Super Mario 3D Land
SCORE: 93
As I look at the upcoming Christmas 2011,
I see two pieces of hardware being huge. One of them is the Nintendo
3DS. It has quickly come into its own thanks to so many wonderful titles
being released. Super Mario 3D Land is one of those hand held games that
will sell systems. Nintendo told us they built Super Mario 3D Land from
the ground up. It took playing this title to completely comprehend what
they meant.
Super Mario 3D Land is the best hand held version of Super Mario ever.
There are no other hand held versions of Super Mario that come close.
Super Mario 3D Land deals heavily in the raccoon suit power up (Tanooki
Suit). In fact Nintendo put this everywhere - on Bullet Bills, Goombas,
and even Bowser. This brings back a wonderful game play mechanic we have
been missing. The Boomerang suit is nice to see as well. We have some
here at Family Friendly Gaming that wanted to see the frog suit return.
Maybe in a sequel. They did appreciate the Propeller Box.
The 3D effects make Super Mario 3D Land instantly famous. Bright colors
permeate throughout this entire Nintendo 3DS title. The ghost house
levels in Super Mario 3D Land can get pretty dark. Thankfully they are
few and far between. Expect water levels, desert levels, fire levels,
gun ship levels, and more in Super Mario 3D Land.
Super Mario 3D Land pays homage to past video games in a variety of
ways. I will not spoil it for you because it is more fun to find all of
them on your own. Each game play level includes three golden star coins.
These are hidden throughout the levels. Finding these are important.
Certain areas can not be accessed unless you have enough coins. The best
example is the boss level to world five.
The violence in Super Mario 3D Land is like previous games in the
franchise. You jump on certain enemies and they pop away. Fireballs can
be thrown at them, and they will also leave the screen. Fish turn upside
down and float down until they disappear. The boomerang from the
Boomerang Suit will hit them, and send them flying.
Personally I have played thousands of games. I have heard all kinds of
sound tracks. I enjoy the Mario music. I do. Super Mario 3D Land pays
homage to various theme songs from previous games. Every single song in
Super Mario 3D Land feels like a Super Mario song. The special effect
sounds also completely fit. It is great to hear Peach talk in Super
Mario 3D Land. I just wish Mario would.
I am not currently permitted to tell you how many levels there are in
Super Mario 3D Land. I can tell you that you will get your moneys worth
out of this 3DS title. There is enough content to warrant the forty
dollar price. I have never lead ya'll astray before, and do not plan on
starting now. I call them, how I see them. Nintendo did not pay me to
make that statement.
Super Mario 3D Land contains tons of hidden content. I kept trying new
things finding the star coins, and secret areas. Certain suits are
needed in certain places to acquire extra content. Mystery boxes are in
the numerous worlds of Super Mario 3D Land, and they can be traded via
Streetpass. If you keep failing at a level there is an invincible
Tanooki Suit. The invincibility does not end. You can die in lava, or
fall to your death between platforms. But you will not take damage from
any other character in the game - including Bowser.
I dug deeply into Super Mario 3D Land. The level designs are pure
genius. Sure some levels had familiar elements, but that can be said of
about any game. The game's ending will not disappoint. Trust me on that.
I had fun playing Super Mario 3D Land. I learned it was very important
to get extra lives early. Super Mario 3D Land starts out easy, but
becomes difficult later on. Having those extra lives is very important.
The core of Super Mario 3D Land is exploration. Yes you are on a quest
to save Princess Peach. But exploring the areas along the way is where
all the fun is. Super Mario 3D Land is a fun game that everyone wanted
to get their hands on. All of us learned new concepts, and ways to play
a Super Mario video game.
Super Mario 3D Land taught me that kidnapping someone is wrong. It also
teaches to go to great lengths to correct a wrong. I loved being able to
avoid direct violence. The castle levels pay homage to an earlier Super
Mario Bros. video game. You hit a switch, the bridge goes away, and
Bowser falls into the lava. That never got old.
It was a real pleasure for me to play and review Super Mario 3D Land on
the Nintendo 3DS. I see this game becoming an instant classic. I would
love to see a sequel where even more suits are brought back to the
franchise. Thank you for taking the time to read my review on Super
Mario 3D Land. Now go and play the game.
- Paul
Graphics: 85%
Sound: 94%
Replay/Extras: 100%
Gameplay: 96%
Family Friendly Factor: 88%
System: Nintendo 3DS
Publisher: Nintendo
Rating: 'E' - Everyone
{Mild Cartoon Violence}
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