This game. This game.
I shouldn't like this as much as I do. The game isn't overly adventurous, being another title pandering to retro Mario love and using mostly an asset/artstyle tag-team combo from NSMBWii and the Galaxy games. The 3D isn't a revolutionary game changer or anything either. For me to like this game, it makes me feel bad in the sense that I am not condoning progress in games design, or constantly parroting the line that "things need to be shaken up" in order to keep gaming alive and relevant.
But seriously... wow. This is, like, the most fun Mario title I've ever played. The most joyous I've been about a game in so long, even after playing both Galaxy games to death (which as anyone knows is no small feat in the fun factor). Playing this on Christmas morning brought me back to my younger self playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on Christmas morning again, and I felt so happy navigating its twee little levels and brightly coloured, abstract landscapes and backgrounds. Nothing needs to be explained and nothing needs to be excused - it's just another reason to have fun rescuing the Princess again.
Even though the 3D isn't a massive revolutionary part to it (the game throws in some 3D centric bonus levels, but this are honestly rather gimmicky) I think it seriously helps me enjoy the visuals. One of my favourite things, outside of videogames, is model railway sets, and I always love seeing other people's craftmanship on display with micro environments that you can peek into from multiple angles high above everything. The 3D really gives me that same, wonderful, playful feeling. Watching Mario and Co. moving around these tiny clockwork dioramas that I'm holding in my hands just makes me smile with absolute glee. The level designs feel like a monumental celebration of the legacy of Mario - even outside the tributary power-ups, music and stage design, it really feels like the perfect blend between the 2D and 3D titles and feels instantly familiar and comfortable to me, and is probably another thing that gives me that "SMB3 on Christmas morning" feeling.
Is it easy? Very. With the exception of some rather tough Special Stages - that, from what I've seen, don't come anywhere near the level of Galaxy 2's Perfect Run - it's a rather laid back affair that is supremely generous with extra lives. Also, Tanooki Suit makes the game significantly easier to navigate. But, see, that doesn't bother me in the slightest. I like being able to hop, skip and jump my way out of locations and float down to faraway platforms I'm not supposed to reach where I doing it the conventional way, and I like the fact that the game showers me with praise through delicious little green mushroomy rewards whenever I do something right or take the initiative to explore a location. Moreover, the small, relaxed level designs are perfect for handheld gaming and a great way to appeal to the smartphone gaming generation.
Maybe I an gushing a bit, because it seems clear to me personally that Mario is more important than ever as a definition of what makes videogames the approachable and iconic pastime that it is. But after both Galaxy games I genuinely did not believe I was going to get so much enjoyment out of this game, especially being a 30-year-old who has seen a lot of games in his time. To say this is a killer app for the 3DS is an understatement; it is a real crown jewel in videogames and screams FUN - in giant, multicoloured capital letters - more than nearly everything before it.
.
