Super Mario 3D World

Editor's Notes

'Super Mario 3D World' supports the Gamepad for off-TV play. Wii remotes and pro controllers are also supported for both single player and multiplayer.

Introduction

Once again Nintendo's plumber is out to save a damsel in distress, only this time it's the Wii U. Peach, Toad and Luigi are along for the ride in the first cooperative 3D Mario game, 'Super Mario 3D World.' As a direct sequel to the 3DS title, 'Super Mario 3D Land,' this latest adventure isn't releasing with quite the same fanfare as the phenomenal 'Super Mario Galaxy' titles, but leading up to the release, trailers and gameplay footage have shown off convincing evidence of the franchise's ever-fertile creativity. The Wii U certainly needs Mario back to form, and it falls on Nintendo to produce another gem, one that is distinct enough from the other 2D Mario Wii U titles to be considered a system-seller.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

The expectations for Mario games are astronomically, comically high, and to assume a sense of entitlement for a better Mario than the last, particularly of his 3D adventures, is to embrace irrationality at its heart. And yet we, I, do. That's the burden of historical greatness.

The Wii's 'Super Mario Galaxy' games dwarfed other 3D platformers and thereby defined generation; it's that simple, but Mario's comeback to the 3D platformer on the 3DS with 'Super Mario 3D Land' didn't achieve the same heights. As good as that game was, to match the expansiveness and zaniness of the Galaxy titles might've required a bit more drugs than is safe for your average game designer. Nevertheless, the sequel, the game in question, 'Super Mario World 3D,' is, in the format of its direct predecessor, a seemingly never-ending well of novelty and creativity in level design, lacking only the awe and cosmic attributes of the Wii classics.

Far and away, this is the Wii U's best game. Surprised? You will be when you play it.

Like 'Super Mario 3D Land,' this game is set up with an overarching structure much more similar to the 2D counterparts. Replacing an overworld with a traversable map, and affixing each level with essentially the same exact goal – get to the flagpole – 'Super Mario 3D World' might initially seem less ambitious that its console predecessors, but the further you go, the more you realize the team is focusing with laser precision on one very important thing: level design. Between the map and flagpole are a trove of ideas that fill each level with pinpointed and poignant entertainment.

And not a single level feels redundant or wasted. Importantly, not a moment or mechanic feels broken or unfair. You'll be riding on the back of Plessie, a water-surfing dinosaur, zipping by boost pads on a Mario Kart-inspired level, trading blows with baseballs in cooperative play and crawling up previously insurmountable walls in your new cat suit. But to list every little twist would take far too long, because it's the crux of the gameplay to never stay the same. Nothing becomes tired because nothing is overused, and everything, like that cat suit, like the duplicating cherry powerup, like Plessie, serve their purpose in an exacting and dazzlingly efficient way.

Speaking of Plessie, expect to see the might level mechanic/creature multiple times, but as a mid-level switch-up instead of a full-level challenge. Cat suits appear in levels of a vertical nature, but can also be saved to aid you elsewhere. Chucking baseballs at each other is as much devious fun as it is integral to capturing green stars in the off-kilter Mystery House levels. This kind of mix and match keeps the game fresh for as long as you want to play it.

With 'Super Mario 3D World,' the plumber has transcended arguments of redundancy, even as the game representis one of the few franchises out there that iterates fun-focused dynamics rather than as a TV show scratching for life. Mario is the testament to Nintendo's same character, fresh gameplay mantra.

Even more astonishing is the cooperative play. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is lost in the translation from one to two, three or four players, and the addition of friends transforms the game brilliantly. This is in stark contrast to the animosity-filled cooperative play from the 2D 'New Super Mario Brothers' series. Whether you're guiding a young nephew through some of the earlier levels or hunkering down with fellow diehards, juking it out for top score and a ridiculous crown worn in the next level, 'Super Mario 3D World' deserves a spot alongside 'Nintendo Land' as a premier party title for the console. Getting into it is easy, getting away from it is difficult.

Speaking of difficult, as has become tradition, the first half of 'Super Mario 3D World' is designed to introduce new, young players to the series. Nevertheless entertaining in sheer creativity, veterans won't find a challenge until later on in those post-Bowser levels. And be relieved, because there are a bunch of worlds designed specifically to amp things up. In fact, this may be the fullest Mario game to date, and the zanier the levels get, the harder they become. A cat suit that seems a bit overpowered becomes by degrees your last bet for survival.