Super Mario 3D Land Review

Super Mario 3D Land

Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo / Brownie Brown Platform: Nintendo 3DS Players: 1 Release: 2011 Genre: 3D Platformer / Adventure  Rating: 9.8 \ 10.0: Masterful

Above is one of the game's airship stages
 

If you want a fantastic linear 3D platforming experience, look no further-- Super Mario 3D Land is for you. A large amount of effort was clearly put into developing this game-- the soundtrack is fantastic, and the 3D visuals are very impressive, though close-up images appear far more pixilated than they appear when playing the game. It’s a rare occurrence to view a cut-scene in this game, but the few that are seen are very well-rendered. Another one of the many reasons it’s so good is the fact that it takes many cues from the 1990 Nintendo Entertainment System classic, Super Mario Bros. 3. The story is the same as usual-- Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach-- though this game is a perfect blend of the finest elements of Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario 64, and the New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy games, making it feel like a best-of compilation of everything great about Mario. This entry brings back the iconic Super Leaf-- a power-up that grants you the raccoon-like Tanooki Suit. It no longer grants you the power of flight as it did many years ago when it first appeared in SMB3, but it now allows you to slowly flutter through the air, which proves. The Super Leaf’s return continued in Mario Kart 7, which was released soon after. Also brought back from SMB3 are airship stages, which are far easier than they were the last time they were brought back in 2009 and included in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Even Boom Boom of SMB3 fame returns as a recurring miniboss. That’s not to say nothing is new about 3D Land. There’s a new boss: Boom Boom's sister, the boomerang-throwing Pom Pom. There is also a handful of new power-ups: The Boomerang Flower, which grants you the shell and helmet of a Boomerang Bro and allows you to throw boomerangs; and the Statue Leaf, a stone Super Leaf that allows you to turn into a near-invincible statue temporarily by pressing L or R in midair. There are two other power-ups that only appear if you’ve died many times during the same stage: The Invincibility Leaf, which grants you a Tanooki Suit and everlasting invincibility, and the P-Wing, which warps you to a spot near the end-of-level flagpole (AKA, Goal Pole). There are also many new enemies, such as Prongos, Wallops, Coin Coffers, and many more. You’ll even see Goombas, Thwomps, Bullet Bills, and Boos sporting a Tanooki tail, which is easily explainable because all the Tanooki leaves blew off a tailed tree and spread out across the Mushroom Kingdom during the game’s first cut-scene. Some tailed enemies even drop a Tanooki Leaf upon defeat! (On normal worlds, they drop a regular Super Leaf. On special worlds, they’re likely to drop a Statue Leaf.) There are even new blocks! First, there are Warp Boxes. These cubical teleportation devices warp you to a different part of the stage. The other new block type is the Super Note Block, a wide rainbow cube that causes you to fly straight up to a secret area made up of clouds. Although it's related to the Note Block from Super Mario Bros. 3, it’s still new. There’s even a new type of Question-Mark Block that’s the length of three normal blocks-- they normally releases three coins when struck, and sometimes two coins and a power-up. And there's a new way to obtain power-ups-- there are randomly generated Mystery Boxes. In them, you have ten seconds to defeat all the enemies within, and you'll be rewarded with a shower of coins and a Star Medal. Additionally, there are Toad Houses. Like in other Mario games, these fungus-shaped shacks houses contain power-ups, and in the case of World 3, a photo album. You can also receive them from other players via 3DS StreetPass. The difficulty level is steady, but can be mildly frustrating-- the game starts out as a cakewalk and starts becoming very challenging. There are even a whole new batch of catchy tunes, with only several recycled from previous titles. One of the game's greatest inclusions is the focus on the hardware features. There are gyroscopically controlled cameras in some stages and a heavy focus on 3D effects. There are two different 3D depth options-- Standard and Extended, as well as secret rooms with 3D illusions that are revealed by stepping on a plate. Mario is the king of 2D platforming,  and this game feels similar to his side-scrolling outings due to its linear design. While previous 3D Mario platformers have been focused heavily on free-roaming exploration, while Super Mario 3D Land retains the feel of Mario classics that just makes everything click perfectly.  And also, while previous Mario platformers have contained themed worlds, Super Mario 3D Land mixes things up with tons of completely varied stages that show how creative the game can be. This is not only one of the greatest Mario games I’ve ever played, but one of my all-time favorite video games, and I very highly recommend it. I doubt there will ever be a better reason to own a Nintendo 3DS.

Ups
Reintroduction of the Super Leaf
Incredible visuals
Eye-popping 3D effects
Tons of new features
Super Mario Bros. 3 references
Focus on hardware capabilities

Downs
Occasionally unsteady difficulty level

ESRB: E Content: Mild Cartoon Violence Price: $29.99 (Retail / Download)