The propeller block makes a slight but enjoyable return on this pagoda stage.Įven within the stages themselves, there are dozens of incidental tests of skill, whether it's locating the three green stars, the stamps that allow you to attach character art to your Miiverse posts, or simply collecting an extra power-up by exploring a hidden alcove or following a trail of red coins.
There's little downtime even between the levels - fruit machines will sporadically pop up, spitting out hundreds of coins if you can match the reels, while the mystery houses give you a series of mini-challenges to complete against the clock, tiny snippets of play that might involve hitting a target with a baseball or defeating a given number of enemies. It's a fidgety, hyperactive game, never content unless it's giving you something to do. Like Mario himself, it never stays in one place for very long. The next level borrows Galaxy's flipping platforms, but uses them to decorate a giant cake, before an underground stage filled with Bob-ombs and then a level where you're asked to avoid searchlights, or face a barrage of Banzai Bills. Then it's a clone rush through a small backstreet area against the clock, followed by the self-explanatory Sprawling Savanna, which supplies you with catsuits and rabbits to chase, together with the percussive soundtrack making you feel like a tiger roaming the plains of Africa against a gorgeous sunset. It begins with you collecting key tokens on a sun-kissed shore decorated with sand statues of Goombas and Bowser, before moving onto a circus-themed level where you swing from trapezes, the music finishing with a flourish the moment you hit the flagpole. There are moments of gentle iconoclasm then, but the watchword is variety. Yet one gets its own back during the post-game, flying away from the start line as you set off in hot pursuit, aiming to catch up with it before the timer reaches zero. And how about those flagpoles? With Cat Mario you can land halfway down and climb to the top, which is quite clearly cheating.
Most of the Bowser world levels don't bother with lava, and the first time the hot stuff does show up it's blue. The ice floes of world three offer access to precisely one snow level, while the ghost house stages often don't feature a house at all. Peach hasn't been kidnapped for once, and the familiar themes of the world map are entirely misleading - oh, and you can roam it freely. Chris shows why Super Mario 3D World is his personal pick for our Games of 2013 series.įrom the outset it plays fast and loose with Mario tradition. You might have felt these rhythms and melodies before, but you're never quite sure what's around the next corner, and the anticipation at what comes next is every bit as exciting as being confounded by what you do find.
In some respects - and maybe it's the music that prompted this thought - it's like a freeform jazz performance: you recognise most of the individual elements but it all comes together in a constantly surprising, semi-improvisational manner. Though again, that's not quite right either. It feels more like the game equivalent of a double album, a Mario-themed collection of hit singles and B-sides with an extra disc's worth of demos, rarities and new, unheard tracks. Nintendo describes it as a 'grand culmination', a Best of Mario Volume One, if you will. Every level is a non-stop bombardment of stuff, with familiar concepts and enemies used in fresh and exciting ways, and brand new ingredients liberally sprinkled on top. Only about one in every 50 makes it into the games, claims producer Koichi Hayashida, but I strongly suspect that there were a few empty walls by the end of development on Super Mario 3D World. There's a room within EAD Tokyo's offices where the employees working on new 3D Mario games stick Post-It notes of ideas on the walls.