Super Mario 3D World is damn good

After finishing the entire game including bonus levels, I'm pretty much ready to conclude that this is the game of the holidays. It's a ton of fun to play single player and multiplayer. And there's a ton of replayability. And just when I thought I completed the game, I found out I have to complete each level with each character to get 100%. You might think that is a hassle, but I liked the game so much I'm ready to replay it again with each character. And also, the very last stage "Champion's Road" is damn challenging! In fact, the whole game can be challenging if you want to ace everything. I think died like a 1000 times. Anyway, I think this is where I say TCHBO/TLHBO or something like that. Anyone else enjoy this great game?

It's good proof that I'm a bit tired of Mario.

It's awesome, but have you played Zelda: A Link Between Worlds? I can't decide which is the better game for the holidays, mostly because they're completely different experiences and they both offer lots of fun.

@trugs26: I really enjoyed link between worlds, it was perfectly made for the 3ds and is exactly how I want developers to make 3da games. I think both of those games complement each other well! The only thing I would say is link between worlds is kind of easy lol

Super Mario 3D World is not only one of the top games this year, it's also one of the best installments in the series. I was beginning to grow tired of the Mario series, but this game was, surprisingly, a breath of fresh air.

How do you unlock Champions Road?? :o the last level I got to was a boss battles' run-through.

Yeah, but I find that some of my favorite games are on the easy side. From recent memory, I played Half-Life, which was really easy, but really enjoyable. So I don't really care about difficulty as long as the game play is fun (which might depend on difficultly, but not necessarily so). Same with Mario games, I don't particularly find them difficult because I've been playing Mario games all my life, so they have become second nature to me, but I still find that the game design is so good that it's just really enjoyable. Regardless, I found ALBW to be on the easy side, but not too easy to make me dislike the game in any way.

Mind you, I have only begun Hero Mode on ALBW, and I have only just reached the post-game levels in Mario. So I'm going into the back end of both of these excellent games :)

Indeed, it is awesome. Cat Mario actually adds a bunch of fun to the game.

Need all stars, gold flags, and stamps up until that point (just one character). but if you want to get the last 4 stamps you need to get all gold flags with each character

true, I didn't do hero mode because I was under the impression that the only thing that is different is just the difficulty. also, I just got a sweet deal on Windwaker HD this morning (for $30) so I think I'm just going to move on to that lol

It took me 265 tries to finish Champion Road. You either need to use Peach, have a tanooki suit, or be a Super Mario 3D World God to beat it.

Nice! I'm hoping I get that for Christmas :P

This game gets me off track. Every time I say I'm going to play a couple of levels and quit, I look at the clock and hours have past. :(

Through my limited experience of the game (playing a bunch of early levels) I will say that the game is fun but definitely in the NSMB way and not the Galaxy way. It's a very casual game that doesn't have a lot of excellent game design.

Wait until you get to about world 6. The game starts to get harder.

@freedomfreak:

Agreed.

My problems are that while its good, its hard too ignore that it isn't as good as the galaxy games, and that this is the eight main series mario platformer that l've played since 06. Enough is enough Nintendo..

l do really like it, but it really feels like a combination of all the ideas mario has brought to the table since about 06 rather than a unique, original game, say like Sunshine was. l really wish Nintendo would do that again, lm growing bored because Mario games seem to becoming increasingly bland... Yes this game did some things to try and stylize it compared to the NSMB series.. but it wasn't enough.. lt still just feels all too similar..

l really hope they take a break from Mario for a few years..

This, people are getting bored with the mario games.

Most sheep don't understand this though.

Another way of wording that is 'most sheep still enjoy the games though.'

I think it's the best in the series, and easily the best game I've played in 2013.

@mrintro: I really dug 3D World. It was such a wonderful game. I actually enjoy it a lot more than the first Galaxy game. It's just full of tight level design and controls. Plus the multiplayer can be such a blast with friends.

For Link Between Worlds, you should try playing on Hero Mode! It's a much harder difficulty level that unlocks upon completion (as an example, one hit from the final boss in the Green Tunic does 40 Hearts of damage in Hero Mode), and adds some challenge to what is otherwise an easy game, at least as far as combat is concerned.

I was also wondering, I know it's a bit off topic, but what do you think of Ys?

False. To get the last 4 stamps you don't need to gold all the goalposts with all characters. You just need to clear each stage, it doesn't matter where you end up on the goal post.

Play New Super Luigi U ;)

Since 2006, Mario Main Series Games:

Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario 3D World

The main series doesn't consist of the "new" games. That's an entirely different series of games. I MIGHT concede that 3D Land is a main series game, but it's not even on consoles.

And to say that this game isn't original is pretty ludicrous. What do you consider original? As a doubter of the cat suit from the beginning, I ate my words. It has added a level of verticality that no other mario game has had. It feels familiar because it comes from a pedigree of amazing game design. Why tinker so much with greatness when you can find a balance of what has worked in the past and original ideas?

People always complain about originality with Nintendo and whether they rehash titles, but if you look at the evolution of Mario's main series from 1-3 to World 1&2 to 64 and Sunshine to the Galaxy series and now to 3D Land and World, they are always vastly different, to say otherwise would really make it difficult for me to take your opinion seriously.

