Super Mario 3D Land Review

Mario games are classics, so when a new one comes along, you want to know, is it really as good as the first time I stepped into the plumbers shoes? Well, Super Mario 3D Land comes along and a blogger reviews it.
3D Land is like a hybrid of two genres. The fast paced, bouncing action of the 2D Mario games and the freedom to move around the environment of the 3D titles. Combining the two makes for some interesting gameplay. Most of the levels are very short, taking about as much time to complete as a 2D Mario level, but each level adds in elements of a 3D Mario title. Things like cannons, bouncy mushrooms and classic moves like the backflip and side jump. It also adds in some new things to the world, like a pair of stationary binoculars which let you see the end level flag, as well as help you search for Toads which drop star coins and a new rolling move, which, personally, I didn't use all that much. Power-ups are back and come in the colourful shapes of the super mushroom, the fire-flower and the propeller suit. New to the series is the boomerang suit, which is like the fire flower, except you throw a boomerang. It's actually really helpful for getting items in hard to reach places. Returning to the series is the Tanooki suit, which turns the plumber into a racoon, letting him do a hover jump and adding an offensive spin attack to his arsenal. On top of this, you get 8 worlds with 5-7 levels to play through, as well as a mystery box that awards coins and items and an item house. Each level has 3 star coins to find, adding some much needed length to your crusade to rescue the princess. In some cases, you actually need to spend star coins to unlock the next level, so I recommend you get every star coins in every level. While every level is a lot of fun, they are both short and easy, making it feel like this Mario game had a little less effort put into it then the other titles. In fact, I beat the main story in six hours. Yeah, six. But afterwards, you get another 8 worlds to romp around in, all of which are harder and longer than the normal ones. I'm glad they were included because they add a lot to this game. In the first special world, you unlock Luigi to use in any level you choose. He and Mario are very different, more so than in their other incounters. Luigi can jump much higher but falls much slower and has awful traction, whereas Mario's jumps are weaker, his control is greater. So, there's no clear advantage for either character. In some cases, you'll wish you had Luigi's jumping prowess and in others, you'll be longing for Mario's control, but overall, they are balanced enough and different enough for it to be worthwhile to use both of them. Beating this game completely took about 15 hours, as opposed to the 55 I've put into Ocarina 3D (partly because my game glitched in the master quest version and I had to start it again) so, if you are looking for the best game on 3DS, you'll find it in Ocarina of Time, but if you need more than one game, Super Mario 3D Land is a must have. It's not the best Mario game, but it's one of the best (beaten by Galaxy 1&2,and New Super Mario Bros Wii) To me, this game feels a little like the Twilight Princess of Mario games. Great, but not different enough to be amazing (except I like Twilight Princess better) Still, the game is fantastic and you must pick it up.
4EVER out.