SUPAH MAREO THREE DEE ESS

[speedfreak]

HO-LY SHIT! The final level and final boss were fucking fantastic!

I'm talking of world 8 here, haven't gotten into the special worlds yet. I really enjoyed the final sequence where Bowser chases you. It was very epic. I always thought those "run under Bowser and hit the switch" fights were lame, but what they've done with them here really impressed me. The ending was nice too.

I still think NSMBW has the best Bowser final boss ever, but this was damn close and it blows both of the Galaxy final Bowser encounters away IMO. To think I've still got a ton of post game content! Seriously, when people said "finally a must have reason to own a 3DS" I was skeptical, but after playing this game I agree 100%. It's become one of my favorite Mario's and a must own for anyone with a 3DS.

[YoshiUnity]

PETA - "It was just a Joke!"

http://kotaku.com/58...was-just-a-joke

A joke? Oh there's a joke here, alright...

Edited November 16, 2011 by Dr. YoshiUnity

[Nintendoga]

PETA's just a Joke!"

fixed

Mario fans: Relax! PETA’s game was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, a fun way to call attention to a serious issue, that raccoon dogs are skinned alive for their fur. We wish real-life tanukis could fly or swat enemies away with their tails and escape from those who profit from their skins. You can help them by never buying real fur.

Oh I see what you did there Peta.

You know, for a company trying to save the extinction of hundreds of animals such as "Tanukis", you'd think they'd have the common courtesy to spell their name right.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Mike Dawson

[sonfan1984]

I bet they were actually serious about it until all the Mario fans raged about it on their facebook page and they're only saying that it's a joke to cover up the fact that they're being complete dumbasses.

[Kuzu]

This just goes to show that hating on Mario is a taboo that should never be defied.

[Noir]

You know, for a company trying to save the extinction of hundreds of animals such as "Tanukis", you'd think they'd have the common courtesy to spell their name right.

[Red Cap]

They did spell it right.

I'm really glad to hear good things about this game, anyway. It's making a 3DS kind of tempting, though it seems short and Mario has never been very replayable to me. Eh.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Red Cap-Blue Spikes

[Old dead account]

If Sonic is going to continue having 2D sections in his modern gameplay, they should be pseudo 3D like this.

One thing that sort of bugs me is how the level tropes seem to be all over the place. There is no specific grass world or desert world...

[SuperStingray]

Enjoying the game so far, but the Tanooki Suit is overpowered as all hell. It's like playing Super Monkey Ball with the ability to hover off the edge of the stage.

EDIT: Just beat the game. Well, the main portion of it, anyway. I was kind of expecting it to be easy, but it still didn't quite have the "zest" I expected from a 3D Mario game. (I swear, in Mario games as of late it's harder to lose lives than earn them; I passed 100 by world 6 without even trying. I think they should just drop the lives system altogether.) I think Yahtzee was right about the Mario Galaxy games in that once you've hit such a grand scale, you really can't cut it down in the future. That said, it really did pick up towards the end of the game in the last two or three worlds- I noticed I was actually beginning to be challenged around that "sawblade" level. Also: best final boss fight in the main Mario series, hands down. Mario 64, Sunshine and both Galaxy games didn't really have endings as intense as they should have been because the fighting action had to be scaled back due to Mario's very simple combat abilities. This one worked though because it required Mario's strong point: platforming.

Edited November 18, 2011 by SuperStingray

[Thigolf]

Just beat the main mode and damn, the game is fantastic! Absolutely love it, a classic Mario game in 3D, like I always wanted it. The final boss was also really, really epic in my opinion. It's a bit on the easy side, but I still had a blast running through this levels. I loved how all the levels had something special or new to keep it fresh, not like in the classics where you got in a new world and all levels pretty much felt the same. I think this game could become my favorite mario game.

Edited November 19, 2011 by Thigolf

[JezMM]

Just finished the main adventure here too and what a ride! I actually really liked that they didn't do specific world genres, felt more "you never know what's coming next!"-ish and more in line with the 3D games than the 2D ones. Besides, having them all mixed up like this is more or less a gaurantee that not a single drop of creativeness was stifled here. They made a crapton of fun stages and then put them in the order of difficulty, simple as.

While Mario 64 is my favourite 3D Mario game and I've wanted a non-linear one for a while... goddamn when they keep improving their linear Mario games THIS much with each new entry, it's hard to argue really. This level design was just sublime. Perfect length, perfect variety, perfect difficulty, it doesn't get tighter than this. I was never bored ONCE. ONCE.

My only, seriously, single, criticism for the game would be that all those really cool surreal levels deserved better than the Mario 3 Athletic theme for their music. I would have loved some more atmospheric music on par with the 3D game soundtracks for stuff like that forest stage with the fireflies and things. I would accuse them of being lazy by reusing a few pieces of music from Galaxy but gosh, Galaxy has such a gorgeous soundtrack, I can't blame em really. It's only like 2 or 3 tunes anyway. Love that Boo house theme.

EDIT: Oh, with regards to the lives dilemma, I think there is a simple solution. Unfortunately they cannot really reward players for feats of skill without anything other than 1-Ups and coins or else they'll just overcomplicate the amount of stuff to collect.

