Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (Wii-U/Switch) - It's the cat's meow!

[Doctor MK]

Bottom right. Look at the water

 

OHHHHHH. Derp. I thought you guys meant there was a Goomba in one of the transparent pipes. 

 

Blame the confusion on lexical differences - we Brits would call that a "rubber ring" rather than an "inner tube"

[Jolt_TH]

Yeah

It took me a while to figure it out, over here an inner tube is what we out in our bike tyres

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Yeah

It took me a while to figure it out, over here an inner tube is what we out in our bike tyres

Thats actualy what they are technicly, but the type for huge tires, modified for personal use 

[Cortez]

So I've been wondering, do people actually still think this is a filler game until the next big Mario? Because I'm not seeing it myself. As far as I'm concerned this is the next big Mario. It's not as hyped as the Galaxies were and I think having '3D' in the title has given people the misconception that this will be a smaller game in comparison to the previous main console Mario games but I honestly don't see why people are using these as reasons to assume this is a filler game.

[SuperLink]

I can't see the image everyone's talking about 8(

[Doctor MK]

So I've been wondering, do people actually still think this is a filler game until the next big Mario? Because I'm not seeing it myself. As far as I'm concerned this is the next big Mario. It's not as hyped as the Galaxies were and I think having '3D' in the title has given people the misconception that this will be a smaller game in comparison to the previous main console Mario games but I honestly don't see why people are using these as reasons to assume this is a filler game.

 

I don't think 3D World is filler at all, no.

 

New Super Mario Bros U - now that was filler, giving Nintendo a chance to continue working on the next 3D Mario while at the same time appeasing the fans who have clamoured for a Mario launch game since the Gamecube. Super Mario 3D World may take a load of obvious nods from the recent 2D series - namely, the four player multiplayer and the flagpole approach rather than collecting stars - but that doesn't mean it's any less of a 3D Mario game. It'll still control like a 3D Mario game and it'll still feel like a 3D Mario game, except this time you've got four different characters to choose from and up to three friends can join in with you as well.

 

Sure, the scale of the adventure may not be as large as it was in 64/Sunshine/Galaxy but sometimes less is more, and for a game like this where the emphasis is less on breaking new ground and instead tweaking what's already there, it's probably for the best. Super Mario 3D Land was all about taking the Galaxy formula and applying it to a classic Mario style, and now 3D World is taking the now-established 3D Land formula (which, like it or not, is probably the way they're going to push the franchise in future) but applying the multiplayer aspect of the NSMB games to it on a grander scale. It is innovation, just not on the same level as it was between previous games. Let's face it, after Galaxy 1 and 2, we all thought - "how on earth can they top this?". The answer is they're not necessarily trying to, they're just taking what they've managed to perfect in those games but now adding other features on top of it.

 

I can totally understand why people seem underwhelmed by 3D World, and I must admit I am a little too, but that's only because we've set our expectations so extraordinarily high. The only way they could have made it any different was to actually give us Galaxy 3 - but even that would seem disappointing, and it would end up being more of the same anyway. There's only so much you can do with a space motif after all. In the case of 3D World however, we're basically getting Galaxy 3 in terms of gameplay - except its been grounded in the more familiar Mushroom Kingdom world, and thrown in Luigi/Peach/Toad for good measure.

 

And let's not forget that Nintendo is trying to win over people to buy a Wii U with this game. And as much as a mind-boggling new Galaxy-esque game would bring in the punters, they're going to get a lot more sales from the NSMB crowd who enjoyed the Wii game for its multiplayer and probably didn't bother with NSMB U because it's near-identical and requires a whole new console to play. Whereas this... it's multiplayer Mario... in 3D! Holy shit! And you can play as a girl, too! That's gotta be worth shelling out a few hundred quid at Christmas for if you're looking for a solid family gaming experience. 

 

Plus, truth be told, the main reason Nintendo have probably made this a titular sequel to 3D Land is - obvious brand identity aside to appeal to those who enjoyed the 3DS game - because they want to really hammer home the fact to newcomers that this is a 3D Mario game, albeit in a different sense to what it originally meant on the handheld, taking what they loved about the 2D games and putting it in a whole new dimension. It's just a name meant to shift copies off store shelves, at the end of the day.

