There is seriously no new music? That's awful. The initial theme was not that good to begin with.

Impressions from a Gafer, Mailenstein:

As somebody who 100%ed both NSMB and NSMB Wii, I have to say this is quite different. To me it feels a bit more difficult than the other two games, as far as I can say that. Also I was never somebody who actually tried to collect as many coins as possible in a level but also I never rushed through the level (at least for the first playthrough). This game kinda changed my playing behaviour which isn't a bad thing. I just noticed it the other day how I started paying attention to all these coins but at the same time I wanted to keep my speed up while rocking the gold block on my head. Other people may not care about this, but for me that was really surprising. I'm playing Super Mario Bros. since the late 80's, so that's kinda interesting how a game can change and change you at the same time.

As for the level design itself, I'm really loving it. Who says "this game is rehashing from the other two" clearly didn't play the game long enough. Sure, the worlds and themes are mostly the same, but the level design is really different. I said it the other day to somebody that the game feels somehow different than the other ones before and he pointed out the game was made by new talents at Nintendo. I didn't know that at that point but I wasn't surprised at all. To me it's a really fresh experience. I love this game!

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=40440691&postcount=256

The mushroom Kingdom needs a bank..........like now.

Just wait for the BO 2 reviews and then you can shake your head.  They will give it 9+ for being conservative.

One strange thing that I've noticed since this portable generation started with the 3DS and continued with the Vita is that great qualty games aren't getting the Metascores they deserve. Ocarina of Time 3D, despite being an improved version of the original in every way, only has a Metascore of 94. Super Mario 3D Land only has a Metascore of 90. The highest rated Vita game, Rayman Origins, only has a Metascore of 88. Uncharted..? 80.

It seems to me that reviewers are scoring portable games lower than they should just because they are portable games. Weird. I reckon you should add anywhere between 5 and 10 points on top of a portable game Metascore to get an accurate and fair score. Very odd.

It was like this last gen too. Hence, why the DS, arguably the greatest platform ever, only ever got four games with scores of over 90% in its long history.

New review from The Official Nintendo Magazine UK: 90%!

"New Super Mario Bros. 2 is the very definition of bitter-sweet, giving with one hand and then taking away with the other. By default it's the best side-scrolling platformer on the 3DS and yes, it's even better than the original New Super Mario Bros. But that came out six years ago now, and in that time we'd really expected the series to have progressed a little further than just a 3D effect and Coin Rush mode."

"In our eyes then, Super Mario 3D Land remains the best Mario adventure on 3DS so far, thanks to its more effective use of 3D, its greater longevity and its wider range of experiences."

"Mind you, you should by all means still run out and grab New Super Mario Bros 2 when it's released on 17 August because it still provides another serving of the Mario action you know and love. It's just that in the grand scheme of things it could have been so much more."

Metacritic sucks
theres a lot of websites that nobody knows that use Metacritic as a publicity site giving bad scores and harsh reviews on purpose to get some attention......really sad

Japan vs North America (Japan FTW!)

Also, here's a comparsion video of the game running on a 3DS and 3DS XL. 

I can also post the world themes if you guys want me to.

As if Jim Sterling didn't troll us enough with Mario Kart 7 and Kid Icarus: Uprising. His legacy strikes once again with New Super Mario Bros. 2. He gave it a 7.

"New Super Mario Bros. 2 is good. It was always going to be good, because Nintendo makes good games. That was never in doubt. However, it's a markedly more vacuous experience, bereft as it is of fresh gameplay and rigidly sticking to a formula with such zeal one would almost believe it a religious imperative of the developers. The coin collecting silliness may alter the player's approach somewhat, but it is nonetheless superficial and many players will doubtless get bored of it before hitting their million. The gimmick serves as an allegory for the entire game, really -- a glittering distraction, lacking any real substance."

"At its core, New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a Mushroom Kingdom coin -- shiny and addictive, but carrying no practical value whatsoever."
http://www.destructoid.com/review-new-super-mario-bros-2-232194.phtml