NSMB 2 gets average reviews, even though it has tight controls, fantastic level design, and polished graphics.

VVVVVVV gets great reviews, even though it has terrible graphics, sloppy controls, and confusing level designs.

Where is the logic in this?

I would disagree with all three of those statements. I thought VVVVVV had a great art style, the controls were responsive while also giving Captain Viridian just the right amount of momentum, and the world design was in the vein of Metroid, which I love (but of course it's not to everyone's tastes).

Was it's platforming as polished and satisfying as a Mario's? No, but it was still a great little game.

It's almost as if game quality is subjective, and people have different opinions on games than you do.

Where's the logic in comparing these two games? They're nothing alike.

Metacritic is at 78 with 16 positive reviews, 10 mixed and ZERO negative.

Sounds above average to me.

I paid 4 dollars for vvvvv. it was made by like, 3 guys. 

While, in all honesty, I agree with the last two of Tendoboy's points about VVVVV, I think that people just expect more from a 40 dollar 1st party Nintendo Mario game than they do a 5 dollar indie game on Steam / eShop, and while at its most basic level, NSMB2 may be a BETTER game than VVVVV, I think that expectations and supposed value play alot into review scores.....this is a long sentence.

Ok let me make a more fair comparison.


NSMB 2 vs Sonic 4


The NSMB games have tight controls, good stage designs, and unique gimmicks. They're good throwbacks to the older 2D Mario games.


Sonic 4 has broken physics, clumsy controls, and bland stages. It will never live up to the Genesis games, even though it tries so hard to replicate them.


Based on gameplay and presentation, the NSMB games are a far more complete package than Sonic 4. Yet the NSMB games and Sonic 4 received similar average review scores. How can that be, when one is clearly the superior product?

1.  Some reviewers probably just plain liked Sonic 4 more than you did.

2.  Reviewers are used to Sonic being awful so the bar's set pretty low, making it easier for Sonic 4 to exceed expectations.

3.  Stop whining about review scores.  It is OK for someone else to like something you didn't and vice-versa.

Speaking as the person who Danny played 2-player with for this review, I can confirm that it is next to impossible to play for anything other than goofing around...
You will not be able to collect Star Coins or access secret routes while dragging a 2nd player around or dropping down holes because your view is blocked, a ridiculous (intentional!) oversight on Nintendo's behalf.
To be more blunt - its broken.

So the field of view doesn't increase like in NSMB Wii?

@tendoboy, It does not. That, coupled with the recycled assets and music, limited SpotPass functionality and NO connectivity to your friends were the most disappointing parts of the game. There isn't any reason why you shouldn't be able to share Coin Rush information with your friends.

While we're starting to sound like a broken record, yes I feel like this game could easily have incorporated an online leaderboard that accesses your friends list.

Yeah, in the Iwata Asks about this game, the developers said they did that on purpose because there were ways that one player could take control of the screen from the other player by jumping on them or butt stomping them or something. I thought that concept sounded potentially interesting, but it sounds like it didn't turn out well?

@TrueNerd As long as you and your friend are keeping up together, it's not really a problem. It's just that sometimes maybe you're searching some nook or cranny for a Star Coin or something and then your buddy just keeps on going, forcing you to disappear from the screen and reappear as a little bubbled bastard. Thank god you don't die from it, but man, the developers basically said that it was an afterthought and it kind of shows.

What i do not get is why the mario bros? Nintendo missed an idea here! Think Peach=the bros, Money= The Wario bros this would have made much more since to have them instead in a proper wario bros game!
p.s hope Waluigi and Lucario are in the new super smash bros and maybe zoroak! :)

Agreed. The whole coin collecting aspect seemed a bit off for Mario as Wario has long been established as the greedy one. That said, Nintendo has their view of what a Wario game's gameplay should be like and they want to keep it seperate from being like a Mario game's gameplay.

The coin collecting aspect had me really excited to play this game as I thought it could really open up some interesting ideas but alas, the coin collecting can really only be done through coin rush mode.

It did open my eyes up to how Mario must actually be. By the end of completeing all the worlds and secrets, I was around 75,000 coins and that was in a game that was throwing coins at you and full of coin power-ups to skew the number as well as a few coin rush playthroughs. In a normal mario game, one probably collects way less than that. Like maybe around 10,000 coins. For all we know those are pennies and so Mario only makes 100 bucks or so saving Peach.

I am debating whether to get this. I think I might like it, but there are several other 3DS games I dont have that I want too (like Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land).

Get 3D Land immediately. All three of those are good, but 3D Land is head and shoulders above the others.

I don't think Super Mario 3D Land is amazing, but I do think it's better than NSMB2 and MKVII, so I would also recommend 3D Land.

i have it and guess what u F#$% get when you get ! million Coins?
I F^%^&^& Gold mario statue on the title screen! All that collecting for nothing!!!!!! :@

See, I had a very similar response to the coin collecting conceit, but for a very different reason.

From the outset I found coin collecting (and the strategy surrounding it) to be largely unfulfilling, and I therefore never really engaged with it. Although I did beat the game (some habits die hard) I was bored of it long before I saw credits; so, regardless of what the reward was, I was never going to be inclined to spend time coming up with strategies for grinding coins. Not because the reward for doing so was worthless, but because I didn't think the mechanic was fun or interesting.