New Super Mario Bros. U: Sparkling Waters-1 -- Waterspout Beach

Sparkling Waters is a tropical beach world. This level features waterspouts, which are similar to the pillars of sand in Layer-Cake Desert. Also in the level are crabs that throw rocks. Go under the first waterspout and to the right for some coins. Dodge the Cheep-Cheep and Piranhas in the level. There are three waterspouts next to each other. Use them to reach the first Star Coin. Get the Ice Flower and use it to freeze a crab, which you can throw at a waterspout to get the second Star Coin. Alternatively, you can run and jump to get it while the waterspout is rising. Soon after, you'll find a Red Coin Ring. The Red Coins will appear down the path of the waterspouts. The midpoint is nearby. There is a pipe between two waterspouts, which leads to an underwater area. The coins appear in bubbles and there's a 1-up in the clam. Once you return to the main level, look for a POW Block. Use it to make the third Star Coin appear over a waterspout. Use the waterspouts to platform over the Piranha Plant to the flagpole. This opens the path to Sparkling Waters-2.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert- Castle -- Morton's Compactor Castle

This castle features moving stones over large pits of lava. The stones have the potential to crush you, so be careful. The first Star Coin is over the lava. Drop down to the stone below it and jump to get it. You'll soon come across a red pipe. Go up and over the pipe by wall jumping for a pipe to the second Star Coin. Back in the main level, there's a mini gap with some coins. After dealing with some more stones, you'll reach the midpoint. The third Star Coin is also over the lava. Drop down and ride the platform under the blocks to ge ti and transfer to the next platform. There's a Green Ring nearby. If you have an Ice Flower, freeze the Dry Bones on the floor near the Podoboos and slide it into them for a 1-up. Next is a set of blocks that will form compartments for you to stand it, so watch them carefully. If you go over the ceiling and to the left, you'll find some more coins. The boss door is to the right. Take the cannon to the Airship. Morton Koopa Jr. has a hammer, which makes a giant Pokey appear when he uses it. The Pokey will prevent you from attacking Morton and will throw its segments at you. Jump to dodge them. Once the Pokey is gone, attack Morton. Try to stomp him immediately after he comes out of his shell so you don't have to deal with more Pokeys. After you defeat him, his Airship crashes. We have all of the Star Coins in Layer-Cake Desert. The path opens up to two new worlds: Sparkling Waters and Frosted Glacier. I'll be going to Sparkling Waters first.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert-6 -- Blooming Lakitus

Lakitus are flying overhead in this level and you'll want to take their clouds. Grab the Ice Flower in the item block over the palm tree. The lower part of the level features spinning stones, like the rolling hills in Acorn Plains. The Lakitus don't throw Spinies, but rather Piranha Plants. Grab the Lakitu's cloud and fly high into the sky. The lone brick block in the sky has a 1-up. The first Star Coin is above the spinning stones and some blocks. There are spinning coin rings in the air nearby. Around the time the cloud disappears, you'll be close to the midpoint. There's a Red Coin Ring near some giant Piranhas. Over the spinning stones past the Red Coins is a pipe to the second Star Coin. It's to the right of the POW Block. The third Star Coin is at ground level surrounded by Piranhas. Use a Koopa shell to get it. From there, it's not far to the flag. This opens the path to the castle.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert-5 -- Dry Desert Mushrooms

This level features Rock Spikes on mushrooms. Also in the level are platforms on paths. Early on, there will be two platforms to choose from. Start on the top one first, then drop down to the lower one for the first Star Coin. The Acorn Mushroom is available in this level. Be careful on the expanding pink mushrooms and you'll reach the midpoint. Take the platform up to more pink mushrooms with a couple of Rock Spikes. The second Star Coin is up there. There is also a Green Ring in the area. Go through the green pipe below the mushrooms. There is a POW Block, as well as the third Star Coin. You'll be standing on the pink mushrooms, so time your use of the POW Block for when the mushrooms expands so the mushrooms can catch the third Star Coin. Return to the main level and go past a random item block. You can take either the platform or the mushrooms to the flag at the end. This opens the path to Layer-Cake Desert-6.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert- Ice -- Piranha Plants on Ice

