Last year we together with Nintendo celebrated the series anniversary Super mariorecalling the main hits of the three-dimensional era in the collection Super Mario 3D All-Stars, but many clearly wanted to continue the banquet, so just one of these days another reissue will be released – Super mario 3d world moves with fanfare from Wii U on Nintendo Switch, and not alone, but together with the addition Bowser’s Fury, which is designed to appease harsh critics and turn them into happy cats.
After the release in 2013, Super Mario 3D World became the flagship of the Wii U console, despite the fact that in terms of modeling the project structure, a fairly conservative tactic was chosen that returned the series to its origins. Perhaps someone will be disappointed by the lack of an original concept of the world and unique mechanics like water gadgets from Super mario sunshine, travel to planets with altered gravity as in Super mario galaxy, or large, open locations, as well as tricks with a hat from Super mario odyssey… Instead, Super Mario 3D World takes us back to the early 90s, when the Super Nintendo ruled the galaxy.
Recreating the classic ambiance of the original 2D Super mario world, along the way, the authors adapted the project to modern graphics and three-dimensional game design requirements. Instead of spacious play areas free for exploration, which we were accustomed to since Super Mario 64 and to which the series returned in Super Mario Odyssey, 3D World consists entirely of a series of linear levels, which are outstanding obstacle courses with an eye to replayability, as well as prize rooms where you can get a free gift, try your luck on a one-armed bandit, or complete a full-fledged puzzle as Captain Toad. There are eight main worlds in the game, and you need to move between the levels inside them on a schematic map, familiar to everyone from 8- and 16-bit times.
The gameplay is designed in a traditional way: Mario does not have a health scale, as, for example, in Super Mario Galaxy, but only a small and large form, as well as numerous costumes scattered across the levels, including the legendary outfit of a tanuki raccoon, red and white a suit that allows you to throw fireballs, armor and a football player’s helmet, as well as a new cat suit for the series, in which a mustachioed plumber can climb steep walls. Perhaps the funniest bonus was the “cherry”, eating which Mario instantly clones, and as a result, you control two, three or four characters at the same time, which helps to solve simple spatial puzzles to find secrets and green stars that open access to subsequent locations …
Note that the entire game can be played in a local or online co-op for up to four people, while Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad have their own characteristics, such as speed and jump height, so each level can feel a little different depending on the choice of the hero … A funny innovation of the remaster is the now fashionable photo mode, which allows you to make spectacular screenshots from different angles and apply filters to them.
Like any game in the main Super Mario series, Super Mario 3D World is a sense of celebration and joy, and it is fun to complete the levels alone or with friends or family of all ages. Perhaps the main point of the contradiction lies in the balance of complexity. At the very beginning, you will not notice any resistance at all, and for a moment it may seem that Mario now exists only for a casual audience, but the game accelerates, and closer to the end it turns the difficulty switch all the way. Only the bosses were really disappointed, of which there are many, but, unfortunately, in terms of variety and elaboration, they are much inferior to their colleagues from other projects in the series.
