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Review: Super Mario 3D Land for Nintendo 3DS
It’s hard to get across, in words and even still images or video, what Nintendo has done with its long-suffering mascot, Mario, in “Super Mario 3D Land,” a new game for the Nintendo 3DS handheld.
That’s because the game is one of the first that uses the 3DS’s glasses-free 3-D in a way that actually does it right; it enhances the gameplay, allows the level design to go crazy with top-down-perspective challenges and sneaky stacks of bricks arranged in eye-straining ways, and makes the franchise feel free, yet again.
In other words, when it’s firing on all mushrooms, it’s darn-near magical, the kind of a-list, must-play game the 3DS has so desperately needed. Since it launched in late March, the console — which seemed so impressive when it debuted — sputtered from complaints about its battery life and a lack of games that made good use of the 3-D. Things got so bad that Nintendo uncharacteristically dropped the price by $80 in July.
Now, months later, we have “3D Land” and “Mario Kart 7” (which I’ve had a chance to play with briefly), two stellar Nintendo-developed games that finally make a convincing case for the 3DS. (What still might kill the 3DS? A lack of great games to follow these; let’s hope there are more.)
What’s the game like? It’s fun, it’s short compared to most Mario games (especially compared to behemoths like “Super Mario 64” or the “Super Mario Galaxy” games) and the 3-D adds an element of depth that goes beyond merely having things pop out at you. There are lots of jumping puzzles, lots of situations where flying objects (hazards and coins alike) float toward the player and must be avoided or captured.
Other than the clever use of perspective (a “Q*Bert” style room where stacked platforms trick the eye in an optical illusion), the gameplay is similar to most Mario games. There’s a princess to be saved, mushrooms to consume and evil turtles to avoid. In this game, Mario uses the Tanooki suit made popular in “Super Mario Bros. 3” and can also wield boomerangs with a different power-up suit.
The game isn’t too difficult, mostly because the levels are so short. Whether this has to do with the 3DS’s battery life or the fact that too much 3-D can cause eyestrain for some players, it’s not hard to zip through three or four levels in a matter of minutes. There are also a lot of favors done for players who are… not good? If you die too many times, a leaf power-up appears that can defeat foes more easily. And if you really mess up, a different object appears that can zip you to the end of the level.
Cheating or just a way to relieve frustration? It’s tempting when you’ve died too many times on one particular level, but also a way to induce gamer’s guilt to use these.
Either way, it’s not hard to finish the game’s eight worlds, even if the difficulty ramps up considerably on World 8, which also contains a fake-out that extends the game even further.
“Super Mario 3D Land” is often joyous fun, the kind of fresh, eye-bending experience that the 3DS really needs. There are those who won’t enjoy the 3-D no matter how well it’s presented, but if it doesn’t bother your eyes, it’s a must-play for any Mario fan.
“Super Mario 3D Land”
$40, for Nintendo 3DS
Rated E for Everyone
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