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Super Mario 3D Land |OT| Jump Into a New Dimension!

Not being able to remember anything about a title in a series you may generally consider memorable might be a indicator that the entry wasn't up to par. Just because it had tougher platforming challenging at the toughest stages doesn't mean I had to enjoy it as much as NSMB Wii, which I overall enjoyed much more because I played it with friends.

Totally, I know that NSMB DS is fine mechanically and I remember having fun with it at the time, but I can't remember a single specific level, and I don't even know if I can remember all of the worlds.

Grass, desert, swamp, mountain, volcano, island/ tropical... guess I can remember all but one. But yeah, not a single individual level comes to mind. The jumping momentum thing was frustrating a few times in 3D Land but many of the levels are very creative and memorable, and while obviously both would be ideal, I'd rather have memorable levels and slightly faulty physics then spot-on physics and levels I'll forget a month later.
 

Socreges

Banned
Can someone please explain to me (again!) how I'm supposed to know if I've beaten a level with Luigi and/or at what point it begins to record that? I've beaten S 8-6, which is the last level that it's showing right now, and have just under 300 coins (I haven't gotten every single one yet). But so far as I can tell, it still doesn't show me if I've beaten a level with Luigi. I don't want to start running through with Luigi until it records.

Also is the Search function gone again?
 

Mistle

Member
Played about 2 hours and already nearly at world 6 o_O I know there's more, but it is seeming short so far. Otherwise, it's been incredibly fun. Loving it. And the graphics are almost on par with the Wii, just a lower resolution, so that's great. Can't wait to see what they do with Zelda!

The 8-directional movement doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, if at all. It actually comes in handy when doing tight running segments.
Controls feel fine for the most part. The lack of triple jump is sad, and a long jump is tricky to do when holding run... And also, I don't really see the point of the cartwheel side jump or the backflip? They don't seem to go any higher than a normal jump, which is odd.. I also dislike how you need to get momentum to reach max jump distance. I find myself having to run a small circle first, which is very un-Mario like.

I think the game would have been better without having to hold-to-run, especially as he attacks every time if you have a powerup. Thank god however that Nintendo mapped run to Y/X this time instead of the very uncomfortable A/Y.

Small control quibbles are sad considering how Mario is renown for perfect controls, but in the big picture they don't came as a great detriment to the game. It's still a blast to play!
 

dwu8991

Banned
Played about 2 hours and already nearly at world 6 o_O I know there's more, but it is seeming short so far. Otherwise, it's been incredibly fun. Loving it. And the graphics are almost on par with the Wii, just a lower resolution, so that's great. Can't wait to see what they do with Zelda!

The 8-directional movement doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, if at all. It actually comes in handy when doing tight running segments.
Controls feel fine for the most part. The lack of triple jump is sad, and a long jump is tricky to do when holding run... And also, I don't really see the point of the cartwheel side jump or the backflip? They don't seem to go any higher than a normal jump, which is odd.. I also dislike how you need to get momentum to reach max jump distance. I find myself having to run a small circle first, which is very un-Mario like.

I think the game would have been better without having to hold-to-run, especially as he attacks every time if you have a powerup. Thank god however that Nintendo mapped run to Y/X this time instead of the very uncomfortable A/Y.

Small control quibbles are sad considering how Mario is renown for perfect controls, but in the big picture they don't came as a great detriment to the game. It's still a blast to play!

Crikey, that's short as!
Definitely Mario Kart is the way to go if only because of multi player.
 

EloquentM

aka Mannny
Can someone please explain to me (again!) how I'm supposed to know if I've beaten a level with Luigi and/or at what point it begins to record that? I've beaten S 8-6, which is the last level that it's showing right now, and have just under 300 coins (I haven't gotten every single one yet). But so far as I can tell, it still doesn't show me if I've beaten a level with Luigi. I don't want to start running through with Luigi until it records.

Also is the Search function gone again?

