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Super Mario 3D Land is five years old

T

TheDinoman

Member
Super-Mario-3D-Land-Logo.jpg


Five years ago today (in Japan time anyway), Nintendo released Super Mario 3D Land to the public, and to thunderous applause.

3D Land essentially marked a turning point for the 3DS, being its first fully original major title that could be considered a "killer app". Beforehand, all we had was stuff like Nintendogs, the OOT remake/port and minor shit like Pilotwings or Steel Diver. So 3D Land certainly couldn't have come sooner in that regard.

It was definitely worth the wait, though. At least in my eyes. I know some people don't care for the 2D Mario esque style they went with, but eh. Mario 3D World is the better game IMO but I'd argue this is the best portable adventure Mario has had. Just a really nice, bite sized platformer.
 
S

SpiceMelange

Member
I love the re imagining of Mario in 3D space, making it closer to a 2D Mario. Super Mario Sunshine's FLUDDless levels (my favorite part of that game) and various segments in Mario Galaxy were experimenting on that formula and it finally came into a full fledged game. After 3D land and 3D World though I'm ready for another Mario64-esque game, it's been a while.
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Best Mario game released in the last 5 years.
 
M

Magnetic_North

Member
I loved it I still fire it up every now and then

As you put it, it's a great bite sized Mario game

Good graphics, fun soundtrack only issue is the Tanooki suit is OP

Would love a 3DS sequel or a switch one
 
J

James Scott

Banned
Probably in the top 3 best 3DS games. I think 3D World is a better game in terms of content (3D Land was a little slim) but 3D Land was definitely a more impressive effort for the system it was on.
I think it and MK7 were the ones to turn it around since they released within a month of each other.
Would've been pretty nice if the 3DS launched around 4 months later with OOT 3D as a launch title with the wait for 3D Land being much shorter.
 
O

oti

Banned
I remember playing this game for the first time.

Whenever I play it I'm instantly happy. The music, the graphics, the levels. I love it so much.

I wish they'd release DLC for it. :(
 
M

maxcriden

Member
Super_Mario_3D_Land_Puzzle.gif


Wow, time flies. I remember surprising my wife with a Flame Red 3DS/3DL bundle on her birthday in December 2012. We were living in Vermont and we got up super early to drive down to a surprise location - our old neighborhood in Astoria, Queens. We spent the day going around NYC. Had amazing pizza at Motorino in the East Village, went to Times Square, Chinatown and Little Italy... came back to Astoria for a delicious dinner at a Mexican restaurant with some terrific cactus leaf tostadas. When we left the restaurant we forgot the leftovers so I ran back while my wife waited for me in front of the bakery whose cakes were featured in My Big Fat Greek Wedding. We got back to the car -- we'd parked under the Broadway St. Station -- and I put the leftovers in the trunk. I came back to the front seat and handed my wife a gift-wrapped box. I pretended to be confused and was like, "I found this in the trunk?" She's a huge Nintendo fan and was super elated. That little 3DS has gotten so many hours of play. Including many on that game, on DKCR 3D, and so many others.

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I recently revisited 3DL. Earlier this year, or maybe last year, I replayed W1-8 and enjoyed it quite a bit. Then when I had to go to my hometown of Buffalo for a wedding in September, I played through much of the Special Worlds. A couple of those levels in particular are brutally difficult to me, especially getting all 3 coins in each. And that's even with 3D on. I played some (most? all?) of the game with it on this time. I don't usually do so with 3DS (prone to migraines) but it didn't effect me negatively (migraine-wise) much if at all here, and the added depth was really useful. Anyway, I'd played these harder levels before and got stuck on some of the same ones. A couple weeks or so ago I beat S8, which I'd forgotten unlocks a final level in W8. I beat that as well, both of those were pretty tough for me. I know there's a super secret final level (that I never unlocked when originally playing it, either) but I haven't gotten every gold flagpole yet (most of them, though) or beaten any levels with Luigi... I want to wait to go back and do that till the game is a bit less fresh in my mind. I'll probably do W1-8 then take a break then S1-8, again. It's a good incentive for an eventual replay.

