Sorry mods, I hope reposting this post for a new page is not much of an offence, cause I feel it's a decent post, adds something to the discussion, addresses many problems raised here and I see it got lost at the end of the previous page.
I will try to explain this in a coherent way.
First of all, the setting. Pretty much every major (home console if your prefer that way) new Mario game introduced a new setting. In SMW we got a Dinosaur Island, in SM64 we got our first foray into 3D (so while it was Mushroom Kingdom, it looked drastically different to what we had gotten before), in SMS we had Delfino Isle and in SMG we went into space. This might not be major, but shaking up a formula certainly adds to games feeling fresh. In SM3DW we not only are taking a step back to a nearly 30-year-old now Mushroom Kingdom (in some incarnation of it most likely, it looks just like SM3DL so it probably is MK), but it's also a setting that had been revisited FIVE times in the last 7 years. That's a lot. This certainly adds to the feeling that the game doesn't feel as fresh as we wanted.
Second of all, still partially connected to level design, it's what had been thrown around several times here, that is the levels don't feel "organic". Ever since SMW the world in Mario game had felt somewhat real, especially in 3D Marios. In SM64 (except for Whomp's Fortress) all levels felt like a part of a bigger world. Yes, we teleported there through paintings and there were borders around it, but it felt like a part of a real world. The obstacles too were hills, bridges, crates, stairs - things like that, real things. The same in SMS, where even true platforming that wasn't there for the most part in SM64, was able to be put in the more real scenario with a clever inclusion of construction site. In SMG again, we got into space, but this planets did feel great and all the obstacles were real things and the smaller levels could be made by inclusion of smaller planets. In contrast, in SM3DW we get levels totally suspended in air, with no interconnectedness between them, and obstacles made of arbitrarily placed colorful blocks. This again, feels like a stepback compared to previous 3D Marios.
Gamepad integration. Every major 3D Mario included new consoles features at least a small part of the gameplay. SM64 showcased analog stick, SMS analog triggers with flood, SMG was less important to the gameplay but we still could shake to add momentum to our jumps and use pointer to collect star bits. It was less than what previous Marios did, but at least it was still something and I liked shaking to extend jumps. With SM3DW Nintendo yet again fails to deliver a proof of concept that gamepad could benefit full-fledged games. We were 100% allowed to expect they will include something. Tapping screen to search for hidden blocks and the game simply being beamed to the console feels somewhat lazy. As it's a multiplayer game they could have even toyed with some sort of asymmetric gameplay that Nintendo touted so much, but nope, neither is there anything here.
While we're at multiplayer. Not everybody has someone to play a 3D Mario with and lack of inclusion of online limits that even further. For us is simply completely a non-news in a series that up to this point was purely about singleplayer (it's hard calling SMG and SMG2 second player option a "multiplayer" with a straight face). It's a neat addition, but it's not gonna pull us over to the other camp because it completely doesn't matter to us. It' s a non-news, that's all.
Now maybe something about the meat of the game, gameplay. Every new Mario game had shaken up the concept considerably. It was always about collecting 120 somethings, but the core gameplay was drastically different. SM64 was introduction to 3D. SMS obviously had FLUDD. SMG had gravitation and how toying with it can be used to benefit gameplay. So far, SM3DW has... catsuit? Oh sure, it is an interesting addition and it will make for a more interesting game, but it's not gonna change the structure of the entire game the previous games had. 4 slightly different characters instead of the usual 2 (look at how both of SMGs had 2 characters yet it never was made a big deal or became a major bullet point!) will be interesting, but the core gameplay is repeated. It is still a 3DL-style game, with floating levels, 3 coins/stars/whatevers hidden in each one, with similar control scheme and familiar physics. It doesn't mean it's bad. It's simply not fresh.
And a more personal one, I really disliked the way SM3DL controlled compared to other 3D Marios. It was the first time I had problems with controlling Mario in a 3D space and I felt they were somewhat clunky. However I'd consider it as my personal point, as most people liked SM3DL controls. Still, if I am to explain why I am disappointed, I feel like I should include it.
That's the most important points. Most important of all - I AM NOT SAYING THE GAME WILL BE BAD. This is VITAL because too many people assume it. I'm saying I expected something more fresh and instead got something that looks mostly iterative. BUT! Iterative is not a dirty word. I will buy this game. I will play this game. I have no doubt I will enjoy this game. Greatly even. It will be a fantastic game, somewhere around 8.5-9.5 game, more leaning towards the latter. I just wanted to be blown away with something so far out that I didn't expect it. This simply isn't it. Due to the points outlined above, I fear this game simply won't be as bold, stunning and memorable as previous 3D Mario games.
All.
