Super Mario 3D Land

SotS

Cycling the Stress Away
Member
That game from two years ago. The one which I hated so much for being too easy. The one that was just so. Short. Yeah, that one.

I think it's now in my top three 3D Mario games (Sitting just below Galaxy, and Galaxy 2). I don't know if it's just a change in tastes, or how I've changed the way I play games, but it's a blast. I just finished my second playthrough of it (Thank-you, Nintendo's XL Luigi's Mansion/Pokemon: Gates to Infinity promotion!), and my opinion of it is completely different from before.

The stages are very compact (even including the search for each stage's three Star Coins), but they are almost all fun. Even the Ghost House levels which I typically hate, I absolutely loved here. The stage design is awesome, and that's absolute necessity for a series that has been around for so long with little changes elsewhere. And because of the compact nature of the stages, it's a perfect game to pick-up-and-play; which is in turn perfect for a handheld system!

The music is... Okay. It's not "Eh" worthy, yet on the other hand it's definitely not "WOW" worthy either. I never turned it down though, and found myself constantly humming the tunes at random times of the day. I definitely feel like it could have been worked on a bit more, and some extra variety could have been sprinkled in here and there, but it gets the job done.

The graphics are amazing considering how early in the 3DS's life it was released. Looking at it closely you may see some jaggies, but while playing with 3D on all I see is a vibrant world popping out at me. Which reminds me: If there's a game on the system that should always be played with 3D for a better experience, it's this one.

The CONTROLS. Oh my word the controls. They are amazingly responsive. And unlike Galaxy's biggest annoyance (To me, anyways), there's absolutely no gimmicks here! No waggle, no tilting and turning (Cannons can be aimed with the gyroscope, but the option to use the Circle Pad is also there), just good ol' responsive controls.
[size=-2][Small note -- Use Y for running and B for jumping, way easier!][/size]

I think the biggest complaint I have with the game is the requirements for the final level. Hitting the top of the flagpole in each stage is an okay thing to ask. But requiring you to hit the top of the flagpole, in each stage, with both Bros. is a bit ridiculous.

All-in-all this is just a great game, even if it is a little bit on the short side. I think my favorite stage has to be Bowser's Castle (World 8-Castle). The final rush is extremely fun, because it doesn't encourage you to run at all times (Like everyone on earth should), it FORCES you to run at all times. The stages with the flipping panels are also all flipping fun (hahajokes). Honorable mentions go to the "30-Second Levels" as well.

What's your opinion on the game? Favorite stage? Song? Mario or Luigi? How do you think it fares in comparison to the other games in the Mario Franchise? Fire away!
 

Chariblaze

When you add it all up...
Member
I'm not very creative, so I'll just answer the questions you asked:

What's your opinion on the game?: Love, love, love it. I mean, this is the only Mario I've 100%ed, mainly because of the Tanooki Suit. I really love floating around everywhere, and I wouldn't have beaten the final stage without it. :p It would have been nice to know I had to beat every stage with Luigi before I spent all my time with Mario getting every Star Coin, but eh. :p

Favorite stage?: Certainly 8-Castle, and the final level. Uh, the clockwork levels were cool.

Song?: Definitely the main theme from the opening level, and the credits music. Yeah, there's not too much else to speak of besides the Mario 3 Athletic Theme remix.

How do you think it fares in comparison to the other games in the Mario Franchise?: I can probably say this is the Mario game I've enjoyed myself most with, mostly because it was portable (so I spent a lot of time with it) and because the level design was pretty cool. I don't think I could really compare it to any other Mario simply because I did so much more in this one, but even at a top-level comparison I'd put this pretty high on the list of Marios. Maybe under the Galaxies for their grandeur, and SMW for its greatness, but easily on par with NSMBU.
 

dmaster

Aspiring Trainer
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The best way that I can describe this game is simply Mario Galaxy on land. The levels really do remind me of that game. Kind of short but compact and fun enough for you to really like the level design. The 3D is excellent for it and completely works for the game and what it tries to do. As a Mario Game, it's probably in my top ten at least because there have been a lot of others that I have enjoyed (both SMG, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Bros 3, etc), but it's honestly still one of the best 3DS games out there even as it nears its second year of being released.

dmaster out.
 

