Super Mario 3D Land Review (3DS)

There are few experiences that I love more than that of an old school, traditional platformer. They’re the type of game I started with more than 20 years ago and I still enjoy them to this day. Mario has gone through a number of different iterations over the years, but the core has always been a platformer. Whether it’s two dimensional like Super Mario Bros, or three dimensional like Super Mario Galaxy, they’re always fun and each game brings something new to the franchise.

Nintendo released the 3DS without a Mario game, and many people think it suffered a bit because of it. The time has now come, though, to play that first Mario game on a new system and Super Mario 3D Land not only brings something new to the table it holds to tradition and brings back many elements from previous games that you loved, and may have forgotten about.

What You Need to Know

Guess what. Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser and Mario needs to rescue her. The story hasn’t changed in 25 years. This time, however, things get a little interesting. A tree of Super Leaves is basically blown apart scattering Tanooki creating foliage all over the Mushroom Kingdom. This means the return of a classic, favorite power up. Mario isn’t the only one that can use them, though. You’ll see many enemies throughout the platforming adventure that sport tanooki tails and they’re now trying to do what you’ve been doing to them for years; jump on their heads. Super Mario 3D Land is about as traditional a platformer as you can get. Most of the time you’ll be moving from left to right, doing everything you can to take out Bowser in the process. You’ll encounter classic enemies from the series, such as Goombas and Koopa Troopas, as well as some new ones introduced in this game.

Nods to Yesteryear

There are little nods everywhere in this game to the previous entries in the Mario franchise. The biggest being the return of the Tanooki Suit. This time around it’s not quite the same as it was when it was introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3. You don’t have the ability to charge up a meter to give you flight, but you will use it to hover over long distances and you can still use the tail to swipe at enemies and blocks that you can’t jump on.

The Bowser fights, while there aren’t that many of them, do bring back memories of the first time you fought him in the original Super Mario Bros. He’s guarding a bridge and you have to find a way to get around him to hit a switch and drop him in the lava. Much like that first time he’s shooting fireballs at you and jumping around to block your path and this time there is much more varied terrain to try to traverse. It brings back memories of the first time you ever played the game and the terror that you felt when you saw the dinosaur doing everything he could to kill you.

Even things like the “auto-scrolling” levels where you’re on ramps that you can control the direction of you get remixes of the classic Super Mario 3 music from the auto-scrolling levels in that game. Nintendo really is the master of nostalgia and there’s no better evidence than this game.

Master Class in Level Design

Nintendo has been really good at level design over the years. From the very beginning when they hid things in levels that you had to really search for to find. They’ve been really good about showing you the rules for the level, many times without you even realizing that you’re being taught something. Things like early on in the game when you use the binoculars and see a toad walk into a waterfall to find a secret you then realize later on in the game when there’s another waterfall there might be something behind that water. Sure enough, there is. One level you’re given a very short time limit. As soon as the level starts you’re dropped onto a goomba who gives you a clock to add time, then you know that by jumping on Goombas you’re given even more time to finish the level. It’s brilliant how well Nintendo can show you what you need to do and it clicks for players instantly.

In Super Mario 3D Land they’re at it again. The levels themselves are laid out brilliantly. Nintendo has this knack for creating 3D worlds where you don’t ever need control of a camera because they always put you in the perfect position to see, not everything you need to see, but everything you want to see. The way terrain vanishes to give you a clear view of Mario is really intuitive and removes any need for a moveable camera.

Nice Difficulty Ramp With Help If You Need It

Another great thing about Super Mario 3D Land is how perfectly the difficulty ramps up. You’ll find yourself easily blowing through the first few levels as you get acclimated to the new power ups and figure out just how the game world works. Then the difficulty starts ramping up, new mechanics are introduced and enemies start getting a little harder to beat. Veterans of the franchise might even find that it isn’t very difficult to get through the eight worlds. I finished them in just over four hours.

If you do find things getting to be a little difficult and levels are frustrating you over and over Nintendo has crafted a perfect little tool to help you. If you die five times in a level you’re given the option use an Invincibility Leaf which will give you the Tanooki Suit and the Starman for the entire level. It makes it very easy to get through those most difficult of levels so that you can continue on and rescue Peach. Nintendo really wants to make sure that everyone who buys the game has a chance to see the end of the game. They’re not done with that, though. If things still prove to be too difficult for you the P-Wing makes a return and allows you to essentially warp to the end of the level so that you can move on.

There’s no penalty to the player for using these items. Nintendo’s not out to embarrass anyone with their inclusion, but they’re very useful tools if you’re having trouble and they’re completely optional.

New Game Plus

For those truly “hardcore” Mario players the game isn’t over once you’ve beaten Bowser. Nintendo has given you a completely new game to play through after that. Eight brand new worlds unlock full of even more difficult challenges. These Special Worlds as they’re called really ramp up the difficulty and add little wrinkles to the game play and a ghost chili to the spicy pot of awesomeness.

These new worlds will put enemies in even more challenging places. You’ll be given 30 seconds to complete the level and have to keep finding way to replenish time in order to reach the end of the level. Shadow Mario will chase you in many levels, and I found these challenges to be especially difficult at times. They even remove some of the assists as I know there were times I died numerous times and I never saw the Invincibility Leaf or the P-Wing show up.

This New Game Plus is essentially a second game built into the cartridge for free and will only be completed by the most dedicated of Mario players. The difficulty spikes considerably and you’ll find yourself spending much more time trying to finish the second game than you did the first time. You’ll meet a new, more menacing enemy in the castles, power ups are given a special treat for fans of the series and even Luigi joins the mix the second time around. Everything that was great about your first play through will be even better the second time around. Trust me. You’ll find yourself hopping in the taxi of dreams during your trip to Nostalgia Land.

Conclusion

I said in my review of Mario Kart 7 that it was the perfect reason to own a 3DS. That still holds true, but I think Super Mario 3D Land is even better than that. It’s Nintendo doing what they do best with the character that’s more memorable to kids than Mickey Mouse. Veterans of the franchise will be taking a trip down memory lane and newcomers will see why the portly plumber is one of the most loved characters in the world of video games. This is the game that should have launched with the 3DS, but the wait was worth it as it is one of the best games you’ll experience this year.

Final Score: 

Review copy of the game purchased at Gamestop.
Played through the game one time and made it to Special World 6 at the time of this review.
Total Play Time: 10 hours