Super Mario 3D World Review by: Snu - 7.5/10
I'm a Caat~ Repetition is something that's been used a lot in the video game industry these days, particularly with Nintendo. Every
mainstream game that's come out lately either seems to be a remake, a bland sequel, or a borderline copy-paste game. This is my big problem with the New Super Mario Bros. series. They all feel the same to me. But this isn't about those games. This is about the first game to come out in a while that feels fresh. Super Mario 3D World. Is it the same basic premise of most Mario games these days? Yes, but it executes the idea much better and gives a much needed
update to the formula. How so, you may ask? Well let's just find out, shall we?
Graphics 10/10 This game looks amazing. The models are clean, the animations fluid, and the background is clean and colourful. Nintendo is 100% aware of it too. During various points in the overworlds (and a good chunk of stages) there are little points that serve no other purpose except to either: A) Show off the graphics (This is mostly in the overworld) or B) Give you an idea of what's ahead (Pretty much just the stages).
They have a right to be proud, though. Even just watching the final boss is quite something. It might not be hard but
it is beautifully cinematic.
One of my favourite places to look at however is probably the final overworld of the game (bar the bonus worlds). It
is incredibly vibrant and just so much fun to look at, especially if you stand by the entrance and turn the camera so that you have a third person view of it.
Even such small things as the power-ups and enemies look perfect. I cannot find a pixel out of place in this game, and
Nintendo deserves some applause for it.
Sound 10/10 I hope you like jazzy tunes, because this game has them in spades. From the Athletic theme (Which is my absolute
favourite athletic theme) to Double Cherry Pass to the Hisstocrats. This game has so many amazing tunes. My personal favourite is probably The Great Tower Showdown. My only real complaint is that they re-use the songs much too often.
The sound effects are fairly subtle, but they do their job very well, and fill in the little voids that music can't cover up.
As for voice clips, the enemies sound the same as they always have. The characters and the Sprixies sound generic and unintelligible as always, but they added in this cute little thing where if you finish the stage with the cat suit, then the character will actually say 'Meow' instead of the usual 'Woohoo' or 'Yeah!'. Insignificant? Yeah. Freakin' Adorable? You bet!
Addictiveness 7/10 This game is addicting in a fun, simple way. There's no gimmicks to lure you into playing forever, there's nothing super special for completing the game 100% or anything like that. It's just simple fun that makes you go, 'Oh man, that was a great stage! Let's see if the next one is that great!' or, 'That stage was awful. Maybe the next one is better' or even a simple 'ARGH! I missed a collectible! Back in the stage for me!' The thing that keeps you going back is just having fun with the game, whether it be through racing against other Miis, or finding those little hidden spots in every stage. Everything in this game has something to offer and really, what more could you ask for?
Depth 4/10 As I said before, 3D World is very simple. You run, jump, float, swim and climb your way to the end of every stage, where you then try to get to the top of the flagpole in order to beat the stage. That's about it. However, the game still tries to shake things up using the WiiU gamepad. In certain stages you actually need to tap certain spots to open sliding doors, raise platforms or tap Gongs in order to progress. Or if one enemy is really bugging you, you can just tap the nuisance in order to stun it.
In 3D World you also need the WiiU gamepad's mic in order to progress through certain parts. There are certain platforms throughout the game that only move when you blow on them. If you blow on the screen, you can even shake dandelions to reveal coins. It's sort of cool. My only complaint is that the tapping tends to disrupt the flow of the gameplay and the blowing isn't much better.
Story 3/10 Unless it's one of the RPGs, Mario games aren't known for deep, involving stories. This one is no exception.
Super Mario 3D World starts off with Mario, Peach, Luigi and Blue Toad taking a midnight stroll when they come across this broken clear pipe (Is it glass? Or Plastic? Who knows!). The Mario Bros. do their official job for what is probably the first time ever and fix it, leading to all sorts of power-ups flying out, followed by a cute little green fairy thing called a Sprixie. The poor Sprixie is distressed and is in the middle of explaining why (via a cute little picture) when Bowser shows up and takes the Sprixie back into the pipe. The heroes go in after Bowser and begin their quest to save the Sprixies and their kingdom from Bowser's tyranny.
Now, here's the thing. The story never changes, nothing new happens, it's just an excuse plot. They never explain WHY he's kidnapping Sprixies either. Is it just for the evulz? Does he want magical Sprixie dust to fly around with? Is he jealous of his son's bug collection and he wants his own collection? It's never elaborated upon and it just annoys me to no end.
Difficulty 6/10 Super Mario 3D World doesn't start out hard at all.This game is good about easing you into the game and it has a nice,
simple learning curve. It stays fairly lenient right up until the final world. By then, you've begun to die, which is fair, since it's the final world and all. But then, you beat the game, you start up your file again and get into... The bonus worlds.
Holy Eldstar, these worlds are ridiculous. World Star isn't too bad and World Mushroom is only a little bit worse but World Flower and Crown are hell. If you manage to make it through these levels without dying once, you deserve serious applause. Level Crown-Crown in particular is an absolute monster, even without going for the green stars! At least it's the last level in the game, though.
The bosses, however, are incredibly easy. They all have predictable attack patterns, easy to figure out weak spots and easy to dodge attacks. Not only that, but even when they're reused with slightly different moves they're still way too easy to beat.
Things not covered above - Pretty much every stage in every bonus world (bar crown-crown) is a harder rehash of a previous stage.
+ The Captain Toad Stages are few, but amazing. They act as more of a puzzle, so if you want to really use your brain give them a shot.
+ The Mystery Houses are basically marathons of various tasks that you have 10 seconds to complete. These are actually pretty challenging, but fun at the same time.
+ The over worlds reward exploration with either hidden 1-ups, hidden Toad Houses, or even a few hidden levels.
- If you want to beat the game 100%, you need to get every green star, get every stamp, get a golden flag in every stage AND beat every stage with every character. It gets sort of repetitive unless you REALLY like the game.
+ Every character has their own gameplay characteristics. Mario is the all around type of guy, Luigi can jump the highest but he still has his slippery shoes, Peach is the slowest but she can float, Toad is the fastest but he can't really jump and the secret character can jump higher than Luigi and spin, but they are even slower than Peach.
+ The multiplayer still isn't the best, but it's much better than other Mario platformers. The game is a linear open world platformer as opposed to a 2D sidescroller so everyone has room to move without jumping on each other and killing themselves.
Overall, this game is probably one of the best Mario games to come out in a while. However, it still isn't perfect which is why this game gets my rating of
7.5/10. Graphics
10 Sound
10 Addictive
7 Depth
4 Story
3 Difficulty
6
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