Super Mario 3D World is "The Grand Culmination" of The Best Ideas From Past 3D Mario Titles

Woot first comment!

Personally I think the four player angle may help compensate for the lack of Mario Kart 8 this Christmas. Mario Kart 8, more than anything else (looking at the sales of the Wii titles), is probably the most essential game in Nintendo's arsenal for moving sales. Mario Kart Wii sold 34 million units and is the second best selling Wii game ever behind Wii Sports.

In comparison, "NSMBW" sold 27 mil, Galaxy 1 sold 10 mil, Galaxy 2 sold 7 mil, and Super Paper Mario at with 2.28 mil.

Given the game drought the Wii U is under, not having Mario Kart 8 available for that all important Christmas season is MAJOR, and quite possibly this title will help fill in the gap with its multiplayer.

The fact that the game also features the "competitive" edge is brand new in the main series and will add some interesting elements no doubt. There will also be some replay available too with the different skill sets of each character. Toad will be the speed runner's choice no doubt!

My biggest interest is what is the story, since Princess Peach is playable? Given that there is some fan service going here with its homage to "Super Mario Bros. 2" (Miyamoto's favorite Mario game, along with the first), I'm hoping to see some long absent villains like Mamu (Wart), Tryclyde, Frygy, Clawgrip, and the ever cool Mouser! If they can bring back Boom Boom after 21 years, they can bring these bosses back too! And what better game to bring back these long lost enemies than "Super Mario 3D World", given they brought back Boom Boom back in "Super Mario 3D Land"!

I'm starting to accept the fact that this is what I've been waiting for. Galaxy was somewhat of a single experience and being able to play with friends will be cool I guess. That catsuit is terrible though..

I'm just glad I got a Wii U BEFORE it was supermegafoxyawesomehot.

I know a lot of people love Galaxy, but I prefer this version of Mario as the camera angles on Galaxy made me very sea sick.

idk i have to agree with the developer! those cat costumes are just a new kind of power ups! this game sure will be great

Looks great, I'm just hoping all the levels aren't just random floating pieces of land like in 3D Land...

Is the cat suit cute or is the cat suit cute?

@Savino, This is why Nintendo doesnt compete With the other consoles, because its like always microsoft vs sony so yea, ill just stick to nintendo, and i believe the games that were showed today were all awesome, a bit disappointed for a not new ip from retro but all ok, at least we get DK, but man, that X and Bayonetta 2 just look so great! i cant wait! My Body is ready

@Savino Dude, if new 3D Mario, Mario Kart, Pokemon, Zelda, and two versions of a new Smash Bros. aren't enough for you, maybe you're not a Nintendo kind of guy.

@Phantom_R i agree, people are like always asking for more! Come on people, just accept on what you get, more games will come in the future!

Good, then it'd better have a nice story and a map/HUB WORLD that beats the horridly boring map that SM3DL had. It killed the atmosphere.

Microsoft is already blown to peaces, its now sony and nintendo.
Nintendo's First party games are always the best, but the ps4 games which i have seen, i like them alot.
but nothing beats smashbros, mario kart. and Xenoblade won the E3 in my opinion.

I was initially disappointed when I watched the Super Mario 3D World trailer, but now I'm a bit more excited. I feel the multi-player aspect is going to determine how much I get out of the game. A more complex, single-player 3D Mario for the Wii U in the future would still be nice though.

This game was probably the most underwhelming part of the Nintendo Direct for me. I was so pumped up for this game and I became pretty disappointed after I saw it. I'm sure it will be super fun and I definitely plan on buying this game, but I was hoping for something bigger and better. To me this looks like NSMB 3D. Hopefully we'll see another 3D Mario down the road that's more in line with Mario 64 and actually looks like it pushes the Wii U hardware.
The cat suit does look pretty sweet though, and I'll finally be able to play a 3D mario with my girlfriend, so I have that to look forward to at least.

No more 2D or 2.5D games for now Nintendo. I wanted true 3D games like Sunshine.

This is the 3D mario I wanted. 3D land was fun and easy to pick up and play. Cat tree mario is awesome.

