The first of these is a Photo Mode, which can be triggered at any point mid-game by pressing Down on the D-Pad. The bigger additions to the main Super Mario 3D World mode, then, are the extra features that have been included for the first time. Other changes are less notable the Cat power-up lets you climb a little higher before its effects wear off and you slide back down, and your roll move can now be performed in mid-air (though is so non-essential that we didn’t even notice it was a thing until after we’d already beaten the game). Running speed is probably the most obvious one all four characters now move a bit quicker (it’s actually more noticeable when walking), meaning the game doesn’t quite have that pedestrian pace it did at times on Wii U.
Those who’ve already played through Super Mario 3D World won’t notice too many changes in how the game plays and feels. The layout is similar to the 2D games, too you’ve got a world map that lets you travel between levels, and each level has a set of collectables (in this case three green stars and a stamp) to encourage you to explore their nooks and crannies to ‘complete’ them 100%.
While you’re free to run in eight directions and some stages have open areas, each stage still has a clear path from the start of the stage to the flagpole at the end. Much like its 3DS predecessor Super Mario 3D Land, at first glance Super Mario 3D World appears to be a free-roaming game similar to the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey, but is actually more of a linear platformer like the 2D Super Mario Bros. The foursome decide to head into the pipe themselves, where they end up in the Sprixie Kingdom, and if you haven’t figured out that the aim is to rescue the Sprixies from Bowser then you must be new to this video game lark. The Sprixie starts to tell them that Bowser is kidnapping her friends when, right on cue, Bowser pops out, nabs her and heads back into the pipe. After Mario and Luigi fix the pipe (yes, they actually do some plumbing for once) out pops a little fairy called a Sprixie. One night Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad find a clear pipe outside Peach’s Castle. This is the game’s second chance to shine, but for many players, it’s going to be a brand new experience – so forgive us for a second if you’ve already played it, because we need to bring everyone else up to speed.Ĭaptured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) The main event in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is obviously still Super Mario 3D World itself, the 2013 release that ended up becoming the Wii U's second best-selling game but still sold less than nearly every other major Mario platformer because… well, it was on the Wii U. Super Mario 3D World is one of the last major Wii U games still to get the Switch port treatment, and now it’s finally here with an all-new adventure called Bowser’s Fury along for the ride, too.
35, but before we mourn them, Nintendo has one final release to celebrate the big three-five, and this one’s sticking around for good.
The 35th anniversary of Mario may soon be ending with a Thanos-style snap of the fingers for Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario Bros.