Super Mario 3D World serves up a delightful platformer treat, with gorgeous visuals, ingenious level design and charming new items and modes which brings a wonderful depth to the game not seen since the Galaxy series.
The beauty of Nintendo’s beloved franchise is the warmth and nostalgia it brings to those who have grown from childhood to adulthood with the red-capped plumber, but it’s also a series that appeals to the younger generation – and that’s exactly why local multiplayer is so significant in Super Mario 3D World.
For the first time, you can choose to play with your friends and family in multiplayer mode, where the fastest player to reach the goal gets the top tier of points, or you can work as a team in order to catch those elusive green stars Bowser’s minions keep under lock and key. But there’s no demand to play in a team, single-player mode delivers just as much fun throughout the game with intriguing puzzles and Mystery House dashes to capture additional green stars. Multiplayer mode is, in fact, just another level of fun – an extra tier or layer on an exquisite cake, if you will. And though online multiplayer is missing, it doesn’t detract from the game’s appeal, just its longevity.
For any 3D Mario game, the key to its success resides in the level design – and Super Mario 3D World’s is divine. From an imaginative shadow level such as Shadow-Play Alley, which requires you to think outside the box, to ghostly levels full of pesky Boos and a Zelda-themed dungeon named Switchblack Ruins, where lighting torches with the fire flower power-up is the key to progressing, there are so many areas to discover.
Side-scrolling and timed levels offer up some heart-pumping action, where precision with jumps is absolutely vital, and scales up the difficulty for avid players. But unlike the Galaxy series, progressing through the story only requires you to complete levels, rather than collecting stars. In fact, green stars are only crucial when unlocking additional levels or the final boss level, serving as an achievement for those who wish to capture them all. You can also collect stamps in each level and use them on Miiverse to discuss interesting scenarios in the community.
Yet, the most ingenious and cleverly designed levels are actually those that don’t involve the core cast. Captain Toad’s adventures are a breath of fresh air for the franchise, giving players an extra challenge by collecting green stars without jumping. Turning the camera’s position will allow you to see the level from every angle, and finding the solution is – more often than not – harder than it first seems.
Mystery Houses also serve as a welcome accompaniment to the main game, where using Toad’s agility, or Luigi’s big leaps of faith will often score you five or ten green stars to add to your total. Frantically scrambling up walls using the cat power-up, kicking golf balls into POW blocks, and boldly rushing where no character has dared before in ten seconds flat gives the game such a wild adrenaline rush, and will surely have you climbing the walls in hilarious frustration.
Super Mario 3D World also houses some wonderful additions with its power-ups. Besides being aesthetically gorgeous to look at in yellow, green, pink and blue, the cat suit is also one of the most used items in the game. Swiping those sharp paws at enemies and clutching onto walls to reach hidden coins or stamps brings another dimension to the game, offering new ways of exploring to outwit friends for the best score. And in true cat style, you can even laze around in levels by not moving a muscle – your character will simply sit, tail swishing, cleaning its paws. Other power-ups include an ice boot, item boxes, which feature a torch or grant you the power of flight, and cherries which add a doppelgänger – or three – to your control, all elevate the game to new heights.
Not only is the Wii U game chock-full of hidden references to previous Mario games and Nintendo franchises, but it’s full of vibrant new modes, cleverly designed levels and superb music, which will have you itching to pick up the GamePad again and again. Super Mario 3D World is, quite simply, a joy to play.
10/10
Uhh hello! this is a nise revew and it is good well ritton. kepe it us because i luved it!!
sxy
oh god you’re back
Uhh hello! Mother sed i cud use her acount because she luvs me <3
Santa Wii Fit Trainer XD
Thanks :p did a little photoshoppin
The game is amazing. I keep coming back for more an more and more and when I’ve end gamed it, I will start again and do the whole thing again at a slower pace.
I’m sorry but if you’re not interested in playing this game your opinion on games is completely irrelivant. This game is a MUST PLAY. I have a PS4 and its good but I can’t take Killzone seriously as a game lol. It’s just quite simply fucking shit compared to Mario 3D world!
Not knocking the PS4, it’s a great piece of hardware and AC4 and Fifa look pretty sweet on it, not to mention they’re great games. But Killzone is just the defenition of a Skippable game. The graphics aren’t even THAT great on it. They go from being really impressive to last gen.
“I’m sorry but if you’re not interested in playing this game your opinion on games is completely irrelevant*” hmmm….. this statement is outrageous and wrong in so many ways. The game may be good but it’s still not everyone’s cup of tea lol.
It should be everyones cup of tea. If you don’t want to play this game, you’re an arsehole and I would like to personally kick you in the nuts.
Close your mouth – all you do is spew shit out of it
hahahahah! Coming from you, a troll with psychotic tendencies….
You cock muncher.
lol while it’s true that I’m a troll. I talk less shit than the majority of people do on this site. I mean seriously, some of the things you come out with make me facepalm so hard. Peoples opinions on games being completely irrelevant if they don’t pick up this game…really? You’re a fucking disgrace to gamers Nintedward. I’m not even putting this game down in any way, i can’t deny that it’s good. I think you should choose carefully your choice of words.
P.S don’t call me psychotic, that’s very mean and uncalled for.
Dude, you’re annoying but i’ll give you an A for effort for making a Christmas version of your avatar xD
LOL thanks! thought I’d make it a little bit festive.
