Mario is the one video game character that will outlive them all. He's one of the few 2D mascots that survived the transition to 3D unscathed -- possibly stronger -- and since his inception, every Nintendo console has brought with it a new spin on his franchise. The N64 had Mario 64, the GC had Sunshine, the Wii had Galaxy. The WiiU's offering was 3D World, an expansion on the 3D Land formula that proved successful on the 3DS and was thus improved and brought to the home console.
This formula hits a sweet spot for casual play that I really appreciate. When the series went fully tridimensional, it began to have stages that were far more complex and harder to navigate, which is not necessarily bad, but makes for a much different experience than the 2D counterparts, which were far more approachable games.
But then there's the issues with the 2D games, especially the more modern ones: New Super Mario Bros never quite caught me because stages almost always devolve into a rush for the flagpole, as there aren't as many ways to hide secrets in purely 2D sidescrolling stages. Super Mario World was, I think, the most successful game in this regard, but it was still limited.
3D World's stages are right in the middle of those two things. It being a 3D game, its stages open up, allowing for freer movement and for more nooks and crannies to hide secrets in. Still, every goal and challenge is clearly defined, and you're still moving from point A to point B. This makes for a game that is very easy to pick up, play a couple of stages and leave, and also makes for a more interesting co-op experience if you feel like playing the game like that.
Each level is only a few minutes long, but they deserve the time they get. There's an immense variety of stage designs here, from mechanics, to enemies, to setups. There's autoscroller stages, there’s stages that play with shadows, stages focused on one of the many power-ups or blocks, stages that are built very tall or very spread out, a myriad of devices you can control…
The design methodology behind Super Mario 3D World is brilliant, and there's a Game Maker's Toolkit video about it if you're interested. The basic gist is, the game has an enormous amount of stage mechanics, but each stage chooses to roll with only one or two. Each mechanic gets introduced by the level in a safe environment, then is presented in a situation that can cost you lives. This makes for stages that are entirely self-contained and require no prior knowledge other than the controls. It's another reason why the game feels so pick-up-and-play.
In each stage, you can pick between Mario, Luigi, Toad or Peach to play as, and they have the same bonuses they had waaaay back in Super Mario 2 (the western one). Luigi can jump higher, Toad runs faster, Peach can hover for a few seconds and Mario... He's Mario. You can safely play as any character, and trying each one out is part of the fun, but Peach is probably the best due to her extra precise jumps. When playing co-op, it's a good idea to let a less gaming-savvy guest play as her.
Super Mario 3D World is a fantastic take on the Mario series that is worth everybody's time. It's sad that it came out on the worst performing Nintendo console of all time, but hey, at least it got a new chance to shine on the Switch recently. I recommend picking it up over there if you have the chance.
This formula hits a sweet spot for casual play that I really appreciate. When the series went fully tridimensional, it began to have stages that were far more complex and harder to navigate, which is not necessarily bad, but makes for a much different experience than the 2D counterparts, which were far more approachable games.
But then there's the issues with the 2D games, especially the more modern ones: New Super Mario Bros never quite caught me because stages almost always devolve into a rush for the flagpole, as there aren't as many ways to hide secrets in purely 2D sidescrolling stages. Super Mario World was, I think, the most successful game in this regard, but it was still limited.
3D World's stages are right in the middle of those two things. It being a 3D game, its stages open up, allowing for freer movement and for more nooks and crannies to hide secrets in. Still, every goal and challenge is clearly defined, and you're still moving from point A to point B. This makes for a game that is very easy to pick up, play a couple of stages and leave, and also makes for a more interesting co-op experience if you feel like playing the game like that.
Each level is only a few minutes long, but they deserve the time they get. There's an immense variety of stage designs here, from mechanics, to enemies, to setups. There's autoscroller stages, there’s stages that play with shadows, stages focused on one of the many power-ups or blocks, stages that are built very tall or very spread out, a myriad of devices you can control…
The design methodology behind Super Mario 3D World is brilliant, and there's a Game Maker's Toolkit video about it if you're interested. The basic gist is, the game has an enormous amount of stage mechanics, but each stage chooses to roll with only one or two. Each mechanic gets introduced by the level in a safe environment, then is presented in a situation that can cost you lives. This makes for stages that are entirely self-contained and require no prior knowledge other than the controls. It's another reason why the game feels so pick-up-and-play.
In each stage, you can pick between Mario, Luigi, Toad or Peach to play as, and they have the same bonuses they had waaaay back in Super Mario 2 (the western one). Luigi can jump higher, Toad runs faster, Peach can hover for a few seconds and Mario... He's Mario. You can safely play as any character, and trying each one out is part of the fun, but Peach is probably the best due to her extra precise jumps. When playing co-op, it's a good idea to let a less gaming-savvy guest play as her.
Super Mario 3D World is a fantastic take on the Mario series that is worth everybody's time. It's sad that it came out on the worst performing Nintendo console of all time, but hey, at least it got a new chance to shine on the Switch recently. I recommend picking it up over there if you have the chance.