That's what I figured based on the videos I've seen. It's sad how Nintendo is just churning these Mario games out without putting any real effort into them.

I might try it, but I have no immediate need to.

Why are you guys acting like this? It's a sequel to NSMB on DS and that was hardly a magnificently inventive game. It was a servicable Mario portable so you should have had relatively low expections in the first place. The wii game destroyed it for quality and I bet the U version will destroy this portable mario too.

According to most reviews this is still a 8/10 game.

I GIVE A SHIT! I GIVE A SHIT, DAMMIT!

You'll notice I posted something in the News Section pretty much echoing your sentiment, however, I am going to play Devil's Advocate for a moment, in a moment...

First off: This is a milestone launch day for Nintendo... Can you tell? Can't blame you if you can't! People should be more excited though... Putting NSMB 2 aside for just a moment, the 3DSXL is out, and it is truly SPECTACULAR! It is thinner than the current 3DS, and the body of the system is about a half an inch wider... Crazy if you think about it: The screens are 90% BIGGER, but the system itself is not that much so! The top-screen is thin and rounded, rather than angled like the first, there's much less glossy blackness surrounding the top screen, the speakers are a little differently designed, you can almost not see them, but you can CERTAINLY HEAR them! The sound quality seems to have been enhanced a little bit. The bottom screen is bigger too (obviously) but it fits so much better into your hands and the rounded design lends itself soooo much more to comfort, it is not even funny! One thing to note though: Due to the size of the system itself now, it's a little tougher to press the shoulder buttons and keep your fingers on the buttons at the same time! It's nothing too disruptive, but playing Mario Kart 7 just got a tad tougher!

The 3D enhancement steals the spotlight though, and that is the very reason for the existance of the system in the first place! The difference in the 3D is kinda akin to playing a console game on a 25-inch TV versus a 60-inch TV... There's just so much more of a viewing area, you can focus more on the center of the screen, rather than seeing the black borders so prominently on the sides in your peripheral vision... because there's that LACK of constant, defining border where the 3D field begins and ends, the effects --REALLY-- pop out of the screen now! It's a MUCH more dramatic effect! As has been echoed by sooo many reviewers so far, THIS is how the system SHOULD HAVE been from the start! Playing games like Mario Kart 7, or just even seeing the floating boxes of the Option Screen... they look like they NEVER have before! The difference between the original and the XL is as dramatic a difference as the ORIGINAL Game Boy Advance to the Game Boy Advance SP! The longer stylus, the better battery life, the larger SD card, all just icing on a very TASTY cake!

If only there were games...

Oh, wait! A "new" game --DID-- come out today!  

I'm not hear to say anyone is "wrong" because they are not. I was just as UN-enthused this morning as the rest of you all are. It's not --AS-- bleak as you would expect though! Is it immediately familar? Yes. Do I want a REAL brand-new Mario? YES! HOWEVER... it's hard to play the game and not get a bit excited... The colors and the animation really POP now! There are extra frames to everything and they really show! The swaying of the background objects and enemies to the music is just as infectous as it always was. The sharpness of the 3DS screen versus what was possible on the Wii makes the game LOOK that much better... The gimmick of the game is what makes or breaks it now. If you play it as a Mario platformer, JUST to get from beginning to end, you'll probably be bored and uninspired --BUT-- if you take into account the 1,000,000 Coin angle, it adds something... It's undefinable at first, but the coins have taken on a slightly different meaning now... The game plays like a big-brother-console game when you are on the verge of earning an Achievement or Trophy... What was taken for granted before, now has whole new meaning, and you'll find your motivation for playing the game itself has shifted in the slightest... The game lets you know when you pass certain milestones for coin collection, and you are going to have that playing in the back of your mind as you grab more coins, grab more coins... It's not just reaching the flag now, it's reaching the flag having maixmized the number of coins you could have for that particular level! There's SOMETHING... a golden glimmer of hope in what appears to be another tired re-tread! Could it have been so much more? Yes. Should it be dismissed? No. I can easily see a few months from now, a Hobo Cup 2.0 where Iga and Vader are competing against each other in a Coin run in this game... Long story, short: Don't give up on the Plumber just yet!

Ravenprose said:

I wouldn't mind have a 3DS XL, just so I'd be able to play my DS games again. Do DS games look good on it, Leo?

They look blown-up, pixelated and chunky now, but I don't mind at all... I am playing Pokemon Black, which was kinda pixelated to begin with, so maybe the effect is that much more dramatic, but it's not that disruptive. I have yet to play a non-sprite game yet, but the size of the screen and the clarity of it makes up for ANY "downgrade" of the graphics!

If I can sell my 3DS for $130 or so maybe I can justify getting the XL but right now I cant.

^Yep.

=-=-

I think the great number of reviews that came out over the week and a half leading up to the game killed off whatever little buzz there was for this game to start with. They all said, "great formula but wearing thin".

I do think Nintendo is hit with this charge slightly more than say Activision with Call of Duty, about the same as EA with Madden. But that may do with the relative number of overall releases each company has (where 95% of Nintendo's first-party output is retread whereas EA and Activision are at least launching new IP's on a diverse range of platforms).

So yeah, in this case, I think the buzz would have been higher if they had embargoed reviews until a couple of days before launch. It will still sell a gazillion copies due to kids,moms and grandparents. (EDIT: I would not be surprised if it is #1 on NPD, but I'd have to check US install base to be sure).

Just a little side-story to either depress or cheer you all up: The Gamestop I went to today, several times as a matter of fact, was abuzz with people getting XL's and Mario. Saw a lot of younger mom's with a LOT of 6-10 year old kids picking the game up. They all seemed VERY excited by it all.

I went to get lunch at a deli down the street not too long ago, nowhere near a game store; didn't have my 3DS on me, nothing that would prompt what I witnessed. In the deli was a little blonde haired kid, happily humming a very recognizable Mario tune. Random people on the street ARE excited. There is a buzz in the air. Just because WE don't feel it, doesn't mean it's not there! Nintendo hasn't abandoned us gents, we have just grown up.

SteelAttack said:

phantom_leo said:

Just a little side-story to either depress or cheer you all up: The Gamestop I went to today, several times as a matter of fact, was abuzz with people getting XL's and Mario. Saw a lot of younger mom's with a LOT of 6-10 year old kids picking the game up. They all seemed VERY excited by it all.

I went to get lunch at a deli down the street not too long ago, nowhere near a game store; didn't have my 3DS on me, nothing that would prompt what I witnessed. In the deli was a little blonde haired kid, happily humming a very recognizable Mario tune. Random people on the street ARE excited. There is a buzz in the air. Just because WE don't feel it, doesn't mean it's not there! Nintendo hasn't abandoned us gents, we have just grown up.

No, its them. I have not changed, I still buy all their stuff I just want it to be of the highest quality like it should be.