Great post, Superstar Saga is a classic for sure, none of the sequels matched up for me despite BiS putting in a good effort.
Well I suppose I still got to try Paper Jam at some stage.
So I just finished another run of NSMB2 while breaking in my spangly orange and black New3DS XL.
NSMB2 is such a curious game, it's got a filler entry vibe all over it but it's a lot better than some may think.
It's main flaw is that the difficulty level never really steps up, it remains unusually consistent in challenge throughout leading to one of the most anticlimactic final worlds (be it obligatory bowser lava world or the post game star world).
But you can see the differing design style breaking through the NSMB mould with the team of younger designers that worked on this one.
In this post Mario Maker world I almost understand why there's a greater surplus of autoscrollers, water stages and ghost houses in NSMB2, because if it's anything like my approach to MM you want to try and put spins on the usual Mario tropes that aren't tackled as heavily.
The coin gimmick is so close to being great, coin rush in particular a great concept with glaring flaws botching the thing and that's a shame. Coin Rush actively gives coin collecting a purpose, turns 1 ups into 50 coins thus also making them (and red coins) more inviting and ultimately gives the otherwise pointless high scoring angle an actual focus. I'd have loved it if each stage could be played individually in a coin rush format with a developer high score to beat that fits each stage, alas the actual coin rush mode roulette's you 3 random stages always ending in a castle/tower leaving its score system as a luck of the draw (and also the X2 flagpole modifier is kinda silly).
In the standard stages themselves though the coin surplus is kinda fun, every little nook and cranny can hide a sudden unveiling of coins, the gold rings modifying enemies in various ways to support coinage are also neat. The true unsung heroes here though are the Coin Block cap and Golden Flower.
Coin Block Cap is freakin' simple genius, you know those blocks that you can keep striking for coins? as a motivator to actually bother with them they turn into golden blocks Mario dons on his head that haemorrhage coins as you pick up pace adding not only an extra bit or armour but also a kinetic motivator to just RUUUUUN non stop for the feel good fountain of coins erupting from your noggin.
Golden Flower is just a souped up Fire Flower with an explosive block destroying and enemy obliterating radius that has a coin modifier on foes as well, it's overpowered fun and rare enough to feel like a treat.
So with all this in mind I'd love to see these younger team members take the lead in their own 2D Mario outside the NSMB format. They even snuck in some nicer aesthetics with the totem like athletic stages, sky ruins, night time, aurora and SMW jagged cliff throwbacks in the ice world.
Also, Star Coins, best placement in the NSMB games here as well.
(this stage is neato, choose between two routes, obligatory mini mario usage, running on water speedy autoscroller)
Shame I can't get a good pic of the Star Castle's Koopaling segment, you ride a snake block over lava while the koopalings periodically cast magic in the background from the clown car to turn Mario to stone unless he's hidden behind certain walls, it's a really cool section especially when the only cover is at the apex of your jump which requires careful timing.
