Mario has finally arrived to the 3DS, making owning a 3DS totally worth it.
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The Super Mario franchise is one of the most knowable and beloved video game franchises till now. It's been stellar in both 2D and 3D, always presenting new challenges for it's franchise, and every entry is a blast to play through even though it always has sort of the same story: rescue the Princess, with an exception of the Mario Galaxy games. The 3D Mario games were always those games that had new, very significant ideas to both the designs and the gameplay itself, while the latest 2D Mario games were a trip back to the old classic gameplay. With Super Mario 3D Land we've got a mix of both, the levels feel very classic and simple while we are able to play Mario in 3D environments and move him in any direction we'd like to, and it takes by far the best use of the 3DS's 3D effect capabilities. While it fails to introduce any new groundbreaking ideas to the Mario series, you'll fast notice that this isn't necessary at all, as it mixes the classic Mario design with 3D advantages in a great way, so we're once again up for a treat with this new Mario blast.
Super Mario 3D Land's story is classic, of course, and it goes away from the universe saving and back to the generic Princess saving only (well with that you can also count the mushroom kingdom). It all starts with an intense storm sent from Bowser, swooping all the Tanooki leaves off the tanooki tree. The next day Mario and 3 Toads go run to the bare tree to see what's happened, and with a shock they find a card showing that Bowser has once again kidnapped Peach. That's enough to make Mario run through various, new levels. Even with it's simplicity, the intro has its charm. It's also neat how you face a card after every world, telling you what's up with Peach. All in all, though, the story is as simple as ever.
Speaking about tanooki, it's one of the biggest features of the game. It finally makes its comeback. Finally. As Tanooki Mario you are able to float for a while in the air and swoop out enemies as well as interact with some objects with Mario's tail. It's no doubt a great return, and Tanooki Mario looks good in 3D. Of course it's not the only powerup appearing. Fire Mario makes his appearance here once again. It's the first time we are able to play as Fire Mario in a 3D game without any time limit, and it's also a lot of fun. One new powerup added is the Boomerang Mario. It definitely has it's inspiration of the Hammer bros. Suit. I find it great how they added a new powerup to the game while letting it feel classic at the same time, somehow. Plus, the Boomerang suit makes up for some more unique gameplay.
Of course, what would these powerups be without some very enjoyable levels. Super Mario 3D Land, no big surprise, nails this. The levels are a blast to play through. They feel very classic, speak very linear, simple and charming, and every level ends with a flag pole. Another classic touch is that Mario does not have a life bar, it's like in the 2D Mario games, if Mario gets hit once with a powerup he loses it, and if he gets hit another time he turns into small, regular Mario. A last hit when he's small causes him to die and restart the level from the last check point. Yes, check point flags also return one per level, with a few exceptions having none, and they are pretty well spread for the most part. It all feels very classic, but since these levels are all 3D environments and you can play these levels in full 3D, you are up for a neat twist right there. The levels are all designed in a great way, making sure nothing gets somehow boring. Also, the powerups really play a big role in these levels, as some of the secrets, areas and collectibles are only accessible with a specific powerup.
Another reason why the game is so much fun are the controls. They are some of the tightest and most responsive controls ever in a Mario game. Mario controls as simple as ever, press B/A to let him jump and Y/X to let him do a roll attack, and you'll have to hold Y/X in order for Mario to run. Using the circle pad of the 3DS lets Mario move around, and it's incredibly tight and responsive. And yes, Mario's got a roll attack. He can't actually defeat enemies with that but for that he can break through breakable objects and with that find some hidden secrets. Mario also has gotten some of his old moves back. Though there is no triple jump, there's still the sideways jump, back flip and long jump. You can even combine the roll attack and long jump.
Super Mario 3D Land also looks great. It's no doubt the best looking 3DS game so far. The environments feel alive, with strong colors and great looking backgrounds, the characters like Mario or his enemies look great, with great animations, and the textures are also great looking. It looks very much like the Super Mario Galaxy games, with an art design that resembles more the art design of the Mario Bros. games and Super Mario 64.
The musical score of Super Mario 3D Land is also great, with some catchy tunes, even if some of them get repeated a bit too often.
One of the biggest stars of the show is no doubt the 3D effect. It's the best use of the 3D effect so far, as it really adds to the experience. Judging the distant between platforms or obstacles is much easier with the 3D effect on, and some areas require the 3D effect in order to not be tricked by it's optical illusion. It's very impressive.