I was sorely disappointed by this, sadly. 3D Land is fun, but extremely overrated. I really wanted to get a new Super Mario 64-like experience... if this plays as similarly to 3D Land as it seems, I'll probably have to pass.

Competitive multiplayer? Do want.

@ricklongo I want a 64/Sunshine experience too.

I have to agree with my disapointment. Mario 3D Land was fun and addicting, but it really just played like a 2D game; this is what the "New" series hould've been. But as a new 3D Mario game, I wanted something groundbreaking with exploration and huge worlds to explore. Galaxy didnt really have exploration, but the innovative gameplay, atmosphere, and gigantic worlds easily made up for it. This game seems to do very little of that. Im sure it will be fun, and I will probably buy it eventually, but it honestly doesn't excite me that much.

Can u play multiplayer online? Or do yer buds have to be there?

Oh? For me it looked like Super Mario 3D Land HD. And 3D Land definetly wasn't a grand culmination of anything, it was just there.

After Nintendo Direct I was mostly dissapointed tbh, however watch this and the other developer interviews has got me all psyched up tbh.
Yes its a shame some games were not announced, but no matter what was/wasn't announced some people will not be pleased... besides theres still time for a suprise or two (fingers crossed)
Still a some games not out this year, but still plenty of good games due this year and even a few from 3rd party devs.

Seriously watch the dev interviews, you get a much clearer picture of the games aims and features which were not mentioned in Nintendo Direct.

I think they should have mentioned when announcing it, that it was going to be a Wii U version in the Super Mario 3D Land series, a bit like they put New Super Mario Bros on Wii. I'm sure it will be a great game, but you have to understand why people are upset. I'm sure if they'd told us they were going to do a smaller scope game from the start everyone would have been fine with it.

Instead, people expected the new Mario 64 or Galaxy. I'm pretty sure this keeps the fixed camera angles, so it's quite a drastic departure from main series 3D Mario games. Like I said, pretty confident it will be great. The cat suit is ADORABLE and I love that Peach is playable. I hope we can play her in single player because I don't see myself playing this multiplayer very often.

Hated this first time I saw it this morning, looked too much like a 3DS version of Galaxy. Watching it just now again sitting on the couch w/ my 2 sons it seemed a whole lot better, best of both worlds kind of thing, multiplayer and open world.

Also this morning I was very confused how it worked - stupid stuttering 240p livestream didn't help. It seemed like a "lane" level design like Excite Bike or LBP or Joe Danger (sorry for all the Sony references, its what pops into my head). Watching it again it does appear you get to run around more like Galaxy or 3D Land, which is what I prefer.

I still want "Mario Unchained" for a single player game, but this will sell this holiday. It might even sell some WiiUs.

And if you haven't already done so, watching the 720p Youtube version of this game makes it much better looking than the livestream this morning. The entire ND was entirely improved. Even got to see the E3 booth ending that got cut.

@Peach64 it doesnt have fixed camera, you can move it about. The dev interview explains

Bit disappointed to be honest with this. I thought 3D Land's format fitted perfectly with the handheld format, think it could just be a bit "empty" on a home console. Would have preferred a more open game akin to 64 and Sunshine a hundred times over. Just seems like they've rushed this one out.

Plus I don't care for multiplayer at all with a Mario game.

So what are the great ideas this game takes from other 3D Marios? I wish he would have elaborated on that.

Rather than a hub-world or map, I'd like to some day see a Mario that's mostly open world; where he (and other characters) have a huge range of power ups, past and new to get around.

@GiftedGimp Does it show it in action? Because if they have that in, it seems odd to stick to fixed angles in the trailer as it makes it look more like a 2.5D game.

I was initially disappointed when I saw the name of the title, but now, after watching the trailer and the developer's interview, this game has grown on me! I'm REALLY looking forward to it! I think the cat suit will be an interesting concept to use.

Between this and Mario Kart 8, I'm really excited for the upcoming year!

@Peach64 YES it DOES show it in action. Watch the developer's interview, it shows it in action!

@hwrose379 I just watched it. That makes me feel a lot better about it Although I wasn't annoyed anyway, just disappointed. I love 3D Land.

