Super Mario 3D World

Gameplay

The game follows a similar play style to Super Mario 3D Land, which combines the free-roaming gameplay of 3D Mario titles with the mechanics of 2D side-scrolling platforming games in the series, going so far as to include a flagpole and timer on every level. Four players control every playable characters, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad. Additionally, Rosalina is a hidden, unlockable fifth playable character. Similar to their appearances in Super Mario Bros. 2, each of the characters possesses unique abilities and controls differently: Mario has balanced running speed and jump height, Luigi jumps higher and falls slower, but has lower traction; Peach can jump and shortly float through the air, but runs slowly, Toad runs the fastest, but cannot jump as high and falls faster; and Rosalina can use the spin attack move as seen in the Super Mario Galaxy titles, but has the slowest running speed. The player can select any of the five characters to use before beginning a level, and up to four players may explore the same level simultaneously with each character, sharing from a pool of extra lives. Like New Super Mario Bros. Wii and New Super Mario Bros. U, players are able to pick up and carry each other to help them across certain areas.

Levels are accessed via a map overworld, which players can freely explore to find hidden secrets or access bonus areas to earn more items or coins. Each level contains three hidden Green Stars which are required to access certain levels, and each main level also contains a hidden Stamp which can be used in handwritten posts to Miiverse within the game's community. Players can also view messages left by other players, both on the map overworld and after clearing a level, and can download Mii Ghosts to appear in levels and they sometimes carry each gift boxes containing either coins or power-ups. Additional Green Stars can be earned in Captain Toad levels, where players control Captain Toad, who cannot jump, as he navigates puzzle-like stages using the GamePad's functionality, and Mystery Houses, where players must clear a series of challenges with short time limits.

Along with several returning items from previous games, such as the Super Leaf, Mega Mushroom, Propeller Box and Boomerang Flower, several new items are introduced. The Super Bell gives players a Cat Suit, allowing them to run faster, perform unique attacks and climb up walls to reach new areas. A variation of the Super Bell, the Lucky Bell, allows the player to temporarily transform their character into a lucky cat statue that awards coins under certain conditions. Double Cherries make a clone of the player, allowing for more effective attacks. The more Double Cherries the player grabs, the more clones that appear. Players can also wear Cannon Boxes, which fire shots at enemies, Light Blocks, which can defeat ghosts and Goomba masks, which let them blend in with enemy Goombas. Players are also able to pick up various objects, such as bombs, baseballs and Piranha Plants, which can be used to defeat enemies or solve puzzles, and ride around in a Skating Shoe or on an aquatic dinosaur named Plessie.

The game features functionality with the Wii U GamePad, allowing players to rub the touchscreen, or blow into the microphone to reveal hidden blocks or items, hinder enemies and activate mechanisms, and also supports Off-TV Play. The game is also compatible with the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, Classic Controller and Wii U Pro Controller. An unlockable Luigi-themed version of Mario Bros., titled Luigi Bros., can be accessed either by clearing the game, or by having save data from New Super Luigi U.

Plot

Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad find a tilted glass pipe. After Mario and Luigi fix it, a green Sprixie Princess appears and tells them that Bowser kidnapped and trapped the rest of the Sprixie Princesses in jars. He arrives and captures her before escaping through the pipe, while Mario and friends enter it and pursue him. They find themselves in a land known as "The Sprixie Kingdom" and set off to find the fairies.

After Mario and friends save the final one, Bowser re-captures all seven Sprixie Princesses and heads to his amusement park fortress. There after Bowser uses the Super Bell to transform into "Meowser", one of them hits a giant POW Block that Bowser stands on and he falls through the sky. With Bowser defeated, Mario and friends say goodbye to the fairies, and travel through the pipe back to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Development

In a January 2013 Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announced that a new 3D Mario game was being produced by the development team behind Super Mario Galaxy. The game's official title was announced during the E3 2013 Nintendo Direct on June 11, 2013, along with its tentative release date of November 2013.

According to Koichi Hayashida, Peach was originally not going to be a playable character. Yoshiaki Koizumi suggested for Peach to be playable, which would then be agreed upon. Koizumi reasoned, "I think she adds a lot to the sense of competition when you get in multiplayer ... You can have different people choosing different characters based on their personality or whoever they like."

Similarly, Rosalina was later added as a playable character. Kenta Motokura said, "I was thinking about what would be pleasing after the ending and wanted to bring in another female character in addition to Princess Peach. Rosalina has a following among the Super Mario Galaxy fanbase, and she's appeared in Mario Kart recently, so I think she's well known."