The game takes use of the 3DS's other unique capabilities as well. The gyroscope is used when looking through a binocular. These appear in some of the levels, giving you a close look on what's still lying before you. You can zoom in and out, and if you spot a Toad, he mostly rewards you with either a star coin or a 1-up. The street pass functionality is also used in a neat way. Using it makes more mystery boxes appear, where you have to beat a mini game of destroying a few enemies in order to make coins and even a star coin appear, and in others you just have to collect as much collectibles as possible before the 10 seconds are over. It's pretty neat, I guess. Street Passing also lets you get best times for a level from other players that have the game, which includes some more replay value.
The levels are all pretty short, so you'll be moving from one level to the other pretty fast. Actually, playing through all 8 main worlds is pretty short, you'll be finished with that quest in about 4 hours. It all fits pretty well together, however, as the short levels make it very easy to just hop into the game where ever you are, and you'll also always want to keep playing the game with every new level that you unlock. It gets like an "only one more level" game. Just don't be surprised when you finish the main quest in like one or two days, as these levels aren't only on the short side, but also on the easy side. Is that somehow a bad thing? No, since after these 8 worlds the real challenge is still to come.
Every level has 3 star coins hidden throughout, some of which are easy to grab and others that require great platforming skill and some clever thinking as well. After beating all 8 worlds, the game introduces you to the special worlds, and a post card showing Luigi being kidnapped. Of course, you can also play as Luigi as soon as you saved him, which is luckily early on in these special worlds. There are a total of 8 special worlds. Yep, twice as much content in the game as you would think at the beginning. This is where the game really picks up in difficulty, as the levels get pretty tough towards special world 3 already. It never gets too challenging that you'll find yourself stuck for hours on a level, but the challenges in the special worlds are pretty sweat. Also, trying to get all star coins in the special levels is particularly challenging, some of which are incredibly tough. These star coins are also very crucial towards the end, as you can only progress with a certain number of star coins. The game really has some very satisfying challenges to offer, even for platforming pros.
I really don't want to spoil too much of the game, but I have to mention that most of the levels in the special worlds are recycled versions of the main quests levels, with some minor or major changes. Some of the levels were even changed that drastically that I almost didn't even recognize them again. Some of the levels are changed from it's designs, while other levels are exact the same but this time with a short time limit or a small cosmic clone copying every move of you. And then there are those rare, totally new created levels in the special worlds. I like how you revisit levels in the special worlds, this time, facing an a lot more challenging version of it. However, it's taken a bit to an extreme with this game. I would have very much wished that there were a few more new levels. The same goes for the boss battles. I liked that Boom Boom made a return, along with a new female version of him, Pom Pom, and I also liked the Bowser battles having that hit the switch concept with some neat twists, plus those battles were fun, but they were very little varied and the special worlds had only recycled these boss battles from the main worlds. It's still fun sinking your teeth into these tough later challenges, but considering that these levels are the real meat of the game difficulty wise, it is a little sad that most of them are only recycled. As much as I enjoyed the game, I just couldn't shake the feeling off that Nintendo had been a bit comfortable with the special worlds, since even the totally new levels had no new concept ideas for the levels and had only recycled the ideas from the levels in the main worlds.
Super Mario 3D Land is a great mixture of many of the previous Mario games. It's gameplay feels classic, but the levels are all 3D and there are some nice ideas for the levels taken from the 3D Mario games like the Mario Galaxy games. It suits both hardcore Mario fans (to a certain limit) and beginners very well. It does lack a bit in creativity compared to previous titles, and it's definitely not one of Mario's longest outings, but it's still a blast to play through. The levels are very well designed and the game can get really addicting, plus everything is tied up in a great presentation, both graphic and music wise. Mario's finally arrived to the 3DS, and you absolutely have to buy this game if you own a 3DS, since it's first the second must buy for the 3DS.
THE GOOD
+ classic gameplay mixed with 3D twists and level ideas
+ later on the game gets pretty tough
+ great use of the powerups
+ terrific controls
+ best use of the 3D effect so far
+ some of the best graphics found on the 3DS
+ catchy soundtrack
+ 3 star coins in every level adds a lot of replay value
THE BAD
- too much recycling in the special worlds
- more experienced gamers might find this game to be a tad short
Review Score: 8.5/10