• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

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

Apdiddy

Member
Just finished this and my feelings on it haven't really changed, although I really loved
the last castle and the Zelda homage level.
I really wish there was an option to remap the controls (switch the analog nub and the D-pad). I ended up getting the Tanooki Suit of Shame quite a bit, which irritates me.

The game felt more like a hodge-podge/leftover levels from SM64 & Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 but condensed. I did some of the Special world levels and I'm wishing that how the rest of the game was....I found them to be more imaginative and better. Hopefully, Super Mario 3D Land 2 (if/when that comes out) is a lot better and they fix some of the problems.
 
Finished the game, so incredibly easy. It was beautiful though, the 3D was awesome!

I believe there is some stuff to do afterward if the ending was anything to go by.
 
Me said:
I got this game yesterday and it is undoubtedly a very well crafted game, with an exceptionally polished visual presentation and great production values. At this point, I think most of us are pretty much Mario platformer experts, breezing through the various games without so much as breaking a sweat. But I have definitely died more often in 3DS Land than in any other recent Mario game- and by quite a wide margin. Not because the level design is any more devious than usual, (in fact, the game places emphasis on creative "segments" a la Galaxy rather than the pure challenge of old) but because the controls don't feel as precise as usual. Or rather, Mario's controls are not as precisely in tune with the world around him as they usually are. This is most evident during the sequences that take place on a 2D plane, even though Mario now has full 3D movement. In addition, Mario feels perceptibly less acrobatic than the previous 3D games/NSMB series. It's the first time in a Mario game where I've felt like the mechanics of the game are to blame for player error, whereas this has previously never been the case in a series that prides itself on its superior controls.

Okay, having spent a few days with the game, you do get used to the controls and the game becomes a lot more enjoyable when you take it for what it is. I've got used to running in a circle before jumping for the flagpole. After completing Worlds 1 to 8, I abandoned my original save file and started afresh. I am currently on
S2-3
and have got all star coins/golden flagpoles up to that point with 0 retries. The ultimate goal will be to finish the whole thing without dying.

I think if the game didn't have the
post-game content
, the low difficulty and relatively small amount of levels would make this entry feel lazier than NSMB. But the fact that it does leverages the game's easiness and makes it feel like a fully formed package, making it a purely enjoyable experience to navigate the levels. Top marks Ninty.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Maybe I'm a baby-gamer now, but I kind of wish that they gave you the "white raccoon" suit in the special levels as well. I feel dumb because I lost 40 lives on one map and I'm actually worried about getting a "game over" at some point.

I'm not asking for auto-complete mode, but I felt like that white suit was a perfect compromise... I just don't get why they'd strip it out of the levels in which people would be more likely to use it.
 

Riposte

Member
Second half of the game is a huge improvement. Maybe my favorite 3D Mario.

I just found out you can steal Tanuki powers from enemies if you touch their tail. Did it while following closely behind a bullet bill. Blew my fucking mind lol.
 

Famassu

Member
Hmm... The second part didn't get quite as hard as I had imagined based on comments. I'm still kind of flying through the levels and am already at the end of S5 and there hasn't been too many levels I've lost more than 1-2 lives in (and most of the time I haven't even had the Tanooki suit to help with jumps). Though, maybe that'll change when I'll force myself to look for all the coins in all levels (I've gotten all of them in most levels, but there has been quite a few where I haven't).
 
Second half of the game is a huge improvement. Maybe my favorite 3D Mario.

I just found out you can steal Tanuki powers from enemies if you touch their tail. Did it while following closely behind a bullet bill. Blew my fucking mind lol.

Wait, what!? Can you do that with any enemy with Tanuki power? Ghosts, goombas, etc?
 

zigg

Member
I just found out you can steal Tanuki powers from enemies if you touch their tail. Did it while following closely behind a bullet bill. Blew my fucking mind lol.
I'm betting the enemy spawned a leaf (some drop one) and you grabbed it.

