Review cover Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo 3DS)
User Review

Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): November 13, 2011
  • Release Date (EU): November 18, 2011
  • Release Date (JP): November 3, 2011
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo
  • Genres: Platformer, action

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

Review Approach:

Reviewed on Nintendo 3DS (Original, 2011)
Super Mario 3D Land is a 3D platformer, released in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the fifth entry in the 3D Mario series, which consists of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land (this game), Super Mario 3D World, and finally, Super Mario Odyssey. 3D Land also stands as the first 3D Mario title released for a handheld. Upon release, the game was met with universal critical acclaim, with it earning a score of 90 on Metacritic. NZGamer awarded it with a score of 9.8/10, stating "It's the best game on the 3DS and it justifies the purchase of the system all by itself.". Pocket Gamer UK agreed, awarding it with a 9/10, proclaiming "Time to dust off that 3DS and let Mario do what he does best - Super Mario 3D Land is pure entertainment from start to finish.". In recent years, however, it has been seen as quaint when compared to it's Wii U sequel, Super Mario 3D World. So, are modern gamers unfairly judging the game, or is it really a shallow experience? Let's take a look.
Super Mario 3D Land begins on a dark and stormy nite, and... oh, Bowser, ah, spot the difference. To give the game credit, there are interludes in between stages, but all of them are the same. Mario is running on the Windows XP background, and finds a floating letter supposedly sent by Peach, showing her evading Bowser and his minions. I appreciate the fact that the game continuously does this, but it isn't anything noteworthy. Don't mistake this as being a crippling issue or anything, but it is kinda disappointing after the grandiose tone of the Galaxy games. Oh well.

After the more linear design of the Super Mario Galaxy titles, 3D Land goes even further, with it implementing the same control style as the 2D Mario games, to a fault. Mario jumps with A/B, crouches with R, and runs/throws with X/Y. This makes sense in a 2D game, as they primarily utilize digital inputs, but with the 3DS' circle pad, it just doesn't make sense. This is strange to say about such a simple game, but the addition of a run button overcomplicates the control scheme. Long play sessions can be actively painful after a few hours, and for no reason whatsoever. This becomes especially problematic with the game requires the player to time boomerang throws (with the Boomerang Flower power-up, which allows Mario to throw a single boomerang to defeat enemies and collect items) to collect items, especially on moving platforms, areas with several enemies around, or both at the same time. I can't stress enough how unnecessary this addition is. I'm getting ahead of myself here, but Super Mario 3D World justifies the run button, as it utilizes every controller option that the Wii U has at its disposal, including single Wii remotes. 3D Land has no excuse.

Similar to previous 3D Mario titles, Mario can perform several different jumps in combination with other inputs. In 3D Land, he can sideflip by holding the stick in one direction, suddenly pushing it in another direction, and jumping appropriately. He can charge up a jump by holding R for a short period and jumping, which substitutes the backflip from the other games. Moving while crouching will allow you to... move while crouching. Holding R and jumping while moving while allow Mario to perform the long jump, crossing far distances. Pressing the run button while holding R allows Mario to roll, opening up many alternate paths in stages. After jumping into a wall, Mario can jump off of it to reach alternate paths and collect items. Finally, pressing R in the air with see Mario completely stopping and slamming to the ground, allowing him to break bricks and destroy enemies. Strangely, Mario's signature triple jump is conspicuously absent in 3D Land. This makes 3D Land (and 3D World) stick out like a sore thumb when playing, say, a 3D Mario marathon, or just for those used to other 3D Mario titles.

3D Land doesn't just fail to encourage the player to explore their moveset, but actively discourages it. Nearly all of Mario's abilities have been nerfed so much to be completely useless, particularly the Long Jump, as the normal jump provides just as much distance and significantly more height. Those who are at all used to other 3D Mario titles and those who attempt to explore Mario's moveset will be consistently punished by the level design. The game plays fine when the player understands this, but it renders nearly all of Mario's extra abilities obsolete. Insert transition to level design discussion here.

3D Land's level design is significantly different than previous Mario games. Mario 64 featured large, open stages that encourage the player to explore to their heart's content. Sunshine's stages follow a similar direction, although the individual challenges change the stage significantly, providing a more linear and polished experience. Galaxy would take the same system, shorter stage counts that reuse them for several objectives, but the switch to more focused, straightforward stages provide a bit of an identity crisis. Nothing about the design takes advantage of this system either, as different objectives in the same stage are often completely unrelated. Galaxy 2 is a significant improvement, as it decreases the amount of objectives per stage, and the objectives build upon each other. The more linear structure of the stage unlock system means that the player absolutely has to experience many stages, allowing the game to build upon all previous stage gimmicks later in the game. 3D Land's stage unlock system is even more linear, as it requires the player to finish every single main stage. The stages themselves are as linear as it gets. The Galaxy games were similarly linear, but those games have much more variety in terms of objectives. In both, the goal is to reach *insert thing here, but Galaxy often requires the player to do another... tthhiinngg at the end. 3D Land, meanwhile, is always just GET TO THE END.

