I was never really engaged enough with 3D world to make more of an effort than clearing the courses, with it just being an added bonus if I'd actually collected everything, but the variety of the levels and the freedom of playstyles the different power-ups provide have to be commended.

Bowser's Fury is a whole different story though, that might be the most fun I've ever had with Mario. After the rigid time limit of the 3D levels it was such a relief to just get the time to explore this huge level and search for collectables at my own pace. The Fury moments were a nice threat to keep in mind while exploring, always making sure I had enough places to hide should Bowser rise up from the water again.

I'm also just a huge sucker for tropical locations in Mario games, so this game being all islands and water was a big plus for me.

If it were just 3D world I'd give it 3 stars, but BF notches it up to 4!

Pretty good, I liked it a lot. First of the music is amazing one of the best Mario's Ost's and it's got some stiff competition. The way they integrate the jazz into Mario music is pristine. The main game is good, Great level design, tight controls, pretty interesting idea with the different characters, but they don't feel too different so if your forced to play them it's aight. also champions road is a great challenge to go for. one complaint I have is how you 100% it. why do you need o beat every level with a different character? It just feels so unnecessary because they're all fundamentally the same. This just feels like a way to pad out the 100% runtime. Also multiplayer is fun even though the crown system is weird. Bowser's Fury is great too. It adds a lot of new ideas I enjoy, again music FIRE, especially fury bowser theme. Only real complaint is that it's a little short (100% it, I'm pretty sure somebody who just wants to beat it full stop can do it in a hour) but you still get your money's worth. All in all Great game I really liked and I highly recommend it to a Mario fan. One thing though if you had this on a Wii u probably wait for a price cut even though bowser's fury is fire.

This is maybe a weird take but i like 3D World WAY more than than Super Mario Wonder. I guess I generally prefer 3D Mario to 2D Mario, playing around with the expanded move set is more engaging to me even when it's not needed to complete the level, it's kinda like a fidget toy. I also find 2D Mario level design to be kinda formulaic. A 2D Mario level is always a big long flat course that rarely has multiple paths and when the game is asking you to do 50+ of these levels that are largely variations on a theme I tend to lose interest, but maybe I'm just a weirdo who would always rather play 20 Sonic levels than 40 Mario levels. Regardless I don't feel this same formulaic-ness in 3D World, levels tend to be really distinctive, with the exception of a few repeated themes like the trains or boo mansions which are relatively infrequent and have decent variation. And this is further helped by level progression being so much smoother in 3D world than in wonder. I don't have exact numbers on whether there are actually fewer times in 3D world where you need to go back and pick up collectibles you missed to go to the next world, but it sure feels like that.
Since I don't want to exclusively rag on Wonder I also think that 3D world has maybe the best goal structure out of the 3D Mario games. I would need to revisit the galaxy games since I didn't play those as much historically, but in 64 and sunshine I find that I have trouble maintaining interest in collecting stars after the first few worlds cause all the stuff you need to do in those games has pretty consistent level of complexity and by the time I'm doing the 5th challenge in a single level I'm kinda sick of looking at these assets and don't care enough to progress and I'm find with dropping the game for a few months/years. 3d world and then later Odyssey and Bowser's Fury have smartly included a lot of "easy" stars which you can get by going slightly out of you way but don't require the complexity of a main level objective so you can focus on forward progression and getting to play with new stuff, which is what's compelling to me.

Whispers hushed upon from fellow gamer,
“Brother we live as his retainer”,
Hymn’s echo down the chosen aisle,
as the crowd adjourn in single file,
The cloud room not but lay silent until chapel doors slam violent.
“Together we prayer upon his chair”
the Priest declares onto compliant stares,
as he turns to B-L-J up big, grand case of stair,
and look upon his shunned, crying heir,
“My sons gathered here in jury,
See the one who dares to question, one to query,
be this a lesson to those who's faith un-purely,
for he shall receive Doug Bowser’s Fury”.

Both 3D World and Bowser's Fury were pretty great games that surprised me in unexpected ways. 3D World felt like a great progression from 3D Land and fixed some issues I had with the former. Granted, it's not perfect because the movement, while great, does feel a bit awkward at times. I randomized the character for every level and I really liked playing as Mario and especially Peach, I was neutral towards Blue Toad as some levels felt great with him and others didn't, and sadly I wasn't a fan of Luigi's movement this time around, a shame because he's one of my favourites. However, speaking of favourites, for some reason they made Bowser extremely cool in this game, with a banger theme and awesome boss fights. He really stole the show and I wish there were more fights with him, that or more replacements for Boom Boom and Pom Pom because the other bosses were so much better. The level design and music were both really good and the game is amazing visually. It's not my favourite Mario game, but it once again goes to show that 3D Mario is a pretty enjoyable experience for the most part. My only complaint really is that the locked collectibles thing is back, and while I was more prepared for it than in 3D Land, I still had to replay some levels to get enough Green Stars. Luckily the Captain Toad and Mystery House levels give a ton, but it's still annoying to have to go back. As for Bowser's Fury, I love the open world aspect here, it feels like a mini Odyssey in a way. I hope they continue with this blueprint because this experience felt pretty fresh and I love the open aspect of it. I love how it's just one big map and I can pick whichever area I can get Cat Shines from. It's a very solid experience and I hope they do more with it in the future. Overall, both 3D World and Bowser's Fury are very great experiences and another fun entry to the 3D Mario games.