I know it took me a while, but I beat New Super Mario Bros. U this week! I still have star coins to collect and bonus levels to complete if I wish, and I haven’t tackled Challenge Mode or Boost Rush at all yet either. I thought it was very fun. While I preferred the 3D obstacle courses of Super Mario 3D land, I thought New Super Mario Bros. U was a great addition the series. It seemed to be reminiscent of Super Mario World just as New Super Mario Bros. was reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. Given that Nintendo just announced Super Mario 3D World, I wonder if that’s supposed to be the new Super Mario World. New Super Mario Bros. U just seemed a bit more playful, and I loved the use of the Koopalings, the Koopa Clown Car, and the airships.

After beating the game, a “secret island” is unlocked. It contains one building that offers you some stats on your records. Here are mine:

• Coins Collected: 12039
• Star Coins Collected: 126
• Goombas Stomped: 32
• Items Collected: 409
• 3-Up Moons Collected: 2
• Distance on Boost Blocks: 300.4
• Distance on Mini-Boost Blocks: 0.0
• Goal Poles Reached: 68
• Goals Reached with Yoshi: 2
• Goals Reached with Baby Yoshi: 3
• 1-Ups Earned at Goal: 16
• Fireworks at Goal: 9
• Times Applauded: 133
• Nabbits Caught: 7