In terms of level design, while it is great, polished Mario fun, it never achieves the insane heights of 3D World's absolutely sublime difficulty progression. The game always knows exactly when to introduce a new idea, and when to flesh about this mechanic and that mechanic. 3D Land, meanwhile, doesn't really do much. It feels... well, quaint. Often times gimmicks are just kinda there, and that's it. It all just goes through one ear and out the other. Ultimately, the game lacks the flow of the 2D titles, and isn't as well developed as 3D World. If you asked me to describe how 3D World fleshes out the flip panel platform things in 3D World, I can go at it for several minutes. If you asked me to describe the stages with them in 3D Land, I'd be at a loss for words.

The only bosses in 3D Land are Bowser, the returning Boom Boom from Super Mario Bros 3, and newcomer Pom Pom. In the case of those ladder two, you must evade their attacks and jump on their head. Repeat 3 times, it is painfully simple. Bowser is a lot more interesting. During Bowser fights, Mario must evade attacks until he reaches the button at the end. The player never directly attacks the boss, so it might not really be a boss, but you still have to pay attention to the boss' position and attacks. They be fun.

After completing the game, Mario will unlock a pipe to the Special Worlds, which is a series of remixed and some new (I think) stages. The sheer amount of them is impressive, and will they'll keep you busy for a while. All of the stages are mixed up, so 6-2 Remix isn't necessarily based off of 6-2. This helps keep them from becoming tiring. In general, these post game stages are fantastic, and without a doubt the highlight of 3D Land. They all take the main stages and their gimmicks and throw them in much more tense situations. After the first boss stage in the Special World, the player unlocks Luigi. While he does have a slightly higher jump and slippier traction, it is far more subtle than other Mario games. These stages also introduce Cosmic Mario, a copy of Mario that will very aggressively chase the player down. It's a fantastic gimmick, but if I had to complain about something, the devs use it a bit too often.

Each stage includes 3 *optional collectables, the Star Medals. A few of these are required to access the final stage in each world. The requirements in the Special Worlds are far stricter than the main ones, making unlocking more Special World stages the main reward for collecting them. The game doesn't tell you about how many you need beforehand, so a minimalist player could potentially have to replay stages.

3D Land is a great looking game for 3DS. Despite what most say, the stages here don't all just abide to the GRASS DESERT BEACH MOUNTAIN FOREST LAVA tropes. While yes, the worlds do, the stages themselves branch out to several different themes. Even when they play it straight, the color choices are often distinct enough to help alleviate the feeling of monotony. Still, it does crop up occasionally. The music is great as well, er, what's new is great. A majority of the game are just slight remixes of tracks from the Galaxy games, and it just doesn't fit with the new music. While the selection isn't as limited as most Mario games, which often repeat music for several very different stages, it is still quite repetitive. Great music regardless. Another thing I really have to praise 3D Land for is how well it utilizes the 3DS' 3D effect. Throughout the game, there are quite of few eye-symmetric puzzle rooms that require the player to observe the environment and find a path to the Star Medal. Even in the main stages, 3D is used to great effect and helps a lot with observing the environment properly. I think it speaks to the strength of the design that I left the 3D on max for my entire playthrough, even playing on an original 3DS.

So, to answer the question at the beginning of the review, Super Mario 3D Land is shallow in comparison to its sequel, and doesn't have anything to really keep you from just playing 3D World.

Verdict

What I Liked ...
  • Great (albeit repetitive) music
  • Fantastic post-game stages
  • Fun collectable... collection
  • Eye-popping visuals
  • Excellent usage of the 3DS' 3D feature
What I Didn't Like ...
  • Mediocre mini-bosses
  • Repetitive music
  • Poor utilization of mechanics
  • Unnecessary mechanical changes
  • Shallow level design (in main stages)
5
Gameplay
While the gameplay is polished, it isn't much more. The general controls and mechanics are clumsy and more complex than they really should be, and that's not helped by the stage design's reluctance to utilize those mechanics in meaningful ways. While the main stages are quite lacking in depth, the post-game stages significantly improve, with much more engaging layouts and enemy placement.
8
Presentation
3D Land boasts some truly great visuals, which are helped by the fantastic 3D feature and the killer (but repetitive) soundtrack.
8
Lasting Appeal
The game features tons of optional content that would normally keep you coming back for quite some time, but the game is unfortunately rendered obsolete by its sequel, which does everything it accomplished, but better, and with plenty more ideas to spare.
6.5
out of 10