This part of the Layer-Cake Desert gets snow. There are several blocks of ice in this level, most of them held up by smaller chunks of ice. Fire Piranhas can melt the smaller chunks of ice and make the blocks of ice fall to the ground, possibly crushing you in the process or blocking off access to some areas. First, you'll have to cross a bridge partially formed by several blocks of ice. The Fire Piranhas below will start melting the ice so the large blocks will start falling. Past the bridge is a large area of snow. There are Fire Piranhas overhead, as well as blocks of ice, so move quickly if one is about to fall. Go down the first green pipe before a block of ice blocks it off. This will take you to the first Star Coin. The next pipe, which is overhead, will take you to the second Star Coin. It's between several Fire Piranhas and some blocks of ice. Let the ice melt, then wall jump up to get it. Return to the main level. There's a Green Ring nearby, but be warned that some of the coins can be blocked by ice. As you keep going, there will be a point where the ice blocks will be within reach and can allow you to reach new heights. Move quickly and jump with precision to reach the higher levels off ice. If you let the ice fall too far, you won't be able to reach the end of the line of ice blocks, where the third Star Coin is. You may also try to reach it by using a Fire Flower to kill the Fire Piranhas in case you can't reach it by jumping. At the end, you'll have to run and dodge fireballs from the Fire Piranhas as well as falling ice to reach the flag. This opens up the path to Soda Jungle.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert-4 -- Spike's Spouting Sands

This level has lots of Spikes throwing spike balls and pillars of sand that rise from the void to give you a boost. Some of the Spikes are on item blocks. The Ice Flower is available here, so freeze the Spikes if you need to. Under a bridge and between two sand pillars is the first Star Coin. Go under the bridge and use the sand pillars to reach it. Soon after, you'll see three Red Koopas on flying item blocks. Nearby is a flying item block over a sand pillar. Hit it to make a vine appear. This will take you to the second Star Coin. The Star Coin is next to the right wall. There are shifting blocks that expand into a line and contract back into a single block. They will expand to form stairs so you can reach the Star Coin. Return to the main level and you'll soon come across the midpoint. Past the midpoint, you can go behind the small Stone Eyes. Some of them have invisible areas with pipes in them. Take the pipe down and you'll find an item block with a Mini Mushroom. Run up the walls into the pipe to the right. Keep running and you'll get the third Star Coin which is below the area you could normally reach. Keep going and you'll reach the flag. This opens the path to Layer-Cake Desert-6.

Another Stone Eye has a hidden pipe. This Stone Eye is the one past the midpoint and the pit with the Spikes with the arrow sign nearby. The pipe is a cannon that takes you to the red goal. This opens the path to Layer-Cake Desert-Ice.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains- Blooper -- Blooper's Secret Lair

This is a secret level, which is technically part of the same world as the level with the secret exit, but is located in part of a different world. This is part of the beach world of Sparkling Waters. The secret levels do not have midpoints. We take a pipe underwater. This level is filled with pipes, some with Bloopers hiding in them and some with currents. Some of the pipes with currents rotate around. Get the Fire Flower because you'll need it to deal with the several Bloopers in the area. Past the three pipes with Bloopers in them are two pipes with currents coming down from the ceiling. The first Star Coin is between them. Align yourself between the two pipes and swim up. The yellow pipe below has a current that may help you reach it. Soon after you'll see a set of rotating pipes to the left of the second Star Coin. Swim directly under the red pipe to the left of the Star Coin to reach it. Keep going to the right and you'll see a Red Coin Ring. The currents from the pipes along the way may help or hinder you in getting them. At the end of the area is a green pipe in the ceiling and a red pipe below with a Blooper. Go through the green pipe. This leads to another underwater area that is vertical. There are two Bloopers in the pipes to your left and right. There's a set of rotating pipes with currents immediately above you. Stay to the left. On the left wall are three green pipes stacked on top of one another. The lower one has a current. Take the middle pipe. Drop down for the third Star Coin and return the way you came before the two Blooper Nannies make life difficult. Swim to the top of the level, while dealing with a Blooper and lots of pipes with currents. The pipe at the top leads to the flagpole. This opens the path to a new world, Soda Jungle. We can save our game now. We get a message saying, "You got all the Star Coins in Acorn Plains! That's gotta mean something good, right?" We shall see when we collect more Star Coins.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert- Fort -- Stone Slide Tower