StreetPassing this game is fun. I've probably hit ten or so people in the area, and I'm clearly the best at it. Gives me incentive to go get good times and get times period on the levels I'd completed only after a checkpoint, in any event. :)
 

maeda

Member
I have finally given up on clearing the final level. It is just frustratingly difficult and not fun anymore!!! What is the award for clearing the level?
To make matters worse, during my definitive (I am set on seeing all the levels in the game) Yoshi's Island playthrough, I discovered that all the secret levels in that game are just as difficult as the final level in 3D Land, if not more difficult due to the collectathon requirements.
 

Grampasso

Member
I have finally given up on clearing the final level. It is just frustratingly difficult and not fun anymore!!! What is the award for clearing the level?
To make matters worse, during my definitive (I am set on seeing all the levels in the game) Yoshi's Island playthrough, I discovered that all the secret levels in that game are just as difficult as the final level in 3D Land, if not more difficult due to the collectathon requirements.
Good luck on Kamek's revenge
 

maeda

Member
Good luck on Kamek's revenge

Thanks!!! Yoshi's Island is clearly up there with the best this industry has seen. I am amazed by the sheer number of gameplay mechanics and level design philosophies that ended up being used in countless Nintendo's platformers.
 

Riposte

Member
Just got to the Special Worlds... Wow, so much better.

Honestly, if there was a flute or warp in this game that let me skip to world 8, my opinion of this game would go up by a lot. It is really quite a mediocre (but at times novel) experience until you really dig into the special worlds. I have to say it is a terribly paced game.

S7-4 is really great. Just got done with that one, best level I've played by far and naturally also the hardest. However I went back with a tanuki suit and it became much easier. So I recommend doing that stage "naked" the first time so you don't miss out on the best this game has to offer (at least up to then).
 

JeTmAn81

Member
Well, I've finally collected all the coins from all the worlds. I still have a few gold flags to get, but I could get all those on my Luigi run. However, having just finished getting all the coins, do I really have to go through everything all over again with Luigi just to see that final level? Really? It doesn't seem justified. I don't know if I'm going to make it.
 

ghibli99

Member
If this game were as difficult as some of you think it should be, it'd be criticized for being too hard, and certainly would make people quit early. The game has to be accessible to a very wide audience. Yes, this means the difficulty ramp happens later (and is steeper), but it's not as horrendously terrible as some are making it out to be. I like that inexperienced players can get pretty far into it with not too much trouble, but series vets do get challenged considerably later on.
 

Berordn

Member
Well, I've finally collected all the coins from all the worlds. I still have a few gold flags to get, but I could get all those on my Luigi run. However, having just finished getting all the coins, do I really have to go through everything all over again with Luigi just to see that final level? Really? It doesn't seem justified. I don't know if I'm going to make it.

Once you've collected everything in the levels, playing through them again is a breeze. It feels different for sure.
 

ghibli99

Member
Once you've collected everything in the levels, playing through them again is a breeze. It feels different for sure.
Yeah, it almost has a free-running feel to it as you race to the end, which is fun. I blew through all the Luigi stuff in a matter of about a day. If you didn't get all the star coins on your Mario playthrough, then that could certainly alter the feel of this.
 
I'm pretty close to 100%ing the game. Probably the first time I've 100%ed any game in a loooong time; I usually find the process tedious as hell, but 3D Land is such a joy to play through that I didn't mind it at all. It helps that the bite-sized levels lend themselves quite well to my strategy of going through a few levels every day.

Halfway through World S7 (only one more world after this), and S7-3 in particular is fucking kicking my ASS. Giant Cosmic Mario + Flip Switches = FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
done all the levels, all gold flags, all gold coins. There are kind of three games in one

- main levels. Fun but fluff, just run through them enjoying yourself but without much challenge
- special worlds. The real game IMO. Some nice challenging levels
- gold coins. The special worlds are not too difficult just playing through them straight. But when you go back to get all the gold coins there are quite a few levels that are pretty damn tricky. A few I ended up just going for one coin at a time to reduce risk.


