[review is based on the switch version; have not played bowser's fury.]

well, what a surprise this was! wasn't expecting to enjoy this one quite on the level i did. but thanks in no small part to playing through the full campaign with two of my best friends, not only have i now beaten super mario 3d world happily, but we collected all the green stars, stamps and flagpoles without doubting for a second the amount of fun we were having. i'd happily call this one of my favorite experiences in the mario franchise with ease!

sure, while 3d world primarily centers its world themes around the typical new super-era styles (grass world, ice world, desert world, so on) it's NOT without its surprises and almost every level does something to remain distinct in my mind. there were maybe 2 or 3 levels in the entire experience i felt underwhelmed or annoyed by, but for the dozen worlds that this title offers, that's next to nothing. despite coming at a time in the mario series where things were as plastic and by-the-numbers as ever, super mario 3d world really pops with a distinct new musical style akin to big band, and some of the most animated, vibrant art direction the series had seen since sunshine.

i was worried at first that the 8-directional turning of 3d world would be a turn-off, but i actually found that it allowed for sharp, angular, precise movement in a way i don't think, say, odyssey's controls would have lent to in this level design environment. it definitely suits the type of platforming you'll be doing. the moveset additions here are welcome, especially the options added in the switch release. getting to learn the advanced movement techniques in 3d world and mastering the flow of platforming during the post-game was a blast. i like the power-up lineup here a ton, too! the cat suit and double cherry are great additions, and the returning items are all winners, too. hell, even the mega mushroom makes a few fun appearances.

i found the diversity of level types especially refreshing thanks to challenge-centric bonus levels, the entire layout of the flower and star worlds, and even the captain toad levels. if i have any complaints about 3d world, they're pretty regular suspects. the camera really sucks in multiplayer sometimes, especially with the ai deciding who to follow when leading to some untimely, cheap deaths at crucial moments. there are a few courses, especially the captain toad missions, that feel unpolished to work around the clear incentive for multiplayer. still, after being rather lukewarm with my takeaway upon revisiting the galaxy duology, i'm happy to say i have a new mario title that ranks among my absolute favorites.

3D World is a love letter to Mario and everything he stands for. You get the Mario 2 USA characters, charging chucks and Galoombas from Mario World, Rosalina and the Galaxy Spin, Beat blocks, Tanks from Mario 3, and many others. Here we have the peak Mario aesthetic everyone is glossy, like plastic, and lives in a little surreal world of odds and ends. The camera frames everything as a little diorama, giving it all a toy like property. Mario isn't being towered over by real people in a large city scape, nor is he exploring an interconnected tropical island. He's at home in the kingdom of bricks and flag poles of his youth.

Mario 64 radically changed the way Mario played. The New Super Mario series to modernize classic Mario but lacked the creativity and magic of those older tiles. With 3D Land Nintendo hit a winning formula and with 3D Nintendo mastered it. Not to say that 3D World is perfect- the 8 directional of movement coupled with the ridged camera can be a bit hard to parse and getting to the to of flag can be annoying busy work if you mess up- but for every misstep 3D world still bounces with a spring in its step. Every level introduces a new gimmick and features a fresh spin on classic Mario locales. Nothing overstays its welcome, even the hard remix stages which droned on for 8 worlds in 3D land are shortened to a mere two here. The movement is complex enough with all the power ups and characters to allow for some occasion sequence breaking or speed running, but never enough to divert focus away from the path Nintendo carefully crafted. 3D World is the best 2D Mario game stretched into three dimensions. It's fun by yourself. It's fun with friends. It's fun for beginners and fun for Mario veterans. It's just plain fun. Isn't that what Mario is all about?

Played this for the first time at my cousin's house with my siblings while I was over for Thanksgiving, and we had a ton of fun blasting through the levels while flip-flopping between completing the objectives and griefing each other. Four years later, one of the neighborhood kids (who didn't own a Wii U but had watched a lot of Youtube vids on 3D world) was beaming about finally getting to play Mario, and we had a ton of fun blasting through the levels while flip-flopping between completing the objectives and griefing each other.

Demora um pouco para engrenar, com uns níveis bem chatinhos no começo. Mas lá pelo mundo 4 é só banger atrás de banger.

Acho que o que atrapalha um pouco 3D World, pelo menos no começo, é justamente ele ser uma versão maior de 3D Land. O jogo de 3DS funcionava justamente por ser uma experiência destilada, praticamente sem gordura ou enrolação. World, ao tornar tudo maior, perde um pouco dessa característica. Mas, como dito, essa sensação foi temporária. Assim que os mundos ficaram mais difíceis e mais complexos qualquer ressalva que eu tinha foi se desfalecendo. 3D World é realmente 3D Land maior e, com um pouquinho de persistência, melhor.

Is it weird if I think this is the best non-sandbox Mario game?

Four-player in New Super Mario Bros. Wii was frustrating because you all got in each other's way. But throw a third dimension into the equation, and you're golden, baby.

Hot take (are we still saying that?): This has the best main theme of any Mario game. That saxophone is smooth as silk.

Back in 2013 when I played through this on the Wii U, I got up to Champion's Road and, after banging my head against that level for a while, set the game down and decided to come back to it later. I never did. So when the Switch version was announced, I was excited to finally master this game.

This time, I barely even got through the first few screens of Champion's Road before deciding once and for all that it wasn't for me. As beloved as this game is, it hits a bit of an uncanny valley for me personally: on one hand, I find the controls harder to manage with great precision and the moment-to-moment decision trees more overwhelmingly large than a 2D Mario. It's harder to get into the satisfying space of focused iteration, where each failure feels like it brings me closer to achieving my goal. This isn't just an issue with Champion's Road: my deaths in many of the harder levels filled me with anger rather than determination.

