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Back in January, when Nintendo first confirmed that the team behind Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 3D Land were developing a new 3D Mario platformer for Wii U, it's probably fair to say that most people thought it would be something like the former. Both of the Galaxy games were incredibly well received when they launched in 2007 and 2010, and while Super Mario 3D Land was deemed an excellent game, it wasn't quite able to match the splendor of its console predecessors. It might have come as a surprise, then, that the new 3D Mario platformer for Wii U is, in fact, Super Mario 3D World - but having had the pleasure of playing the game following its debut at E3 2013, we can safely say any concerns about the quality of the game can be swept swiftly under the carpet.
Super Mario 3D World is a true sequel to Super Mario 3D Land, and it shows: the visuals are wonderfully vibrant and colourful, much like they were in 3D Land, and the lack of a 3D display in no way detracts from the experience. 3D was mostly used for optical illusions, which have been replaced in this entry by little mazes and crevices, as well as by hidden items such as coins and ? Blocks which will only appear when touched or passed through. The levels we played were much larger than in 3D Land, and while there's still definite progression within the levels, you're likely to spend more time deviating because of how much more is packed into levels. Rather than collecting Star Coins in levels, á la 3D Land, players now have three green Power Stars to collect in each level, which presumably will help to unlock something when players collect them all.
A new power-up introduced in Super Mario 3D World, revealed during E3 2013, is Cat Mario. This clever new power-up allows Mario and company to scratch and claw at enemies, scamper up walls, maow and pounce - when pouncing, you'll keep going until you hit the ground. We had fun with this by scampering up to the highest possible point in one of the early levels before pouncing back down to the ground, which was far more fun than it should be on paper. Cat Mario will also climp up the flagpole at the end of the level, so you'll get a 1-UP even if you don't land on the very top. Other suits confirmed to return in Super Mario 3D World are Tanooki Mario and Fire Mario, though we're hoping some other favourites return as well. You'll also be able to store one power-up to use at any time, as in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario World.
One of the new mechanics in Super Mario 3D World - and possibly the best new mechanic introduced in quite a long time - is the use of transparent warp pipes. Players will be able to travel through these as usual, but they usually offer different paths, which will allow players to direct Mario through them to collect items and avoid enemies. One very cool feature is the ability, as Fire Mario, to throw fireballs into these; in one of the levels we played, we were unable to jump onto a platform because a Piranha Plant was in the way, so we sneakily threw a fireball into the pipe and watched it come out the other end, felling said Piranha Plant in the process. Despite being transparent, the content of these pipes are sometimes hidden in walls, meaning you'll have to travel through them to find out if there's anything in them.
The game clearly takes some inspiration from Super Mario Bros. 2, as once again Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad return with their unique abilities: Luigi can jump higher and has a slight float to his jump; Peach is slower, but can hover in the air for a couple of seconds when jumping; Toad is the fastest of the four, but has a smaller jump; and Mario, as expected, is middle ground. Each character's icon in the top-left of the screen is also reminiscent of artwork of the era, while players will be able to select any of the characters to play in single-player mode. This means that in certain instances, players may decide to opt for a specific character; for example, if a level includes a wide gap, Luigi or Peach may be a better choice to make the gap easier to cross.
Of course, Super Mario 3D World is the first original 3D Mario platformer to feature four-player multiplayer, which is a lot of fun whether you're playing it yourself or just watching others play. The action will follow whoever's at front, though it partly depends on who's wandering off where, and anyone who falls behind will just be brought back to the main action without penalty. Players will be able to team up to battle bosses and make their way through levels together, with the Wii U GamePad, the Wii Remote and the Wii U Pro Controller available as control options. The game also supports off-TV play via the GamePad.
The most important thing about Super Mario 3D World, however, is the fact that is incredible fun to play. Anyone who remembers the first time they played one of the Super Mario Galaxy games, and the thrill that experience provides, will be able to feel that again with this. The game's levels provide a sizeable amount of content, as we've already mentioned, and that allows players to do a fair bit of exploration, something that's very important in a game such as this. There's a want to find everything in the game, and with items hidden around large levels, we're hoping it'll take some time to do. Though we still don't know how many levels there are, or what the world map looks like, we'd hope it's closer to Super Mario Galaxy 2 or New Super Mario Bros. U than Super Mario 3D Land.
Super Mario 3D World's debut received mixed reactions from Mario fans and Wii U owners, but we can assure you the game is shaping up to be an incredibly fun experience. The game looks absolutely fantastic, the controls are spot-on and both the single-player and multiplayer modes provide an experience you feel can only be had on a Nintendo console. There's still much we don't know about Super Mario 3D World, but we can't wait to find out more about what promises to be a system seller when it launches this December.