TBH I've seen the final level and I don't think i'll bother. Right at the beginning with the single block jumps 'into' the screen its just too difficult for me to properly judge distance and its really frustrating. So for me I'll consider it 100% done just having unlocked it.


Cosmic Mario just kinda irritates me in general, only thing I don't really care for in the game :p

I don't mind him so much, but his 'lets gooo!' squeaky voice gets annoying very quickly, especially when you're on later levels where you die quickly. Combo Cosmic Mario + 30s countdown is hectic.

and is it me, or does Cosmic Mario get 'closer' to you in later levels? When he's introduced, you seem to have more buffer before he gets to you, but later on he's right on your ass.
 

zigg

Member
I find this notion that the "real" game starts in the special worlds kind of amusing, really.

I don't at all deny that the game starts off really easy (though still fun!) but I found the entire thing one big smooth curve (save S8-Crown, though really, once you've mastered it, it ain't so hard), something that in retrospect is actually kinda rare. i.e. S1 wasn't really suddenly "OMG THIS IS IT" over W8... just another step in the progression that had already been going on. Hell, S1-1 itself was easier than a good chunk of the worlds that came before it... :lol
 

Sagitario

Member
I think these 2 are my favorite tunes in the whole game:

Main Theme (Clock Tower): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiDoI3ZvapY
Final boss: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSZ_eRAeapo [So epic]

Other ones I really really liked:
Beat Blocks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rOrQK1okuk
Snow Overworld: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYoP3_p2-N8
Special World 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTpKq7T32Ws
Special World 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSb2R9mJ1gY
Attack Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZBt0yYrjv8
Ghost House (re-used from Galaxy): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_V8vpKOYpM

Lovely and fitting soundtrack! :)
 
are all the special levels just remixed levels? or are there some totally new ones?

cause if so, i dont think im gonna bother with them. the first 6 worlds in the game were easy as hell and i wish the game was more like that last 2 worlds plus the levels you unlock with the gold coins.

great game but i wish it was more challenging beginning to end, instead of just the end. the final level was incredible and the boss fight was just wow :O
 

Celine

Member
are all the special levels just remixed levels? or are there some totally new ones?

cause if so, i dont think im gonna bother with them. the first 6 worlds in the game were easy as hell and i wish the game was more like that last 2 worlds plus the levels you unlock with the gold coins.

great game but i wish it was more challenging beginning to end, instead of just the end. the final level was incredible and the boss fight was just wow :O
There are some new levels, also harder than the normal worlds.
So if (lack of) difficulty is your complain you should try the special worlds although to me the special worlds is the second part of the game, not something extra.
 

tmdorsey

Member
Just started playing this and currently on World 4-2. I have to say I LOVE the game so far. The use of 3D is excellent. I love the level design. I'm just having pure fun playing it.

Couple of question that I'm sure have been answered a thousand times, but don't have the time to go through an 80 page thread.

1)Am I correct in that the special worlds only open up if you get all the star coins on each level?

2)What are gold flags?


Thanks
 

Celine

Member
1)No, just beat those first eight worlds.
2)You get a golden flag everytime you touch the highest part of the ending level pole.
You know if you got a golden flag in that level if a golden flag appear in the lower right part of the screen (in the map).
 

tmdorsey

Member
1)No, just beat those first eight worlds.
2)You get a golden flag everytime you touch the highest part of the ending level pole.
You know if you got a golden flag in that level if a golden flag appear in the lower right part of the screen (in the map).

Thanks

So basically if I get the 1up when I jump on the flag pole I should get the golden flag? I've never noticed the golden flag in the lower screen.
 

ghibli99

Member
Thanks

So basically if I get the 1up when I jump on the flag pole I should get the golden flag? I've never noticed the golden flag in the lower screen.
It will be in the bottom-right corner of the *top* screen. You'll also get (M)ario and (L)uigi indicators later.
 