In this fort, there are wheels to spin that move the stone blocks around. Stand on the wheel and press [ZR] to move the blocks, repeating this as necessary. Spinning the first wheel makes the first Star Coin appear on the left side. There are Spike Tops in the fort, so be careful where you jump. Climb higher in the tower and spin the wheel, then quickly move to the left and wall jump up past the stone for the second Star Coin. Near the top, spin the wheel to move steps into place so you can reach the pipe to the midpoint. In this part, there are patches of quicksand. Over the first patch is a set of stones that will allow you to platform up. It also has a giant Dry Bones on it. There's an invisible red pipe on the left wall near the second patch of quicksand. It leads to a room where infinite spike balls appear from the ceiling. The third Star Coin is blocked off in stone. Just below where the spike balls appear is a stone you can move by spinning a wheel. Time it so that the stone catches the spike ball, and lets it roll to the right, hit the wall, then roll back to the left and break the stone. You have to get the Star Coin on your own, so be careful. Once you return to the main level, keep climbing until you reach a set of pipes in the middle of the tower. You need to spin the wheel to separate the stones over the pipes, then quickly use the pipe as a cannon to the boss door before the stones come together. Kamek appears in the boss room and powers up Boom Boom so that he spins around. Other than that, the battle is the same. Stomp him as soon as he gets up to make the battle go faster. Once defeated, Mario kicks him out. In another part of the Mushroom Kingdom, Kamek circles Peach's Castle, and whips up a purple mist that covers the castle until we can't see it. The path to Layer-Cake Desert-4 and -5 opens up, through a maze with a Goomba, a Fire Bro, and an Acorn Mushroom.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert-3 -- Fire Snake Cavern

It's another underground level. Grab the Ice Flower outside and take the pipe underground. This cavern is dark, but has a few lights in it. There are lots of Fire Snakes in the cavern, but the Ice Flower can extinguish them. Some of the lights in the cavern are attached to tilting platforms. The second set of tilting platforms will allow you to reach a high ledge with the first Star Coin. Making life difficult while providing some illumination are the occasional Fire Piranhas. In an item block is a Yellow Baby Yoshi, which glows for better visibility. It also eats most enemies, including the Fire Snakes. It can't eat Fire Bros, which appear before the midpoint. There's a low pipe which will take you to a 1-up and some Piranha Plants. There's a Red Coin Ring nearby. The next set of tilting platforms has brick blocks in it. Break them to reach a pipe below. It takes you to the second Star Coin. Afterwards are more Fire Snakes and a P-Switch. Soon, you'll come to some more tilting platforms with Fire Bros. Over the first Fire Bro is a pipe to the third Star Coin. Afterwards, continue to the right, take a pipe above ground and go to the flagpole. This opens the path to the Fort.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer-Cake Desert-2 -- Perilous Pokey Cave

As the name suggests, this level is filled with Pokeys. Use the pipe to go underground. There are pillars of sand that allow you to dodge some Pokeys, but some Pokeys may wander into them, making them difficult to avoid. Some Pokeys are on the ceiling. The first Star Coin is over a sand pillar near a Koopa. Between two Pokeys is a gap in the ceiling. There's an invisible block over the sand pillar between them. Use it to go up and over the ceiling for some coins and the second Star Coin. There's a Starman in the lower set of brick blocks. Past the midpoint is a set of blocks. Yoshi is in the top block. Go through the first pipe past the midpoint, which takes you to a dark cave. There is an invisible block between the two Pokeys on the ceiling, which lets you reach a green pipe overhead. It takes you to a lit cave with several tall Pokeys. Use Yoshi to bounce on top of the Pokeys for the third Star Coin. Once you return to the dark room, go through the pipe at the end. This will take you to the flagpole. The path to Fort opens.

