Super Mario 3d Land is a 3d Mario platformer on the 3ds, released in 2011, and then again in 2012 in the Eshop. As far as sales go, it did really well, being the first 3ds game to sell 5 million copies, and rightfully so. 

   But what is Super Mario 3d Land? Basically, what it was supposed to be a mixture of a normal 2d platformer, and a normal 3d platformer. What I mean by this is it is a more linear journey than Super Mario 64, or Mario Galaxy. So it’s a 2d platformer, in a 3d world. And I actually really liked it. It was a good change from both the New Super Mario Bros. series, and the 3d platformer ones.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any secrets to find. There are three star coins in every level. Some will be right in your path, for some you might have to find a hidden Toad, and sometimes you will have to think outside the box to find them.




   Gameplay: 8 - It’s a pretty interesting thing that Nintendo did here with the hybrid of a 3d and 2d game. But like I said, it works great. Go through the level, collect the star coins, and get to the top of the flag pole. The game works great though. There are some levels that are speed runs, where you have either 30 seconds, and you need to get extra time throughout the level, or have about 100 seconds to finish a course. I rarely died directly because of the time limit, but you will die when you are trying to rush.


   The other alternate stages are where a ghost Mario will follow behind you, similar to the cosmic clones in Mario Galaxy. These will in some courses be a little challenging, but sometimes don’t really make a difference. But there’s an alternate version to this as well. This time, the clone will be much bigger, and can destroy blocks, which can sometimes help you, or destroy you, depending on the level. These I found to be really fun, because of the added difficulty, and they really switched up how you had to play the game.


   There are also some areas, where there will be a star coin in a seemingly easy place to get. However, you will figure out that the block it’s on is actually above ground, and you can see this on an “Eye” platform. These were fun, but rarely used. I could see them getting a little repetitive.


   There are also some good power ups. You have the Fire Flower as usual, and the return of the Tanooki Suit, which is where you can float down using your tail, and spin attack enemies. You also have a new power up, the Boomerang suit. It does just what you think it would do. You can also pick up coins when you throw the boomerang, and was a fun power up to use.


   There are some other ones that weren’t used as much, like the Coin Block, like in NSMB2, where it stays on your head, giving you coins. And there is a helicopter hat, that will give make you fly up, and you can float down just like with the Tanooki suit.


   Unfortunately, the bosses that aren’t Bowser; Boom Boom and a girl version of it that can throw boomerangs, are pretty easy to beat. It lacks creativity, and very little changes with each boss. But the Bowser bosses, although pretty similar to each other, are still fun, because the slight changes in it keeps it interesting.




   Graphics: 9.5 – The graphics are outstanding. If you use the 3d effects, they look really nice, deep, and they don’t look like they were just tacked on. The colors in this game are really bright as well. Even the castles and desert levels look pretty colorful, which is a huge plus. And the Bowser battles look absolutely stunning, especially in 3d. The effects of these battles are phenomenal.


   And even the smaller things, like the items, look terrific. The mushrooms have a nice shine to them, and look better than any Mario game I’ve seen. The enemies, especially with raccoon tails, seem to come to life with how they act. I sometimes feel bad taking out the Goombas or bugs sometimes. That’s how good they are.




   Story: 6 – It’s pretty much the same old story. Peach is too cheap to build an army or even a few bodyguards to protect her, so Bowser steals her with ease. And of course, Mario has to save her. However, this time, Bowser has also taken raccoon leaves from a tree. This tree has the raccoon leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3. With these leaves, Bowser can power up his minions by making pretty much every enemy using one of these items to try to destroy Mario.




   Addictiveness: 8 / Depth: 9 – With 16 worlds to go through, for a total of 96 levels, this game will keep playing for quite some time. Not to mention, tons of star coins, the somewhat hidden goal of trying to get the top of the flag pole on every level. Another thing that could keep you playing for longer is that every level times you, and if you beat the level in one try, you can get a good time record. This is fun if you want to try to get the fastest time, or want to try to beat your friend’s records.


   However, the only problem with this part of the game is most of the levels in the special world are just harder versions of levels you have already done in the normal world. This will make it seem like you are doing the same levels over and over some times, and could bore you out, especially if you are stuck on a level.




   Sound: 8.5 – The music is this game is really good. I think the normal tune of the first level is one of the best Mario songs out there. And it actually has its own remix in this game. On the clock levels, it will play the main tune at a slower pace. It matches the level perfectly, and is a good remix. And as usual, there are some classic tunes remixed. The cave of Super Mario Bros. is remixed, and is good as usual.


   As for the sound effects, they are good as well. There are small sounds just from moving through the grass, which sound spot on. The enemies have some good sound effects, like their jumps and the Goomba walking, which adds to the liveliness of Bowser’s minions.

The one problem is if you are like me, you will constantly be jumping, rolling, and ducking. Mario makes his normal sounds, but especially when you continually long jump or roll jump, you might get annoyed with him. Luigi is actually worse than Mario when it comes to the sounds. His sounds are louder and more noticeable than his older brother’s. But after a while, you won't notice it.




   Difficulty: 6.5 – If this game was only 8 worlds, like it originally looks like it would be, it would be extremely easy. Up until the eighth world, you will most likely have little trouble beating the levels. But lots of the levels in the special world are pretty tough to beat.



   Controls: 9 - As for the controls, you might at first have trouble getting used to them, with the new rolling feature, where you can do almost what is a smaller long jump. Once you get used to it, it’s a great new move set added to the game. The other moves are all pretty much there though. Wall jump, ground pound are both there, however, the triple jump is missing. It’s kind of a weird thing to eliminate, but it’s not there. Not like it’s a big deal, but I don’t really know the reason to get rid of this, especially while keeping the double jump, making it seem awkward when you can get a double jump, but not a triple jump.


   Besides that, the controls work well. None of the power ups have any problems, the small return of the cannon works well, and the moves are pretty easy to pull off. There aren’t really any problems with it; besides sometimes it’s hard to turn straight around to pull off a reverse jump. Sometimes it will just make you do a small loop and you have to try it again.




   Overall: 9.6 – This game is really great. It’s sort of a new place for Nintendo, and they did it terrifically. From the liveliness of the enemies, to the great music, to the great level designs, this game has everything.

patar4097 : Nice review of this game   You have a great sense of humor!  I am always looking for new games for my 3DS and I might have to put this one on my Christmas list since it sounds like a good Mario game!  Thanks for the review

Great review. I played through this game, but traded it in at Gamestop because I didn't feel compelled to continue playing it after I beat it.