Beat s8-bowser then it should make you play w8-bowser again. Best that and it'll show you which character beat which level
 

War Peaceman

You're a big guy.
I don't think any of NSMB's detractors actually remember a damn thing about the game. How can you not be impressed with the level designs in this video, for example? The hazards and obstacles that you have to overcome to clear all of the levels and collect all of the star coins are extremely varied and often times clever and inventive. The only bad thing you can say about the difficulty is that they were a bit too generous in handing out power ups, but the actual platforming challenges were generally more difficult than those seen at similar points in NSMB Wii, and the secret coins and level exits were generally more difficult to find, and unlike NSMB Wii you don't have any fly-over-the-level-instant-win powerups. NSMB Wii had a lot going for it too with clever level designs and platforming gimmicks, but overall, NSMB DS was more challenging and was arguably the better game.

NSMB Wii is a much more difficult game, I don't even know how that can be argued with. It just baffles me. I like the DS game a lot but it is pretty damn simple.

EDIT: The star coins in NSMB DS it were far harder to find than in 3d Land, that's for sure.
 
Well I've been playing this on and off over the weekend (Skyrim downtime, and shit-breaks), am on the castle of world 7 with 78 coins. I've unlocked the levels I've been able to so far on the way - and having spent maybe half an hour in total going back to pick up the odd extra coin I've needed for an unlock I'm at just four minutes short of 6 hours.

I'm loving the game, a lot of the levels just plain bring a smile to my face and a few laugh out loud moments also - easily the best game on the system, and the most time I've spent on a Mario game since 64 (have tried and enjoyed both galaxies and the NSMB games - but they haven't held my attention in the same way). I'm very impressed with the lack of repetition, and love how each level seems to exist on it's own as a minigame. 2-3 (mario-shaped), 6-3 (ghost house), and Castle 5 are just stunning - there's no other word for it.

It says a lot when you're enjoying each level and will be sad when it's over - so many games can feel like a chore towards the end these days. Luckily the harder ones are still to come, with some anger and frustration I'd imagine.

Do the stage time's make an appearance after the first run-through or are they street-pass exclusive?
 
I've always thought the NSMB Wii-DS comparisons were way overblown.
I bet you could mix and match levels from both and no one could tell the difference, such is their quality of design so similar.
 

Foffy

Banned
I've always thought the NSMB Wii-DS comparisons were way overblown.
I bet you could mix and match levels from both and no one could tell the difference, such is their quality of design so similar.

NSMB Wii has odd pieces of land that scroll. It always irked me. I'd know the difference! :p
 

AniHawk

Member
I've always thought the NSMB Wii-DS comparisons were way overblown.
I bet you could mix and match levels from both and no one could tell the difference, such is their quality of design so similar.

nsmbw went vertical more often, either thanks to the propeller hat or the increased importance of wall-jumping. nsmbw also didn't have to make every level something you could auto-kill with the mega mushroom.
 

Panajev2001a

GAF's Pleasant Genius
Played about 2 hours and already nearly at world 6 o_O I know there's more, but it is seeming short so far. Otherwise, it's been incredibly fun. Loving it. And the graphics are almost on par with the Wii, just a lower resolution, so that's great. Can't wait to see what they do with Zelda!

The 8-directional movement doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, if at all. It actually comes in handy when doing tight running segments.
Controls feel fine for the most part. The lack of triple jump is sad, and a long jump is tricky to do when holding run... And also, I don't really see the point of the cartwheel side jump or the backflip? They don't seem to go any higher than a normal jump, which is odd.. I also dislike how you need to get momentum to reach max jump distance. I find myself having to run a small circle first, which is very un-Mario like.

I think the game would have been better without having to hold-to-run, especially as he attacks every time if you have a powerup. Thank god however that Nintendo mapped run to Y/X this time instead of the very uncomfortable A/Y.

Small control quibbles are sad considering how Mario is renown for perfect controls, but in the big picture they don't came as a great detriment to the game. It's still a blast to play!

Yes, the run button is the only thing really bothering me about the controls... I expected the 8-way run to do that much more than it did (I would still like to see true analog movement, but removing the run button would be a greater priority in my opinon)... it is taking away enjoyment from the long jump. Never really had this much trouble performing it before :p.
 