 

Also, it's entirely possible that the next game after this will be something as grand and epic as the Galaxy games, allowing Nintendo to take the formula they have in 3D World - one that seamlessly combines what is normally a single player experience with a multiplayer one - and apply that to something more. But this is their first attempt at such a feat, after all. Let's cut them a bit of slack. Not every Mario game has to shake the earth in such a colossal manner. They're testing out this new style in a way that allows for classic platforming fun as well as to introduce fans of the NSMB series to 3D Mario games.

 

At its core, that's Nintendo's next big innovation for the Mario franchise - bringing the games and everyone who plays them together. It may not be a huge technological leap or 360 degree platforming or even a goddam water pump, but it's the culmination of everything that's come before it into a single neat package. Super Mario 3D World isn't about where they're taking Mario next, it's about how far he's come, and therein lies the difference between this and previous 3D titles.

[Chaos Warp]

So I've been wondering, do people actually still think this is a filler game until the next big Mario? Because I'm not seeing it myself. As far as I'm concerned this is the next big Mario. It's not as hyped as the Galaxies were and I think having '3D' in the title has given people the misconception that this will be a smaller game in comparison to the previous main console Mario games but I honestly don't see why people are using these as reasons to assume this is a filler game.

I still feel it's filler. It looks well designed and great, but it lacks the groundbreaking-ness of the Galaxy games. Not to mention it seems like it lacks the atmosphere of those titles. I do hope that ideas like 4-player co-op (with all characters having unique attributes) and playable Peach are carried over to the hypothetical non-filler game though.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Chaos Warp

[JezMM]

Has it even been confirmed if this game will have a hub or anything?  They've been pretty tight lipped on what goes on outside the courses, story and otherwise, there could be more atmosphere than we think.

 

 

I also think 3D Land had a ton of atmosphere visually, it's just a shame that the prettiest levels all just had the generic "unusual level time!" Mario 3 Athletic theme from Galaxy slapped on them.  I hope they won't make that mistake musically again.  I know the 3D Land soundtrack was probably designed to compliment wacky classic Mario platforming hijinks but Rayman Origins and Legends proved you can still have wacky fun in the foreground with a pretty soundtrack and aesthetic in the background.

Edited September 13, 2013 by JezMM

[Diogenes]

I can totally understand why people seem underwhelmed by 3D World, and I must admit I am a little too, but that's only because we've set our expectations so extraordinarily high.

I think this is the key. The Galaxies were amazing games, that brought an epic feel to the series unlike any Mario game before. But where do you go from there? How do you out-Galaxy Galaxy? Even if you managed to do it with the next game, you'd face the same problem, but even harder, for the one after that. Not every game can be as big and grand and surprising as Galaxy was.

So it's true that 3D World is scaling back in some ways. But that's reasonable, and it doesn't mean the game isn't going to be big and creative and fun in the way you'd expect a major 3D platformer to be.

[Tails spin]

I think this is the key. The Galaxies were amazing games, that brought an epic feel to the series unlike any Mario game before. But where do you go from there? How do you out-Galaxy Galaxy? Even if you managed to do it with the next game, you'd face the same problem, but even harder, for the one after that. Not every game can be as big and grand and surprising as Galaxy was.

So it's true that 3D World is scaling back in some ways. But that's reasonable, and it doesn't mean the game isn't going to be big and creative and fun in the way you'd expect a major 3D platformer to be.

Well it might be done though. Some people thought that Galaxy 1 couldn't be surpassed then Galaxy 2 came out.

[Doctor MK]

Well it might be done though. Some people thought that Galaxy 1 couldn't be surpassed then Galaxy 2 came out.

 

Even though I firmly believe Galaxy 2 is the best 3D Mario game to date, I will say that it only surpassed the original in terms of creative level design and the sheer amount of variety on offer. In terms of actual atmosphere and wow factor though, Galaxy 1 wins hands down.

[JezMM]

Yeah I don't think even Galaxy 2 outshone Galaxy 1 for first impression.  The thing I remember most about Galaxy 2 was how much tighter and to the point the level design was and how they totally trimmed out the fat and had a much better second quest.  These are things that 3D Land then proceeded to improve even more on.

 

Though I was sad that Galaxy 2 wasn't as "magical" in atmosphere as Galaxy 1 was, the fantastic level design balanced it out (though Galaxy 2, atmosphere-wise, still had some fantastic moments - Slipsand Galaxy, Slimy Spring Galaxy, Shiverburn Galaxy all spring to mind for their awesome skyboxes).

Edited September 13, 2013 by JezMM

[Wraith]

Good news everyone! Nintendo heard our complaints about there not being enough Mario on the boxart. They've revised accordingly.