On the other hand, you don't have the sense of place of a more traditional 3D Mario. Sunshine and Odyssey are of course the best examples here, but even the Galaxies' planets felt alive in ways that SM3DW's levels (for all their cute enemies and splashy backgrounds) don't. Their sense of freedom and exploration is hamstrung by the game's linearity.

It's still a Mario, and it's still top-tier Nintendo level design, so I'm not sad to have played through it again. If nothing else, it taught me something about what I want from my platformers.

actually played the switch version

the review i wanted to make: competent game, characters play well, incredible variety in main stages, side stages, captain toad's quests; looks gorgeous, cat suit is nice, you should play it, you're welcome

the review i will make: this is not the first time nor will it be the last time that bowser made me uncontrollably horny + he's in a cat fucking fursuit

also peach was intended to be played by gay people i swear to god i could not let her go i could not go back to mario i could not live my life happily again if i didnt finish this game with her

Wii U Version: Decent, but flaccid compared to every other 3D Mario.

Switch Version: I AM THE FUCKING SPEED DEMON! AHHHHHHHHHH!

(also, requiring 5 full playthroughs for 100% completion is stupid).

Jogo maravilhoso, marcou minha infância de um jeito inexplicável . Esse jogo depois dos galaxys é meu favorito da franquia, sua estética e criatividade são pontos muito cativantes nele, o jogo é lindo graficamente e suas musicas são uma das melhores de todos os jogos do Mario.
Quando ele foi anunciado muitos esperavam um ''Sunshine 2'' ou um ''Galaxy 3'' e não um ''3D Land 2'', mas ele é tão melhor e mais cheio de conteudo doq ele que até se dá dó compara -los, mesmo sendo injusto sendo que um foi portatil e um para console de mesa.
Os powers ups novos são incriveis e maravilhosos juntando com a gameplay gostosinha faz tudo se casar perfeitamente, admito que como grande parte do publico foi estranho ver o Mario de gato mas logo acostumei.
Os bosses são fenomenais e uma enorme experiência no mundo dos cogumelos. Realmente um incrível jogo

While 3D Land started the concept, it played the levels mostly safe. This game tries a whole bunch of new innovations and level themes. It just has so many ideas, not just for level design but even in types of stages, like having challenge boxes that have you go through a gauntlet of quickfire mini challenges - the last of which being 35 of them in a row and is one of my favourite parts of the game.

Instead of the main themed power-up being an old one that has been reworked, this time it's a brand new idea that adds a new dimension to the platforming, both expanding your options and acting as a power up should - making the game easier. Except unlike the tanooki leaf it doesn't break the game.

There's also some pseudo-power ups that the game uses to great effects in specific levels - the cannon head, the light head and the double cherries.

5 different characters all with varying strengths and weaknesses.

I just found it to be an overall great time. It can be pretty easy and fast if you only want to complete the game, but collecting all the green stars and the stamps feels like actual meat on the game and not just filler for the sake of making the player spend extra time. What DOES feel like that though is that getting the last 5 stamps and star on your profile involves beating the level with EVERY character. It's clearly intended for co-op play, but it's such an insane pain in the ass that a single player has to essentially play through the game 5 times to 100% it. That's my only downside with the game and it's an optional task.

3d World is a very honest game with itself, and it knows very well what it wants.
It's not as ambitious or mindblowing as Odyssey or Galaxy, and maybe that's why it manages to shine.

Simple, but extremely fun and creative, with an impressive gameplay variation that even almost 10 years later has aged like wine. And without a doubt it has one of the best - if not the best - postgames in the Mario series.

Also, catpeach

cara, que maravilha!

lá pros meus 11 anos era meu sonho jogar isso aqui, mas quem tinha wiiu aqui no brasil, né?

é a primeira vez que eu jogo nessa maratona mario que estou cumprindo esse ano, e me apaixonei! para ser sincero, nos primeiros três mundos estava achando um jogo razoável, mas é na reta final que esse jogo cresce pra mim. cada fase te surpreende com mecânicas únicas, que são extraídas até o máximo!

vim direto do Mario Odyssey, então senti um claro downgrade do moveset, mas mesmo assim é um jogo que te permite brincar bastante com a movimentação, principalmente da Rosalina, que te permite fazer uns skips bem daora com prática. Falando em Rosalina, o que é aquele último mundo extra inspirado em mario galaxy, em? que maravilha de level design, que maravilha de fanservice!

temos 5 personagens jogáveis, e cada um tem animação e mecânicas únicas, além de que os power-ups interagem de forma diferente com alguns deles. e o power-up gatinho? cara! eu amo cada animação desse power-up. eu amo a arranhada, o salto que vai descendo progressivamente pra baixo, a subida na parede! e esse jogo ainda tem o mario guaxinim, só faltou ter o mario pinguim para completar a tríade dos power-ups.

e um jogo importante para a franquia, afinal de contas.. aqui, instaura esse tema mais ''bobo'', mais teatral da narrativa do Mario. O último 3D antes desse fora o Mario Galaxy, um jogo bem mais contemplativo e lúcido da franquia. No 3D World eu sinto um tom específico que também está em Odyssey, como se tudo o que ocorre ali é uma grande fantasia em forma de brincadeira, tipo o Mario consolando o Bowser no final do Odyssey.. ah, e o último mundo é um prédio do Bowser numa chuva sinistra.. me lembra muito o Metro Kingdom do Odyssey antes de enfrentar o boss e liberar de fato o mundo.