So, what I figure is, make it so you need 200 coins to get a life, and make 1-ups come in pieces so you need 3 or so to earn a full 1-up. Can keep the same amount of stuff to grab and rewards to earn in the levels, without the actual output being overboard.

Hey, at least they made the life counter 3 digits this time though... they are aware of the life inflation at least? Lol.

Edited November 19, 2011 by JezMM

[Doctor MK]

Add me to the list of people who have beaten the main game and absolutely loved it!

Seriously, I don't know why, but I wasn't massively hyped for this beforehand. I was looking forward to it, sure - I'm a massive Mario fan - but the odd few negative previews made me wary. Boy oh boy were they wrong. This is an absolute masterpiece of creativity and without a doubt the best game on 3DS at the moment. Not only is it the finest parts of the classic games mixed with the look and feel of the Galaxy series, it also makes 3D worthwhile. All of my other 3DS games, I'd eventually get fed up of the 3D effect and just turn it off to save battery power. Not in Super Mario 3D Land. In every single level it feels like a crucial part of the experience, and I couldn't imagine playing it without it. Congratulations Nintendo, you have justified your handheld's new gimmick.

Now, to traverse the lands beyond the main game... I am expecting to get my butt well and truly kicked.

AND I CAN'T WAIT.

[speedfreak]

Just finished up the post game content as Mario and let me tell you some of those later levels can be pretty tricky!

FUCK YOU COSMIC MARIO THAT GROWS REALLY BIG FOR SOME REASON!

Anyway now I just have to finish the levels as Luigi. I've already collected all the star coins and got the golden flag poles for every stage. Can't wait to see what the final reward (if there is one) is for doing that. Also I've got the 4 shiny stars (I assume the 5th comes after completing the game with Luigi) showcasing that I made it through any given level without dieing 5+ times. Feels good man.

Really loved the game. I was pleasantly surprised also considering I thought it only looked okay from trailers. Easily my favorite 3DS game, and one of my favorite Mario games too! The final boss being really epic and great was the icing on the cake. I really love when the final boss delivers in a game considering it's usually the last memory of the game you take away with you.

[Swiss]

...Damnit.

Now I'm going to have to go buy this tomorrow morning. :I

[speedfreak]

...Damnit.

Now I'm going to have to go buy this tomorrow morning. :I

If you already have a 3DS I can't recommend this game enough. DO IT!

[Ultimate Waffle]

Wow, they really touched up the controls

[PSI Wind]

Wow, they really touched up the controls

Well, the demo WAS the E3 2011 demo.

[Ultimate Waffle]

Well, the demo WAS the E3 2011 demo.

The one from NYCC to?

[PSI Wind]

The one from NYCC to?

Yeah. The same levels and everything.

[Koopalmier]

I played this game non-stop as soon as I bought it.

Got 16 hours and a half of playtime after doing

the 8 normal worlds and the 8 special worlds

Now I'm doing all the levels as

Luigi

to get the 5th start on the file. Also, I'm at 160 deaths by now (a couple late levels were hardcore, yo). Didn't see the super guide though, my stars are shiny. :3

Best game I ever played.

Edited November 20, 2011 by Koopalmier

[NiGHTS]

There is a reason why Mario is king, my god this game was amazing. Best game I played this year in my opinion. I didn't even expect this to beat Generations for me. The length... level design is what made it for me, it brought me to believe this is a true hand held experience for Mario, at its best.

[Kuzu]

I guess I have a reason to get a 3DS huh.

[SuperStingray]

I guess I have a reason to get a 3DS huh.

[-Mark-]

Right, I'm pretty near the end of the post-game now.

I will say one thing, I do disagree with the claims that the game is too short and easy, personally. Granted, I'm admittedly quite bad at 2D Mario games (and, let's face it, despite being a 3D Mario game, it very much plays -and feels like- like a 2D one), but I found it quite tricky in places.

I will give one criticism however, which could perhaps be controversial, as it's more aimed at the Mario series (in particular the 2D games) in general, rather than just 3D Land. See, as sound as Mario gameplay is (I'm by no means saying the stages etc are of poor quality), I have a problem with how most Mario stages are just so.... generic and forgettable. Saying they go for quantity over quality wouldn't be true, but at the same time, the short, sharp and linear nature of most stages just makes them feel like generic obstacle courses. There's rarely anything particularly memorable about any one particular level, in my opinion.

I mean, Mario 64 (and to a lesser extent, sunshine) had memorable stages. Because there were less of them, and they made them more mission-based, you replayed the same stage lots, and each one had a distinctive theme. It felt more like an actual environment rather than a generic obstacle course floating in mid-air. That's one thing I prefer about Sonic stages, too. Even in cases where the level IS just a highway in the sky, at least it's themed like a city/ forest/ factory or what have you.

I guess the thing that bugs me a little about 3D Land is that, whilst it's definitely a solid, good game, it very much feels like "Another generic Mario game". It doesn't really do anything new, different or interesting, yet at the same time you can't argue that it's a good game. It just feels like more of the same, though.

[Your Vest Friend]

I think the only 2D Mario level to ever not feel generic to me was NSMBW's 8-7.This is probably why most 2D Marios interest me very little.

Edited November 23, 2011 by VEDJ-F