WORDS Chris Rooke
Super Mario 3D World has an awful lot to live up to. With a console and arguably the most prominent gaming mascot around both wanting to cement their relevance in the next-generation market, what does 3D World bring to the table?
The most prominent change is the addition of multiplayer, a first for a 3D Mario title. This isn’t bolted on: it’s very clear that the game has been designed with multiplayer in mind, and it works phenomenally well. As a drop-in, drop-out approach is used it’s not necessary to have multiple players to complete the game, but it becomes much more fun once you do: helping or hindering each other’s progress, as well as completing the puzzles in each course. The levels accommodate and encourage that type of behaviour, and it’s a terrific achievement that should not be reversed in future titles.
When it comes to innovative gameplay, 3D World doesn’t manage to replicate the magic of what came before it: there are too few new ideas, and they are not expanded upon beyond their basic forms. Brief moments of elation occur when one of these new ideas, such as the levels featuring Plessie the Dinosaur, or the 100-second dash levels, appears, but as soon as that course is completed, the moment is gone. There also appears to be an issue with depth: without the 3D screen available, it’s far more difficult to judge distances and jumps — given that wasn’t a problem with previous console Mario games, one wonders if the translation to the big screen hasn’t gone entirely to plan.
While new ideas might be few and far between, all the old favourites from previous titles are included. The level design is as wonderful as always, and is aided by the new power-ups available. The Super Bell which turns Mario into a cat allows him to scramble into previously inaccessible areas (and to find all the hidden Green Stars and stamps, that means scaling every wall around), while the Clone Berries allow the player to control up to five Marios on screen at once, leading to interesting puzzles, although it’s a tough challenge to keep them all alive.
Despite the game’s lack of new or innovative ideas, there is no reason to disregard it. 3D World is arguably the best game currently on Wii U, and offers a better platforming experience than the vast majority of games on other platforms. The multiplayer is a revelation, and while none of the level mechanics are likely to wow you as they may have done in previous titles, the solid platforming and entertaining variety of levels are likely to enthral you as they did before.