Gotta love how you always have to put down other games in your “reviews”…
This this game is not a must play. It got great reviews and looks really fun, but it’s yet another Mario. Also, one that is a step back for previous games in the series.
Shadow of the Colossus, Metroid Prime, BioShock, The Last of Us, Metal Gear Solid, Red Dead Redemption, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Portal, Mass Effect, Uncharted 2, Skyrim,Those are examples of must play games.
nah, I liked it better than galaxy, so you can’t really say it’s a step down, the level design is still as creative and fun, if not more so
But you haven´t even tried it, how many stages out of those 80 have you seen in action?
And what do you mean by yet another Mario game? This is the 9th real Mario game since 1985 and all of them except for 2 and Sunshine are considered masterpieces.
If Super Mario Bros is not the best game series ever then it´s very near the top
9th? What?
1. SMB
2. SMB2
3. 3
4. SM World
5. Mario Land
6. Mario Land 2
7. Mario 64
8. Sunshine
9. Galaxy
10. Galaxy 2
11. New Super Mario
12. NSMB Wii
13. NSMB2
14. NSMB U
15. Mario 3D Land
16. SM3D World
Wrong, epic fail. This game is 100% must play and that’s coming from someone who has finished ALL of the games you listed above. It’s on the same level of those games, hence its deserved 94 metacritic score after like 70 reviews…
Before I got to play it on my TV I really didn’t think it looked that good. But honestly, once you play it at home it’s fucking amazing. Defenition of a must play.
16 worlds, 450 stars and about a 100 stamps to collect coupled with masterful level design and tight gameplay at 60FPS. Oh and the game has some pretty incredible graphics, giving my PS4 a run for its money.
Killzone is a dudd…. I look forward to selling it. Like I said though, I really like my PS4!
“Just another Mario game”
Lists The Last of us, which is “just another Zombie game”
Assuming you mean Bioshock 1, and Mass Effect 2 yes, but Skyrim isn’t that good.
Even The Last of Us, it’s great but not that great, it’s too simple, needs to be like State of Decay, but obviously higher quality.
Also, i hate Red Dead but alot of people like it so i’ll give that the benefit of the doubt.
Personally I found Skyrim to be pretty good. Last of Us was another stellar game but I can understand why some people wouldn’t like it. I wish State of Decay would be ported to PS3 already so I can play it.
I bought it and stopped playing it after my first night with it. Does that make my opinion completely irrelevant? (Irrelevant, not irrelivant.)
I find that hard to believe….
I don’t know about that man, Fifa along with pretty much any other sports games seems pretty skippable to me, its more of a copy and paste game than Killzone.
You’re an idiot.
I agree completely that it’s a good game but “if you’re not interested in playing this game your opinion is irrelevant”. That’s retarded. Some people might not like platformers, same way I don’t like FPSs. Doesn’t invalidate anyone’s opinions. ‘Agree with me or you have no valid opinion’, that’s pathetic. It’s the kind of argument people resort to when they can’t properly defend their position.
There are people out there, I’m sure, with a more refined palette than you, and better founded opinions that on’t like this game.
You’re an idiot.
I’ve beaten the main storyline of the game and earned the fifth character, so now I’m working on attaining all the green stars, stamps, and gold-flagging every level.
It’s a monumental task that is testing my skills.
I’m very satisfied with this game.
Same, I’ve collected around 220 stars – I’m missing a lot of stamps though! Want to go through the boss levels again and nab those stamps. :)
You’re going to have to clear every level with every character if you want to get every stamp! =P have fun
Well, I do like a challenge. And I’m not a quitter, so who knows! :D
^My kind of gamer.
Nice review. I agree about the Captain Toad levels. They offer a new way to play the game. Why not make an entirely new spin-off game called The Adventures of Captain Toad?
Thanks! I’d love extra levels as DLC, would be grand. :)
Well they said there’s not going to be any extra DLC for this game which is a missed oppertunity, same with online multiplayer…
GG Nintendo.
Yeah. I think that if we could get level editor DLC, it would be AMAZING!
they should definitely make some DLC worlds. If not then.. it’s missed opportunity for them. Then eventually some people will trade this game in x_x
Great game. For anyone who wants hardcore.. try the last level in final world “champion road”
Love this game!!! <3 Also, Rosalina is hard to play as! She is slow and her "power" is a second jump that becomes useless when you get a power-up like a fire flower or boomerang! I love using Peach, because she can fly right onto the flag pole at the end! No need to restart the level to get the golden flag ;)
It’s great but not that great. Not the best game on the WiiU that’s for sure (Wonderful 101), id argue to say Pikmin 3 was better, if it wasn’t sort but it’s got alot of replay value and DLC good and is super cheap
Reblogged this on Curiosidades na internet.
Great job on your review. This game is really, really great. I just wish it had online. There was no reason not to add it. http://www.wiiuplaza.com/
Thankyou! :)
I got all the stamps and green stars on my first playthrough. I still need to get all the green stars and stamps on the bonus world but at least I unlocked Rosalina. Would love to see some Captain Toad DLC and maybe an online multiplayer patch. Best game on Wii U so far. 10/10
Wow! Well done. :) On the final boss level I got a bit panicky and just climbed my way up the tower, I didn’t even see any green stars. ha!
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