when it was available.
Development
As stated above, New Super Mario Bros. U was based upon the New Super Mario Bros. Mii Wii U experience demo shown off at E3 2011.[16] A translation of a Spanish online magazine revealed that the new title was in development and would be revealed at E3 2012,[17] with the game fully revealed to be New Super Mario Bros. U during the E3 trailer.[18]
New Super Mario Bros. U began development soon after the completion of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, using pre-existing elements from the Wii game, as development equipment for the Wii U did not exist at the time.[19] The game's singular, interconnected world map was inspired by the one seen in Super Mario World; Masataka Takemoto desired to take the map from that game and use the Wii U in order to recreate and expand upon the concept.[20] The map being seamless also had a role in Miiverse integration, as with the setup of the map it was possible to display comments across each of the levels.[21] The concept of drop-in play with one player on the Gamepad placing blocks was brought up early in development. When the Wii U Gamepad was brought up during development, the team began to conceptualize ways to use it, talking specifically about the drop-in play. Wanting to make a feature with "controls that you can understand right away with no explanation," the concept of using the GamePad to place blocks the other players can jump on went through.[19]
Challenge Mode was based upon the idea of setting a self-challenge in the previous games, as well as the challenge site for New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Because of ideas like this, the developers decided to put the Challenge Mode into the game from the beginning. The challenges were created with all types of skill levels in mind.[22]
Boost Rush Mode was based on the Free-for-All Mode featured in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, in that they wanted a similar mode for playing the main game stages in short bursts. The developers tried connecting courses together and playing them through, but found it uneventful; they then added the concept of collecting coins resulting in the screen scrolling faster, and found it to fit a Super Mario-style of gameplay.[20]
Pre-release and unused content
Miis were originally going to be playable in the game's Story Mode. In the final game, Mii playability is restricted to the bonus modes. Additionally, Boost Mode was also originally titled "Assist Play". The Acorn Plains map as seen in the E3 showcase for the game is also very different from the version seen in final game.
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:New Super Mario Bros. U.
Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad
Mario and Yoshi
A Waddlewing holding a Super Acorn
Group art
Media
- For a complete list of media files for this subject, see Multimedia:New Super Mario Bros. U.
 Overworld Theme | File info 0:30 |
| Athletic Theme | File info 0:30 |
| Snow Theme | File info 0:30 |
| Title Theme | File info 0:30 |
Glitches
By entering a Warp Pipe or door in any stage exactly when the timer hits zero, the player does not die, and they can explore the level indefinitely.
Staff
- Main article: List of New Super Mario Bros. U staff
New Super Mario Bros. U was produced by Takashi Tezuka and Hiroyuki Kimura, with Masataka Takemoto as the director and Tsutomu Kaneshige and Shinichi Ikeamtsu as the general coordinators. Satoru Iwata was the executive producer, with the general producer being Shigeru Miyamoto. Masanobu Sato was the lead designer, and Shiro Mouri was the programming director. The music was composed by Shiho Fujii and Mahito Yokota, with Koji Kondo as sound adviser.
References to other games
- Mario Bros.: Coin Courses-2 is based on the levels in this game with similar platforms and Koopa Troopas acting like as Shellcreepers.
- Super Mario Bros.: The second level is an underground level with a secret path over the ceiling passing over the exit Warp Pipe, leading to a secret exit. In the final battle with Bowser, when Mario hits the switch, it causes an axe to fall and break the bridge. Sprites from this game are used in the game menus.
- Super Mario Bros. 3: Boom Boom is fought as the mid-boss of each world. The Super Acorn is comparable to the Super Leaf, as it has a P-variation. The Koopalings, which originated from this game, have airships once again. Airship levels, and the castle rooms before entering a Koopaling's airship, both use a remastered version of the airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.
- Super Mario World: The world map is connected again and a ghost ship, similar to the Sunken Ghost Ship level, appears in this game. The Warp Pipes have a similar structure to the ones in Super Mario World. Most of the worlds are named after food again. Some of the world's features are similar to those found in Dinosaur Land (e.g. Acorn Plains having jagged mountains or Soda Jungle being one-third based on the Forest of Illusion). Super Mario World has the exact same number of exits that this game has: 96.