Nintendo Direct 2/14/13

It's the year of Luigi and Nintendo's starting it off with Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. It's full of rich atmosphere and lots of exploration. The Poltergust has received some improvements and can vacuum up more stuff and can be used to solve puzzles. The ghosts and mansions are distinct and have lots of character. Boos will also appear. The game is more light-hearted than horror. There is four-player multiplayer, available through a local wireless interaction, download play, and online. There are three different modes.

There is a new Mario and Luigi game in the works for the 3DS. Luigi's dreams are the setting for the game. Mario explores Luigi's dreams and the player must use Starlow (from Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story) to touch Luigi's face to solve puzzles and summon multiple Luigis to fight battles. It's called Mario and Luigi: Dream Team and will be released Summer 2013.

Also in the works is a Mario Golf game for the 3DS. It has a wide range of courses, simple controls, and deep gameplay. It's called Mario Golf: World Tour and also comes out Summer 2013.

For the Wii U, downloadable content entitled New Super Luigi U will be available. It's based off of New Super Mario Bros. U, but Mario does not appear. All new courses will be available to play. It will be available in 2013.

Starting today on the Wii U, a Miiverse Zelda Community will be available. Fans of the series can now discuss the series on Miiverse, even though no games have been released for it yet. Developers will make occasional appearances.

The first of the downloadable Fire Emblem: Awakening maps is now available for free until March 6, then it will cost $2.50. Two more maps are available for download today. Ike appears, as well as a new character.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf will be available on June 9. You become mayor when you arrive and build your house, which is more customizable. There are new species of animals in town. The Touch Screen makes running errands easier. You can share your home via StreetPass. Animal Crossing outfits will appear in Style Savvy: Trendsetters.

Lego City: Undercover will be available for the Wii U on March 18. A version for the 3DS, Lego City: Undercover: The Chase Begins, will be available on April 21. It's set in the same world, but with a different story line set two years prior to Lego City: Undercover. This story is about Chase McCain getting started as a rookie cop.

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is getting a new update, with a new costume for each playable character, as well as 25 new Ninja Trial Missions. It's free and will come out later this month.

Wii Street U is now available in the Wii U eShop. It's free for a limited time.

HarmoKnight has over 50 levels of attacking enemies and jumping to create the rhythm and music of the game. Performing well creates a richer score of music. It will be available in the eShop as a demo on March 14 and available for purchase on March 28.

Kersploosh! involves guiding a stone down a well while avoiding obstacles such as donuts and pizza. There are different wells and different stones. 3DS eShop March 7

Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is a new puzzle game for the 3DS. Race against the clock to guide the Minis to the goal by creating paths for them. There are also minigames throughout, as well as multiple modes. Puzzles can be shared. Coming soon.

Dillon's Rolling Western: The Last Ranger is a tower defense game mixed with action. Dillon can recruit allies by defeating them. Dillon has to protect a train throughout the game. eShop April 11.

Harvest Moon and Legend of the River King will be available on the 3DS Virtual Console.

There's a promotion going on where you get a free game of Super Mario 3D Land, Freakyforms Deluxe, Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, or Starfox 64 3D when you purchase a 3DS XL and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon or Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity and register them both. This promotion will be available March 21 until April 30. Another promotion puts the following games on sale in the eShop on the following days:
Bit.Trip Saga - February 14
Crashmo - February 21
Fractured Soul - February 28
Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword - March 7
Ketzal's Corridors - March 14
Mutant Mudds - March 21

A new ZombiU Wii U bundle will arrive February 17. The bundle includes a deluxe WiiU, the ZombiU game, a black Wii U Pro controller, and an art collection book. NintendoLand will be available as a downloadable game.