This looks to be some serious fun, by the looks of the E3 trailers!
But I'm still hoping there will be another leisurely paced/free exploration 3D Mario akin to Sunshine on the Wii U some day.
Nintendo really doesn't have ANYTHING to cater that kind of gameplay, now does it? Another franchise would do, it needn't be a Mario game.
Every single one of these upcoming platformers are stage based! Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze, Yarn Yoshi and this.

This looks Fun ... must say better than either Galaxy Game ... Its got a Super Mario Bros. 2 feel to it with 3D Mario Land ... I think this will be an Excellent Addition to the Mario Franchise . Very Happy with Nintendo ... Just wish they Would Make a New Metroid, Kid Icarus & Luigi Mansion for Wii U !!!!!!

@hwrose379 Beat me to it.. @Peach64 get on Nintendo's Youtube channel, watch the dev interviews and you and many others will feel a lot more positive than if you purly rely on Nintendo Direct and trailers... neither show the games ideas, aims or features properly by comparison.

This looks cool!!! I can understand people being a little disappointed with this direct, but I am pumped! Lets face it, Nintendo blew there load early this year with all of there directs. The only real let down was the Retro announcement. Heck i'll buy Donkey Kong Country immediately, but it's not the killer game we were dreaming of. Still my disappointment is measured; my Wii U library is set to gain Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart, Wind Waker HD, Pikmin 3, Donkey Kong Country and Wonderful 101 by the end of the year. Plus i'll be getting Pokemon, Zelda and Dream Team for my 3DS. That's an insane amount of games!!!

I was a bit disappointed this morning, but I think that had to do with the fact that I was so excited to watch the Direct and the lag and freezing was bad enough to the point that I couldn't watch it. After calming down a bit and watching it lag free in HD I was pretty happy. This game looks fun, even though it's not the type of "3D Mario" I was expecting. I guess I just wanted a little too much from Retro as well, but DKCR:TF is looking spiffy. Still, I want Star Fox U. They just played it really safe, a little too safe for me. If it works, I'll be happy! I'll still get most of these games, as they look like a lot of fun. As far as this year, with Pikmin 3, DKCR, Wind Waker HD, and Mario 3D World on Wii U I guess I can't complain. "X" seems completely awesome too!

@MeWario MK8 isn't until next year, but I am on the same page as you man! I'm content.

well i guess collecting stars, like in 64, sunshine, and Galaxy, is out of the question from now on...

This quick hands on video from Kotaku makes me feel a lot better too.

http://kotaku.com/super-mario-3d-world-hands-on-512691686?autoplay=1

Kitty Peach is sooooo cute!

Play...

as...

Peach!!!

" "The Grand Culmination" of The Best Ideas From Past 3D Mario Titles"

Minus exploration, atmosphere, non-linearity, epic locations, gorgeous visuals, etc. Other than all that, this is clearly the best!

Most of the problems with the game stem from its name.

While not game breaking and radically different, this is clearly not an extension to 3D land (like the "New" series are to each other), but brings more than just a gimmick or two. Instead, the new material seems quite interesting.

This is true.

I see influences from SMW, NSMBW, SMB2 and SMG all wrapped up in nice 3D land package, scaled up(in more ways then one) with a healthy dollop of new ideas.

This will be goooooood.

I love how mario lopes around in the cat suit!

And have 3d land as base of gameplay? No >.>

Should have been open world like SM64/sunshine (but that wouldnt work too well with 4P )

What's this about collecting green stars? What do they do?

Is Nintendo really dead set now on never giving us exploration in 3D mario games again? I understand wanting to appeal to casual gamers, but isn't that what the NSMB series is for? I guess I just really miss the Mario 64 and Sunshine design.

@MrGawain I agree very much couldn't even get half way through galaxy 1 because of that.

I was really hoping for a Mario game similar to Galaxy, but this looks neat cool. 3D Land on the 3DS was fun, so I this is predictably fun too. One question: Why is Mario's cat suit gold and not red?

