New Super Luigi U

New Super Luigi U (stylized as New Super Luigi Bros. U) is an expansion for 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. Although it refers to him, the game does not feature Mario himself at all, making this the only core Mario game so far to do this.

The title was first released on the Nintendo eShop on Wii U for region price as downloadable content for New Super Mario Bros. U; the game must be updated to version 1.3.0 before New Super Luigi U can be accessed in-game, and requires 731.4 MB of memory to be installed. Once downloaded, the prompt to access the Nintendo eShop to download the expansion is replaced with a prompt to go to the main menu for New Super Luigi U. Support for the Wii U Pro Controller is also included in addition to and the  controls in New Super Mario Bros. U. The game was later released at retail as a standalone game for region price, not requiring New Super Mario Bros. U to play. Both games were later released in a compilation known as New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U, initially included exclusively in the Mario & Luigi Wii U Deluxe Set bundle, but later released as a standalone Nintendo Selects disc at a price cheaper than either game individually (the precise price is dependent on the region).

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 has been designed to be more difficult, with each stage starting at only 100 seconds; due to this, however, the courses have also been made shorter than normal while also being packed with enemies and obstacles. While the levels have all been altered from the base game, the world map itself has not been. Elements like items, power-ups, Star Coins, Toad Houses, Enemy Courses, and bosses are retained as such.

The multiplayer of New Super Luigi U is also retained from New Super Mario Bros. U. However, because Mario is not featured in this game, Nabbit is instead used as the fourth playable character. As Nabbit, the player cannot take damage from enemies, but cannot use items; however any items collected are converted to 1-Ups at the end of each stage.

Players can earn power-ups from Toad depending on the time left upon completion of the level. At 077, a Super Acorn is given; at 066, a Mini Mushroom; 055, an Ice Flower; 044, a Fire Flower; and 033, 022, and 011 a 1-Up Mushroom.

Levels
* Multiplayer only.

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 a 100-seconds time bonus is added to the timer after going to the boss door in the towers and castles (150 seconds in All Aboard! and 250 seconds in The Final Battle). 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 all of the levels have a hidden Luigi in a wall or platform (Flying Squirrel Ovation has two).

After the game is completed, a Mario Block appears at the beginning of each level. 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.

Luigi sightings


In every level within New Super Luigi U there is one Luigi image hidden somewhere within the level. There are a total of 83 Luigi sightings, a reference to Luigi's debut year. 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.

Development
During the development process of both New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Mario Bros. 2, the developers began to think of ideas for downloadable content for the two games. Both teams thought of expanding the secondary modes, New Super Mario Bros. 2 being Coin Rush, and New Super Mario Bros. U expanding on Boost Rush; in the end it was decided that 2 would be the game to receive content first, since it was being released first. However, during the development of the Coin Rush courses the team decided to scrap the idea of additional Boost Rush course packs and began to think of other ideas. The team then began experimenting with the idea of shorter but more difficult courses to replace the ones in the original game. .

Originally, the downloadable content was being made with Mario in mind. However, when the Year of Luigi came up during a meeting, it was decided that Luigi would be the focus instead. When it was decided to make Luigi the main character, the developers also decided that Mario would be kept out of the game. When deciding on a new fourth playable character, the original idea was to use three Toads, but when testing this it was deemed too confusing; the idea to use Nabbit as the fourth character then came up, reusing his ability to pass by enemies; around that time, the team had also been talking about adding something for beginners, and the idea to use Nabbit was kept.

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."

As of March 31, 2014, New Super Luigi U is the 5th best selling game for the Wii U, having sold 1.76 million copies worldwide.

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.
 * NES Remix 2: Hidden 8-bit Luigis appear in some of the stages.

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.
 * An in-game "second" in New Super Luigi U is actually 1 second, while in New Super Mario Bros. U, an in-game "second" lasts only 0.75 seconds.
 * Mario himself is not seen, but he is referenced in three ways; 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. Finally, the Mario emblem appears on the Mario Block. This makes New Super Luigi U the only game so far where Luigi appears, but Mario does not.
 * 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.