 

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Good news everyone! Nintendo heard our complaints about there not being enough Mario on the boxart. They've revised accordingly.

 

 

This was posted a WHIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLE back

[Doctor MK]

Sadly you were beaten to that joke on the last page, Plasm Wraith

[Ultimate Waffle]

Good news everyone! Nintendo heard our complaints about there not being enough Mario on the boxart. They've revised accordingly.

 

 

Looks like I'm the ninja today

[Dejimon11]

The only bugs me is that they're trying to over expose the cat suit like how they did with the tannoki suit in 3D land(cats cats everywhere). On a side note why do people hate the new super mario bros games all I hear is that it's not challenging when were mario games ever challenging(besides the first 2)

[Chaos Warp]

The only bugs me is that they're trying to over expose the cat suit like how they did with the tannoki suit in 3D land(cats cats everywhere). On a side note why do people hate the new super mario bros games all I hear is that it's not challenging when were mario games ever challenging(besides the first 2)

People hate them because besides the original and U they feel like they could be DLC packs of each other. 

[Red Cap]

People only really dislike NSMB2. Wii introduced enough new stuff to the series for most people.

[Chaos Warp]

People only really dislike NSMB2. Wii introduced enough new stuff to the series for most people.

 

Other then 4-player co-op, which you could argue is a detriment to the experience due to how hard it is to keep track of yourself (it does make for amazing laughs though), what else did it add? 

[Doctor MK]

The only bugs me is that they're trying to over expose the cat suit like how they did with the tannoki suit in 3D land(cats cats everywhere). On a side note why do people hate the new super mario bros games all I hear is that it's not challenging when were mario games ever challenging(besides the first 2)

 

People don't necessarily dislike the actual gameplay - in fact, that's probably about the only thing that saves the NSMB series in most people's minds - it's just that, a few odd differences aside, they all follow a very similar formula and as such the sequels tend to feel a bit soulless and unoriginal.

 

The original NSMB was something fresh and new at the time, but since then we've had three (four if you count New Super Luigi U) games in very much the same vein with very similar gameplay and very similar world tropes. NSMBWii basically just brought the original to the big screen and allowed up to 4 players to take part simultaneously - again, quite an innovation at the time. NSMB2 retread the same ground yet again but with a coin-collecting gimmick that ultimately served no purpose. NSMBU was definitely the most different of the games, actually giving a slight change of scenery in places, but it fell into the same trap of reusing music, mechanics, and tropes. NSLU gets away with it because it's just DLC.

 

While every NSMB game has been technically good, they never really offer anything substantially new or different to the other that's come before it to really get excited about. You know you're going to get a solid Mario experience, but it'll be one you've basically played through before already.

 

EDIT: Oh and the fact that NSMB2 and NSMBU came out within a few months of each other didn't really help either. You basically had two near-identical gameplay experiences coming out at once, which made it feel like Nintendo were over-saturating us with it.

[super saiyan weegee]

Other then 4-player co-op, which you could argue is a detriment to the experience due to how hard it is to keep track of yourself (it does make for amazing laughs though), what else did it add? 

It added a whole bunch of new level mechanics.

 

Sure, might not sound impressive on the surface, but it's still something.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Haden

[JezMM]

I actually found NSMBWii to be the least original of the series.  It reused combinations of previous gimmicks far more than any other game in the series, most of which all had something unique on every single course.  But yeah it had the 4 player co-op going for it and AT LEAST IT HAD A NEW SOUNDTRACK NSMB2, U, AND LUIGI.

 

 

A lot of people say the coin gimmick in NSMB2 was meaningless which makes me think a lot of people did not get into Coin Rush mode as much as I did.  =U

[Doctor MK]

A lot of people say the coin gimmick in NSMB2 was meaningless which makes me think a lot of people did not get into Coin Rush mode as much as I did.  =U

 

Coin Rush mode was good fun but it was by no means a game-changer. And let's face it, forcing yourself to replay levels over and over again to collect a million coins for a completely pointless reward wasn't a great hook.

[Red Cap]

@Chaos Warp

Now that I think about it... not much. But it did take a couple of old concepts and re-introduce them to us, like Yoshi and World 9.

It helped that it was only the second NSMB game, so people didn't mind them re-using tiles and backgrounds from the original.

EDIT: All those replies, lol.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Red Cap-Blue Spikes