This review contains spoilers
Doesn't stand out very well anymore since the whole concept of being a 3D Mario game that uses 2D Mario level structure has been done in the exact same way, but better, in 3D World. But it's still a Mario game and as such has the pure fun, polish and joy that comes with it.
It could benefit from a few more unique level themes though. Too many grass levels, snow levels, ghost houses etc. There's definitely a few that stand out, like the blocks that vanish in time with the music, the clock/cog level, and the buzzsaw level.
The bosses might be the weakest aspect of the game. There's a grand total of 3 that are reused for all 8 worlds (or 16 counting special worlds). Boom Boom and Pom Pom especially are pathetically easy. Bowser himself does actually do a pretty good job at transitioning his classic 2D battles on the bridge into a 3D design, but again, it's reused too much. The final Bowser fight on the other hand stood out a lot more, acting as a kind of platforming/boss hybird.
I also like that after beating the last boss you unlock an entire hard mode which can be either more enemies, a strict time limit, variations on the stage hazards, or a shadow Mario that follows your movements allowing you no rest. But what's kinda weird is that it doesn't just use the same levels once and make them harder, some stages get reused what feels like 3 times, which means others don't get a hard variant at all.
And the reward for 100%ing the game is a level to challenge even veteran Mario players, something that is standard for all Mario games now, but at the time was pretty new. For the most famous example of a casual series, Mario games can really throw some tough stuff at you if you unlock it.
Basically it's a 2D Mario in 3D. It's fun.
It could benefit from a few more unique level themes though. Too many grass levels, snow levels, ghost houses etc. There's definitely a few that stand out, like the blocks that vanish in time with the music, the clock/cog level, and the buzzsaw level.
The bosses might be the weakest aspect of the game. There's a grand total of 3 that are reused for all 8 worlds (or 16 counting special worlds). Boom Boom and Pom Pom especially are pathetically easy. Bowser himself does actually do a pretty good job at transitioning his classic 2D battles on the bridge into a 3D design, but again, it's reused too much. The final Bowser fight on the other hand stood out a lot more, acting as a kind of platforming/boss hybird.
I also like that after beating the last boss you unlock an entire hard mode which can be either more enemies, a strict time limit, variations on the stage hazards, or a shadow Mario that follows your movements allowing you no rest. But what's kinda weird is that it doesn't just use the same levels once and make them harder, some stages get reused what feels like 3 times, which means others don't get a hard variant at all.
And the reward for 100%ing the game is a level to challenge even veteran Mario players, something that is standard for all Mario games now, but at the time was pretty new. For the most famous example of a casual series, Mario games can really throw some tough stuff at you if you unlock it.
Basically it's a 2D Mario in 3D. It's fun.
So safe and tame for a 3D Mario.
The only time a game asked "Do you want to play that all again with slight modifications?" and I said "Yeah, sure, why not." The back half of the game is surprisingly fun, with some good mixups on the original concepts, although the difficulty can get tedious.
The front half of the game is extremely good; it's short, but I like it at this length. It's like the espresso of Mario games. The levels are snappy and satisfying to zoom through; World 7 is my favorite.
There was a time where I thought I preferred this to 3D World. But after replaying both games back-to-back, I think I was just more open to this type of gameplay when 3D Land came out compared to 3D World. Now that Nintendo is putting out other things, it's easy to overlook the kinda generic stylings and just appreciate both games.
Final note: I love these little guys. They only appeared in 3D Land and no one ever talks about them. Look how round!
https://www.mariowiki.com/Draglet
The front half of the game is extremely good; it's short, but I like it at this length. It's like the espresso of Mario games. The levels are snappy and satisfying to zoom through; World 7 is my favorite.
There was a time where I thought I preferred this to 3D World. But after replaying both games back-to-back, I think I was just more open to this type of gameplay when 3D Land came out compared to 3D World. Now that Nintendo is putting out other things, it's easy to overlook the kinda generic stylings and just appreciate both games.
