You’ve probably heard a lot about Nintendo lately.
About how they’re doomed.
About how the Wii U’s terrible, and it’s probably gonna be their last console.
You’ve probably heard your money is better spent on a real system, with real games.
And power.
You’ve probably heard Nintendo is irrelevant.
Well, forget what you’ve heard.
Forget the blogs, forget the critics, forget all the bros who are so quick to shrug off
Nintendo.
Because they’ve forgotten something, too.
They’ve forgotten that fun will never be irrelevant.
And fun is something these bros…still do better than anyone.
There’s something intangible that sets this game apart from just about everything else
I’ve played this year.
Maybe even in years—it’s really that good.
Super Mario 3D World displays a level of game design that’s, just…light years ahead
of virtually everyone else.
And then there’s the execution, which is even more incredible.
Every coin, every corner, every Koopa…there’s not a single pixel that doesn’t shine with
polish, and care.
In fact, this is a game that makes other games, even other good games…almost seem kind of
amateur.
Mario’s just playing in a different league these days.
And it’s stunning that, after 30 years, he’s somehow getting better.
And I think part of it is that…Nintendo is totally rethinking the Super Mario series.
It used to be easy, right?
You had the 2D games, and you had the 3D games.
They were two different things, and they actually started moving in two different directions.
3D World pulls them back together.
It takes 2D and 3D Mario, and reworks them into something that’s…a little bit of
both.
And it’s never as artificial as, just…mixing some 3D levels with a few 2D levels.
The point is, those divisions don’t exist here.
It’s a new kind of Mario, built from all the old kinds of Mario.
And it starts, surprising as it may be, with Super Mario Bros. 2.
You can play as one of four characters.
There’s Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach, just like Mario 2.
And each of those characters has their own specific attributes, just like Mario 2.
For a moment, Peach can hang in the air.
Luigi can jump higher than his brother, but Mario is more sure-footed.
And the thing is, they’re all available right from the start.
So you’re free to play each level with whichever character you want, as often you want…and
each time, it feels different.
There’s a freedom to that that seems obvious, but it’s actually pretty brilliant.
Why limit fun, right?
Why give the player arbitrary restrictions?
Super Mario 3D World never does that.
Of course, once you’re in the levels…the gameplay is just incredible.
If ever there was a guidebook on how a platformer should play, this is it.
Every time you touch the analog stick, you move with a tightness and fluidity that’s
both precise and natural.
It just feels right.
I mean, that’s what the Mario games have always been about.
The joy of movement.
Despite all the game’s new ideas, that simple joy is still behind everything that makes
3D World so wonderful.
The controls almost disappear.
And Mario just becomes an extension of yourself.
Provided you like to…dress like cats.
I mean, whatever you’re into.
Speaking of which, it wouldn’t be a Mario game without power-ups.
This time around, the main attraction is the Cat Suit.
There’s a little mushroom shaped like a bell, and it turns Mario into this spunky
cat that can climb walls, whack enemies with his paw…even shoot forward like a feline
missile.
The Cat Suit is this game’s Raccoon Leaf, or Bee Suit…it’s the headliner.
But the coolest new power-up might actually be the Double Cherry.
Each one sort of…clones Mario.
You can have up to five running around at once, and some of the game’s most ingenious
levels revolve entirely around the Double Cherry.
And keeping all your Marios alive.
And you know, I mentioned Mario 2, but…one of the things that’s immediately apparent
in this game…is that Nintendo is really embracing their three decades of Mario masterpieces.
Because though they’re moving the series forward, they’re also incorporating its
past.
And it’s not just the playable characters.
Mario 2’s slot machines are also back, music in tact.
Mario 3’s item houses are back, music in tact.
Even Mario 64’s sliding levels are back.
Yes, with the music in tact.
And it’s clear that…one of the benefits of forging this new mixture of 2D and 3D is
that it allows 3D World to embrace all the series’ history.
It becomes a celebration of Mario’s past, while also pushing him into a new era.
And that combined with the creative level designs and inventive gameplay ideas…is
why 3D World is such a brilliant piece of design.
Of course, all the brilliant ideas in the world wouldn’t matter if the execution wasn’t
there.
It’s there, in this game.
Mario’s world looks absolutely stunning, and where HD really benefits this cartoony
look…is in the details.
The snow sparkles, grass blows in the wind, things like clouds and even places in the
distance have this subtle haze.
And the weird thing is that, that polish actually gives the game a sense of realism.
It’s a remarkable effect, and Mario’s whimsical world has never looked better.
In fact, I’m not sure Mario’s ever played better, either.
This isn’t just the killer app the Wii U was still lacking.
This is a stunning piece of game design, and a triumph in game making.
And I think it underscores something that way too many of us forget.
In an industry where priorities have changed, video games are still at their best…when
they’re fun.
Nintendo may do a lot of things poorly, but fun isn’t one of them.
And once again, Mario proves it.