NSMB Wii is a much more difficult game, I don't even know how that can be argued with. It just baffles me. I like the DS game a lot but it is pretty damn simple.

EDIT: The star coins in NSMB DS it were far harder to find than in 3d Land, that's for sure.

Uh no, NSMB Wii was a lot easier. I don't think I died more than 10 times before beating the game for the first time, and finding all of the star coins in worlds 1-8 didn't add much difficulty either. Only the special world had any real challenge to it.
 

.la1n

Member
Finally, someone gets it.

christopher-lambert-mortal-kombat.jpg
 

Tarin02543

Member
Wow, the hype is real. I'm only in world 4 but this is already my favourite 3d mario game, I find it even better than Super Mario Galaxy.

It's like a hybrid between smb3/sml2/sm64 and the depth is extremely well done.

Buy it if you can!
 

Tom_Cody

Member
I'm about 80% done at this point and I've gotten 3 coins and gold flags in 99% of the level as I've progressed.

I definitely rate this somewhere close to a 10. Pure gaming bliss and all that, but I'm really starting to notice a lack of polish in the second half.

It seems like they over extended themselves when they committed to exactly doubling the number of levels. Too many needlessly repeated levels and awful gold coin placement in general. On so many of the levels, the gold coins are just along the main route with no challenge or puzzle involved in collecting them.

One more minor gripe- although this is the first game in the franchise to record gold flags, there are almost no interesting gold flags. The flagpole challenges in the NSMB games were fantastic unspoken features. Virtually every one was a unique jumping puzzle. I actually went through NSMB DS and got to the top of every flag pole (without mini-mario of course). Since they weren't recorded I just went through level by level. Guess the main problem here is the absence of the triple jump. The all seem to consist of making a semi-precise long jump.
 

Darko

Member
Wow, the hype is real. I'm only in world 4 but this is already my favourite 3d mario game, I find it even better than Super Mario Galaxy.

It's like a hybrid between smb3/sml2/sm64 and the depth is extremely well done.

Buy it if you can!

I played the game the whole of one minute in best buy before I decided to buy the 3ds and mario bundle.. loving it so far...
 

Skilletor

Member
The remixed levels are really awesome. They're barely recognizable from the originals, if at all.

I'm using Luigi now because Foxes > Tanoooki.
 
The remixed levels are really awesome. They're barely recognizable from the originals, if at all.

I'm using
Luigi
now because
Foxes > Tanoooki.

Luigi
turns into a
fox
? that's badass. maybe a spoiler to some though.

so glad to see this game selling so well. it deserves it.
 

branny

Member
Yeah, I think I'm definitely in the camp that adores this game.

Its structure lends itself incredibly well to subsequent replays. If at any point playing became a chore, I would consider that a pretty significant omen. Whether it were the game's fault or not, that means you'd dread returning to it in the future. People are making it sound like playing all over again for a shiny save file is some sort of punishment. I can't understand that, especially for a Mario game. The star coin gathering is something superfluous I'd normally hate, but it's done here in a way that encourages mild exploration and tricky maneuvering. It doesn't take away from the experience because it's not excessive and because most levels are just the right length.

Great games aren't riddled with filler, excessive downtime, or objectionable content. They're pure. They won't be consumed in one giant gulp and then dropped for something else. They'll be revisited, savored for years to come. They'll trigger whatever it is--that intangible bit of fun--every time they're picked up. It doesn't matter how much you memorize them or how good you get at them; the simple act of playing them is enough to create enjoyment.

Regarding NSMB, I tried a bit of the DS one and didn't like it, a recurring theme for recent Mario games with me. It's the same thing with the Rayman Origins demo. It doesn't matter how much I want to love something, if I'm not crazy about it, I probably won't ever be. At this point, I'm not even sure perfect mechanics or brilliant level design matter as much to me as "how everything feels," which is a stupid, completely unquantifiable thing to say.

