It may be easy to guess where the shots are going after actively and passively saying that Super Mario 3D World is my favorite Mario . But beware, there may be unexpected twists and turns. Maybe all of a sudden, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is now my new favorite Mario.
And it’s how to say no to a more and better in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury finally does justice to the hackneyed phrase. The addition of Bowser’s Fury is a rarity noteworthy enough to come to add and, for its part, the improvements in what was already a great game on Wii U make this edition of Switch an undoubtedly more recommended.
An old acquaintance with new surprises
To those who come from that delivery with almost eight years behind them – I have three wrinkles after writing that – there is little to say that they do not already know. What was already crazy on Wii U looks even more on Switch, turning each jump, each elaborate corner of a stage, into a formidable moment to polish the photo mode .
The online mode that adds to the local multiplayer for four players may be interesting for those who seek to squeeze it in this way, but it is in the couch cooperative, and even more so alone, where Super Mario 3D World makes the most sense.
Those who have not stepped on this Mario again for almost a decade may not notice it first, but what was already a very fine control gains an essential additional help in the form of a boost to the speed of the characters. Both on the screens and in the tour of your map, now everyone runs at a faster pace that, far from breaking the game, feels great.
It is what has to have created a piece of goldsmith, that no matter how many turns you give it will end up shining on all its faces. And if there is a reason why Super Mario 3D World became my favorite Mario, and now the witness passes, it is precisely for that.
A must rare grandparents
Like its predecessor, the main game of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is a rare bird. It is not the classic two-dimensional Mario despite picking up its style and structure: a series of levels through which to advance in an almost linear way. Neither the Mario 3D that pulls history, freedom and ways to squeeze the levels.
As if it were the arcade of an arcade from an alternate future, Super Mario 3D World is one and the other at the same time. Yes, there is a map in which to jump to each level in an orderly way or revisiting the ones already passed, but there is also a sandwich that shows us what we have left to collect in a world in which we not only limit ourselves to reaching the final pennant.
It also has its part of history, although it is more anecdotal than ever, and it knows how to squeeze each of its levels, but not because of the need to replay them over and over again to collect stars – in fact you can get all three available and the stamp of bonus on your first ride – but for the mastery with which they shape each little world in the game to present an idea, get the most out of it, and then jump onto something else .
By offering a 3D world but abandoning the freedom that is assumed, the levels of Super Mario 3D World are that corseted experience -for its own good- that takes you by the hand to show you only what the creator wants you to see, and you move through the challenges as he has devised them. Who am I to deny or despise that polishing to the extreme.
The originality of Super Mario 3D World
With a game much bigger and harder than the first levels paint, Super Mario 3D World becomes one of those titans that seem tiny in the distance and then grow to a colossal height when you have them within a stone’s throw .
A superb challenge for completists and, based on aid, also a relatively affordable one for novices . Right there, in helping those most in need but also focused on giving wings to the experts, comes the most outstanding novelty of this edition: the cat suit.
Due to the verticality it offers, and the ease with which you can dispatch enemies and face jumps at high speed, the ” new ” costume enters head first into the bag of the best plumber transformations , and is an addition as celebrated in each level as it was the flower in the classics.
Cherries that duplicate protagonists, boxes that fire cannons and others that transform you into a helicopter complete a collection that, coupled with the exquisite level design masterclass offered by each scenario, make Super Mario 3D World a plate to be scraped so as not to leave any the left overs. The ” does not have a second bad ” is still the perfect last name for this installment.
Bowser’s Fury, a reason to fall again
With the old already under control, it’s time to jump to the new, the Bowser’s Fury mode that serves as the tagline for this edition. A very pleasant surprise that, beyond being viralized thanks to the presentation of a super warrior Mario or a Godzilla-sized Bowser, turns out to be a very well executed rarity that could easily become the key to the future that is to come.
It is, as Super Mario 3D World was , a mixture of the two faces of Mario, that of 2D and that of 3D, which are shaken again in a shaker to give way to a style more in keeping with the times. It has the different stars of each level, converted here into cat suns, and also a brief and concise story to be revealed little by little, but it also raises the possibility of abandoning the map in which to go from here to there by changing it for a small open world.
It enjoys the replayability expected of a Super Mario Odyssey Mario, with several hidden suns to approach in each part of the stage, but also offers the linearity that allows developers to unleash their creativity without worrying about what you go off the beaten path.
Although curious, less remarkable is the fact of being able to fight Bowser with a life bar on his head, but luckily the idea gives way to surprises that, unfortunately, we cannot collect in this text. Avoiding spoilers does allow, however, to say that there is much more than meets the eye .
There is little doubt of the love I have for the original game and, on the rebound, also for this Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury . Continuing down this path, even daring to veer towards what is proposed by the new mode, would be for me the next great joy that Nintendo could deliver with the plumber.
But beyond tastes and phobias, entering that part so objective that so little sense ends up having in texts like these, there is a truth that weighs above all when standing in front of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury . That it is a formidably well done game, an ode of love to platforms and that, despite being almost eight years old and having rained a lot since then, it is still the best platforms I have faced.
Essential
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
| Platforms | Switch |
|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Yes |
| Developer | Nintendo |
| Company | Nintendo |
| Launch | February 12, 2021 |
| Price | 48.99 euros |
The best
- A master class in video game design.
- A huge game with dozens of hours for completionists.
- The addition of Bowser’s Fury is a very pleasant surprise.
Worst
- It never hurts to have more playable news.
- Let it not be even bigger and longer.
