New Super Mario Bros. 2

NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the third game of the "New" series, and from what I can tell, the least popular. New Super Mario Bros. 2 plays more or less similarly to its previous games, though it seems to borrow the heavy focus on coin collecting from the Wario Land games (albeit not as well, it doesn't really seem to affect the outcome the way it does the Wario Land games). As such, the game comes with a number of items that boost the coin count.

Mario and Luigi of course return, once again trying to save Peach from the clutches of Bowser and the Koopalings. Yeah, Bowser Jr. sits this one out apparently. Mario and Luigi both follow the same basic mechanics from other Mario games, with the Fire Flower, Super Mushroom, and Starman of course making regular appearances, alongside the Mega Mushroom, Mini Mushroom, and the Raccoon Tail returning from Super Mario Land 3 (kicking off a trend in these games to include a fursuit transformation that lets them fly and flick their tail and so on). Luigi's is the same, but with a Fox tail instead. They also gain a gold form that allows them to turn things into coins, and a golden box helmet that spews coins in their wake.

Peach once again is simply Bowser's captive, and Toad plays a support role, providing extra items and so on. Bowser starts off with his classic fight format again, jumping, charging, and spitting fireballs while on a bridge, though after his first defeat, he will become gigantic, filling up the background and destroying platforms as lava rises. Dry Bowser also appears, acting out the same boss fight.

Our Koopalings return, acting as the main bosses of the game, and showing up frequently in cutscenes all riding together in one giant Klown Kar. I guess that counts. One boss level features them working together trying to stun Mario by making the screen flash. Most of their battles feature them tucking into their shells and spinning while hit and casting spells. Roy will charge forward, Iggy is again pulled around by a Chain Chomp, Wendy will raise the water and summon Cheep Cheeps, Morton can create spike balls, Ludwig will dangle from above to cast spells, Larry will fight you on moving pillars, and Lemmy will again bounce around on a ball. We also see the return of the Reznor, the absolute joke of a boss fight who literally just stands on a wheel and screeches while you kill it (sometimes breathing fire).

For our enemies, we see the return of Goomba (who can fly, stack up, and has a skeletal offshoot now), Koopa, Piranha Plant (also with a skeleton form), Dry Bones, Cheep Cheeps (also spiny), Cheep Chomps, Thwomps, Hammer Bros (Boomerang and Sledge returning), Pokeys, Buzzy Beetles, Fuzzies, Boos, their cousins Peepas, Fire Snakes, Spinies, Chain Chomps, Urchins, Scuttlebugs, Fishbones, Wigglers, Bloopers, Amps, Swoops, Lakitus, Spike Tops, Crowbers, Whomps, Bob-Ombs, and Coin Coffers (which I'm not entirely sure are different from Moneybags or not). No new enemies, except for gold versions of all.

The game features only six main worlds, with Lemmy and Larry acting as the bosses of two post-game special worlds, with a random assortment of levels each. The main worlds include your basic Grassland, Desert, Beach, Snowland, Sky, and Lava Land levels, with some ghost houses and castles thrown in for good measure.

As for items, of course, we have the Super Mushroom, Life Mushroom, Fire Flower, Starman, Mega Mushroom, Mini Mushroom, Raccoon Leaf, Gold Flower, Gold Blocks, and of course, lots and lots of coins.

Let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Mario: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, grow gigantic, Koopa shell armor, ice balls, penguin suit, propeller hat, raccoon tail, gold flower, gold box
Luigi: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, grow gigantic, Koopa shell armor, ice balls, penguin suit, propeller hat, fox tail, gold flower, gold box
Toad: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, ice balls, penguin suit, propeller hat, give items
Princess Peach: not much
Yoshi: run, flutter jump, eat enemies and fruit, breathe fire
Toadsworth: give items, cast spells
Bowser: jump, breathe fire, charge, blue fireball, fan of fire, grow gigantic, destroy platforms
Dry Bowser: jump, breathe fire, charge, throw bones, grow gigantic, destroy platforms
Bowser Jr.: grab, charge, tuck in shell, jump, throw Koopa shells, ride Klown Kar, Airship, breathe fire, fire cannonbombs
Larry: tuck in shell, jump, cast spell, moving platforms, Klown Kar, flash
Roy: cast spells, tuck in shell, pipes, charge, Klown Kar, flash
Lemmy: ride ball, create balls, Klown Kar, flash
Wendy: create ring, jump, tuck in shell, raise water, summon Cheep Cheeps, Klown Kar, flash
Iggy: cast spells, pulled by Chain Chomp, Klown Kar, flash
Morton: slam down, spike balls, tuck in shell, create spike balls, Klown Kar, flash
Ludwig: float, jump, cast spells, dangle, Klown Kar, flash
Kamek: cast magic, broomstick, teleport, cast transformation spells
Petey Piranha: fly, hop, divebomb
Goomba: walk forward, fly, stack up, skeleton
Koopa: walk, tuck in shell, fly
Piranha Plant: rise, chomp, breathe fire, extend neck, walk around, ptooie, skeleton
Dry Bones: walk, fall apart
Lakitu: float around, throw Spinies, lightning
Hammer Bro: throw hammers, boomerangs, fire, jump around, slam down, ice
Blooper: dart up
Boo: hide face, float around, puff up, Obake candlesticks
Monty Mole: drive tank, fire bullet bills, throw Bob-Ombs
Tentative - Spike: cough up spikeballs, snowballs, rocks

Bosses:
Mummipokey
Cheepskipper
Mega Goomba
Monty Tank
Lakithunder
Reznor?

Stages:
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Beach
World 4 - Jungle
World 5 - Snowland
World 6 - Mountains
World 7 - Sky
World 8 - Lava Land
Ghost House
Bowser's Castle
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Snowland
World 4 - Beach
World 5 - Jungle
World 6 - Mountains
World 7 - Sky
World 8 - Lava Land
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Beach
World 4 - Snowland
World 5 - Sky
World 6 - Lava Land

Items:
Fire Flower
Super Mushroom
Starman
Blue Shell
Mini Mushroom
Mega Mushroom
Life Mushroom
Ice Flower
Propeller Hat
Penguin Suit
Raccoon Leaf
Gold Flower
Gold Block
Coins

Thanks for reading! Next time, we'll be covering New Super Mario Bros. 2!