New Super Luigi U

New Super Luigi U (stylized New Super Luigi Bros. U) is an expansion pack for the Wii U title New Super Mario Bros. U, released as part of the Year of Luigi, celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Luigi's initial debut. It features Luigi as the main player, with Yellow Toad, Blue Toad, and, notably, Nabbit (who replaces Mario from the original game) playable in multiplayer mode. Because the game is titled New Super Luigi U, the game does not feature Mario himself at all, making this the only Mario platformer series game so far to do this. Challenge Mode and Boost Rush are not available.

The title was released for download on the Wii U eShop for region price, as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U. Once downloaded, the player must select the icon on the top left corner of the file select screen to play. Support for the Wii U Pro Controller is also included in addition to and the  controls in New Super Mario Bros. U. This game was also released at retail as a standalone game for region price.

Gameplay
The gameplay is largely similar to its base game, except that the playable characters retain Luigi's higher jump and lower traction from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. The game itself is also made harder, and every course starts at one-hundred seconds. Because of this, the levels are much shorter than the original ones. Elements like Items, Power-Ups, Star Coins, Toad Houses, Enemy Courses, and bosses are retained as such.

Playable

 * Luigi
 * Yellow Toad
 * Blue Toad
 * Nabbit
 * Mii (only in Flying Squirrel Ovation)

Bosses

 * Boom Boom (Tower)
 * Boss Sumo Bro. (Tower)
 * Kamek (Tower)
 * Koopalings
 * Lemmy Koopa (Acorn Plains)
 * Morton Koopa Jr. (Layer Cake Desert)
 * Larry Koopa (Sparkling Waters)
 * Wendy O. Koopa (Frosted Glacier)
 * Iggy Koopa (Soda Jungle)
 * Roy Koopa (Rock-Candy Mines)
 * Ludwig von Koopa (Meringue Clouds)
 * Bowser Jr. (Airships)
 * Bowser (Peach's Castle)

Supporting

 * Yoshis
 * Green Yoshis
 * Baby Yoshis
 * Balloon Baby Yoshis
 * Bubble Baby Yoshis
 * Glowing Baby Yoshis
 * Princess Peach
 * Toad

Changes
The world map itself is unchanged from New Super Mario Bros. U, but level designs have a drastic makeover. As mentioned above, playable characters and their abilities have changed. The timer for each level is also set to start from 100 seconds and the 100-seconds time bonus are added to the timer after going to the boss door in the towers and castles. Items in red Toad Houses may vary as well. For example, a 1-Up Mushroom is in place of a Super Mushroom. Similarly, Enemy Courses contain only Mini Mushrooms and Propeller Mushrooms, as opposed to only Stars. There are no Checkpoint Flags. Many elements of the game are colored green to emphasize Luigi, and most of the levels have hidden Luigis in walls and platforms.

After the game is completed, the Mario Block appears at the beginning of levels. This allows the player to switch to the original game's physics, with lower jumps and better traction. Nabbit is not affected by the block. Nabbit is also playable in single player mode if the player holds down on the / or  on the  while selecting a level. If the same trick is done on the Flying Squirrel Ovation level in Superstar Road, the player's Mii is played as instead of Nabbit.

Worlds
There are 82 new courses replacing the original courses from New Super Mario Bros. U with different level names, while the world names are retained.
 * Acorn Plains
 * Layer-Cake Desert
 * Sparkling Waters
 * Frosted Glacier
 * Soda Jungle
 * Rock-Candy Mines
 * Meringue Clouds
 * Peach's Castle
 * Superstar Road

Luigi sightings


In every level within New Super Luigi U there is one Luigi image hidden somewhere within the level. These images range from 8-bit Super Mario Bros.-esque to his various artworks throughout the series. The way these Luigis are placed in the level ranges from being in the open to being a background detail.

Reception
New Super Luigi U was mostly received positively by critics. The game holds a 77 average on Metacritic based on 59 reviews, and a 75.92% on GameRankings based on 36 reviews. GameSpot's Peter Brown gave it an 8.5/10, stating, "Though the world map, themes, power-ups, and visual assets are 'old,' Luigi's physics and the level design at large rise to the top." Chris Carter of Destructoid gave the game an 8/10. He praises the game's design, stating that, "There are a lot of new concepts and designs this time around, and even if a large portion of them are re-used assets, they're remixed in a way that makes its own mark on the franchise." Vince Ingenito of IGN gave the downloadable content a 7.3/10, citing that, "Its smaller levels, restrictive time limit, and floaty physics work well as a challenge mode add-on to an already terrific game," but criticizing that it, "[it] still feels more like an addendum to NSMBU [...] rather than something that stands out on its own."

Conversely, Chris Shilling of Eurogamer gave the content a 6/10, criticizing that, "It's not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination: the level design is still a cut above so many of Nintendo's peers. But by the series' consistently high standards, it qualifies as a disappointment." . Edge also gave the game a 6, criticizing the game's stages by saying, "the quality of the level design is mixed: some stages feel claustrophobic yet others are surprisingly baggy, and few are considerate enough to accommodate four players." The writer goes on to say that, "At its best, New Super Luigi U is an exhilarating test of skill," but also criticizes the game by saying that, "on occasion it dangerously approximates a fan-made ROM hack," in the end saying that, "Some will undoubtedly find its challenge inviting, but others will rightly expect more ingenuity from Nintendo than this." GamesRadar writer Henry Gilbert, giving the game 3/5 stars, also says that, "If you’re ready for the heightened difficulty of solo play in New Super Luigi U, then you’ll find it rewarding. Otherwise, it’s a taxing platformer that’s only made more rage-inducing in multiplayer."

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: Various Luigi sightings are sprites taken from this game.
 * Super Mario 64 DS: The portrait used to enter Big Boo Battle is reused as a hidden Luigi.
 * Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2: One of the Luigi sightings is a sprite of Luigi from this Super Mario World version.
 * Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon: The Luigi sighting in Vanishing Ghost House is based on Luigi and King Boo's artwork from this game.

References in later games

 * Super Mario 3D World: Hidden 8-bit Luigis randomly appear in levels.

Trivia

 * Even though Nabbit helps Luigi in multiplayer mode, Nabbit still steals items from the Toad Houses, and the players will have to catch him. It will not work when Nabbit is playing in Co-op mode, and in single-player mode if the player does the trick to play as Nabbit in the level where Nabbit went, the player will still continue playing as Luigi.
 * Mario himself does not appear but he is referenced twice; in the intro, in which his hat is on the table, and in the level Broozers and Barrels, which features a Mario-based snowman at the beginning of the stage. This makes New Super Luigi U the first game where Luigi appears, but Mario doesn't.
 * US and Canada Club Nintendo members who purchased New Super Luigi U from the Nintendo eShop by August 1, 2013 and completed the surveys within four weeks after downloading could receive double the amount of coins (for a total of 40 coins) compared to the original amount (20 coins). They also had a chance to win 1 of 980 Luigi pins.