I’m not the biggest fan of 3D Mario games. I completed every 2D Mario game, but I found the 3D-ness of games like Mario 64 to be somewhat challenging to control. Old dog, new tricks that kind of thing. In fact, the only 3D Mario game that I completed was Super Mario Sunshine and it was because I could effectively “cheat” by hovering around with that jetpack until I could land on the necessary platforms. So when I started playing Super Mario 3D Land, I was expecting frustration and rage quitting. I wasn’t expecting to actually finish the game completely.
Playing The Game
The game is a 3D platform game. The objective is to navigate platform to platform either avoiding monsters, trying not to fall off the platforms whilst trying to reach the flagpole at the end of the level. The story or purpose probably doesn’t make any sense, but you’re not really playing for the storyline. To help you on your way, you do get a variety of powerups to help you along the way. This game saw the return of the raccoon tail, last seen in Super Mario Bros 3 and a Boomerang Bros suit which joins the staple fire flower and mushroom.
Game Analysis
This is going to be tricky because I’ve played so many Super Mario Bros games before. So it makes it hard to view the game with the fresh eyes that I was able to do with other games in the past. But let’s see how I go.
What Worked
- Playing the game with 3D mode on – Ok, so it’s not really a game design feature, but I’m going to say that the game felt a lot easier to control and jump on the small little platforms with the 3D mode turned on (3D in this context refers to the depth of vision 3D that you can see in current movies). Providing that sense of depth made it easier for me, at least easier that when I played previous 3D Mario games (this 3D refers to freely roaming the world and not running in a straight line). In fact, this has probably been the only game so far on the Nintendo 3DS that has been enhanced by 3D mode. Most other games I turn it off because it gives me headaches.
- The challenge modes were frustratingly challenging (which I liked) - I’m sure I speak for most people and I wanted to punch that stupid cosmic Mario in the face. Cosmic Mario would follow your path about 1 second behind where you just were, if you touched him you lost your power ups or if you had no power ups, then you were dead. It made it so you couldn’t stay in one place for very long. The other challenge was the limited time and you could gain more time by jumping on Goombas (or other monsters). It made you hustle through the game which gave a good sense of accomplishment when you finish the levels.
- The 3D but linear level designs - I was struggling to find a third point, but I did like the “linear” aspect of the 3D levels which gave a nice and clear start to finish of the level. The goal in the game was clear unlike some of the other 3D Mario games that I’ve played where the goals were varied. It was a great blend of the 2D level design but played in 3D.
What Didn’t Work
- Charitable Power Ups – I know that I didn’t need to use them, but if you died too much in a level (in the non-special world) you would eventually get a invincible raccoon tail. Meaning, none of the bad things could hurt you, and you could float around. To be honest, the game didn’t need that even for beginners especially when the game finally got challenging (for me) there was no charity (which is a good thing).
- Mandatory Star Coin Collection and Mandatory Paths – What I liked about previous Mario games was the optional collection of star coins. So you could finish the game (i.e. kill the last boss) without the need to find all the hidden secrets. This gave you something challenging to come back to when you’d finished the game. Unfortunately, they made Star Coin collection mandatory as well as a straight linear path for the map (something which they haven’t had since probably Super Mario Bros 1). I guess it’s true that volunteering to do stuff feels a lot better than being forced to do it.
- Lives, ? Blocks, coins were all meaningless – Special world 1-1, gave me everything I needed 2x Tanooki suits and heaps of lives. It’s like Raph Koster stated in his book, A Theory of Fun for Game Design. I ended up “bottom feeding” from this level. So when they try to make the game more challenging by adding poisonous mushrooms inside ? blocks and the fact that I ended the game with over 400 spare lives. It meant there was no reason for me to hit the ? blocks. So I just ran through and skipped them all.
Final Comments
Overall, I found the game enjoyable even moreso since my schedule at the moment doesn’t allow much time for gaming. The levels were designed in a challenging way such that I could game in 10 minute blocks completing a level without the feeling of gamer regret. I do have a gripe about the 3DS though and the need to be looking dead on to see the 3D. I have a tendency to move my hands (not wildly but it’s not perfectly motionless) when I play which ends up putting the 3D out when you’re looking at it. Your brain sometimes goes, you can move your head to see around that corner, but when you do the screen looks all funny. I still maintain my position that although the 3D view made this game easier to play, I’m really hoping that it doesn’t become a trend that seriously takes off.