After what felt like a complete dearth of new games on the Nintendo 3DS for much of 2011, the door swung wide open when Nintendo brought out their first "Super Mario" platformer for the system, "Super Mario 3D Land." After months of porting classic games to the system, "Super Mario 3D Land" was the first true, new, exciting experience on the 3DS, and it was one I remember my 13-year old self being very excited for. I played it a lot as a kid, and recently, I went back and finally beat the game. And wow, was it amazing.
"Super Mario 3D Land" takes the style of the traditional 2D "Mario" platformers (as in the linear level design with a flagpole at the end) and translates it into a 3D setting. The result is a platformer that's as fun and charming as other games in the franchise, with some extremely clever level design as well. The visual design is also pretty excellent, the music is great just as every other "Mario" game is, and this is the rare example of a 3DS game that really utilizes the 3D very well. The way it affects perspectives is pretty awesome, and it's a game that I'd honestly recommend playing entirely in 3D.
My only real negative for the game is that I wish some of the more challenging levels weren't locked behind beating the main game. The actual main story is mostly really easy, and I wish that wasn't the case. It doesn't need to be the most insane stuff ever, but a few more challenging levels in the main story mode would've been nice.
Overall, though, "Super Mario 3D Land" is an excellent handheld "Mario" platformer that really showcased what the 3DS was capable of doing. It's consistently clever, inventive and surprising, and if you're a 3DS owner and haven't experienced this yet, you're doing yourself a major disservice.
Final rating: 9 out of 10 "Awesome"