Super Mario 3D Land is a platform game in the Super Mario series developed by
Nintendo EAD Tokyo, with development assistance from Brownie Brown, for the
Nintendo 3DS. This is the first Mario game to be released for the Nintendo
3DS. The game was first released in Japan on November 3, 2011, and in North
America, Europe, and Australia during the same month. It was revealed at
Nintendo's Keynote Conference during the 2011 Game Developers Conference held in
San Francisco. Directed by Koichi Hayashida, the game brings the use of
stereoscopic 3D to the Mario gaming franchise. A sequel, titled Super Mario
3D World, was released for the Wii U in 2013.
Super Mario 3D Land is unique from other games in the Mario series, as it
combines elements from both traditional 2D Mario side-scrolling games and modern
free-roaming 3D Mario games. It also introduces new elements into the series,
including new power-ups and gameplay mechanics. The main story is similar to
previous Super Mario titles, centering on Mario's efforts to rescue Princess
Peach, who has been kidnapped by Bowser, utilizing the aid of the Tanooki Suit
amongst other power-ups. The game consists of 96 distinct levels allotted
among the 16 worlds. The game was released to critical
acclaim, with gaming critics praising the amount of creativity and technical
design presented within the game, though the utilization of 3D into the gameplay
was met with a more polarizing reception. The game was a commercial
success, and has sold 10.21 million copies worldwide as of September 30,
2015, making it the third best-selling game for the 3DS. It was also the first
3DS game to sell over 5 million copies. Nintendo re-released the game, along
with some of their earlier, published games for the Nintendo 3DS, as a
downloadable title via Nintendo eShop. The downloadable version was released in
the PAL region on October 4, 2012, October 18, 2012 in North America, and
November 1, 2012 in Japan. Gameplay
Super Mario 3D Land is a platform game that has been described by game designer
Shigeru Miyamoto as a "3D Mario that plays as a 2D Mario game". As such,
Super Mario 3D Land combines the elements of traditional side-scrolling
video game titles, such as linear-based levels, with those of the modern open
world titles, such as moving Mario in three dimensions and performing a
variety of actions. Similar to the older side-scrolling Mario games, the health
system revolves around Mario shrinking upon taking damage from enemies or
hazards, having a dedicated "Dash" button as opposed to using analog input
to determine travel speed, and damage while as "Small Mario" results in losing
a life. Mario has also learned two new moves: a barrel roll and a roll jump,
the former of which can be used to break blocks in a similar manner to jumping at
blocks from below or ground pounding, and the latter allowing Mario to cover
much horizontal ground in one jump. Super Mario 3D Land utilizes a similar
level objective to those games, in which the point of each level is to reach and
grab the "Goal Pole" located at the end of the course before the time limit
expires. The game offers a number of traditional
Mario items, such as the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Starman, along with new
power-ups that bestow special suits onto Mario and grant him new abilities.
Returning from Super Mario Bros. 3 is the Super Leaf power-up, which gives
Mario the Tanooki suit, allowing him to float in the air and attack with his
tail, with a later variant also allowing him to transform into a statue upon
performing a ground pound. The player is able to reserve an extra power-up, which
can be retrieved by tapping the item visible on the touchscreen.
Other items include the Boomerang Flower, which allows Mario to throw
boomerangs that can collect out-of-reach items as well as attack enemies; the
Propeller Box, which allows Mario to reach high places; and the rare Prize
Box, which gives Mario extra Coins while walking around in it. The Invincibility
Leaf, which appears after the player dies five times in a level, gives Mario
invincibility and Tanooki Suit abilities; while the P-Wing, which
appears after the player dies ten times in a level, sends the player right to
the end of the level, near the Goal Pole. Each course contains three hidden
Star Medals that are required to unlock certain levels. The map screen also
contains Toad Houses where players can visit Toad and receive additional items,
and Mystery Boxes where more Star Medals can be earned. After clearing the game
once, a set of "Special" levels are unlocked, some of which contain
additional challenges, such as a 30-second time limit. Clearing the S1
castle unlocks Luigi as a playable character, who has slightly different
handling to Mario. Super Mario 3D Land utilizes the
Nintendo 3DS's autostereoscopic technology, allowing players to perceive
depth when viewing the game screen. While the game is designed to not
require the 3D effect, some obstacles or points of interest are deliberately more
noticeable or easier when the 3D is switched on. Super Mario 3D Land also
utilizes optional use of the 3DS gyroscope, which can be used to control
cannons and binoculars. The game also features StreetPass functionality,
allowing players to exchange Mystery Boxes containing bonus items. StreetPass
also gives players another Toad house so they can get items.
