Rating of
4.5/5
A 3DS Game That Actually Uses The 3D Well
dbarry_22 - wrote on 03/06/17
Super Mario 3D Land may seem overly simple at first but as you progress in the game the challenge and enjoyment increases to the point where I call it one of the best games on the 3DS.
Nintendo took a new approach to this Mario game that hadn't been done before. Instead of creating another left to right 2D platformer or a 3D open world approach, Nintendo decided to create a hybrid of the two. This game has a 2D approach to it but it's in a 3D world. For most of the game you are either going left to right, bottom to top, or down to up but it's in a 3D world so there's depth to it. The success of this game allowed for Super Mario 3D World to be made for the WiiU.
The design of the game appears to have one aspect of the 3DS in mind. 3D. I haven't played many games on the 3DS where I had any desire to turn on the 3D. This game was designed for you to have it on. When you're floating or jumping from one platform to another or you have Bowser breathing huge fireballs toward you having that extra depth perception is quite helpful. I still played the majority of the game with the 3D turned off but I'm probably in the minority in that regard.
The game isn't complicated. Princess Peach is captured. You traverse 8 worlds that each have 4 or 5 levels in them in order to save her. Each level contains 3 big coins to collect. You have to collect at least some these to open up the castle levels at the end of worlds. You'll basically need all of them if you want to finish all the levels of the game. Power ups in this game include fire flower, leaf, boomerang, and tanooki suit. In short fire and boomerang Mario lets you shoot opponents and big coins while the leaf and tanooki suit lets you float after you jump which allows for some forgiveness in parts that force you to do a bunch of jumps from one platform to another.
At first I found the levels overly simplistic and easy. I accumulated a ton of extra lives really quickly. Finding the big coins were incredibly easy. The levels seems short. There was no challenge. I breezed through the first 3 worlds. But, the game was still fun. I kept wanting to pick up and finish the game. The level of challenge went up a little bit as I continued through the game. I didn't move on from a level until I got all the coins. There were a few levels where I had to explore a bit for them but nothing was frustrating. Then I finished the final world and saved Peach. The game was over...or was it?
A new Special set of worlds will open for you. Here, you need to make sure you have collected as many big coins as possible because they are required to open up a lot of these levels. Here the challenge went up. Big coins weren't as obvious. Jumps were harder. You needed a leaf more in certain spots. Also, some levels you're on a 30 second timer and you are constantly trying to find more time in order to get the big coins and finish the level. There are also other levels where a shadow Mario follows you around trying to kill you at every turn. These levels added another increase in challenge which made the experience better for me. These levels for the most part are the same as the first set of levels but some were different. Eventually I got a pretty good feel for these levels and they have grown on me.
All in all I'd say this game is great for the 3DS. Levels are short but they're fun. The first set of levels are pretty easy for your younger kids and the special worlds wind up the challenge for more seasoned gamers. It also uses the 3D as well as any game has for the 3DS. It's a fun game that should be in everyone's 3DS collection.
4.5/5
