New Super Luigi U

Did You Know?

• The game sold 3.07 million copies by 2020, making it the eighth-best-selling Wii U game.
• Japanese retail sales in its debut week totaled 24,881 copies, about one-third of Pikmin 3's sales.
• Nintendo had a net loss of $457 million in 2014, a year in which New Super Luigi U reached 1.76 million sales.

Development

New Super Luigi U was developed by Nintendo EAD, the same team behind New Super Mario Bros. U. Producer Takashi Tezuka conceived the Luigi-oriented DLC as part of the Year of Luigi campaign, aiming to change perceptions of downloadable content. Developers from the New Super Mario Bros. 2 team were brought in to design gimmicks distinct from the base game. Early ideas for smaller DLC, similar to New Super Mario Bros. 2's Boost Rush courses, were abandoned when Tezuka felt the similarity was problematic. Director Masataka Takemoto agreed to start over, aiming to create a DLC larger than New Super Mario Bros. 2. The team waited for that game's DLC to release; fan disappointment with its basic content confirmed their direction.

Marketing and release

New Super Luigi U was announced in a February 2013 Nintendo Direct alongside Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, with no release date or price given. At E3 2013, Nintendo revealed Mario would be omitted and replaced by Nabbit, and that the DLC would release as both a digital download and a standalone physical copy in a green box. A Wii U bundle including both NSMBU and New Super Luigi U released in November. The game was later included in the 2019 Nintendo Switch port New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe.

On July 27, a Miiverse challenge asked players to complete the story with the fewest coins. Nintendo partnered with the Chicago Transit Authority to rebrand a Brown Line train as the "Luigi Line" from August 12 to September 8, featuring green livery, Year of Luigi artwork, demo kiosks, and a Luigi mascot. The Nintendo of America Twitter account was styled as Luigi's during the promotion. The mockumentary Finding Luigi – Legend of Parkour was released on Nintendo's YouTube channel, depicting Luigi as a vanished parkour legend.

Reception

New Super Luigi U received a Metacritic score of 77/100 from 59 reviews, indicating generally favorable reception. Critics praised the difficulty, with some comparing it to Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. The limited time and intense platforming were lauded, though the flutter jump was initially seen as unnecessary before becoming natural. Polygon called it the most difficult Mario content in decades. Some reviewers saw it as a fresh challenge for veterans, but noted it was not suited for new players. IGN described it as a fast-paced CliffsNotes version of a 2D platformer. Eurogamer found frustration in the delay between dying and restarting a level, contrasting it unfavorably with Super Meat Boy. GameSpot felt the experience was too similar to New Super Mario Bros. U.