With the launch of the Wii U less than three weeks away, Nintendo has pulled back the curtain on a few more features found in New Super Mario Bros. U.
Like the previous New Super Mario Bros. games, U will feature several bonus modes. Challenge Mode tasks players with completing a level (either by themselves or with a friend) while meeting a variety of objectives such as “clearing a course without touching a single coin or touching the ground.” Coin Battle is a multiplayer-only mode that, you guessed it, makes players compete to collect the most coins in a course.
Nintendo is also boasting that New Super Mario Bros. U will feature a world map “for the first time since 1991’s Super Mario World. Now, I don’t want to tell the biggest video game publisher in the world their business, but that is just wrong. What they meant to say is that every game side-scrolling Mario game since 1991’s Super Mario World has included a world map and U is no exception.
Finally, Nintendo is bringing back the rabbit chases from Super Mario 64. The rabbit now has a name, Nabbit, and he’s wearing a purple bodysuit, but catching him will net Mario a powerful P-Acorn, “which will allow them to fly continuously through an entire stage.”
Want to know more about all these new features? Hit the jump for a complete description, straight from Nintendo. New Super Mario Bros. U and the Wii U console will be available on November 18.
Challenge Mode: Challenge Mode tasks players with completing specific objectives, such as clearing a course without touching a single coin or touching the ground. There are four single-player Challenge categories: Time Attack, Coin Collection, 1-Up Rally and Special (miscellaneous challenges). Boost Mode Challenges require two players, with one player using the Wii U GamePad controller and the other using a Wii Remote controller. Once players complete a Challenge, the game saves a replay of the action so players can show off their accomplishments.
Coin Battle: Up to five players can play together and compete to see who can collect the most coins. One player will use the Wii U GamePad controller while the other four players use the Wii Remote controller. The player using the Wii U GamePad controller in Boost Mode can place Boost Blocks to help grab hard-to-reach coins. Players can also use the GamePad to edit and customize the coin layout in courses found only in Coin Battle. The coin layout can then be saved and played by the players using Wii Remote controllers.
World Map: New Super Mario Bros. U is the first side-scrolling Mario game since 1991’s Super Mario World that features a seamless World Map with named worlds and courses. The map contains many secret exits, which might change the map and cause shortcuts to appear. The worlds are interconnected, so people can play through the game in a nonlinear fashion.
Nabbit: From time to time, a creature named Nabbit will appear on the world map. Players must enter the course and catch the speedy Nabbit to recover items stolen from Toad. If Nabbit is nabbed, players receive a powerful P-Acorn, which will allow them to fly continuously through an entire stage. The only way to obtain a P-Acorn is to catch Nabbit.
