Mario is Nintendo’s bread and butter franchise and while sometimes it’s hard to tell what games are which but Super Mario 3D World is a pretty distinct title from the rest. Bringing back the classic “World” aspect to the name is lending itself to one of the greatest lines of Mario games that has ever been created along with games from Gameboy and SNES. We got hands on with the game and here are some of our impressions.
The biggest addition to this game is the ability to play 4 player local co-op. The roster includes Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach. We had a session with that which seemed like a seamless experience, so much so that I wonder if playing most of the game like that would result in the inability to play the game alone again? Each character also has their own unique ability whether it be to run faster or jump higher then the other.
What is a Mario game without his unique power ups, that’s why this has some familiar and even a new one. You’ll find Tanooki Mario and Boomerang Mario but now if you pick up a Super Bell you’ll turn into a cat .. literally is Mario in a cat suit. You have the ability to wall-climb, run fast and scratch with your claws. It all seems silly at first but is actually a pretty beneficial suit to have on and quite powerful as well.
We also seemed to really have enjoyed the boss battle that we played as well. With the help of others in four player co-op we fought a boss that had multiple snake heads come up with platforms that we are able to climb and attack him.
Overall we left quite surprised that another Mario game can deliver in the same kind of fun it always manages to do although the absents of online co-op is something that we think Nintendo should be embracing in its future titles but only time will tell. Super Mario 3D World will not leave you disappointed it seems despite this. The game is due out on November 22nd for the Wii U.