Plot During a heavy thunderstorm, a tail-like
branched tree called the "Tail Tree", which stands on Princess Peach's castle
grounds, is stripped of all its leaves. The leaves, which turn out to be Super
Leaves, were in reality taken by Bowser who is using them to bestow Tanooki
Tails on his minions gifting them with new abilities. Unaware of this situation
at first, when Mario and the Toads go to inspect the tree the next day they
discover a letter from Bowser, learning that he has kidnapped the princess.
Mario sets off in pursuit to locate and rescue the princess, learning in the
process of Bowser's intentions for using the aforementioned stolen Super Leaves.
After rescuing her, the Toads and Mario return to the Mushroom Kingdom with
Tanooki Suits while Mario carries the princess. Mario's actions lead to the
restoration of the Tail Tree. However, a photo falls to the ground revealing
Luigi behind bars with a Koopa Troopa and Peepa, beginning Mario's quest into
the eight Special Worlds. After rescuing Luigi the two brothers
continue on their quest in completing the Special worlds. After they have
completed the Special 8 Castle level, a new letter falls to the ground far away
in an open plain. The three Toads who helped Mario earlier on investigating
the letter and discover that Bowser has kidnapped Peach once again, thus
starting Mario's quest once over. After Mario rescues Peach for the second time,
another photo is found with Peach in a Tanooki suit.
Development Super Mario 3D Land was developed by
Nintendo EAD Tokyo, which had previously developed Super Mario Galaxy and Super
Mario Galaxy 2, with assistance from Brownie Brown, another subsidiary of
Nintendo. Super Mario Galaxy 2 game director Koichi Hayashida directed the
game, and the game music was composed by Takeshi Hama, Mahito Yokota and Asuka
Hayazaki. Super Mario 3D Land took two years to develop, starting from a
development team of two people and ending with a team of 30. The game was
first announced by Shigeru Miyamoto in November 2010, stating that both the 3D
Mario game as well as a 2D Mario title were in the works for the Nintendo 3DS.
Miyamoto described the 3D game as "completely original" and a cross
between Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64.
Super Mario 3D Land was designed to bridge the gap between 2D Mario games
and 3D Mario games, and influenced by Miyamoto's philosophy of keeping the
games fun in nature and making sure the player had the utmost opportunity to
enjoy the experience of the game. A main concern during development was making a
game that would appeal to fans of the 2D Super Mario games as well as the 3D
games; levels were designed so that the player would not get lost, moving Mario
in one general direction towards each level's goal.