JeTmAn81

Member
It will be in the bottom-right corner of the *top* screen. You'll also get (M)ario and (L)uigi indicators later.

Do you have to have all gold flags before unlocking the Mario/Luigi indicator by beating Bowser at the end of W8 again? Because I beat Bowser but did not get that indicator. I do not have all gold flags.
 

Chairhome

Member
I've finally 100% completed this game. I don't know how many games I've done that to in my lifetime. This may be the first, haha.

The last stage was annoying me, but I was able to beat it after taking a week or two away from it then coming back to it. It was really dumb of me at the end:
I died at the "Thank you!" part since I was running across the letters. I didn't notice the moving platform at the bottom until the third time I got there... and I still ran to the end by running on the letters.
. All in all, great game, the later levels are a pretty big step up from the earlier ones, so it'll be interesting to see if my wife can get past them.
 

lowrider007

Licorice-flavoured booze?
ummm, great game but I'm finding it a little too hard, I must of died 25 times on 2:4, I think it's why I've always preferred 2D Mario's, my brain just can't seem to handle platforming in polygonal 3D environments, Super Meat Boy was easier to control, or 2D Mario is easier because I feel I have more control over my character, I know where the character is going to land right down to the pixel, it always feels like a guessing game with 3D Mario's, the best way I can describe it is it feels like I'm constantly walking along a tight rope, hopefully some of you will know what I mean, I can see it's a good game, but it's just a little frustrating knowing that many people find it easy and I'm falling off the edge all the time, I'm going to persevere through, great graphics, fantastic audio.
 

ghibli99

Member
Do you have to have all gold flags before unlocking the Mario/Luigi indicator by beating Bowser at the end of W8 again? Because I beat Bowser but did not get that indicator. I do not have all gold flags.
They're not appearing even after you went back and beat Bowser again? Hmm... I don't remember this happening for me since I didn't have all the gold flags either as I was playing through with Luigi, but I did have the M/L/Flag icons on my top screen. You did beat all the regular and special worlds, correct?

The last stage was annoying me, but I was able to beat it after taking a week or two away from it then coming back to it. It was really dumb of me at the end:
I died at the "Thank you!" part since I was running across the letters. I didn't notice the moving platform at the bottom until the third time I got there... and I still ran to the end by running on the letters.
. All in all, great game, the later levels are a pretty big step up from the earlier ones, so it'll be interesting to see if my wife can get past them.
As for the spoilered part, wow, does it just take you to the end? I saw it there, but figured it was some kind of trap. LOL

ummm, great game but I'm finding it a little too hard, I must of died 25 times on 2:4, I think it's why I've always preferred 2D Mario's, my brain just can't seem to handle platforming in polygonal 3D environments, Super Meat Boy was easier to control, or 2D Mario is easier because I feel I have more control over my character, I know where the character is going to land right down to the pixel, it always feels like a guessing game with 3D Mario's, the best way I can describe it is it feels like I'm constantly walking along a tight rope, hopefully some of you will know what I mean, I can see it's a good game, but it's just a little frustrating knowing that many people find it easy and I'm falling off the edge all the time, I'm going to persevere through, great graphics, fantastic audio.
You're not alone. This is a big reason why the Galaxy games are so difficult for a lot of players, while those who don't have an issue with 3D space tend to think they're too easy for the most part. It must be really difficult for Nintendo to find that happy medium. I think that's why so many of the early stages do feel easy (especially on GAF who tend to like their games hard) and then they make the special/later levels truly challenging (and probably damn near impossible for folks who have trouble w/ 3D).
 

Celine

Member
Wait I just
completed with Mario the 8 worlds and the special ones with every golden coin and flag but I still only have 2 star in my salvefile. What's wrong ? Do I need to redo the last level in eight normal world? (there is a red ! on it)

EDIT:
Apparently yes, just tried.
Now go with
Luigi
 
Top Bottom