My first and only experience to date
with the Nintendo Wii U is the ninth installment in the mainline
Super Mario series, Super Mario 3D World. 3D World is a follow up to
the 3DS title Super Mario 3D World, but comparisons will be left out
of this review as I have not played that game. 3D World's design
structure is a combination of 3-D and 2-D levels with an art style
similar to Galaxy's, a world map like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super
Mario World, and multiple playable characters like in Super Mario
Bros. 2.
As for movement in the game you have
your basic walk and run, a sprint button, crouch, jump, leap, back
flip, side flip, wall jumps, and a spin attack that's initiated by
rotating the analog stick quickly in a small circumference. Jumping
feels as good as always in the game, but some of the variation jumps
seem to have lost usefulness. The leap doesn't go as far in previous
games, and the black flip and side flips do not seem to give the
characters any more height than the regular jump. I also don't see
much need for the crouch button other than to perform a leap or back
flip. This isn't a big hindrance on the game however as they're
optional mechanics and not required to progress through any of the
games levels.
The five playable characters are all
unique and provide a different playstyle. Mario is the all around
character and plays like he always has in the series. Luigi returns
with his slippery flutter jump from Super Mario Bros. 2, Peach also
brings back her float mechanic from the same game, the blue toad can
start his sprint faster than other characters, and the fifth secret
character is wonderfully overpowered. The blue toad is the only
character I find not that unique. He is not actually faster than any
of the other characters and being able to go into a sprint a second
faster doesn't make much difference. Playing as everyone else is
terrific. The game also encourages players to switch characters as
there are buttons on some stages that can only be pressed by having a
certain character.
The level design in 3D World is as good
as always in the Super Mario series. Levels are linear in nature with
a tad bit of non-linearity as the game has stamps and green stars to
collect (green stars which are required to beat the game). If you
want to collect these sometimes it would require exploring parts of
the level that aren't inline with the set path and there are some
level segments that require you to collect five medallions that are
spread out in various parts of the given area and you can collect
those in any fashion you want. The game gives plenty of variety in
level design and gameplay. You are never stuck doing any one action
for long. You could be hopping from platform to platform one minute
to swimming underwater, and shooting through pipes in another.
Variety is also instilled through the
game's power-ups. These are some of the best power-ups in a Mario
game. Each power-up really feels like it gives you extra utility.
They can give attack power, mobility, invulnerability, and more. A
few of the power ups are also necessary to acquire certain stars and
stamps encouraging players to replay levels with certain power-ups.
The game is also sprinkled with slot
machine bonus levels where you have an opportunity to get extra
1-ups, power-up houses like in Super Mario Bros. 3 where you can get
extra power-ups, and Captain Toad levels which are puzzle focused. 3D
World has no problem in variety. Difficulty in this game ranges. I
didn't find any levels to be way too easy, and difficult levels are
sprinkled throughout, most of them positioned at the end of the game.
The bosses in the game are way too easy
as it has always been in Mario for me. They don't really require many
different techniques to take down either. It would be nice to
actually have a Mario game with challenging bosses for once. There
are a couple that provide great presentation, but that's about it.
On visual and audio aesthetics, the
game is somewhere in the middle for me. The art style is rather
pleasing and the visual design of certain levels can be charming. The
music is about average in this game. The tracks I enjoyed most are
pulled from previous entries and almost none of the original music
was memorable to me.
Overall Super Mario 3D World is a well
deserved entry in the Super Mario franchise.