The game's soundtrack was composed by Mahito Yokota, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo and Yasuaki Iwata, and performed by the Mario 3D World Big Band. An official soundtrack was released for Club Nintendo members in Japan, Australia and Europe, featuring 77 songs across two CDs.

Reception

Super Mario 3D World was critically acclaimed. It gained scores of 92.77% and 93/100 on aggregate review websites GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively. The title also won many awards from media outlets, including Game of The Year (GOTY) from Eurogamer, Digital Spy, and MSN UK.

Famitsu gave the game a score of 38/40. IGN's Jose Otero gave 3D World a 9.6/10, praising the visual design's "youthful energy," the "interesting risks" taken with the level designs, the "maddening challenge" offered by later worlds, and the "genuinely funny and memorable co-op". He said, "I reveled in the sheer brilliance of how much energy and gameplay mileage Nintendo has packed into every world." Otero's only complaint was that "the camera becomes a slight obstacle in four-player multiplayer". GameTrailers gave the game a score of 9.5, praising its gameplay and presentation, while criticizing camera issues and some odd control choices. GamesRadar gave the game a score of 4.5/5, praising improved multiplayer and some moments so brilliant that they can make some other levels seem dull by comparison. Luke Plunkett of Kotaku called the game "a terrific Mario game... just not a very good Wii U game", praising the game itself, but lamenting that it doesn't do much to show off the Wii U's capabilities. Patrick Klepek at Giant Bomb, saying "World continues to make the case that it's possible to reinvent a classic over and over again".

Anime News Network gave the game an A grade, calling it "fun, imaginative, and filled with little surprises and delights." Edge rated the game 9/10, calling it "Wii U's best game to date," and "the most next-gen game that 2013 has yet produced," and stating that Mario is the most fun character to play as because "his cohorts' abilities aren't anything special". Destructoid's Chris Carter awarded the game a 10/10, praising the power-ups (especially the catsuit, which "open[s] up [doors] platforming-wise that weren't there before," and the double cherry, which "Nintendo really outdid themselves in terms of the technical mechanics" to make possible), the "incredibly sharp" graphics, and "one of the best OSTs I've ever heard". Carter wrote that "the only downfall of the design is the selection of boss fights," as Nintendo "had achieved a level of platforming design that's close to perfection". Joystiq's Richard Mitchell gave the game 5/5 stars, praising the "astounding" visual craftsmanship, "excellent soundtrack," and "artful, purposeful design" which "communicates goals with complete clarity". GameZone's Mike Splechta gave it a 9.5/10, stating "With multiple characters to play as (harking back to Super Mario Bros. 2) and an unlockable fifth, a fantastic and unobtrusive multiplayer component and enough new power-ups to make even Mario's head spin, you're bound to have a highly enjoyable time with one of the best 3D platformers released thus far."

Eurogamer's Christian Donlan gave the game a 10/10, describing it as "an endless freewheeling treat of a game" with an "ad-libbed drive to...explore how many different situations [Mario] can be squashed into". He noted that this inventiveness carries over to the "lavish and quick-changing" soundtrack: "This is pastiche at its most skillful, its most panoramic." Cheat Code Central's Jenni Lada gave the game a 5/5, calling it "the closest we will ever come to a perfect Mario game, one that is a culmination of every right decision ever made in the series." Nintendo World Report stated that it's a Mario game that one would want to continue playing once the game is beaten and may be the killer app of the Wii U, saying "Thankfully 3D World isn’t just a refinement of the Mario formula, it’s a powerful re-imagining. It’s an explosive cavalcade of color and excitement as well as a well thought out evolution of Mario." The Escapist was slightly more critical of it, saying "Buy it if you love that little plumber, and enjoy the new toys, but don't expect your mind to be blown." However, it gave a score of four stars out of five.

Sales

In Japan, the game's first week sales in three days at retail, totaled to 99,588 copies sold (not including eShop download sales) and 57% of its initial shipment. The sales were considered low at first, but it maintained strong sales during the following weeks. By January 5, the game's sales totaled about 400,000 units in Japan and was still on the weekly top 10 charts.

In the UK, the game debuted at number 14, behind its competitor, Knack, which debuted at number 13. During its first eight days on the market, there were 215,000 units sold in the US according to the NPD Group, debuting out of the Top 10.

As of December 31, 2016, the game had yielded sales of 5.47 million units worldwide, making it the Wii U's third best-selling game.

Spin-off

Based on and expanding upon the game's The Adventures of Captain Toad puzzle-based levels, a separate game, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, was released for the Wii U on November 13, 2014 in Japan, December 5, 2014 in North America and in January 2015 in PAL regions.