Bit.Trip Presents... Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien will be available on the Wii U eShop in February.

Zen Pinball 2 will also be available as a free download in the Wii U eShop in February. It will include downloads of new tables.

Toki Tori 2 will be available in March. It can be played off TV and will include a level editor.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate will be available March 5.

Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate will be available on the 3DS and Wii U on March 19. It supports up to 4 players and includes voice chat. It also supports cross platform play, so one player can play on the Wii U and three others can use their 3DS. Data can be transferred to the 3DS.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted U will be available March 19. It features a co-op mode where one person drives using the Wiimote or a Pro Controller and the other player helps out on the Gamepad. This game also supports off TV play. This will be the first 3rd party title to support Miiverse. The game also includes the free Ultimate Speed Pack.

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will arrive on March 26. Resource management is critical.

Injustice: Gods Among Us will arrive April 16. It's a fighting game featuring a slew of DC superheroes and supports off TV play. It runs at 60 frames per second and has downloading content on the way.

Disney Infinity will arrive in June on the Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.

Donkey Kong gets his own game on the 3DS with a port of Donkey Kong Country Returns. A video is available in the eShop.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Layer Cake Desert-1 -- Stone-Eye Zone

This desert has quicksand as well as stone statues in the quicksand. The are safe to stand on and sometimes move. We can also stand on the palm trees. There are flying squirrels here. The ? Switch makes coins appear from the sky. Bounce off a stone statue for the first Star Coin. Use a Koopa shell to hit the item block you can't hit for a 1-up. Pound the nearby stone statue for coins. After the midpoint are pillars of sand that appear from below and help you reach things, like item blocks. One of the item blocks has a Fire Flower. If you have an Acorn Mushroom, glide and boost to a green pipe near a palm tree. It will take you to the second Star Coin. Use the P-Switch to get it. The third Star Coin is in the middle of a pillar of sand. Jump down to get it when the sand is not there and the sand pillar will appear to save you. At the end, near the flagpole, is a series of stone statues that you have platform over. The statues will sink and tilt, sometimes before you reach them, so take your time. The flagpole is at the end. This opens the path to a Mushroom House, and Layer Cake Desert-2 and -3.

A rabbit thief appears from the Mushroom House with a sack. Toad says that the thief stole a bunch of stuff from him and that he's fast. The thief runs of to Acorn Plains-1.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains- Castle -- Lemmy's Swingback Castle

As the name suggests, there are lots of swings in this castle. There's also lots of lava. Get the Acorn Mushroom, then the first Star Coin by transferring swings. Avoid the Podoboos and use the tiered swing to reach the higher swing to the right. When you reach solid footing, you'll find the midpoint nearby. The floor will end and you'll have to deal with more lava. Use the Acorn Mushroom to glide for the second Star Coin. Afterwards is a Red Coin Ring. The swings will be much closer to the lava and some will go into the lava, so jump when they do. There will be more swings, then a pipe in the lava. Carefully drop down to it. It leads to another room with lava with a swing that goes into the lava. The third Star Coin is above the swing, so get on the swing, then jump to get the Star Coin when it goes into the lava, then land when the swing is out of the lava. Return to the main level. You'll be near the boss door. There's a Fire Flower in an invisible block on the right wall. The door leads to an open part of the castle where we can see Lemmy's Airship flying by. At the top of the stairs is a cannon, which will blast you to the Airship. We land inside the Airship where Lemmy is. Lemmy stands on a bouncy ball and throws bombs. Avoid the bombs and stomp Lemmy. He'll go spinning around in his shell, then stop, and stand on another bouncy ball and start throwing bombs again. The best way to deal with the Koopalings is to stomp them as soon as they get out their shell cycle. Three stomps are all you need to defeat him. We win and Mario stomps around on Lemmy's Airship, which flies off and crashes somewhere. We save the game and head to the next area, Layer Cake Desert.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains-5 -- Rise of the Piranha Plants