One of the inspirations behind the creation of the game was technological
advances that made it possible to implement certain elements that could
not be done in previous Mario games. Satoru Iwata explained that "since 1996,
when Mario appeared in 3D in Super Mario 64, it's always been hard for players to
judge how to jump and hit a block floating in a 3D space," musing that the
Nintendo 3DS autostereoscopy allowed for this issue to be fixed. The development
team, which only had experience developing on consoles rather than
handhelds, first tried playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 on a small television
monitor. When it was found that Mario was too small to see and thus difficult
to control, 3D Land‍ '​s camera system and level terrain needed to be designed
for viewing on the small Nintendo 3DS screen, making it easier for players to
keep track of Mario. Certain aspects of gameplay were inspired by Nintendo's The
Legend of Zelda franchise, including the way that the camera functioned during
certain moments. Ideas that were ultimately not incorporated into 3D Land
included a pro skater suit for Mario, the ability to change Mario's size to
the extreme, and a feature that replaces Princess Peach's face with a
photographed face. The game's title was chosen as an homage to the Super Mario
Land games released on the Game Boy. Super Mario 3D Land development was
heavily affected by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that occurred on
March 11, 2011. The disaster caused public transportation to shut down,
preventing Nintendo staff from being able to commute to work, and the Tokyo
office remained closed for about a week. Hayashida was inspired by the disaster
to encourage his team to communicate more, setting up the office such that
staff members could easily see and discuss each other's work. The team also
started holding group meetings to play-test 3D Land‍ '​s levels. Hayashida
later mentioned that the team expressed hope that the game would inspire joy in
spite of the tragedy. Satoru Iwata revealed the game at the
2011 Game Developer's Conference and pointed out that the game's tentative
logo sported a tail, stating that its purpose would be revealed at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011. Miyamoto later stated that "it's what
you think it is", alluding to the Tanooki Suit, a power-up originally from
Super Mario Bros. 3. While no exact release date was announced, Miyamoto
stated that he hoped to release the game during 2011. The game was showcased at
Nintendo's press conference at E3 2011, where a 2011 release date was confirmed,
along with the appearance of the Tanooki Suit. While the power-up allows Mario to
float down gently, unlike Super Mario Bros. 3 he cannot fly.
Super Mario 3D Land was first released in Japan on November 3, 2011. It was
then released in North America on November 13, Europe on November 18, and
in Australia on November 24. Reception
Super Mario 3D Land has received critical acclaim. It received an
aggregated score of 90.09% on GameRankings and 90/100 on Metacritic.
The game sold over 343,000 copies in its first week in Japan, helping to move
over 145,000 Nintendo 3DS units. Famitsu awarded Super Mario 3D Land a score of
38/40, praising level design, accessibility for beginners and the use
of 3D. IGN gave the game a score of 9.5 and an Editor's Choice award, calling it
"brilliant and addictive" and stating that "3D gaming has never been fully
realized before this". GamesRadar gave the game a score of 9/10, praising its
wealth of content, although criticising the inclusion of a run button and some
easy difficulty. Game Informer gave 3D Land a 9.5/10, saying "it lives up to
the level of quality set by previous entries and is easily the best reason to
own a 3DS". They also complimented the use of both a run button and the 3D
effects while criticising the "lack of variety in boss battles".
1UP.com's Jeremy Parish gave the game a less favorable review, noting that
certain aspects of the game were too easy in nature, musing a "moderately
skilled player is never in danger of running out of lives in Super Mario 3D
Land". He however noted that the game was creative in its presentation, and
offered "clever new twists on the familiar to the knuckle-biting intensity
of the final stages." Justin Haywald of GamePro gave the game 5/5, writing that
Nintendo successfully captured the nostalgic aesthetic of the series, while
still maintaining technical innovation. He reported, "for every familiar bit of
music or a level background that reminds you of Mario games past, you have new
abilities to use and deviously designed platforming sections that feel
completely unique", while stating that the inclusion of 3D was mostly a
gimmick. GameSpot stated that the game lacked
some of the more creative aspects of the best of the series, stating that the 3D
was mostly optional, though praised the gameplay as entertaining and fast-paced.
X-Play's Russ Frushtick felt that Super Mario 3D Land was the best game yet
released for the 3DS, praising the content as surprisingly vast in nature
and claiming that the game was twice as long as initially gauged. The game won
the "Best Handheld Game" award in the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards. Super
Mario 3D Land was awarded the "Best Platform Game Award", and Nintendo 3DS
Game of the Year 2011 by GameTrailers. Super Mario 3D Land sold 3.09 million
units in the U.S. as of August 2014. In Japan, the game has sold over 1.66
million units as of August 1, 2012. The game was released to commercial success
and has sold 10.21 million copies worldwide as of September 30, 2015.
References External links
Official website Super Mario 3D Land at MobyGames