Game review: Super Mario 3D World

Finally! After a year of agonizing wait. After a year of Nintendo dragging their heels with their “please understand”s and endless software droughts. After a year of 3rd parties abandoning the Wii U so fast you’d swear all those “Nintendo is Doooomed!” articles were written by them. Finally, we have the killer app that should have launched alongside the console back in 2012.

This, right here, is the reason to buy a Wii U.

During my review of New Super Mario Bros U (NSMBU), I mentioned how formulaic the Mario series had become. I said that after playing NSMBU, I often found it difficult to remember exactly what I’d just done. Very few moments stuck in my mind and the whole game felt like Nintendo in cruise control mode — playing it safe just to get quick cash.

Super Mario 3D World, on the other hand, feels like the complete opposite.

It’s fun, in the way that games used to be before they discovered the colour brown. It’s challenging in a true ‘Nintendo hard’ kind of way that will have you throwing your controller across the room in frustration and grinning from ear to ear all at the same time. Every level feels unique, throwing new ideas and game play elements at you so often, you’ll find yourself constantly replaying old levels just to experience that same initial thrill. There are so many power-ups in this game, I think I would struggle to name them all off the top of my head if I tried, yet every one feels vital and important to the gameplay.

In short, it feels like the Mario I remember from my childhood. And God, is it good to be back!

This game is so beautiful. Just looking at the screenshots makes me want to play it again

When this game was first unveiled at last year’s E3, there was a lot of disappointed grumbling from many corners of the internet. People said that Nintendo was getting lazy. They said we’d seen it all before. They said that the Mario franchise was becoming to Nintendo what the Call of Duty franchise was to Activision: a yearly update with fresh textures and a dearth of ideas that somehow still managed to reel in cash.

And, to be honest, it’s no real surprise that people reacted that way. I mean think about it, Nintendo released three Mario-themed platformers during the last 12 months: NSMBU, New Super Luigi U and Super Mario 3D World. Three! That’s three virtually identical-looking games, all launched during one of Nintendo’s most barren years ever in terms of releases. Talk about over-saturating the market!

And before you argue that they were completely different games, think again. Each utilised four-player local co-op. Each had you running to a goal post against a time limit, collecting power ups and defeating enemies along the way. Each had you traversing levels via a world map. Each followed the typical grass world, desert world, ice world, rock world, water world, cloud world, lava world, final boss routine that’s followed Mario around since the 80’s.

It’s world 1 so it’s a grass world, right? Hey, at least they let you run around freely this time.

So it’s no wonder that a lot of detractors were accusing Nintendo of just rolling out the same tired ideas again and again. “Look!” they say. “It uses exactly the same art style as 3D Land on the 3DS! Nintendo is doooomed!”

“Look!” they scream. “This ‘new idea’ of each character having a different ability is just recycled from Mario Bros 2 on the NES! Nintendo is doooomed!”

Well, to all those detractors I say this: you are wrong. Despite the way it looks on the surface, this game is a breath of fresh air.

Mount Must Dash: just one of many examples of a level that is somehow both nostalgic and innovative all at the same time

Its music is some of the best I’ve ever heard in a video game (so good, in fact, I actually downloaded it to listen on my PC). The graphics are so good it’s literally like you’re playing a Pixar movie.

The controls are seamless and fluid throughout. The multi-player is fast and competitive. The game plays like a greatest hits collection of every Mario game that’s come before it, cherry picking the best elements from the past to create a gaming experience that’s literally like no other and yet feels familiar all at the same time.

True, it’s no Galaxy or Mario 64, but in a way it’s better. It plays like a 2D Mario game transposed into three dimensions, combining the best elements of both to create a truly amazing gaming experience.

Look at all these power ups! Just like every other element in the game, some are completely new while others are old favourites in shiny HD packaging

If you’re still on the fence about buying this game — don’t be. Take the plunge! Buy a Wii U, even if it’s only for this game! Trust me: you’ll thank me later. This, right here, is my Game of the Year.

Overall – A+

A joy from beginning to end. From the moment you insert the disc, Super Mario 3D World will transport you back to a time when games were games and the goal was simply to have fun. In our modern world of drab first person shooters and repetitive sports sims, it’s nice to see that there’s still room for the fantastical adventures of a fat Italian plumber and his quest to defeat a giant lizard using nothing but the power of mushrooms. Seeing games like this actually gives me hope for the future of gaming.

Hands down, my Game of the Year.