A mixture of the franchise's best old and new aspects, 3D Land is the plumber's most captivating handheld installment
Bowser has once again kidnapped the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess Peach, and Mario has taken it upon himself to save her. Nintendo's mascot can jump, double jump, kick off and slide down walls, side-flip, and long-jump as in his recent three dimensional incarnations. He feels like he weighs a little less; he jumps slightly higher and has more moving range during the jump process. The controls are tight and satisfying, up to series standards, and the camera is really never an issue. Many of the camera angles are unconventional; angles do not follow Mario from the back, but rather, the camera is set up in its own unique position depending on the stage.
Stage selection is much like it was on Super Mario Galaxy 2. There is a level select map that you can navigate Mario on from left to right, accessing one stage at a time. There are eight worlds, and at least one Mushroom house that contains a useful item is located within each one. Mystery box challenges also appear on the map, and when Mario enters one, he must clear everything inside a room to earn an item, sometimes a Gold Star coin. Gold Star coins are important. In fact, you must have a certain number of them to unlock specific stages.
Retrieving these Gold Star coins are the primary incentive in exploring a level to its fullest. Three of these coins reside in each stage, and as the game progresses, finding them can be a bit more tricky or require some nifty platforming skills. Strong challenges do not come until later. Super Mario 3D Land does an excellent job with steady difficulty progression. Regardless of how easy or hard navigating through these stages is, their excellent design cannot be refuted.
Super Mario 3D Land is a superb looking Nintendo 3DS game, and it utilizes the system's 3D capabilities quite well. Playing with the 3D on high is recommended. Many of the stages contain areas in which the 3D enhances the experience. There may be a platform put in a tricky spot, Mario may be required to swim to the background, and the visual depth will help you find hidden areas. Playing with the 3D on is not mandatory or even necessary, and doing so will minutely jag the graphics. Either way, it is a sharp looking game with smooth character models and levels that are brimming with color and personality.
Much like the Galaxy titles, each stage revolves a unique theme, not around a world theme in which the levels are located. Mario will be advancing across invisible platforms in a Ghost House one moment before walking along a tight rope, high in the white sky, balancing himself above the snow covered ground below in a different stage. It's a diverse affair in this respect. While some levels are simple romps from point A to B, others require exploration. The flying ship levels from Super Mario Bros. 3 return, and Bowser's castle stages are solid, akin to the Galaxy Bowser castles.
Unlike the recent Galaxy games, Super Mario 3D Land does not toss a dizzying array of challenges at you. This is a pure platformer. There are only two extra challenges that appear after the halfway mark: shadow Mario chases and time trials. In the shadow Mario stages, a dark, doppelganger Mario follows your path and every move in attempt to make you fail. Time trials, depending on the level, range from easy to very challenging. Defeating enemies or nabbing scattered clocks will add extra seconds. Aside from the two challenges that appear on about a dozen or more levels, the platforming is laid back and smooth. Each stage is timed and must be completed within three and a half minutes, however.
Familiar foes return to carry out Bowser's task of beating Mario: goombas, koopa troopas and hammer and boomerang brothers. Mario can jump on them or use a found power-up. The fire flower, which allows Mario to shoot fireballs, returns, and so does the fan-favorite Tanooki suit, originally appearing in Super Mario Bros. 3. The Tanooki Suit gives Mario a brown, black-striped raccoon tail that allows him to flutter down from great heights and whack enemies. Mario cannot use it to fly, but this power-up comes in handy for reaching platforms at a distance and round tail-whacking small groups of enemies. The game's new power-up is the boomerang suit, which gives Mario the ability to throw boomerangs. It is very useful for snatching out-of-reach Gold Star coins and defeating small rows of baddies.
Battles against Mario's nemesis are satisfying encounters. These boss battles draw inspiration from the Bowser encounters in the original Super Mario Bros. and are reworked into three dimensions. The final boss stage is immensely satisfying, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how Nintendo had managed to keep a nearly three decade old rivalry so refreshing.
A whole lot of extra content, equal to the amount of play time it takes to get through the first eight worlds, is unlocked after the final battle. Being able to play through more brightly colored, excellently designed stages filled with nostalgic music remixes of some of the series' most memorable tunes as well as a few original compositions, gives 3D Land its weight. Although Mario's first 3DS platformer is not as near as diverse as his recent three dimensional Super Mario games, it remains a captivating experience throughout thanks to how it presents uniquely designed levels one after the other.
The visuals are a mark on how the handheld's 3D effect can add to an overall experience, but it does not set the bar for how to utilize other features of the system. It does not have to, however; Super Mario 3D Land provides what millions of gamers love about the series: an easy-to-pick-up, wonderfully designed, top-notch platforming experience.