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: The name of the Challenge "Spin Jump, Get Dizzy" is a reference to that of a level from this game, Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy. Bubble Baby Yoshi's abilities maybe a reference to how Yoshi can shoot bubbles in this game including how the player can bounce off the bubbles. Kamek uses his magic to enhance Boom Boom's attacks, just as he did with this game's bosses. He also grows Bowser to a large size, similar to the final fight with Baby Bowser.
- New Super Mario Bros.: Cloud Lifts are redesigned to better resemble their New Super Mario Bros. counterparts and compress when stood on, just like in this game.
- Mario Kart Wii: The Red Shell and Green Shell use their artworks from this game, but the Green Shell's artwork is mirrored.
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii: The title is the sequel to this game. Many graphical, audial, and technical assets were reused from this game. Kamek growing Bowser with magic could also be a reference to this game's final fight, where similar events transpired. The main gimmicks in Princess Peach’s Kingdom's tower and castle levels, Pendulum Platforms and cogs respectively, are switched in order of appearance between Acorn Plains' Crushing-Cogs Tower and Lemmy's Swingback Castle.
- Super Mario Galaxy 2: Balloon Baby Yoshi and Glowing Baby Yoshi's abilities are similar to those of Blimp Yoshi and Bulb Yoshi, respectively. Magmaarghs and Magmaws return from this game.
- Super Mario 3D Land: Boom Boom's voices are reused, as well as the motion patterns of some of the enemies.
- Mario Kart 7: The Miis reuse their voice clips from this game.
- New Super Mario Bros. 2: The title is a follow-up to this installment. The Note Block sounds are reused. The Goal Pole also produces the flag containing the emblem of the topmost character, also seen in this game.
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star: The Ghost House doors use the design from The Enigmansion in this game rather than the one from New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The Bony Beetle's design is reused. Also, Bowser Jr. uses the same glass dome in his clown copter as in this game.
References in later games
- Mario Kart Arcade GP DX: Various background mountains from Acorn Plains are visible in the Bowser Jr. Cup's courses, Aerial Road and Sky Arena.
- Mario Kart 8: Mecha Cheeps reappear in the underwater sections of Water Park.
- Mario Golf: World Tour: Layer-Cake Desert, Sparkling Waters, and Rock-Candy Mines appear as downloadable courses in this game. Some pieces of Mii gear are based upon both Nabbit and the Boss Sumo Bro, both of which originate from this game. Nabbit returns as a downloadable playable character.
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: A stage based on New Super Mario Bros. U, Mushroom Kingdom U, appears in this game.
- Mario Party 10: A few of the minigames take place in areas that resemble some of the worlds in New Super Mario Bros. U, such as Cheep Cheep Leap taking place in Sparkling Waters and Fruit Scoot Scurry taking place in Layer-Cake Desert.
- Super Mario Maker/Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS: The fourth game style in these games is based on New Super Mario Bros. U.
- Super Mario Run: The graphics, as well as most of the music, are based on New Super Mario Bros. U.
- Mario Party: Star Rush: The underwater theme from New Super Mario Bros. Wii appears as a song from New Super Mario Bros. U in the Rhythm Recital mode for this game.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: The stage Mushroom Kingdom U from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U returns as a stage in this game. The Koopalings, Nabbit, Boo, Hammer Bro, Banzai Bill, Thwomp, Bob-omb, Flying Squirrel Toad, Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Super Star appear as spirits, using their artwork from New Super Mario Bros. U.
- Super Mario Maker 2: Like the previous Super Mario Maker games, the fourth style in this game is based on New Super Mario Bros. U.