Overall

While Super Mario 3D Land features great music and visuals, and the abundance of optional content is appreciated, it still falls flat. Stages fail to capitalize on its mechanics to their fullest, and the game ultimately feel empty because of it. Not only that, but its sequel implement pretty much everything in it, but far better. While Super Mario 3D Land is a fun game in the moment, it fails to leave any sort-of impact. I would recommend you play it if you just want more Mario, there are still many other titles that I'd put above it.
Super Mario 3D Land is a good game for playing occasionally without having to think or concentrate much. Good for killing waiting time or when sitting in a bus.

My biggest complaint is the virtually non-existent difficulty. Only some(!) of the special stages offer a minimal challenge. The final bonus stage is pretty fun.
==========

As for the review: I mostly agree but would not compare 64/Sunshine/Galaxy with 3D Land/World. They are all 3D games, but the traditional "reach the flag" is vastly different from the approach of the more complex 3D games.
 
H
Super Mario 3D Land is a good game for playing occasionally without having to think or concentrate much. Good for killing waiting time or when sitting in a bus.

My biggest complaint is the virtually non-existent difficulty. Only some(!) of the special stages offer a minimal challenge. The final bonus stage is pretty fun.
==========

As for the review: I mostly agree but would not compare 64/Sunshine/Galaxy with 3D Land/World. They are all 3D games, but the traditional "reach the flag" is vastly different from the approach of the more complex 3D games.
What do you mean more "complex" 3D games? The only things separating Galaxy 2 stages from 3D World's are the length of the stage, the dynamic camera, and the planetary gravity gimmick. Saying that we shouldn't compare one to the other is, well, ludicrous. Comparing stages to stars in the different 3D Mario game types reveals that they aren't so different. Yes, 3D Land/World have dedicated stages, whereas the others reuse other stages, but in Sunshine, Galaxy and Galaxy 2 they are so tailored for one particular mission that they may as well be dedicated stages. The only difference is that the other games require the player to do an extra t h i n g at the end.
 
What do you mean more "complex" 3D games? The only things separating Galaxy 2 stages from 3D World's are the length of the stage, the dynamic camera, and the planetary gravity gimmick.
I still disagree. Your examples are enough for me to not find them comparable. The camera system alone makes 64/Sunshine/Galaxy feel completely different and more complex. There also are certain things to do before progressing (might call it mini puzzles) instead of just racing to the finish, 100 Coin "challenges" and a different kind of boss fights – at least for the Galaxy games.

Saying that we shouldn't compare one to the other is, well, ludicrous.
That is no basis for discussion. Calling a different opinion ludicrous is not very nice. I never said "we shouldn't compare one to the other", but "I would not do it."
 
H
I still disagree. Your examples are enough for me to not find them comparable. The camera system alone makes 64/Sunshine/Galaxy feel completely different and more complex. There also are certain things to do before progressing (might call it mini puzzles) instead of just racing to the finish, 100 Coin "challenges" and a different kind of boss fights – at least for the Galaxy games.


That is no basis for discussion. Calling a different opinion ludicrous is not very nice. I never said "we shouldn't compare one to the other", but "I would not do it."
You are nitpicking and baised. I win, bye bye.
 
H
I still disagree. Your examples are enough for me to not find them comparable. The camera system alone makes 64/Sunshine/Galaxy feel completely different and more complex. There also are certain things to do before progressing (might call it mini puzzles) instead of just racing to the finish, 100 Coin "challenges" and a different kind of boss fights – at least for the Galaxy games.


That is no basis for discussion. Calling a different opinion ludicrous is not very nice. I never said "we shouldn't compare one to the other", but "I would not do it."
Actually though sorry for that. I used ludicrous just for exaggeration's sake, but I really should've clarified that.
 
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H
This is more like a 2.5 land; the 3D aspect of the game is not fully utilised in all the stages
This isn't 2.5D. 2.5D is some extension of 2D with 3D visuals, not a 3D game that references a 2D game. This is far too specific. I'm right, you're wrong. All that matters is what I think of a video game that stars a cartoon plumber
 
Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): November 13, 2011
  • Release Date (EU): November 18, 2011
  • Release Date (JP): November 3, 2011
  • Publisher: Nintendo
  • Developer: Nintendo
  • Genres: Platformer, action
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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