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The bigger problem, though, isn't that things are brought back - there are a lot of things brought back for Super Mario 3D Land that are still entertaining. I'm all for nostalgia, I'm all for maintaining features that work, but I'm also all for realizing when something has gotten so ridiculously stagnate that it's time to put it out of its misery. Nearly every single thing in the entire damn game has been seen in some other Mario game. There are a few optional levels, but you encounter those along the straight line and unlock them using - shall we say it together now? - Star Coins! Yes, the same things we've seen in the past two games are back, yet again.īut those aren't the only things that are back.
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in Super Mario 3D Land, it's a straight line through the levels. In other games, there's some branching, some choices to make, some optional levels, etc.
Super mario 3d land 3ds review portable#
On a portable console, I consider this kind of world map excusable - but in Super Mario 3D Land, it's completely, totally, 100% linear. The game opts for the newly-standard Mario "world map" that's just a list of linked levels, just as we've seen in the latest three Mario games. Go on, get playing." A tiny bit of effort would have been nice.īut as soon as you get into the game, you realize that effort is sorely lacking. It's as if Nintendo yawned and said, "Yeah, yeah, you know the drill. But remember in Super Mario Galaxy how there was a significant opening scene that showed a giant Bowser charging the castle and kidnapping the Princess? At least something like that is always appreciated but in Super Mario 3D Land, the extent of the plot exposition is a photo showing Bowser kidnapping Peach. Now, I'm not about to say that Mario games need better plots yes, Bowser kidnaps Peach, Mario has to go save her, it's tradition. The only reason I can think of for why this game even exists in the first place is that Nintendo is contractually obligated to have a Mario platformer on every console they release. The entire game reflects a profound lack of effort and lack of creativity. It sounds harsh or sarcastic, but I can't think of what else happened.
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They'll be so blinded by the fan service that they won't even notice that the levels themselves are awful." The only thing I can think of is that there was design meeting for the 3DS, and someone spoke up and said, "Oh, hey, we're releasing a new console, doesn't that mean we need a new Mario game?" The rest of the table groaned and said, "God, we're so sick of making those." So, someone else suggested, "Hey, why don't we just take all the rejected levels from all the Mario games since Super Mario 64 and put them into one game?" "Think that'll work? People might catch on." "Eh, throw in the Tanooki Suit. Typically, my review structure is to enumerate the good and bad points about the game, and then come to some verdict regarding them, but in the case of Super Mario 3D Land, I earnestly cannot come up with anything good to say about it because it's the exact same game we've been playing for twenty years. There is nothing the least bit unique about it. So, what happened with Super Mario 3D Land? To skip to the conclusion, it's the most incredibly unoriginal, uninspired Mario game I've ever played. Every single level in Super Mario Galaxy 2 was unique and memorable, and the add-on challenges actually changed the game play interestingly. It's never ceased to amaze me how Nintendo can consistently churn out such amazing level design. Wii had a whole lot to love, even by Mario's already high standards.
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Super mario 3d land 3ds review series#
I'm by no means one of those people that think the series has generally stagnated Super Mario Galaxy 2 is, in my opinion, one of the greatest games ever made, and even New Super Mario Bros. I've been earnestly racking my brain trying to figure out what went wrong with Super Mario 3D Land.