Final note: I love these little guys. They only appeared in 3D Land and no one ever talks about them. Look how round!
https://www.mariowiki.com/Draglet
3D Land is good clean fun. It never quite reaches the highs of its console cousins but it does a lot right. One of the games for the 3DS that highlights the best of what the 3D can do for games.
Lower down on my list of mario games, the levels felt really creative and the 3d is actually used for once on the 3ds. It is extremely easy however, and worlds go by really quickly. The jump physics also feel really floaty and combined with the 3d/2d levels can make it hard to make any kind of precise jumps that are required from time to time.
Que experiência incrível, conseguir jogar isso por um 3ds é foi absurdo uma das melhores experiências com jogos que eu já tive o efeito 3d nesse jogo é perfeito funciona perfeitamente, deixando cada fase incrível de se jogar é uma nova experiência acompanhada com uma ótima trilha sonora a historia continua a mesma salvando a princesa indefesa do grande vilão, mas que e engajante de se jogar para se descobrir cada fase que tem ali. Um game bastante divertido virando meu jogo favorito do mario( não que eu tenha jogado muitos).
People like to give Nintendo shit these days for making the Mario franchise incredibly bland and sterile, every spinoff always having the same 12 characters and they leave Plessie/Tatanga/insert ANY Mario RPG character here to rot in the Nintendo vault. They're not entirely wrong but I gotta give Nintendo credit whenever every so often they decide to make a random Mario whatever a "thing again" and it feels like they never left the franchise. This game was the massive comeback of the Tanooki Leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3, with the power up being all over this game's boxart, all enemies getting their own tanooki variants, and the Tanooki Leaf becoming a mainstay of the Mario franchise again. It appeared in Mario Kart 7, most of the Mario platformers following 3D Land, a Smash Bros. item, you get the idea. Other examples of things becoming a thing again are: 3D Land being the start of Boom Boom showing up as a boss again, Pauline making a big comeback with Odyssey, King Bob-omb and Chargin' Chuck slowly starting to make their way into spinoff rosters, Foreman Spike being in the casting call for the Mario Movie, Swanky Kong turning up in a Mario Movie poster, the Ninji starting to reappear again. the Ninjis are legit the most "yeah that exists" Mario enemy because they appear in so much stuff but they're very unmemorable and no one talks about them. I don't know if its just me but it genuinely feels like they spawned in Mario Maker one day and were just part of the franchise from then on. All I'm saying is that there's always hope your favorite obscure Mario scrunklo will randomly make a comeback and start appearing in Mario games again. 2023 is the year of Ostro, everyone's favorite Super Mario Bros. 2 enemy, lets go!!!!!!!!!
A solid platformer. The levels are quick, varied, and well designed. The power-ups are somewhat limited and the forced perspective does suffer sometimes without the 3D effect active, but it's a fun playthrough with a surprising amount of post-game content.
100% this game so many times, super underrated honestly! One of my first Mario titles, great level design!
Not many bells and whistles, this is pretty much just Mario going through a bunch of levels. Thankfully "just Mario going through a bunch of levels" bangs so this was a borderline must-have on the platform.
I do hope this finds a way to modern systems someday, it's way too good to keep locked on the 3DS
I do hope this finds a way to modern systems someday, it's way too good to keep locked on the 3DS
Mario 3D world was better tbh
The fact that the game literally doubles in length once you beat it was really cool though.
The fact that the game literally doubles in length once you beat it was really cool though.
Fun basic platformer. Feels like they took elements of the NSMB games and implemented them into a 3D platformer.
peguei esse jogo pra jogar no 3ds durante minhas viagens de ônibus como algo mindless fun em que eu n precisasse me preocupar com a história. já tinha jogado ele quando era menor mas nunca tinha zerado então quis dar essa chance. no geral, é um jogo bem básico do mario mas é de fato bem divertido e criativo (não tanto quanto o 3d world, mas dá pro gasto)
I still like it more than 3D World
I know this is a way higher score than what the game realistically deserves, but the level design in this game is smart, and it's nothing but fun,
still, it doesn't change that it's the literal simplest form of Mario, but I stand by the fact that as a singleplayer game, it's better than 3D World, because this game focuses on only you, so the levels can be tighter and feel way better to play.
still, it doesn't change that it's the literal simplest form of Mario, but I stand by the fact that as a singleplayer game, it's better than 3D World, because this game focuses on only you, so the levels can be tighter and feel way better to play.
