Even though we're just weeks from E3, that hasn't stopped Nintendo from showing off even
more of their upcoming games in another Nintendo Direct.
And one of those games was New Super Luigi U
So we figured we'd continue our trend and analyze the footage to see what secrets it
might be hiding.
Now do keep in mind that there's really not much left for us to uncover at this point,
so don't expect anything super surprising
And please make sure to check out our previous analysis videos if you haven't already as
we'll be referring to them throughout the video
And with that, let's get started.
So the new footage provides us with our first glimpse at the game's actual opening cutscene,
which not surprisingly, it appears to be identical to the NSMBU's in every way
Except for one thing--Mario's nowhere to be found--which is no surprise as Iwata's said
before that Mario would not be appearing in this game .
But that doesn't mean he's not present in some way.
Did you spot it?
Mario's hat is sitting right there on the table, in front of where he was sitting in
the opening of the original game.
So does this mean anything?
Is it possible Mario was maybe kidnapped, leaving only his hat behind?
Maybe.
But it seems unlikely given that we're pretty sure Peach wouldn't hold a tea party under
those circumstances.
And though it is possible something happened immediately prior to this scene, it seems
unlikely given what we know of this entire sequence from the original game.
So is Iwata just faking us out and Mario might actually be somewhere in the game, or is it
just a little reference to show that he hasn't been completely forgotten.
But that's not the only change to the opening, as we can see Nabbit now appears in it too.
Now if you watched the Nintendo Direct, then you already know why, and that's because he's
one of four availables characters when playing multiplayer.
Oh right, four-player multiplayer was also confirmed to be returning as well, with the
other two players controlling the same two toads we've come to know and love
And Nabbit appears to function very similarly to the others, except for two key differences.
He can't can't collect Power-Ups, but that doesn't really matter since he can't actually
be hurt either.
In fact, in a couple scenes of the trailer, we can see him pass right through enemies
as if they weren't even there.
Now it begs the question: what is he doing helping Luigi?
After all, he wasn't exactly a good guy in New Super Bros. U, seeing as he stole items
from Toad houses, forcing you to chase him down.
And he even wears a bandana very similar to Bowser Jr, suggesting he's working for the
enemy, which might explain why the other enemies don't attack him
So is he now working as a double-agent or something for Luigi?
Or is he just tagging along for no reason at all?
In all likelihood, that's probably the case.
I mean, since when have Mario games cared about explaining things?
Now there is one other thing to note.
Because you can now play as Nabbit, we're guessing that means he will no longer randomly
appear on the world map.
So it seems those Nabbit chases are a thing of the past.
Beyond the main characters, the trailer also confirms that Yoshi will indeed be back, and
we know from the the opening cutscene that the Baby Yoshis will be back too
Now as we've pointed out before, Luigi controls differently than he did in New Super Mario
Bros. U, as he now jumps higher by kicking his legs in the air and also slides farther
when coming to a stop
But what about the other characters?
Well, if we watch Nabbit closely in this clip, we can see he has the exact same jumping abilities
as Luigi, right down to the aerial leg kicks, and it looks like the Toads will play the
same way.
By the way, just a random note, but Nabbit swims just like how he runs, I don't know
if that's actually a proper swimming technique, but it seems to be working for him
Now another scene in the footage shows what's pretty clearly the first level of New SUper
Luigi U, as we've speculated before.
But that's it's made all the more apparent by the addition of this billboard with the
game's logo at the start of the level, and is capped with a giant old-school Luigi sprite,
which is obviously a throwback to the original NES game.
But we think the billboard itself might be a throwback too, because the title-screen
for the original Super Mario Bros. also featured a billboard with the game's logo inside, and
it too used the game's first level as a backdrop
And if you sat there long enough, Mario would eventually start moving by himself causing
the billboard to slide off the screen just as if it were part of the environment, as
it is in New Super Luigi U.
The only difference is that it wasn't playable
So that's a pretty cool, and subtle, nod to the original game
Now as we pointed out last time, it seems enemies will now appear in a greater variety
of environments than before, such as the Munchers who now appear in levels outside of Frosted
Glacier, or the Wigglers who used to only appear in the Jungle, or the Chain Chomps
that were only in Rock Candy Mines,
But it seems that won't be the case for the bosses, which we already suspected in our
last analysis.
And now we have more proof with this Larry Koopa clip.
Not only does it appear to play out in the same way, but it clearly takes place in the
same room as before, which makes sense seeing as it is his airship afterall.
But airships can move around, so maybe it takes place in a different location on the
world map?
But if we look out the windows here, we can see that the background matches the same battle
in NSMBU, which means Larry is probably the boss of Sparkling Waters again.
And knowing that, we can now infer that this clip which shows a castle interior with the
Sparkling Waters background is what is what leads up to that battle--which awaits just
behind this door.
But to get to that door, it looks like you might have to outrun a giant Bullet Bill for
the entire level
Okay, we're almost done here, as you surely know by now, we still have just a few final
details left.
Now, we've previously pointed out that almost every area shown so far appears to have at
least one new feature designed exclusively for New Super Luigi U. And now that we've
gotten our first look at Frosted Glacier, it seems that one if its new additions will
be this shooting star in the background, which is a nice looking touch
And along those same lines, we've already pointed out the new flower-covered hills in
acorn plains, before, but did you notice the second one looks a little different?
Yup, it's the shape of Luigi.
But that's not the only sneaky appearance of Luigi here.
Let's go back to this Sparkling Waters clip for a second.
Did you spot the hidden Luigi sprite between the geysers here?
What's that about?
Are they collectibles?
Could there be one hidden on every level?
Maybe the player with the Gamepad can tap them for some kind of bonus, like the Moon
Blocks in New Super Mario bros.
U?
We really don't know what they're for, but it's pretty curious, isn't it
And with that, we're done covering everything we could dig up On New Super Luigi U again.
As usual, let us know if we missed anything by posting in the comments.
Thanks for watching and make sure to stay tuned to GameXplain.com for more on new Super
Luigi U and other things gaming too