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I really enjoy the game quite a bit. It's an incredible, tight distillation of 2D Mario in the 3D space. The Christmas Mario Theme on 3DS has been on our home screen for nearly two years now, and uses the delightful music from this game.

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T

TheDinoman

Member
georly said:
My favorite mario since galaxy! May mario switch be half as good as this game.
Click to expand...

I'm definitely happy to see the triple jump come back. To be honest, I know a lot of people want a return to the more open ended design of Mario 64, and so do I to a degree, but I don't really mind the more linear level design. In a way I just think it can make the game feel more tighter and focused. Mario Galaxy 2's levels are linear as hell and IMO it's the best 3D Mario game Nintendo has made.
 
¡

¡HarlequinPanic!

Member
playing it for the first time with one of those new 3ds regular sizes with it packed in. I'm enjoying it, but like some other posters above posted, am up for more robust games. A bit too easy. like the castle levels and the perspective tricks that a lot of the pipe rooms use.
 
L

Lunarwhale

Member
Played it a month or two ago. I really dug 3D World, but something about this one didn't do it for me. It may just be the circle pad, but movement in it felt really weird and the perspective felt completely off in 2D mode. I missed more than a few jumps that looked to be lined up playing it like that - maybe that was an intentional design choice to sell you on the gimmick, but I didn't notice any cues at those segments to switch over.

It had some really fun levels otherwise. Crazy what a huge step up the 3DS was in terms of what Nintendo could do with their portables.
 
M

maxcriden

Member
Lunarwhale said:
Played it a month or two ago. I really dug 3D World, but something about this one didn't do it for me. It may just be the circle pad, but movement in it felt really weird and the perspective felt completely off in 2D mode. I missed more than a few jumps that looked to be lined up playing it like that - maybe that was an intentional design choice to sell you on the gimmick, but I didn't notice any cues at those segments to switch over.

It had some really fun levels otherwise. Crazy what a huge step up the 3DS was in terms of what Nintendo could do with their portables.
Click to expand...

IMO it's the only Nintendo game where 3D is an absolute must when playing, if you can tolerate it. The perspective can be very weird without it. 3D helps a lot in Kid Icarus and Kirby and others but is most crucial here I think.
 
Aldric

Aldric

Member
l think it's a very underrated game. lt was a perfect fit for the system, taking advantage of stereoscopic 3D in ways very few other 3DS games did, it brought quite a few interesting new mechanics and used old ones in fresh and clever ways, and it probably has the best final Bowser battle in the series. lt's vastly superior to 3D World yet sadly people get fooled by the superior production values of the Wii U title.
 
H

Hylian7

Member
The Mario game that was the foundation for the best Mario game.

I've talked about this before, but as weird as it sounds, I was disappointed by Mario 64 just because it wasn't what I wanted it to be: A 2D Mario translated to 3D. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVED Mario 64, but also being younger at the time I didn't know how impractical that was. This was why 3D Land and 3D World had the 8-way direction lock. Mario 3D Land and 3D World had a way to do that, and 3D World really perfected the idea.
 
H

Haganeren

Member
That game made felt desperate for good Mario games, i really disliked it and find it very boring.... LIke New Super Mario Bros games (Doesn't help that i disliked Galaxy 2 after loving Galaxy 1)

Then 3D World came out.... And i smiled again...
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
I remember seeing the initial footage of this game and thinking it looked slow, boring, and unimaginative.

I was fucking wrong.
 
R

Rootbeer

Banned
The best portable mario game, period!

I really wonder about the future of games like this now that we are getting Nintendo Switch. What room does the Switch have for Mario games that aren't AAA like the one we saw in the Switch unveil video? We've had some really great portable mario games.
 