I'm glad to see people calming down about this Direct in the comments. I, too, was extremely disappointed at first - and this game was the main reason why, combined with the terrible lag during the stream. I think Galaxy 1&2 are the best games ever created, so I felt like Nintendo punched me in the face after seeing this act as their successor. I'm still disappointed, don't get me wrong. I think it's clear that the simple design of this game simply will not be able to meet the standard set by the Galaxy games in most people's opinion. However, it does look very fun, and it'll be great playing with friends. I also kind of feel like we'll still eventually be getting a proper 3D Mario title for Wii U, we just have to wait a bit longer for it now.

@Savino I agree 100%! I recently bought a Vita and have been blown away by the better account management and great games. I am tired of the same old Mario show and dance every year. Nintendo is not going to last long if they keep this up. They still didn't announce a fix for the online accounts. Sheesh

It looks far more interesting than New Super Mario Bros. U.

@Peach64
I'm betting that only Mario is playable during one player runs just like New Super Mario Bros. Wii..

So, has anyone noticed the whole throwing snowball move? Honestly, this is a whole new game-play mechanic that means more than just what's on the surface. You can pick up a snowball, toss it to a friend and then toss it at a bad guy. I mean think about it, multi-player: Toad grabs the baseball, Mario goes deep and tosses it at the hammer guy to take him out. It introduces a whole new layer of creativity and skill in terms of how you work together to clear a level. Keeping in mind that Nintendo is famous for not showing all the power-ups at initial release, could there be the possibility to follow more in SM2's footsteps and pull up enemies or objects and toss them around?

Also, I'm very pleased to see how much the cat power-up changes the whole feel and tempo of the game. It almost looks like the attacks can be strung together like combos which invites a certain amount of skill and dexterity that we haven't seen before.

I'm very much looking forward to this game!

Looks great except for one thing I can't unsee... I had to make this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0X-c-z8kxk

I'm also pretty surprised by some of the comments here. I mean everyone is entitled to their opinions. Personally, I couldn't be happier that this isn't Mario Galaxy 3. I've had my fill of that game mechanic, the gravity wells and the small, enclosed courses. This new one has only been done once before and on a hand-held. I'm very much looking forward to the new play mechanics that the cat introduces and also the co-op item tossing. Bring it on!!

@MeWario I concur 100%

Its worrying that they thought that there two mega opus games Galaxy 1&2 needed multiplayer hopefully this game(while it looks great my problem with it is that it doesnt look new NINTENDO console 3D mario great) is merely an enjoyable placeholder for the real 3D mario main course in 2014/2015

@Reploid
Nope, he said in the interview that players looking to speed run will pick Toad, so you most likely have a choice when you start. Besides, it would be hard to get a good time with 3 others lagging behind.

Grand culmination my butt. If the Mario games on Wii U are going to be nothing but samey, mediocre multiplayer-focused games, then I'm done with the series.

The Wii U deserves a grand, epic adventure in the spirit of SM64 or the Galaxy titles.

@Musterd
Oh, you're right. My bad, I managed to miss that part.

@DerpSandwich

"" "The Grand Culmination" of The Best Ideas From Past 3D Mario Titles"
Minus exploration, atmosphere, non-linearity, epic locations, gorgeous visuals, etc. Other than all that, this is clearly the best!"

I love how you are judging that this game has none of those things given the fact the game has just been announced. How do you define atmosphere? While the probably will be linear, those visuals look pretty good to me, and I'm sure there will be some exploration involved. Just don't make broad sweeping judgments of a game that at this point in time we know very little about.

Why does it have to be like Galaxy? I think many of you got your hopes up way too high. I see this as a throwback to Mario 64, moreso the DS remake.

It's not a bad thing, really.

People will come to love this game just wait. It's multiplayer 3D mario with the playable cast of SMB2 all in cat suits for cryin out loud.

Galaxy/64/sunshine been there and no doubt there will be more 3D mario before Wii u done.

@berenlazarus I don't technically know these things, but I'm quite confident based on what we saw. In fact, I'm willing to bet on it.

Well I like the fact that it's got toad and peach and they play like in SMB2 but other than that this game looked kinda underwhelming. Still hoping Mario goes back to Subcon

Nintendo doesn't always give up all the details. Remember this isn't a handheld game. It will have lots of content and worlds we haven't seen.

