Quantcast
E3 2013 Features Previews

Hands-On Preview: Super Mario 3D World

Written by Adam Shear

One of the most anticipated Nintendo games this year leading up to E3 was the 3D Mario action game Nintendo promised they would reveal at the show.  When Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed Super Mario 3D World, fans were quite shocked.  It’s a little different than we all expected, but my short hands-on time with the game proved that it is a Mario game with a lot of promise.

Super Mario 3D World looks and plays exactly like Super Mario 3D Land on Nintendo 3DS.  Being a huge fan of that game, I didn’t mind that this great hybrid of 2D and 3D Mario gameplay styles would make it to a console.

I got to play one level of the game while playing with three other people.  Multiplayer plays a huge part in the game as it was designed for players to play with their friends the whole way through.  One person played on the Wii U GamePad while the other three players, including myself, played with Wii Remotes held on their sides.

One thing I did not expect is that the game does not have full analog control.  You can only move characters in eight directions, a perfect fit for both analog sticks and d-pads.  It felt weird at first, but I got used to it as I played.

The four characters players can play as include Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad.  Each character has different skills.  Mario is the well-rounded character, Luigi has a higher jump, Peach can hover in the air while jumping, and Toad moves at faster speeds.  I played as Luigi and he definitely had a higher jump than the other characters.

The level I played had lots of grass and was built to show off the brand new cat suit.  This was the only power-up in the game and it’s a lot of fun to play as.  You can perform a cat scratch attack on enemies and climb up walls.  You can even climb up flagpoles to ensure you get that 1-up.  The cat suit really came in handy and looks to be a welcome edition to the game.

Fighting friends for coin blocks and defeating enemies is just as satisfying as it is in a game like New Super Mario Bros. U.  When one player found a secret stash of coins, I rushed over to grab as many as I could from him.  You are just as much competing with your friends as you are cooperating with them.  At the end of the demo, players got their scores.  I easily came in first place by collecting the most coins and beating the most enemies.

I should also add that the game looks awesome in HD.  Colors really pop out and the game world looks as vibrant as it ever has.

I can assure Mario fans that Super Mario 3D World will be an awesome new 3D Mario game.  It may not be a straight 3D game like Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Galaxy, but players will probably enjoy it just as much.  There are still a lot of questions I have about the game.  Probably the biggest one on my mind is what will story will be now that players can play as Peach rather than save her.  I guess we will find out when Super Mario 3D World releases on Wii U in December.

About the author

Adam Shear

Contributing Writer. @AdamShear. When he's not spending his hours working in the TV industry, he's spending his time playing video games and thinking about them.

2 Comments

  • Nice write up. I’ve always liked Mario games. I’m old school like that. Good to hear they kept the characters movements/jumps like they were back in the day.

  • I am personally stoked for this one. I just may purchase a Wii-U for this one.

%d bloggers like this: