A proper sequel to Super Mario Bros. 3 - inventive, fresh, and constantly surprising.
Nintendo has finally shed all traditions for Mario platformers and focused on making the games fun first and foremost which makes this one of the, if not THE best side-scrolling Mario adventure.
Even without the gimmick of Wonder seeds every level is inventive and unique, usually featuring at least one new enemy, which is insane for modern Mario. I always wanted to see what was waiting for me next. And while some enemies can be described as an "underwater koopa", presentation goes a long way to not make them feel like that.
Speaking of, presentation of this game is sublime. Even if you do venture through grasslands, beaches, deserts, and volcanoes, they always feel different. My favorite was the desert world which took a theme I usually find boring and applied some incredibly creative themes as well as jaw-droppingly stunning backgrounds.
If there is one thing that I wished this game had is more challenge. The game has tons of assist options: additional characters that take no damage, badges, and quite a few small "break time" levels which will surely help less experienced players get enough wonder seeds to open up new levels and progress. Despite that, it never really wanted to be as hard as it could be. I've cleared one of the very final post-game levels in three tries without help from any badges. Again, don't get me wrong, it was a spectacular level, but I wish game had just a few more levels in the vein of Mario World post-game or even extra levels of 3D World.
Hell, maybe I'm so Mario-poisoned I don't know what a hard Mario level is anymore, but considering the weird path to unlcoking Grandmaster Galaxy and sheer amount of extra content culminating in Champion Road of 3D World, I feel like Nintendo really could've thrown a bone to people who are experienced with sidescrollers.
Nonetheless, this game is a joy, pure and simple.
Nintendo has finally shed all traditions for Mario platformers and focused on making the games fun first and foremost which makes this one of the, if not THE best side-scrolling Mario adventure.
Even without the gimmick of Wonder seeds every level is inventive and unique, usually featuring at least one new enemy, which is insane for modern Mario. I always wanted to see what was waiting for me next. And while some enemies can be described as an "underwater koopa", presentation goes a long way to not make them feel like that.
Speaking of, presentation of this game is sublime. Even if you do venture through grasslands, beaches, deserts, and volcanoes, they always feel different. My favorite was the desert world which took a theme I usually find boring and applied some incredibly creative themes as well as jaw-droppingly stunning backgrounds.
If there is one thing that I wished this game had is more challenge. The game has tons of assist options: additional characters that take no damage, badges, and quite a few small "break time" levels which will surely help less experienced players get enough wonder seeds to open up new levels and progress. Despite that, it never really wanted to be as hard as it could be. I've cleared one of the very final post-game levels in three tries without help from any badges. Again, don't get me wrong, it was a spectacular level, but I wish game had just a few more levels in the vein of Mario World post-game or even extra levels of 3D World.
Hell, maybe I'm so Mario-poisoned I don't know what a hard Mario level is anymore, but considering the weird path to unlcoking Grandmaster Galaxy and sheer amount of extra content culminating in Champion Road of 3D World, I feel like Nintendo really could've thrown a bone to people who are experienced with sidescrollers.
Nonetheless, this game is a joy, pure and simple.