It's not that I hate cats. In fact, I love cats, though I'm allergic to them. But the cat power up just makes this game less worth the buy.

Shut up and take my...uh...what's the word again...?

1st Sonic and now this? I'm in platform heaven!

@GreatBigSquid You just said what this post was fixing to be (Not exactly, similar though). I absolutely agree with this post.

awesome cat power

It looks good, really enjoyed SM3DLand on 3DS. Wish they tried something a bit more ambitious however... everything is a bit too safe from the video like musics, visuals... not the Mario I was waiting for but it still look like a charming game

They said it about Mario Kart8 and Pikmin 3, as well.

I am so happy to have a Mario game similar to Super Mario 2. Having each character having their own abilities is truly going to enhance and increase the longevity of this game.

Thank you Mr. Koichi Hayashida for listening to the fans.

I'm warming up to it now that i'm used to the idea. That and Nintendo always shows the least crazy intense creative levels in the first trailer.

LOVE GALAXY but can't wait to try something new again! And by new i mean old again! Love it

except for the title, this game looks very solid.

Apparently, reaching the top of the flag pole isn't so much of an emphasis anymore, rather it's the competitive multiplayer that is the main goal of this series, so between jumping to the top of the flag pole or climbing up with the cat suit, I think it's a fair trade.

@DerpSandwich Wow, have you seen or heard information we haven't to know all that? There's been one little video. How do you know there isn't a one played mode? Or that the level we saw was just at the start of the game and get more like Galaxy or 64s? Oh, that's right, you don't. Why complain about something when you don't yet know anything about it? You can not like the look of it but to a really complain already is, frankly, pathetic.

Interesting that Mario's cat suit is yellow, would have expected red.

Must say it's looking very enticing, the transparent pipes are a really good idea. How much of this game could have been realised on the 3DS though? Most of it I'd wager (indeed, the '3D' in the title kind of makes it seem odd that it isn't). The same could not have been said of Mario Galaxy and the DS.

Watch the developer interview, in single player mode you can play it Mario 64 style and put the camera wherever you want... The camera only has to be in 3D Land mode when playing multiplayer.

The self entitled gamers need to step back and look at this game at everything we know so far including that we can control the camera anyway we want. This is gonna be amazing.

The gameplay looks very interesting - at least more novel than Super Mario Bros Wii U and Mario Kart 8.
It will be innovative if Mario can transform into a hedgehog and use spin attack on enemy after eating a blue mushroom.

Absolutely amazing - I prefer Mario 3D Land to the Galaxy games, so I'm happy days

@GreatBigSquid
I actually feel the same way, although what we have seen so far looks very like the 3ds game I've just remembered that amongst the very obstacle based and planet hopping levels of galaxy there were some maps which were far more like those from 64. (even 3dLand had those desert levels).
If they really are combining the best elements from the 3d games and we get some less linear opem maps...
This multiplayer might just make this incredible!

What I'm going love MOST about this game is that: "I'm NOT FORCED to be Mario on 1-Player mode!!!" About freaking time!!! I've always wanted to play as Blue Toad since NSMBWii and now I finally get that! "Thank you Nintendo! Maybe next Ill get my ultimate wish for the series: To play with Toadette! Maybe that's who we have to save!" XD

I'm warming up to this game.... each time I see it or hear about it, I start to see the awesome potential. And I won't complain about a bigger & better 3D Land - I do not understand the lack of enthusiasm for that game from some people. Plays like a 2D Mario? Say wha?? What I'm worried about is it seemed built for the 3DS, so I'm hoping the lack of depth doesn't diminish the experience.

And hey, the return of 4 playable characters!.. might have to re-write a chapter or two....

