New Super Mario Bros. 2

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a side-scrolling platform game for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released in Japan on July 28th, 2012, and is set to be released in Europe on August 17th, Australia on August 18th and the US on August 19th, while in Italy the game will separately be released on August 24. It's the thirteenth title in the main Super Mario series, the eighth title to be a Super Mario Bros. installment, the third in the New Super Mario Bros. line after New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS and New Super Mario Bros. Wii for the Wii and the sequel to New Super Mario Bros. The game was announced by Satoru Iwata in a Nintendo conference in April 21, 2012. The game seems to be partly based on Super Mario Bros. 3, as it features Raccoon Mario, P-charge bar and the Koopalings, all of which were introduced in said game. It also combines elements from New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, as this is a follow-up to those games.

According to Nintendo, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the first Nintendo game (and specifically the first Mario title) to be purchased and digitally downloaded through the Internet. The game can be stored onto an SD card, along with multiple other games, and be played on the Nintendo 3DS, but they can't be shared with other Nintendo 3DS handhelds. It is also revealed that this game is heavily based on the concept of coins, and the overall goal is to collect one million of them.

Story
Description from the American website:

Trouble always seems to find its way to the Mushroom Kingdom! Just as Mario and Luigi go off on a coin hunt in the sky, their beloved Princess Peach is kidnapped by the dastardly Koopalings. The brothers have to venture through over 80 stages to rescue her, grabbing an endless deluge of coins across land, water, air, and snow along the way.

Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to previous the New Super Mario Bros. games. However, New Super Mario Bros. 2 focuses on collecting Coins, with many and varied ways to collect many coins at once, such as golden items that award the player many coins. Like New Super Mario Bros., the bottom screen displays a kind of map, showing the length of the level and where the player is. There are nine worlds total, six main worlds and three special worlds. The item storage reappears too. Each world contains a random number of levels, including Ghost Houses, Fortresses and Castles. Reznors and Koopalings are found at the end of each fortress and castles, respectively.

A two-player mode is available, and the second player plays as Luigi normally through the stages alongside Mario. This mode can only be played with two Nintendo 3DS consoles and two game cards. Another mode, the Coin Rush, challenges the player to collect the most coins they can in three randomly-selected levels through three different options. The Mushroom opition will choose three levels from the starter worlds and a special world, the Fire Flower option chooses three levels from the middle worlds and the Star opition choose three levels from the final worlds. In other words, Mushroom is the easy difficulty choice, Fire Flower is the medium choice and Star is the hard choice. The game's overall objective is to collect a million coins. After collecting 1 million coins, the player will receive a Gold Mario statue. Downloadable content will be available just after the launch of the game.

Nintendo eShop Description
''This new side-scrolling installment in the fan-favorite Super Mario Bros. franchise launches Aug. 17, as the Mushroom Kingdom bursts with more coins and gold than ever before. Players can transform into Gold Mario and Raccoon Mario, and battle friends for high-scores in the new StreetPass-enabled competitive Coin Rush mode. Also, for the first time in a hand-held Mario title, players can enjoy a cooperative two-player mode for the entire game via a local wireless connection.

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi (Second player in Co-op mode, and unlocked for Solo mode after beating Bowser)

Villains

 * Reznor (Tower Bosses)
 * Koopalings
 * Roy Koopa (Boss of World 1)
 * Iggy Koopa (Boss of World 2)
 * Wendy O. Koopa (Boss of World 3)
 * Morton Koopa Jr. (Boss of World 4)
 * Ludwig von Koopa (Boss of World 5)
 * Larry Koopa (Boss of World Mushroom)
 * Lemmy Koopa (Boss of World Flower)
 * Bowser (boss of World 6)
 * Dry Bowser (boss of World Star)

Supporting Characters

 * Princess Peach
 * Toad

Transformations

 * Small Mario/Luigi
 * Super Mario/Luigi
 * Raccoon Mario/Fox Luigi*
 * Gold Mario/Silver Luigi
 * Fire Mario/Luigi
 * Mega Mario/Luigi
 * Mini Mario/Luigi
 * White Raccoon Mario/Luigi
 * Invincible Mario/Luigi

*The official website states Luigi has a fox's ears and tail in this form.

Worlds

 * World 1
 * World 2
 * World 3
 * World 4
 * World 5
 * World 6
 * World Mushroom
 * World Flower
 * World Star (Requires 90 Star Coins to enter the levels in this world)

References to Other Games

 * Super Mario Bros.: In the first phase of Bowser's battle, Bowser throws sledgehammers and breathes fire, and Mario must wait for him to jump then hit a switch, very much alike to this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Raccoon Mario and the P-Meter returns. Many enemies like Paragoombas and Dry Bones return. The P-Wing makes a cameo on the P-Meter.
 * Super Mario World: Chocolate Island backgrounds are used on one level. Reznors return directly from this game. The Koopalings appear in their Clown Car. Super Mario World boss theme is remixed during Reznor fights.
 * New Super Mario Bros.: A sequel to this game. Mario's mini and mega forms return.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: The music and graphic style are reused from this game. The second phase of Bowser's battle can be compared to the second phase of Bowser in this game. The bubble system returns, and the multiplayer gameplay is reused (though Mario and Luigi cannot pick up each other as before).
 * Super Mario 3D Land: The Super Leaf retains it's look from this game, as it did in Mario Kart 7. The Invincibility Leaf also returns, as does the Assist Block. Peepas and Goomba Towers return. During the credits, Mario carries Peach in a similar fashion to this game. + Clocks return with similar functions.

Trivia

 * In New Super Mario Bros. 2, the Super Leaf gives Luigi honey-colored ears and a different tail, resembling a Japanese fox (a kitsune) rather than a raccoon, similar to Super Mario 3D Land.
 * A special 'Gold Coin' cartridge case is available to those who preorder the game in Europe at GAME.co.uk or at EB Games in Australia.
 * Interestingly, both handheld New Super Mario Bros. games have been released around the same time as the variation of the handheld on which they were released (i.e. New Super Mario Bros. was released around the same time as the Nintendo DS Lite, and New Super Mario Bros. 2 was released around the same time as the Nintendo 3DS XL).
 * Unlike the other New Super Mario Bros. games, New Super Mario Bros. 2 ends at World 6, with three special Worlds that follow. However, this is much like the first New Super Mario Bros., as one could just go through 6 worlds to finish the game.
 * Because of this, Worlds 3 and 5 each have two themes instead of one (i.e. World 3 has a beach and forest theme while World 5 has a mountain and sky theme).
 * Club Nintendo members who purchase New Super Mario Bros. 2 from the Nintendo eShop by August 20th and complete the surveys by September 16th can receive double the amount of coins (for a total of 100 coins) as they would receive if they bought the game at retail (50 coins).
 * When playing as Raccoon Mario, percussion is added to the music just like when the player is riding Yoshi in previous games. The same goes for when using a Gold Ring, as a twinkle-like version of the music plays along with the theme.