As I said in my post about Mario Odyssey, I tend to prefer the more linear 3D Mario games. The collecathons can be fun, but the more linear obstacle courses feel more distinctly Mario. There's a stronger emphasis on focused platforming, but Nintendo often makes sure to cram in a ton of hidden secrets within the bounds of these more limited levels. Super Mario 3D World epitomizes all of the strengths of the format by offering a cavalcade of some of the most inventive and thoughtfully-designed stages in Mario history, but then it went and got a Switch port that fixed all of its few lingering issues and got an entire second game stuffed in, only solidifying itself as one of the best Mario packages you could possibly ask for.
I can't even begin to express the amount of nostalgia I have for Super Mario 3D World. I still remember the hype train for 3D World and getting both it and its similarly fantastic Captain Toad centric spinoff for their respective holiday seasons, I played the hell out of them. Since then, 3D World has become one of my favorite winter holiday games, which I guess makes this the perfect time for me to gush about it. It's almost a Super Mario Galaxy 3 to me, it has that same kind of magic, possibly due to the linear design, countless Galaxy references, and returning lead composer. It's hard to really pin down what makes 3D Mario games in particular feel so fun and satisfying to interact with, but 3D World shows that it's because of how playful they feel. Each level feels like a tactile toybox solely crafted to elicit as much fun and joy from the player as possible, and it works on me every single time. 3D World is just one of those games that still makes me incredibly happy even thinking about it.
Like with most Mario games, Super Mario 3D World does not have the most complicated set-up. Bowser kidnaps all the fairies of the Sprixie Kingdom, and Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad (harkening back to SMB2) jump in to save them. Beyond the novelty of being able to play as Peach again, the core loop remains to go through a bunch of weird and wacky levels to stop Bowser. And man, are those levels wacky. The level design in 3D World is probably still the best in any Mario game, at least on a pure design level. It's so good that it popularized the concept of "four-step level design", introducing your central mechanic, fleshing it out, and tossing it out by the end of the stage. It almost feels too obvious to praise 3D World's level design at this point, but it really is that good. Every single stage in 3D World is memorable, they all do something unique and fun, and they all manage to get the most out of their ideas without overstaying their welcome. The pacing at which new concepts get tossed your way is brisk, but the game never feels rushed or underdeveloped. Switch Scramble Circus, Shadow Play Alley, Double Cherry Pass, Mount Must Dash, Spike's Lost City, Sunshine Seaside, Sprawling Savanna, Hands On Hail, Fuzzy Time Mine, Red Hot Run, Trick Trap Tower, Cookie Cogworks, The Great Goal Pole, Honeycomb Starway, need I go on? The amount of now iconic Mario stages in 3D World is staggering.
But for as focused as 3D World's stages are, they also manage to be incredibly fun to explore. 3D World's levels are crammed with hidden coin trails, secret nooks and crannies, character-sensitive switches, and countless invisible blocks you need the touchscreen to find. Despite how linear 3D World is, I still feel like I'm discovering new secrets every time I play through it, and I've played through it a lot. 3D World has a fair amount of collectibles too, between the Green Stars and Stamps, really incentivizing you to look around, and there's even a best score counter for each level for good measure. It's not just the levels that have strong exploration, though. Even the hubs are filled with some ridiculously cool secrets. For the first time, you can freely run around the world map and Nintendo actually does a lot with this new mechanic. There are hidden pipes and Toad House entrances all over the place, and of course, I can't not mention the hidden Golden Express that floods you with coins if you can find it. There's so much cool side content in 3D World, ranging from the unlockable Rosalina, to the secret minigame Luigi Bros, to the brilliant Captain Toad stages that are so good they got their own game (which I desperately want a sequel to), to the several bonus worlds culminating in hands down my favorite true final level in all of Mario.
And on top of all that, Super Mario 3D World is my favorite speedrunning game of all time. Sure, it may not have the freeform movement or wild glitches of its collectathon siblings, but for what 3D World lacks, it makes up for with pure speed. This game is the fastest Mario has ever moved, 3D World's movement is incredibly quick and snappy. Add in the lack of glitches, and you get a speedrun that is based entirely on raw skill, just how I like it. Part of why I got into speedrunning 3D World is because of how easy Nintendo made it too. You can pop in and out of levels super quickly, and the game keeps track of your best times and even lets you race against ghosts of other players online, encouraging you to keep bettering your time. And then the Switch port went even further by speeding up the characters even more and giving you a dive, making speedruns even more fun than they already were in the Wii U version.