Bolt the Cat

Bringing the Thunder
Member
It's a good game, but not an amazing one. I like how it brought 2D elements into the 3D gameplay, but at the same time, it's not very creative. I also like that the level design is like Galaxy's but more explorable (1-1 is a good example of this), I think that's the direction that 3D level design needs to head in. Overall, it's not my favorite Mario game, but it's not the worst either.
 

professorlight

Ice Queen
Member
What's your opinion on the game?:
It's a great game, It's the result of everything great about every mario game from the start, the gameplay of the Original Mario, the 3d of mario 64, the modular level design of galaxy the overworld and the tanooki suit of mario land, all the best mario games ever in one little portable cartridge.
Favorite stage?:
1-3 in the special world, the one where you are in platforms shaped like the old 8-bit enemies.
Song?:
the main theme and the version of the classic mario theme in E1-3, especially the bit when you reach the flag.
How do you think it fares in comparison to the other games in the Mario Franchise?:

In 3d platformers, equal to galaxy and galaxy 2. Because, for all their genius and brilliance, the galaxy games were too long and tiring; I finished galaxy, but not galaxy 2, butI finished 3d land, got all the coins in the regular world and kept playing to get all the coins in the special world, and that kind of completionism is very rare in me.
 

SuperHyperKirliafan89

Aspiring Trainer
Member
It's my 1st and only 3DS game at the moment (at least until the next Smash Bros. comes for that system).

It was either Super Mario 3D Land or Mario Kart 7 (that woulda been my 1st 3DS game and like I did with DS I got a Mario Platformer game).
 

PMJ

happy thoughts
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I disagree that having to do all the stages as both brothers is ridiculous. If you like playing the game so much, having to do it twice should be like aw yiss

Just pace yourself and you'll be fine.
 

SotS

Cycling the Stress Away
Member
PMJ said:
I disagree that having to do all the stages as both brothers is ridiculous. If you like playing the game so much, having to do it twice should be like aw yiss

Just pace yourself and you'll be fine.

But the first go-round you have the Star Coins to find. Once you grab them all, you're literally just heading for the flagpole. (Which, I guess, is all you do in the 2D games, which now that I think of... Is probably why I prefer the 3D ones.) I still find it really fun, but I would much prefer that they didn't require you to go through twice. And I know I'd still play it a lot, as I could make a new file and re-do everything -- Including the search for Star Coins.

I don't know. That's like... The one thing that really bugs me with the game as a whole.

professorlight, I can't agree more with your opinion on the Galaxy games. I love them both and believe that they're two of the best Wii games (and hold a high place in my overall best games list), but the stages could go on for a bit too long. I don't want to spend fifteen minutes on even a single stage unless I'm just messing around. (I remember the desert galaxy was pretty bad with this.)

SuperHyperKirliafan, a tip, just in case: Make sure you collect as many Star Coins as possible -- Later stages require you to have a certain amount. So try to get all three from each stage if possible. It's not too difficult to find most of them.

I decided that for my "re-plays" through both sets of worlds that I'm not going to use the Tanooki Suit. It's been pretty fun so far! Some moments I hate myself for it, but for the most part it just adds a fun challenge. Definitely recommend trying it out if you want to up the difficulty! (Strongly recommend you carry a Leaf in your item slot though, just in case there's a hard to top flagpole.)
 
I

Incinermyn

To be honest, this was easily one of my favorite Mario games of all time, after Super Mario World and Super Mario RPG. I liked how all the levels were in full 3D and how sharp the graphics looked (especially for a Mario game). The Tanooki Suit was also a nice touch.

One thing that kind of bothered me about this game, though, was how difficult the post game worlds were. Some of the revamped levels were very hard, and a few were damn near impossible to beat. The worst levels were easily the ones where the ones where this Shadow Mario followed your every move. That made it exceptionally hard to get through them, since the doppleganger kept up with you step for step.
 

Bolt the Cat

Bringing the Thunder
Member
PMJ said:
I disagree that having to do all the stages as both brothers is ridiculous. If you like playing the game so much, having to do it twice should be like aw yiss

Just pace yourself and you'll be fine.

You'd think, but it actually gets really tedious and boring doing the same thing over again with minimal changes. I didn't like that in Galaxy either. Galaxy 2 handled things better, you were exploring the levels for more stars, some of which required exploring different parts of the level, or utilizing a neat gimmick that you wouldn't have thought to use. That actually adds to the experience.
 

SuperHyperKirliafan89

Aspiring Trainer
Member
PMJ said:
SuperHyperKirliafan, a tip, just in case: Make sure you collect as many Star Coins as possible -- Later stages require you to have a certain amount. So try to get all three from each stage if possible. It's not too difficult to find most of them.


Already got all of em (some were a lil hard on some of the special worlds), I also beat the game. (just haven't unlocked the final level yet)
 
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