@VendettaRed07: how cynical do you have to be to even call this game bland? I mean it's just leaking charm everywhere

4 player is chaos personified , those levels where the panels flip when you jump >>sigh<<........Lets just say we were in that stage for about 2 hours

I like Ys! It's fast paced and the fighting is just fun. I like how you can come up with creative ways to fight, like mixing it up with different party members and such. I tend to like those kind of games, like I liked DmC this year (if you haven't played that, get the PC version it's so cheap and it's the superior version!). I'm about 7 hours in, at that Burrow place. I haven't really paid that much attention to the story though lol.I was also kicking myself the other day because go hastings had a coupon for 50% off used games and Ys was available at $36! (meaning $18) lol.

I thought about the Hero Mode. The thing is I was under the impression that the damage was the only thing that was different. If it was like the Ninja Gaiden games where you get new enemies that would've been cool. Or some other incentive. Maybe that's too much to ask for an already awesome game lol.

oh, sorry for the missinfo.

Too bad Wii U isnt ... Im giving it 2-3 years max till go into life support like Wii did or even die. I wont give 370 euros ( around 480 $$ ) for Wii U and Super mario .. Not 1 in a million. For this hardware i would give max 150 + game = 210$$ max which 210$$ are like 170Euros because i know beforehand that Nintendo will let me down and stop supporting the system exactly like Wii.. And no i dont want a second dust collector in my house

Game of Thrones is Damn Good.

What do the other consoles cost where you are? Also, is sales tax built into those prices?

Agreed. Fantastic game all around.

Just grabbed the game for 38$ with free ship,can't wait to play it!

@mrintro: It's unfortunate that the Wii U's failures have lead to this game not getting as much credit as it deserves.

That is a lot of money. But I do take issue with you basically dissing a system you probably haven't even played.

Just beat it the other day. Brilliant platformer.

It's just a shame it's on the Wii U.

Wii U is at 299 euros

PS4 399 euros

X1 499 euros

it was getting boring with the WiiU. good thing this great game came out

It's okay. It's a step or two behind the Galaxy games. It is more geared towards someone like, Super600.

Its not dissing a system because system itself. Its dissing Nintendos logic . Provide a low end hardware , put some exclusives , sale , drop it , move on ...

I hate that logic and seems Nintendo is a champion to that when it comes to consoles. Who can deny that the last 2 years of Wiis life anyone barely played with it. If it wasnt for Zelda:SS ... Then didnt it die prematurely considering the massive amount of 100M user base ? After its official death what was the support of Nintendo to that Wii fanbase? ZERO !!

The same thing will happen with Wii U , fail or not , Nintendo will stop supporting it after some time and let it die despite it sales.

Look Sony .. 6 billion losses the last 6 years , a problematic product ( PS3 ) , countless problems , ended last place , PS4 is out and ... after 8 years massive exclusives still releasing .. Thats what i call value and thats why if ill buy a console this gen ( because last gen i didnt ) there wont be other than a Sony product - PS4.

So if Nintendo wants me to spend around 370 euros to play Super mario 3D ( 480$ ) they need to assure me that theyll support my product ( WII U ) as much or even more than Sonys software wise , especially considering they overpricing a peice of low end hardware. That wont happen therefore the only way to convince me to buy it is to dramatically lower the price to an amount that reflects hardwares real value.

@millerlight89: 99 percent of games are a step or two behind the Galaxy series.

You can't really say most games, as you can't compare Mario to anything other than platformers. It's stupid to compare it to something like MGS, or TLOU. You would hope that the next Mario game would be even better, but I was wrong.

How do the New series of Mario not count? Did l dream them?..And what about 3D Land? lt doesn't matter if they are officially official main series games, they are non spin off mario platformers. Last year, Nintendo's big Holiday title was a multiplayer mario platformer, this year, the big holiday title was a multiplayer mario platformer. The big holiday release the year before that for the 3DS was a Mario platformer, and then before that in 2010 there was Galaxy 2, and then the year before that the big wii holiday title was NSMBW.... lt is getting tiresome....

Super Mario 3D World is a very good game.. l like the little touches they added with some of the music choices and level designs, better variety of characters, etc... But it doesn't feel like a new game... lt is essentially, a combination of 3D Land, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros, and a dash of Super Mario Bros. 2 all rolled up into one game. There is little that this game brings to the table, that those games didn't all ready do. Sure the cat suit is cool, but mario always has some sort of new suit. A new suit isn't enough to make mario feel fresh at this point. All these games are starting to blur together. The little touches and some variety in the style is nice and appreciated, but the core of these games are still incredibly familiar. The quality isn't the problem, as they are all amazing games, but they have just made far too many in the past several years, and lve found myself enjoying them less because of it.

l wish Nintendo would take some time away to where they can possibly see Mario from a different angle and try a new direction... Focus on some different franchises and lPs for now..because its just too much as of now.

Nintendo has handled their 3D Mario franchise extremely well. The closest it came to series fatigue was 3D Land, and the closest thing to a misstep Mario Sunshine, which people still love.

On the 2D side Mario is stale as can be and the state of 3D Zeldas is a little more controversial but I'm happy that Nintendo has been able to keep their 3D Mario franchise so consistently polished, relevant, and interesting.

Even though it's not as good as the Super Mario Galaxy series (which is admittedly tough), I still enjoyed my time with it. Even though I had a lot of fun playing with family members and friends, I felt like parts of the game were compromised to accommodate multiplayer.

Here's hoping that we get Super Mario Galaxy 3 on the Wii U.

Just beat the game! Most fun I had since no idea, totally recommend it to everyone including trolls

It's passable if you only play with and only 2 players.

I have yet to play it with more than 1 player. It's still damn good.