- WarioWare: Get It Together!: This game features a microgame based on New Super Mario Bros. U.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (simplified) | New 超级马力欧兄弟 U[23] New Chāojí Mǎlì'ōu Xiōngdì U |
New Super Mario Bros. U | |
| Chinese (traditional) | New 超級瑪利歐兄弟U[23] New Chāojí Mǎlì'ōu Xiōngdì U |
New Super Mario Bros. U | |
| Korean | 뉴 슈퍼 마리오브라더스 U[?] Nyu Syupeo Mariobeuradeoseu Yu |
New Super Mario Bros. U; as named in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe |
Trivia
- If the Miis are selected as P1, they will be colored like Mario. If P2, they will be colored like Luigi. If P3, they will be colored like Wario. If P4, they will wear blue shirts and dark blue overalls, similar to Luigi's light blue alternate costume from the Super Smash Bros. series. This could be a reference to the player 4 in some of the Wii U Virtual Console ports of the Game Boy Advance iteration of Mario Bros.
- When the Mario Bros., Toads, or Miis are not moving, they stop and stare at the screen until the player starts moving them again.
- Sometimes, on the title screen, Luigi almost trips over instead of jumping and ground-pounding the ground.
- In this game, New Super Luigi U, and their Nintendo Switch port, Yellow Toad and Blue Toad's in-game voices are swapped compared to New Super Mario Bros. Wii. However, their voices in the menus and character selection screen are still the same as the previous game. In Super Mario Maker 2's New Super Mario Bros. U-style, Toad's voices are a combination of both of them.
- Bowser transforming Peach's castle into a stronghold of his in this game is similar to the climax of Super Mario Bros.: Peach-hime Kyūshutsu Dai Sakusen!
External links
References
- ^ Kazuya Sakai (Ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan) (ed.) (2018). Encyclopedia Super Mario Bros.. Milwaulkie: Dark Horse Books. ISBN 978-4-09-106569-8.
- ^ New Super Mario Bros. U. Metacritic (English). Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ New Super Mario Bros. U for Wii U. GameRankings (English). Archived December 9, 2019, 01:33:58 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ GameXplain (November 15, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U - Video Review (Wii U) [HD]. YouTube (English). Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ George, Richard (November 15, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U Review. IGN (English). Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Carsillo, Ray (November 15, 2012). EGM Review: New Super Mario Bros. U. EGMNOW (English). Archived November 16, 2012, 10:07:44 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Mitchell, Richard (November 15, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U review: A return to form. Joystiq (English). Archived November 18, 2012, 05:30:42 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Kollar, Phillip (November 15, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U review: new tricks. Polygon (English). Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Sterling, Jim (November 15, 2012). Review: New Super Mario Bros. U. Destructoid (English). Archived November 17, 2012, 14:44:25 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ McLaughlin, Rus (November 15, 2012). New Super Mario Bros. U is far from new (review). VentureBeat (English). Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Gilbert, Henry (November 15, 2012). New Super Mario Bros U review. Gamesradar (English). Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ GameSpot (November 17, 2012). GameSpot Reviews - New Super Mario Bros. U. YouTube (English). Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ May 10, 2022. Top Selling Title Sales Unites. Nintendo (Japanese). Retrieved May 13, 2024. (Archived August 2, 2017, 04:49:50 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ Bonds, Curtis (March 15, 2013). v.1.2.0 Released for New Super Mario Bros. U. Nintendo World Report (English). Retrieved November 28, 2014.
- ^ Colette (June 20, 2013). New Super Mario Bros. U Update Allows Wii U Pro Controller Use]. My Nintendo News. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Newton, James (April 17, 2012). Mario Wii U "Based On" New Super Mario Bros. Mii. Nintendo Life. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Newton, James (April 16, 2012). Miyamoto To Show Wii U Mario at E3. Nintendo Life. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Nintendo of America (June 5, 2012). Wii U - New Super Mario Bros. U E3 Trailer. YouTube. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Iwata Asks : New Super Mario Bros. U : "What Should Be New?". Nintendo. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Iwata Asks : New Super Mario Bros. U : One Map. Nintendo. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Iwata Asks : New Super Mario Bros. U : Reading the Posts in your Hands. Nintendo. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ Iwata Asks : New Super Mario Bros. U : "Mottainai (What a Waste)!". Nintendo. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ a b Super Mario Maker 2 in-game name
