the only 2D mario games i've played are super mario world and yoshi's island on the SNES, so i do not have the baggage with the new super mario bros series and its creative limits. i'm sorry y'all suffered, but am so glad we have this game. it is absolutely wonderful as they say. the art design is phenomenal, the level design for regular worlds is great. i'm glad the timer was done away with, so greater exploration is encouraged and discovering secrets is so fun. worlds are so unique and felt myself grinning from ear to ear with some of the world mechanics. i enjoy platformers but am not at all skilled at them, so while most may consider this game easy, i found it very forgiving and never got so frustrated that i wanted to quit. online runs super well, i was playing on wifi and never had any slow downs in world.

flaws: biggest one is that minus the final boss, boss fights were lackluster. i got so tired of bowser's badass little boy at the end of it. the music is great but i wish there were more unique tracks, though that might be a 2D staple and the music diversity is just for the 3D titles.