(SPOILER ALERT) Yet another truly magical Mario adventure
A truly magical Mario adventure. It may not take many chances but it does everything with such flair it hardly matters.
Super Mario 3D World's gameplay isn't revolutionary by any means. It simply takes the tried and tested Mario formula and improves on it in almost every single way, adding a bunch of great new ideas along the way. The controls are flawlessly tight, the frame rate as smooth and rock solid as it has ever been and the new ideas (and there are plenty of them) all work like an absolute charm. There's the cat suit, which is the most adorable thing ever, allowing you to climb walls and reach areas of maps you otherwise couldn't. This gives a fun element of exploration to the levels on a level that I've never experienced in a 3D Mario game before. There's ideas used from all sorts of previous Mario games and the sliding Nessie levels which are similar to the N64's famous penguin slide level are a particular highlight. The ability to use 4 characters from the onset (including Peach) makes this game really unique in the Mario series. All the characters are well balanced and yet different enough to make using each of them a unique experience. I should also mention at this point that the boss battles are perhaps some of the most inventive of any Mario game. I thoroughly enjoyed them.
Another new addition are the excellent captain toad levels which bring a nice puzzle element to proceedings. Playing as captain toad who can't jump or attack means even the humble goomba is a mighty enemy and really brings some fresh gameplay to the table. Collecting the 5 green stars as our small hero is a lot of fun and requires good planning above reflexes!
The multiplayer is a chaotic but very fun experience when played against each other but I found it most enjoyable when working together to complete levels. It adds a completely new dimension to the game and I'd thoroughly recommend getting some friends round and giving it a blast!
Visually this blows all previous Mario games squarely out the park. It's an absolute stunner. The shiny sheen on everything and varied use of colour throughout the levels makes this a real feast for the eyes and quite possibly the best looking game I've yet to have the joy of playing on any console. The 3D and yet classically styled overworld is a great modern take on an old concept and really helps give the game a polished feel. It continues to wow me with it's visuals to this day, and I've played a lot of it.
Content wise there is plenty. There are 8 worlds with plenty of levels and a further Mario Galaxy inspired world (which is brilliant) that you unlock after completing the first 8 worlds. It doesn't end there though there are a few more worlds featuring fresh takes on other levels to unlock. Couple this plethora of worlds with the 3 stars and stamp to collect on each level and you've got a massive game. Collecting the stars feels fun and essential and although certainly challenging has as of yet never felt like a chore to me, and I've collected a lot of them!
In conclusion this is an absolute gem of a game and already belongs to my all-time favourites. It has that 'one more level' gameplay that gets you hooked and it's such a blast to play that I'm sure I'll be playing this for a long while yet. In fact I have trouble deciding whether Super Mario 64, Galaxy, Galaxy 2 or this are the best Mario game, which is high praise indeed!
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