It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a proper release in the Mario Land series of games. Sure, Mario has been busier than the plumber at a frat house since his last Mario Land game almost 20 years ago, with trips to the golf course, soccer pitch, and space on his resume. But he hasn’t stared in a proper Mario Land entry since 1992, when Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins came out on the Game Boy (Mario Land 3 stared Wario as the protagonist). That all changed when Super Mario 3D Land was released for the 3DS, creating the first must-have game for the system.
Super Mario 3D Land is a blend of classic 2D platforming from the original games and the new(ish) 3D platforming most recently seen in the Super Mario Galaxy games. While this sounds like an odd combination, it works well. The levels are perfectly suited to take on in small bits, fitting the portable nature well. There are eight worlds to run through with 4-5 levels in each one. The worlds don’t have a theme running through each one like other Mario games, so you basically get a random collection of levels followed by a boss fight. While all that may seem like a small amount of content, that’s only the beginning, as eight brand new worlds appear after vanquishing Bowser (oh, yeah, spoiler alert). The difficulty starts off very easy, as it should for this type of game, and has a nice steady curve as you progress through the game. The later levels in the 2nd set of worlds really step up their game, especially if you’re trying to collect all the star medals hidden throughout each level. To give some perspective, my profile said I lost over 440 lives in my quest to finish every single level and collect every star medal. That’s a purge Ben Linus would be proud of.
So there’s a lot to do, but is it any fun? Of course it is, it’s a Mario game! The levels are classic Mario and are fun to replay over and over. The game is easy to control for the most part, as the triumphant return of the Tanooki suit (PETA be damned) from Super Mario Bros. 3 helps with jumping by giving you some hover time. Sadly, there is no actual flying to be had here, as there were worries about implementing that in a 3D space. There were times where I had trouble judging where I would land, even with the 3D slider all the way up, so all is not perfect. The other new power-ups are pretty cool too, especially the boomerang suit. Overall, I would also have liked to see Mario run a little faster, but that’s a small gripe.
The graphics and sound in Super Mario 3D Land are another homerun for the series. The worlds are bright and colorful and the quality is at least at Wii level, if not a little better. The 3D effect is well utilized and never gets in the way, even helping on some puzzles. Musically there are a lot of songs borrowed from older Mario games (mostly from Mario 3), but they are spruced up and changed enough that it doesn’t get old. The new songs are also catchy and happy like you’d expect a Mario song to be. And of course Mario is always yelling out a “woohoo!” or an “aah haaa!” whenever he gets the chance.
Another nice touch implemented is StreetPass support. When you get a StreetPass from someone that has also played the game, you get either a special Mystery Box level, Toad House, or both. The Toad Houses are helpful little treasure spots that provide better rewards the more you pass the same person. Meet someone once, get a mushroom or a fire flower. Meet someone five times, get your pick of any power-up you want. You also can see how long it took your StreetPass rivals to finish a level, which gives another replay incentive.
I’ve been a Mario fan almost as long as I’ve been a video game fan. His adventures are always top notch, and Super Mario 3D Land doesn’t break that streak. From the great level design to the catchy music, this is yet another example of what a video game should be. Though not perfect, Super Mario 3D Land is undoubtedly a system seller. Bottom line, if you own a 3DS, you should own this game.