By Mario standard, 3D Land sucks. By standard standards, it's a pretty good time.
i don't remember a single thing about this game
caused a peta game so that's worth something i think
A fun little Mario game that's great for pick up and play. There's not much else going on and jt doesn't compare to the classics but it was enjoyable while it lasted.
Meh game. I think it was interesitng as a 3DS game but nothing to interesting or worth going back to.
Very fun mario game on 3ds, i enjoy how the levels feel more like a 2d mario than a 3d mario, since it works great on the handheld
so much content in this one game
I was pretty disappointed with my 3DS at first, as this was the first game I got for it. I actually ended up selling it partially due to this game and then rebuying one a couple years later LOL.
It's not committed enough to any particular style/objective. It feels very vanilla and "scrubbed clean of any personality" to describe it in a very specific and confusing way.
It obviously does things right in some regard, it is a "mainline" Mario game - but it just doesn't do it for me. I find this style pretty boring.
It's not committed enough to any particular style/objective. It feels very vanilla and "scrubbed clean of any personality" to describe it in a very specific and confusing way.
It obviously does things right in some regard, it is a "mainline" Mario game - but it just doesn't do it for me. I find this style pretty boring.
Really fun albeit basic Mario adventure
Extremely underrated 3D Mario. Fun level design and decent power-ups. With enough levels to keep you entertained for a good while.
Funny how the game with "3D" in the title is the least 3D of them all
Super Mario 3D Land is just wonderful. I really want to rate it higher but the only reason I don't is because I know that just about every other 3D Mario game is better than this one. However, that does not at all speak of a lack of quality; Instead, it shows just how great all the 3D Mario games are for a game this solid to be one of the "worst". The game is packed full of content, having 16 worlds total, and the level design is fantastic. After achieving 100% completion, there's not a single level I can think of that I didn't like. The game is much more linear in design than most other 3D Mario games, but that works to its advantage making it feel very cozy and relaxing: perfect for a handheld game. Furthermore, Mario 3D Land saw a return of the tanuki suit from Mario Bros 3 and it feels great. It's implemented so well that it has become one of my all-time favorite Mario power-ups. This is also one of the few games that is actually complimented by the 3D gimmick of the 3DS, as having that extra sense of depth can help with platforming a lot. I really have no complaints about this game. I think it's as perfect as it can be for the hardware it's on. Again, the only reason I don't rate this game higher is that nearly all the 3D Mario games exceed this one in quality, but if I were to ignore all of those and rank this game strictly among all the other 3DS games, then it would definitely be 5 stars.
when i was a kid it was cool but i played again and its SO MUCH annoying how the camera goes
Not gonna lie when I played this as a kid, I liked it a lot. But looking back, I just don't ever see myself playing this game again. It's one of the most generic mario games out there. That's all I can really say about it.
Better than any 3D Mario game before or after it?
No, not even close.
Wii U-to-literally-right-now-era baby game design?
Yes
A genuine fun game that you can sit and chill with that’s unique enough to exist as a pre-Switch handheld game with secrets that at least appease what I would expect to find in a Mario game?
Yes
Summary: New Super Mario Bros. but what if Nintendo made a sequel that did not make me want to sell it within the first week of me acquiring it
No, not even close.
Wii U-to-literally-right-now-era baby game design?
Yes
A genuine fun game that you can sit and chill with that’s unique enough to exist as a pre-Switch handheld game with secrets that at least appease what I would expect to find in a Mario game?
Yes
Summary: New Super Mario Bros. but what if Nintendo made a sequel that did not make me want to sell it within the first week of me acquiring it