This area has lots of Giant Piranhas. The Fire Flower is very helpful here. There are coins under the area near the rising Piranha. The first Star Coin floats over a giant Piranha Plant. Baby Yoshi can help you get it. There's a Hammer Bro in front of the midpoint. The path ahead is slanted and has more giant Piranhas. After them is another Hammer Bro. There's a pipe blocked by a Piranha Plant. Defeat the Piranha, then go through the pipe to an area with the second Star Coin over a couple of giant Piranha Plants. Return to the main level and avoid the Piranha Plants on the ceiling. The third Star Coin is guarded by a Hammer Bro. There is slanted land to the flagpole. This opens the path to the castle and a Mushroom House. Time your jump over the Piranha Plant in the pipe to avoid dealing with it, or backtrack and go past Acorn Plains-4.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains-4 -- Mushroom Heights

It's a mushroom platforming level. Some of the mushrooms move. The clouds overhead conceal coins. Pink Baby Yoshi is a great help here. There are strange-looking Goombas walking on the mushrooms, but they don't walk off. Use Baby Yoshi to reach the first Star Coin over the blue mushroom. The midpoint is on a different blue mushroom. The second Star Coin is under a blue mushroom, but it's over the void. Use Baby Yoshi to get it, repeatedly hitting [ZR], until you're over a mushroom to stand on. Go down the green pipe between the four pink mushrooms that expand and contract. It will take you an area with moving mushrooms and some Goombas. Kill the Goombas first, then activate the Green Coin Ring. This is a new ring, that makes green coins appear in triplets. Get all three before they soon disappear to make another triplet appear. All told, five sets of three green coins will appear. Collect all fifteen green coins to get a powerup. Return to the main level and you'll find the third Star Coin under a tilting green mushroom between two giant Piranhas. Baby Yoshi can't eat giant enemies. It may take a few attempts to get it. After that is the flagpole. This opens the path to the castle.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains-3 -- Yoshi Hill

This level has lots of rolling hills and Monty Moles jumping out of the rocks. There's a Yoshi in an item block. Use Yoshi to flutter jump from the hill for the first Star Coin. There's lots of fruit in the level for Yoshi to eat. If he eats five fruits, he'll lay an egg with a powerup. If Yoshi eats the powerup, nothing will happen, so just run into it to get it. There are some brick blocks past the first pipe that lead underground to an invisible area. Run underground to the red pipe, which leads to the second Star Coin. It's over the yellow pipes with Piranha Plants and it moves. Once you return to the main level, there will be a stretch of land where eight Monty Moles will appear at once. It's just in front of the midpoint. Coins will appear out of the mole holes if you wait a short while. The next area has raised land with gaps in between to the void. Between two pieces of land with Monty Moles, which are between two yellow platforms, is a red pipe in the gap. This will take you to the third Star Coin. Run and jump to get it. Afterwards are Fire Piranhas and rolling hills leading to the flagpole. This opens the path to Acorn Plains-4 and Acorn Plains 5.

On the path to Acorn Plains-4 is a pink Baby Yoshi. It says it will follow us because it looks like we know where to find food. We take it into Acorn Plains-3 and it will eat small enemies, like Piranha Plants and Monty Moles, but won't touch the fruit. It also sings when you hold it. Press [ZR] to make it balloon so you can reach new areas. We reach the flagpole with it and Toad thanks us for the help and gives us a Super Mushroom. Pink Baby Yoshi still follows us around.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains- Fort -- Crushing Cogs Tower

This fort is filled with spinning cogs to help you reach new heights, as well as possibly crush you. Climb up the first set of cogs and get the Ice Flower from the item block. There are Dry Bones in here, so use the Ice Flower to get rid of them. Wall jump up the right side of the fort to reach the first Star Coin. There's a moving stone above it that will block your access to the Star Coin, but it won't hurt you. Take the platform up, climb past some cogs, and go left for the second Star Coin. There's a Red Coin Ring over a cog. Soon after, you'll reach the midpoint. There's a set of three cogs above, which can crush you. The one on the right will crush you, so jump off it immediately. Jump from the cog to the left over to a ledge on the right wall. Jump up from there for an invisible area to the right, with a pipe cannon that takes you to the third Star Coin. You'll soon reach the boss door. The boss of this fort is Boom Boom. He runs around flailing his arms and bounces off the walls. Stomp him three times for victory. Mario kicks him out of the fort and the path to Acorn Plains-3 opens up. We can now save our game.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains-2 -- Tilted Tunnel

