In case you hadn’t noticed us pushing it whenever we could last year, Rayman Origins was one of our favorite games of 2011. Fortunately it ended up selling well enough to justify a sequel and one that’s fast tracked for release this year. At E3 2012 Ubisoft unveiled (officially) Rayman Legends, a game Ubi has built with the Wii U in mind. Though not confirmed for launch, we’d bet it’ll be out alongside the system, which puts it in direct competition with New Super Mario Bros U. Both games feature five player variation on classic 2D platforming and unique use of the new touchscreen Gamepad. After playing both E3 demos (and it pains us to say this as Mario fans), Rayman Legends was more fun. How? Well, for starters…

We predicted there would be a New Super Mario Bros for Wii U weeks before E3 began, mostly because it's so easy a choice for Nintendo to make. However, when compared to NSMBU, Rayman Legends is ready to shake things up. From the newish art style to the humorous approach to character and level design, Rayman is out to have fun this time around and try something new in his software efforts, while NSMBU doesn’t seem to want to rock the boat too much. The excitement around the new ideas is palpable as we explored the early stage, freeing captives at every turn. Unlike Mario, Rayman didn’t need a Flying Squirrel Suit to hold our interest.

That excitement also comes with a bigger emphasis on really pushing the players. While not every Mario stage in the demo was all that easy, the Rayman levels were really built to challenge you. The stages were designed to look more menacing, spikes all around the players and bonus items in tough to reach spots. The optional side areas built for the demo were even tougher, giving us the sense that Legends was made with experienced players in mind, instead of aiming the difficulty level toward an entire inexperienced family.

Then again, what if you're playing with one of those strange people that for some reason don’t understand the concept of 2D platforming? NSMBU and Rayman have features meant to engage more passive participants, but approach it differently. On both the Gamepad displays the same picture as the TV, only you can interact with it via touch. NSMBU simply allows for placing new platfomers on the screen for players to hop on, while Rayman Legends makes that touchscreen interface an entirely new character. Named Murphy, the green, bug-like creature flits about the screen, interacting with items, hitting enemies, and helping the onscreen players increase their scores. We had fun with NSMBU’s screen interface too, but Murphy’s responsibilities had so many more varieties for players to enjoy.

The pace of the New Mario games have been more moderate than other Marios, with the stages in the NSMBU demo being especially slow paced, since most were built around slow, floating power-ups. That’s not the case with Rayman, where we were moving forward as fast as we could, or at least as fast as our co-op partner holding the Gamepad could keep up. When two or more players are working perfectly in tandem with the controls, it becomes a fast exchange of skills, which feels great compared to the pace in New Super Mario games that feels like you’re waiting for grandma to catch up.

Remember when Super Mario games like Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island were at the cutting edge of sprite-based graphics. The New Mario series left that behind for polygonal characters in a 2D world, but Rayman Origins carried that torch beautifully and Legends continues the tradition. Legends uses the same fluid animation engine as Origins, only it’s been enhanced with new shaders and other small but noticeable features. Even when it isn't compared to NSMBU’s barely embellished take on polygonal Mario, Legends is one of the prettiest games for the new console.

Our final and most rocking example is the surf rock stage that closed out our demo and was shown during the Ubisoft press conference. Perhaps the best thing we personally played on the show floor, it perfectly illustrates how touch and standard controls can work in tandem to create something magical. Jumping in time to the music with our Gamepad-holding partner highlighting chances to score extra points, we felt a genuine rush as we sped through the stage. When we reached the end, we felt like total rock stars, banging our heads to the triumphant solo. The below video gives you some idea what the stage is like, but it’s on a whole other level when you play it. We just can’t say the same for what we played of NSMBU.

So there you have it, our thoughts on Rayman vs Mario. This is by no means definitive and we'd bet New Super Mario Bros U still has some tricks up its sleeve. We can't wait to see how the final versions of these game compare when they come out (we assume) near the Wii U's launch.

Need to read more about Wii U? Check out our previews of New Super Mario Bros U and Ubisoft's own ZombiU.