Super Mario 3D Land Review

It only took six months after its launch, yet the Nintendo 3DS has finally received its first essential original title in the form of Super Mario 3D Land.

By Emmet Purcell

After a shaky start that forced a drastic price cut, the Nintendo 3DS is finally starting to pick up steam and come January, we'll likely put its resurgent sales down to a certain rotund plumber.

This Christmas, Nintendo is firmly banking upon Super Mario, with both Super Mario 3D Land and this weekend's Mario Kart 7 release. When you consider that each's handheld predecessors, New Super Mario Bros and Mario Kart DS, sold over 20 million copies each worldwide, it doesn't take a genius to see that the Japanese giants are going for broke.

In Super Mario 3D Land, Nintendo have wisely decided not to tread the same 2D path once more and also reasoned that Super Mario Galaxy-style mini-planets would dward the Italian plumber on a handheld screen.

Instead, their latest release is a combination of the gameplay of New Super Mario Bros and Galaxy, offering tight, linear 3D environments and a wealth of mind-boggling puzzles. In fact, some ingenious puzzles actually demand that players push up the 3D slider in order to recognise false blocks - one of the best uses of 3D that we've seen on the console yet.

Without getting into spoiler territory, yes we can tell you that Princess Peach and your task to rescue the damsel that's forever in distress across 8 worlds, with about 6 levels for each. That may not sound like the best value, and indeed our first two hours of the game had us a little worried. As we dashed through out level and recorded over 60 1-UPs, we figured that the finish line was just a short time away.

For anyone with similar concerns, we'll point out right now that the final level on World 8 is actually only half the battle, as a 'Special' mode is unlocked thereafter, with rock-hard enemies and obstacles transplanted into each level. We'd also go as far as to say that around 30% of the previously played levels are rendered nearly unrecognisable in the Special mode, so you're looking at around 90 levels of game time. Not bad for a tiny cartridge.

Tanooki or not Tanooki?

The big inclusion this time around is Mario's PETA-baiting Tanooki suit, which or the first time since Super Mario Bros 3. The suit in question allows to spin at enemies with his newfound tail and temporarily fly - a facet which sometimes proves a little too much of a help in some cases, allowing you to float over intricately placed enemies. The Tanooki also makes appears in an optionable golden form, which provides invicibility if you've failed a level too many times. Though we were tempted, we never once took that easy road. *Cough*

So while the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D was the previous highlight of the 3DS console, Super Mario 3D Land is the first original title that is an essential purchase for anyone thinking of opting for the glasses-free 3D handheld.

Combining the accessibility of New Super Mario Bros with the stunning imagination of Super Mario Galaxy, this is more than another stunning Mario adventure, it's the handheld game of the year.

Format: Nintendo 3DS

Developer: Nintendo EAD; Publisher: Nintendo