New Super Mario U Deluxe OPINION - Nintendo Switch Forum (2025)

What is your opinion about the game New Mario bros U Deluxe?

Context:

• I've never played a game from the "New" series.
• I didn't like Mario Wonder. I don't care about graphic animations. I found the game too easy, to a level that didn't entertain me. I know there are 1 or 2 more difficult levels. (I don't like games that are too difficult, but I don't like games that are too easy)
• I love Super Mario World and Super Mario 3d World.
• I love Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Rayman Legends & Crash Bandicoot.

I read that the game has multiplayer modes, challenge modes and also 200 levels.

Apparently it's a game that has a lot of replay value.

Is this a game that suits my player profile?

NSMBUDX was the first main Mario I got on the Switch. It's great, definitely harder than Wonder (took about a month and a half for me to 100% NSMBU alone, compared to the whopping six days for Wonder) and the New Super Luigi U half is great if you want a real platforming challenge. Despite how many hate it for being a "60$ Wii U port" it's genuinely a good game and a good bundle. Judging by your tastes, I think you'll like NSMBUDX.

You mentioned difficulty but you also said you liked Super Mario World which is probably one of the easiest 2D Mario games; is there anything about World you like in particular? Honestly the 2D Mario 'formula' has been pretty similar since World, and new super mario U falls into that standard formula. But it's a pretty good Mario game — personally I would rate it in the middle of the 2D games but almost all the 2D Mario games are quite good. I rated nsmbu 9/10 although I also rated both World and Wonder 10/10 so clearly my opinions don't quite match yours and maybe I am just overly fond of Mario 😆 In terms of difficulty, nsmbu has a fairly easy base game but some quite challenging mini games which aren't part of the normal levels but that you can play on the home screen. The Luigi level set is also more challenging.

I feel like that is less about game length and more about addiction 😆 The base game of nsmbu is about the same length as Wonder though of course with the extra DLC in deluxe the game is like 10 hours longer. That's what howlongtobeat says but it matches my personal 2023 playthroughs fairly closely. A month before Wonder came out I did a leisurely 100% of nsmbu deluxe but then when Wonder came out I 100%ed Wonder in 3 days because I couldn't stop playing 😆

I still have a dream that they will add DLC to Wonder but it is certainly getting less likely as time passes.

@FishyS To be fair, it wasn't because of addiction- I got to World 7 in three days, it just took a while to grab some of the collectibles and fulfill the 100% requirements.

@shiftbarackyeaugh I just meant the fact that tons of people (like myself) rushed through Wonder so fast is less about game length and more that we were obsessed. 😆 (maybe not you but certainly me). A lot of people seem to think Winder is short for some reason but overall it is a little longer than most 2D Marios. Though no 2D mario games are particularly long unless you count 100%-ing Mario Maker being like 5 million years 😆

I had a lot of fun playing it solo and 2 player but forgot it pretty quick. I wish the power-ups were more creative and there were more secret levels, etc. It never went back to it after I finished. Mario games are generally fun but not difficult.

I only had the Luigi game on Wii U (back then you could buy it physically as a stand-alone game). So I can only comment on that one.

It’s a lot of fun and not easy at all. The levels are quick and difficult, you can’t take a moment to breathe.

@FishyS Thank you very much for the informations!
I played Super Mario World when I was young. So the difficult level was ok in that time.

The difficult level (to 100%) i like is between Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze

How much time did you spend to 100% New Mario bros U Deluxe (including Luigi U)?

@shiftbarackyeaugh Thank you very much! This game is $40 now. I'm tempted to buy it!

Somewhere in the 25-30 hour range for everything. Not the first time I played but the first time in many years and I hadn't done all the Deluxe stuff before. The hardest part for me was a couple of the bonus challenges which I was still struggling on even after finishing Luigi.

The game is definitely easier than tropical freeze — although Freeze isn't super hard to beat any%, doing all the collectibles and hard mode and all the time attacks is kind of nuts. Compared to 3D World? nsmbu is shorter; I admit I never even tried to complete every level with every character in 3D world for full completion. I would say the base game for nsmbu deluxe is a little easier than the base game for 3d world, but I'm not really sure for full completion; certainly the challenge stuff in Deluxe is harder than the normal stuff in 3D world.

The game never really goes on better sales and although we may get a 3D game later this year, it will probably be awhile until we get a new 2D Mario game. Most complaints about New Super Mario Bros U are less about the game and more that the 4 'New' games felt a little samey. But if you've never played a New Super game, nsmbu is a reasonable one to start. If you've played any mario maker the controls and physics won't be new to you, but it's always nice playing polished Nintendo levels.

@FishyS Wow...i think i´ll buy the game! Is the Mario Maker 2 a good game?

@Rykdrew Mario Maker 2 is my personal favorite game on Switch. Story mode is short but decent but mainly there are literally millions of levels (37 million apparently) with a mix of genres and smb1/smb3/smw/new super styles. I've played around 400 hours and even when I take a break I always get pulled back into the game.

That said... the community has died down a lot since 2019 so if you want to build your own levels it is harder to get plays and if you want to discuss and find the best levels that is also harder than it used to be. And the previous modes such as popular levels and even endless have gotten worse with fewer active players. Also online multiplayer has pretty much died out and they no longer have new official Nintendo race levels.

There are still 10s of thousands of great levels at whatever difficulty you want Between easy and insanely difficult, but you need to do more research nowadays to find them because they are buried in a sea of garbage levels 😆. Or just play endless and get a mix of good levels and utter trash.

Because of all of that I would recommend it less than I would have in 2019 or 2021. And no matter what, you're not going to get the type of polished experience you do in a mainline Mario game from player-created levels. But... it's still a fun game I still play usually at least once a month after 5 years. If you enjoy playing random Mario levels with no story, it's still a great option. I'm hoping we get mario maker 3 on Switch 2.

@FishyS Thank you for the answer!!