C

CrispyGoomba

Member
I remember I begged my sister to drive me to Target on release date to get the game. This was back when I didn't have a driver licenses, I hadn't graduated from high school or college, and Nintendo games released on Sundays. Time really does fly.

Game was worth it and the only other game I had at the time was OoT. Although a little short, I was able to squeeze a little bit more playtime with collecting all the medals and beating the last level.
 
R

Red

Member
I played through it this year for the first time. It was good. Had many charming moments. Truly excellent controls. Was a little disappointed by its lack of difficulty. Wish there were more stages like 8-crown. The entire first half of the game is excruciatingly simple... it feels like an extended run up to the massive post-game content. I didn't think it measured up to the Galaxy games in scope or imagination. But it was still pretty good.

I really like the rotating colored block aesthetic that showed up in a few stages. Reminded me of SMB3 and its floating blocks. I think those were some of my favorite stages, for their color and momentum.
 
T

To Far Away Times

Member
A must play game.

One of the leanest and tightest playing 3D games ever made.

And it laid the ground work for its super sequel, Super Mario 3D World, which is the game of the generation for me.
 
K

Kyuur

Member
Depending on the style of the Switch game, could very well be the 5th anniversary of the game that ruined 3D Mario forever.

Ok, ruined is a bit harsh, but it's definitely divisive. I prefer the acrobatic exploratory form of 3D Mario.
 
G

GamerJM

Banned
Really fantastic game and the one that justified the 3DS' gimmick the best to me by a fair margin. I like it more than 3D World, mostly because I feel like the game's smaller levels and bite-sized portable design fits the structure better. It's one of the last games I've played that felt truly designed for a portable system.

As for how long ago it seems.....hm, five years is a long time, but it does seem like a lot has happened in my life since then. I remember playing this game over Thanksgiving Break during senior year of high school, now I'm in my fifth year of college. I remember the day before break started having very vivid conversations with people at school who I haven't seen in years now. A month later I got my first laptop though, and it still doesn't seem that long ago that having my own computer and buying games on Steam was new.
 
G

Garcia el Gringo

Member
I like how snappy it felt to play and how tightly designed it generally was, and that validated linear 3D Mario to me after being a devoted fan of the 64-style and being an odd duck who was lukewarm on the Galaxy titles. It's probably my favorite Nintendo game of generation 8, and I absolutely would want to see more Mario titles like this alongside a return to the 64-style or another re-imagining for the series; I can't make heads or tails of the Switch 3D Mario game we saw, but whatever it is it looks delicious.

There were plenty of fans who were used to their 3DS by the time 3D Land came out, but I was LTTP on 3DS and 3D Land was my first significant non-kiosk demo experience on the handheld, so I kinda got my first mix of cool tech and 3D Mario since 64. The autostereoscopic 3D was impressive.
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
Holder of the best final Bowser battle in 3D Mario.

While not my favourite entry it was cool seeing the 2D traditions more faithfully translated into 3D at last, probably my favourite game to use a fire flower in...well until you could do it with double cherry clones in its world counterpart.
 
P

Pandy

Member
Great game, but I feel 3D World surpassed it in every way so I haven't been in a hurry to go back yet. I'm sure I will though, it was a blast while it lasted.
 
Chinbo37

Chinbo37

Member
I've never played 3d world but I beat 3d land and got all Stars and flag poles or whatever.

The last level is tough
 
H

Haldinian

Member
One of the greatest 3D platformers, and for being the first 3D Mario game in a portable it's just amazing.

Recently I played and completed for the first time 3D World, and though I like the playground aproach of some of its levels, I think the multiplayer aspect of the game hurt the intensity of the more platforming focused stages compared to Land, even at the last worlds.

I hope that the new 3D Mario for Switch combines the direct segments of 3D Land/World with slightly more open-areas like some levels of Galaxy. I like the style from the last two games, but in a 3D home console Mario I prefer to have more open 3D spaces to play with the environment, so it would be nice to have that kind of aproach but without leaving behind what has been achieved with 3D Land.
 
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