Speaking of the multiplayer, though, man is 3D World's multiplayer absolutely incredible. Super Mario 3D World carries over the chaotic energy of New Super Mario Bros Wii's multiplayer. You can bump into your allies and carry each other around, but it feels more balanced with that added third dimension. The game even expands on NSMBWii's chaos factor by introducing a score contest. The player with the highest score at the end of a level gets a crown that gives them extra points in the next level. However, the other players can steal that crown to get the points for themselves. I've had play sessions with friends completely devolve into us fighting over the crown, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 3D World didn't need to compromise the stage design to account for the extra players, and while certain parts of the game may be easier in multiplayer(Double Cherry stages, character-specific buttons), 3D World feels equally fun no matter how you play it. But it's not just local multiplayer that excels. 3D World really took advantage of Miiverse in all the best ways. From the aforementioned ghosts you could race against, to all the message boards and the ability to run into other players in hub in the Wii U version, to the introduction of the Miiverse Stamps, a mainstay of the console's library.
But if all that still wasn't incredible enough, the Switch port came with an entire second Mario game in Bowser's Fury. To be clear, I'm not in the camp of people who think Bowser's Fury stands up on its own merits as some amazing 3D Mario game, it's too short and easy for that. What it is, though, is an incredibly fun and unique experimental title that tries to make a truly open world Mario game, while throwing in some engaging time management for good measure. Lake Lapcat is a ton of fun to explore and is just as stuffed with neat hidden secrets as the original 3D World, and the kaiju boss fights against Fury Bowser are some of my favorites in the franchise. But my favorite thing about Bowser's Fury is, once again, its speedrun potential. Pulling off my first "under an hour" run of the game, planning out which shines to get and which order I'd visit each island felt so incredibly satisfying. As I said, I don't think Bowser's Fury is as good as base 3D World, but it complements it perfectly. Combined, they form a package with both linear and collecathon Mario with just enough in common in terms of aesthetic, level design philosophy, and speedrunning potential that they really coalesce.
And speaking of aesthetic, Super Mario 3D World and Bowser's Fury both look incredible. At the time, 3D World was the first time we got to see 3D Mario in HD, and it was a real sight to behold. The grass looked so crisp, the blocks looked so shiny, everything looked so colorful and bright. Even in 2013, 3D World just looked so crisp, and the resolution bump in the Switch version really solidified just how well it's aged visually. Bowser's Fury also looks great, with some particularly stellar lighting effects from both the sun and Fury Bowser's own flames. And then there's the music. Super Mario 3D World's soundtrack is legendary, as it should be. It was, after all, headed by the lead composer of Super Mario Galaxy, Mahito Yokota. Unlike that game's more orchestral style, 3D World's soundtrack has a heavy emphasis on jazz, and it's... perfect. I love Mario Galaxy's score to pieces, but jazz music is the perfect fit for Mario as a character, and it shows that many of his games since then had very jazz-heavy scores. There's a lot of standout tracks here, but some of the many highlights include World Bowser, The Bullet Bill Express, Chain-Link Charge, Double Cherry Pass, Simmering Lava Lake, World Mushroom/Flower, Sunshine Seaside, and Hisstocrat.
Super Mario 3D World feels like the definitive Mario game to me, it sums up everything I love about the series. It's exudes constant creativity, playfulness, and pure fun. From the phenomenal level design, to the perfect balance of both speedrunning and completionist appeals, to the top-notch multiplayer offerings, to the beautiful visuals and incredible music, 3D World already offers a lot, but the Switch port only perfects the game, doubling-down on the speedrunning and introducing a fantastic original campaign that complements 3D World perfectly. I will always cherish Super Mario 3D World for the sheer amount of fun it has managed to provide me over the years, and I think I'll still keep coming back to it over and over again for even more years to come.
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