In any case, 3D Land has unexpectedly clicked with me. It has its share of quirks, but I'm not convinced that many of the things people have mentioned disliking about the controls or design are genuinely bad--they're just different. And thank goodness for that difference because it has somehow granted me, a person who has disliked modern Mario for the longest time, the opportunity to finally get it again. Earlier it was mentioned how great 1-1 is, so I thought a good test would be to go through that stage...repeatedly. It was fun every single time. This game's a keeper, at least from that perspective.
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
You said this game is pure, and that's exactly how I would describe it as well. Its simplicity is its biggest strength, this is why I prefer it to both Mario Galaxy.
 

emb

Member
I wasn't totally sold on this game when I started playing it. I thought the physics were a little off, something to do with running taking too long to get going. 8 way run felt weird at first. It just didn't feel like the game controlled perfectly. Not sure what changed, I guess I just got used to it.

Now I can't put it down. I'm near the end of the last special world. Normally I just play games to beat them and move on. I've felt really compelled to keep going through the remixed stages. And on top of that, I have no problem at all with going through and getting the gold flags, coins, Mario/Luigi playthroughs. I wasn't too rigorous the first times, so it probably means I'll have to play through a lot of these stages two to four times. And rather than tedious, that seems really exciting to me.
 
Still stuck on the super secret final level after a hundred tries or so. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my refusal to pick up a Tanooki feather or a backup item. So far the farthest I've made it is to the
part with the things that shoot flames straight out.
Am I close enough to the end to power on Tanooki-less or should I cave?
 

MasterShotgun

brazen editing lynx
Still stuck on the super secret final level after a hundred tries or so. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my refusal to pick up a Tanooki feather or a backup item. So far the farthest I've made it is to the
part with the things that shoot flames straight out.
Am I close enough to the end to power on Tanooki-less or should I cave?

Is that the part that also has Shadow Mario? If so, it's the last part of the stage.
Keep trying and you'll get it.
 
Still stuck on the super secret final level after a hundred tries or so. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my refusal to pick up a Tanooki feather or a backup item. So far the farthest I've made it is to the
part with the things that shoot flames straight out.
Am I close enough to the end to power on Tanooki-less or should I cave?
I got to the same exact spot without a Tanooki suit after trying a ridculous number of times. I was pretty sick of the stage at that point so I just YouTubed the level and decided I got close enough.

The second section is just ridiculous without a suit, the rest of the level is cake in comparison. It's still tough since there's so much going on, but that stupid second section makes me never want to play the stage again.
 

Chopper

Member
The star reward system in the game is really screwy, isn't it? I mean I randomly got two stars for finishing worlds 1-8, I guess for getting all star coins too. I just finished all the special stages, again with all star coins, and I got another two. So the final star is for doing every level with Luigi, doing the final, final level, AND getting all gold flags?! Weird.
 
Game is alot of fun :p. We(us and some family members) recently finished New Super Mario Bros Wii again. Even more fun. How can you not have fun playing a Mario game? LOL
 

Sinthetic

Member
It really was a good accomplishment doing the very last level without the Tanooki, looking back at it, I'm not up for ever trying it again.
 

RaidenZR

Member
So I'm wondering if anyone can help me out. I've beat even level in W1-8
and Special W1-8 with both Mario and Luigi
, gotten then golden flagpoles, and all three coins. Every level. I've triple checked this.

I still only have 4 stars. They're not glittering but isn't it still possible to get the 5th star and get my crown stage? Where the heck is it? Any advice?
 
I'm halfway through SMG2 and Yoshi really isn't adding much in terms of fun levels...

I don't remember what "halfway" is, but Yoshi is fantastic in SMG2. I'd buy a platformer solely based on his pointer-tongue mechanics.

Yoshi's portion of Grandmaster Galaxy.
 
So I'm wondering if anyone can help me out. I've beat even level in W1-8
and Special W1-8 with both Mario and Luigi
, gotten then golden flagpoles, and all three coins. Every level. I've triple checked this.

I still only have 4 stars. They're not glittering but isn't it still possible to get the 5th star and get my crown stage? Where the heck is it? Any advice?

I'd quadruple check, because everything seems in order. There's probably one level missing one of the requirements that you skipped over or something.

And yeah, even if you missed out on the shiny stars you can definitely still get all five and access the last level.
 
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