Super Mario 3D Land

Super Mario 3D Land is a strange beast.  I wasn't keeping a lot of tabs on it because I had played New Super Mario Bros and NSMB Wii,  and while they were fun, it didn't really do anything for me.  The gameplay was polished, but it was like playing all the old games I've already played .  Multiplayer in NSMB Wii was a fun, hectic addition, but overall, there wasn't a lot there to keep me playing after I beat the game.  In fact, it mostly made me want to play the old Mario games again.  The diffuculty in the Mario games had tapered off remarkably, and while I'm not one of those Nintendo fans that demands that everything be as difficult as Castlevania on the NES, I do like some challenge.  It didn't help my impressions of 3D Land when I saw this video:

Despite what I wrote about loving really difficult games in this blog, I do not consider myself a 'hardcore' gamer, because it carries a connotation with a lot of really stupid qualities.  I don't triumph over those worse than me, and in fact, I love co-op games because I can help my partners if I am better than them.  I don't teabag in Halo ( I mean I'm not saying I haven't done it in the past, but you know...), I don't swear at the twelve-year-olds playing with me, I just normally play to have a good time. That video, though.  He's on the second level.  And while I didn't jump on a Koopa shell for infinite lives, I was getting coins and lives like they were just handing 'em out.  Because Nintendo just started handing out coins and lives in Mario games.  In general, Mario games start you out with about 4 lives.  I think I was in the double-digits by the end of the second level, and if not then certainly the third.

In very few levels did I end with fewer lives than I began.  Since Nintendo has long abandoned points in Mario games, the time leftover in each stage becomes coins; you get one coin for every ten seconds left on the clock (so finishing with 247 seconds lands you 24 extra coins at the end of the level), plus coins or 1-ups based on where you land on the flagpole at the end of the level.  You can easily get 30 extra coins just for finishing the level.  I don't think I ever got below 99 seconds in any given level, even the really difficult ones; no one but the most insane gamers will search every single corner for some extra coins and begin to run out of time.  And in case you ever thought you might run low on a long level, these seemed to pop up: 

Look at those watches up there.  Each of those blue watches adds 10 seconds to the clock, and there are green ones that add 100.  And those green ones would often pop up at the end of a level, making me question why they were even there, besides adding more coins to the game, of course.  (Note: having beat the game, I have still not figured out why they were placed where they were.)  And if you do start to lose a lot of lives on a level, you'll be greeted with the Golden Leaf.  It's like a combination star and leaf, turning you invulnerable and letting you float down from all your jumps.  But because you have to do so poorly to get it, I saw it as a mark of shame.  The guys at Penny-Arcade saw it that way too.  In my playthrough, I finished the game while seeing it three times, and I never took it.  That would mean admitting defeat.

Remember: click for full size.

But despite all my complaints, I loved Super Mario 3D Land.  It's still an incredibly polished game, even if it does kind of like to point out how much inspiration it took from Super Mario Bros 3.  The 3D is used very well, too.  It adds a nice layer of depth, and Nintendo avoids getting too gimmicky with it.  The main gripes I had with it were that it was incredibly easy, and that there were only four or five playable levels on each of the eight worlds.

So here's the part where I spoil something that might come as a really nice surprise if you are interested in the game.  It's nothing huge, and in fact, it's a very nice selling point for the game.  But it came as a very pleasant surprise on my end, and I would hate to ruin it if you plan on getting the game.

If you want to get Super Mario 3D Land and not have something good spoiled, go ahead and skip the rest of this and get the game.  Everything below the break is just going to say why I like this game and why I highly recommend it.

I'm not going to say anything jaw-dropping like Bowser becomes a playable character or something.  But it's nothing I would want to spoil for you if you like surprises.

Making sure there's enough space here.  Okay.  So you beat the game.  You beat Bowser's castles (the only kind of difficult parts of the game anyways), and you were treated to a pretty epic ending.  The credits roll, and there's some pretty dumb little 3D pictures that show up.  Then you see that Luigi's been kidnapped instead of the princess!  Is it sequel time? Nope, it's time for more worlds.

You take a pipe down to World Special 1.  And as the saying goes, shit gets REAL. Real quick.  Special 1-1 introduces you to the special tanooki suit that (again, like Super Mario Bros 3) lets you turn into a statue and avoid enemies.  But as you explore the rest of the level, something become obvious pretty quickly: there are no goombas.  The easiest Mario enemy ever has been replaced by spiky-backed turtles and some other spike-helmeted enemies.  In addition, there are a lot more jumps that will lead you to your death.  In general, all the levels have become remarkably more challenging, and a lot more fun to play.

And then there's these levels: 

You see that clock up there in the corner? That guy isn't playing the game poorly; the game starts you out with 30 seconds for the level.  It's pretty intense.  In these levels, you have to collect those ten second watches to keep the clock going until you can finish the level.  Another kind of challenge level has a Shadow Mario chasing after you as you complete the level.  He gets in your head.

I've got a lot to say on Nintendo's desire to fit a coin into every available space on the screen, but that's a discussion best saved for another day.  For now, suffice it to say that Super Mario 3D Land is very, very good.  Sometimes it tries a bit too hard to please its raving fanbase, and the first playthrough is way too easy, but the endgame saves it.  Providing well-designed, challenging levels in addition to 100% extra content?  Nintendo, you shouldn't have (except yes you really should have and should continue to do so).