It's time to go underground. There's a Fire Flower in the item block above the Piranha Plants. They can't hurt you. Take the pipe underground, where there's lots of moving crystals. The crystal platforms may move when you step on them. Take the floating platform moving left and right to a crystal slide with coins. Jump at the end of the slide for the first Star Coin. Soon after is the midpoint. There are two brick blocks next to a Piranha Plant in a pipe. Use a Koopa shell to hit the upper brick block to make a vine appear. It will take you to a pipe cannon, which will fire you to the second Star Coin. Nearby is an area with lots of pipes. Take the lower, left green pipe down to an area with Buzzy Beetles and a POW Block. The POW Block will make coins rain down from above. Once you return to the main level, go to the right and you'll see a Red Coin Ring over the pink crystal. Afterwards, there will be crystal with a sign pointing down. Pound that crystal to move it out of the way so you can access the pipe below. The third Star Coin is at the bottom of a crystal slide. Once you get it, the crystal will move. Return through the same pipe. The pipe to the flagpole is not too far away. This opens the path to the Mushroom House and the Fort.

After completing the level, we see that the flags on Peach's Castle now bear Bowser's emblem.

If we return to the level and go over the rocks onto the ceiling in the area of the Red Coin Ring, there's an area with coins above. Before you go too far, jump again to access a higher level. Run over the pipe to the flag and drop down on the right side to find a different pipe. This will lead to the Red Goal. This opens the path to Acorn Plains-Blooper.

New Super Mario Bros. U: Acorn Plains-1 -- Acorn Plains Way

We find ourselves in Acorn Plains, a peaceful, green World 1. The acorns we saw in the introduction are Acorn Mushrooms, which will turn Mario into Flying Squirrel Mario, allowing him to glide down to the ground and cling to walls. We can get an extra height boost when jumping by hitting the [ZR] button. The first Acorn Mushroom we can get is in the clutches of a flying squirrel enemy. Glide from the first high ledge to reach the first Star Coin. Go down the next green pipe for the second Star Coin. Return to the main level and you'll see a rising piece of land. To the lower right of it is a hidden area with coins. Nearby is the midpoint. Pound the brick blocks in the ground under the sign with the arrow for more coins. Soon after, you'll see a Piranha Plant, as well as a Red Coin Ring. Use [ZR] to get a boost to a platform overhead with a pipe. The pipe will take you to a free-fall area with a trail of coins. Follow the coins (or stay in the center if you don't have an Acorn Mushroom) for the third Star Coin. Return to the main area and it's a short distance to the flagpole.

New Super Mario Bros. U - Save the Princess. Save the Kingdom. With Singing Yoshis.

Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi, Blue Toad, and Yellow Toad are sitting at a table eating cake and drinking tea in the castle. Eight Airships fly to the castle, seven bearing the faces of the Koopalings, and the largest bearing the face of Bowser. Bowser's Airship extends a mechanical hand into the castle, pulls Peach's chair away from the table, then pounds the Mario Bros. and the Toads. The hand picks them up, winds up for the pitch, and throws them as far from the castle as possible. The four are thrown into an acorn tree and slung out, releases some acorns in the process. They land near some baby Yoshis, pick themselves up, and start running. The Koopalings' Airships take off in all directions. Lemmy's goes to Acorn Plains, with Lemmy laughing all the way.

Well, Bowser hasn't kidnapped Peach this time, but he's holding her hostage in her own castle. It's going to be a long journey there, and there's no telling if we have to make our way to both her castle and Bowser's. Let's get started!