@rastamadeus Do you know why I'm assuming this? Because it's Nintendo. Do you remember when Nintendo announced NSMB games for the 3DS and the Wii U and everyone was going on about the potential those games had? We were all thinking about what they could do with the touchscreen, and the 3D effect, and the amazing new HD graphics. Nintendo delivered zilch. There was the starry sky level in NSMB U and the semi-entertaining coin mechanic in 2. Other than that they were the same old games as always. Nintendo has proven time and time again that they are not interested in striking visuals. This new game has a fixed camera and all the action is taking place on raised platforms, a la 3D Land. You can't honestly think that after showing us these videos they're going to come out and release another video where the camera is free and instead of jumping on platforms they're moving across an epic landscape. After showing us that there are goal posts you can't believe that we're going to be interacting with characters and looking for stars. It's just not going to happen. This video is proof. (And it wasn't just a video of the first area. It showcased many areas and even bosses. It was clearly a large sample of the game.)

As I already said, I fully admit that I can't know everything about a game until it's released, but I'm willing to bet. I'd bet someone a thousand bucks. Because this is just how Nintendo works. This just looks like NSMB in 3D, and NSMB DOES NOT INNOVATE OR IMPRESS. They're designed to be fun, and nothing else. They've spent the last several years dumbing down their titles and delivering nothing but pure, straightforward, linear, and in my opinion boring gameplay.

Sorry if you think that's "pathetic," but Nintendo has given me no reason to think otherwise.

@DerpSandwich I was going to write something proper back until I noticed you had actually wrote, " They're designed to be fun, and nothing else." What a bunch of bananas Nintendo are! How can you possibly expect to debate anything when you are actually criticising them for daring to make a game fun? Just staggering.

@rastamadeus Sorry, I should have written, "mildly fun." Like, good for a playthrough with no real reason to play it again. And I know that's enough for some people, but after the amazing worlds of 64 and Sunshine and after the grand scope of Galaxy, I expect more from my Mario games.

Also, I just want to add, you're being extremely arrogant and hostile. You know, it's possible to have a conversation with someone without insulting them. I'm trying to debate this with you but you just insist on acting childish. Just saying.

@DerpSandwich Tell me where the insult in my last message is and I'll apologise. But you won't find one.

Back to the topic though, just because you don't find it exciting you can't claim it doesn't impress. Doesn't impress you, maybe. Personally I think it looks absolutely brilliant, could well be sensational and I will be getting a Wii U just for it. Galaxy was incredible, the sequel is my favourite game ever (second favourite is Mario 64) but its done. People are annoyed at a game which just was never going to happen hasn't been made. Also, nobody said there would be amazing innovations with the touch screens of the 3DS and Wii U NSMB games, people just decided there would be and then complained when there weren't. Again, people complaining over things that they decided would happen which just weren't going to happen. Common problem with people online. Just look at the fuss of Bayonetta 2 (I WANT B2! It's never going to be made IT'S BEING MADE! Wii U? Nooooo. I will never buy it ). At the end of the day you may not like that Nintendo are just trying to create a 3D attempt at NSMB and that's fine but there are many others that are, me included. Also take into note that Galaxy sold sod all compared to NSMB and Nintendo need the sales. If this gets Wii U selling then brilliant. It's already made one sale (moi). And when the Wii U is in more homes I'm sure we'll see a proper (as I guess you'd want to call it) 3D Mario. For now, chill out and look forward to a great game.

I'm just going to skim the last few comments you've posted.

"I was going to write something proper back until I noticed you had actually wrote, " They're designed to be fun, and nothing else." What a bunch of bananas Nintendo are! How can you possibly expect to debate anything when you are actually criticising them for daring to make a game fun? Just staggering."

Sarcastic and dismissive. Inappropriate in a mature debate.

"Jesus Christ, have you ever heard of patience?...So try waiting without kicking your toys out of the pram like a spoilt brat"

Hostile and insulting. Childish.

"You can not like the look of it but to a really complain already is, frankly, pathetic."

Saying that stating my opinion is pathetic, instead of just telling my why you disagree. Hostile.

Nintendo Life is a safe place where Nintendo fans come together and talk about games in a mature manner. Please start treating people with respect, even if you don't agree with them.

EDIT: Oh man, all this time and I hadn't even tagged you in this comment! Silly me.
@rastamadeus

Cat mario FTW

This looks awesome. I am glad that it is not another galaxy title (I loved the first two, but change is always good).

Another Christmas purchase that the kids and I will enjoy!!