Super Mario 3D World

Super Mario 3D World

***Super Mario 3D World*** is a 3D platforming game for the Wii U. It is the seventeenth installment of the *Super Mario* and an indirect follow-up of the Nintendo 3DS game *Super Mario 3D Land*, sharing the same naming convention as it. In 2021, the game was ported to the Nintendo Switch including an exclusive game titled *Bowser's Fury*. Fully known as *Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury*.

*Super Mario 3D World* received its own prequel and spin-off titled *Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker*, an expansion of the game's The Adventures of Captain Toad levels.

## Story

Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad are watching a fireworks show until they find a slanted Clear Pipe. Mario and Luigi fix it using hammers and wrenches, then several items as well as the green Sprixie Princess appear from it. She informs the four characters that Bowser has kidnapped and trapped six other Sprixie Princesses in jars. Following this, Bowser arrives and captures the green Sprixie Princess before escaping through the Clear Pipe. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad each enter the Clear Pipe to chase after Bowser. During their pursuit, the four characters find themselves in a realm named Sprixie Kingdom and set off to rescue the Sprixie Princesses, each one appearing in a different world.

After the characters rescue the Red Sprixie Princess in World Castle, they briefly celebrate, only for Bowser to return and capture all seven Sprixie Princesses in a large bottle. He uses the Sprixie Princesses' combined power to create World Bowser and escapes to there.

The heroes encounter Bowser again at the end of World Bowser, in the level The Great Tower of Bowser Land. Here, Bowser uses a Super Bell to transform to Meowser, and the true final battle begins. The characters manage to ultimately defeat Meowser after climbing the tower and rescue every Sprixie Princess at once. The heroes are thanked by the Sprixie Princesses as they enter a Clear Pipe to return home.

## Gameplay

Similar to *Super Mario 3D Land*, *Super Mario 3D World* combines the free-roaming gameplay typical of 3D platformers with the 2D side-scrolling *Super Mario* games, most notably a Time Limit and a Flagpole marking the end of a level, neither of which appear in most other 3D *Super Mario* titles.

There are five playable characters to choose from, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, and the unlockable Rosalina. Similar to *Super Mario Bros. 2*, each playable character has their own unique abilities and controls differently, with the first four playable characters retaining their distinct abilities from said game: Mario has balanced running speed and jump height; Luigi jumps higher and falls slower, but has slightly lower traction; Peach can jump and briefly hover in midair, but runs slowly; Toad runs the fastest, but cannot jump as high and falls faster; Rosalina can use Star Spin move from *Super Mario Galaxy* and *Super Mario Galaxy 2*, but her movement speed is slower than that of the other characters'.

Levels are accessed through a world map, in which players can find hidden areas to earn more items or coins. There are three collectible Green Stars in each regular level, and collecting them is required to unlock certain levels requiring a minimum of them later on. There are also additional Green Stars in Captain Toad, Mystery House, and Challenge levels. Aside from Green Stars, each level also has a hidden Stamp, and these were used in Miiverse prior to the service's discontinuation. Nintendo Network's features allowed players to view Miiverse messages left by others, both on the world map and after clearing a level, and download Mii Ghosts, which are live records of other players completing levels. The player can have their character race against Mii Ghosts, which may hold gift prizes such as coins or extra lives.

Aside from returning power-up items such as the Fire Flower, Super Leaf, or Boomerang Flower, *Super Mario 3D World* also introduces several other items. The most notable addition is the Super Bell, which turns a character into their Cat form, allowing them to run faster, perform a claw swipe and climb up walls to reach new areas. The Super Bell has a rare variation, the Lucky Bell, which turns the character into a lucky cat statue that awards coins while the character falls down from above. A Double Cherry can make a clone of the player's character, allowing for more effective attacks, additional hit points, and sometimes activating Multi-Vators, each requiring a set number of characters to activate.

Some of the new supporting items include Cannon Boxes, which fire small cannonballs; Light Boxes, which can defeat ghosts; Goomba Masks, allowing the wearer to blend in with other Goombas; Ice Skates, allowing the player's character to quickly travel across ice; and a Piranha Plant, which can be held and used to eat several nearby enemies along the way.

*Super Mario 3D World* supports up to four players, each of whom can choose to play as one of the five playable characters. Unlike *New Super Mario Bros. Wii* and *New Super Mario Bros. U*, the same lives counter is used for every character rather than each of them having their own. *Super Mario 3D World* combines both cooperative and competitive aspects of multiplayer, as each player's character has to cooperate to reach the end of a level, but their ranking is based on points earned out of the total score at the end. Whoever scores the most points for one stage receives a crown. It is possible for another character to steal the crown. Whoever touches a flagpole while wearing a crown earns 5,000 extra points. Each player can have their character pick up and throw one of the other characters.

The game has a few references to the Year of Luigi, such as the hidden 8-Bit Luigis scattered throughout the levels. There is also the Luigi Bros. mode, a variation of the Nintendo Entertainment System version of *Mario Bros.* starring Luigi, and it can be unlocked if the player has save data for *New Super Luigi U*.

### Five-star file

* **Star 1**: Beat the level The Great Tower of Bowser Land.
* **Star 2**: Obtain every Green Star from World 1 to World Flower.
* **Star 3**: Obtain every stamp from World 1 to World Star.
* **Star 4**: Reach the top of every flagpole from World 1 to World Flower.
* **Star 5**: Complete every level from World 1 to World Flower as all five characters.

Additionally, all stars can be shiny if every level is completed without using the Invincibility Leaf. One can still obtain this if they have initially completed a level using the Invincibility Leaf but then later without it. Template:Sectstub

## Characters

### Playable

1. Mario
2. Luigi
3. Peach
4. Toad
5. Captain Toad
6. Rosalina (unlockable in Galaxy World)

### Others

* Plessie, an aquatic dinosaur who can be ridden in certain levels.
* Sprixie
* Sprixie Princesseses
* Lucky House Host
* Stamp Collector
* Mystery House Host

## Enemies

* Ant Trooper
* Banzai Bill
* Beach Koopa
* Biddybud
* Big Ant Trooper
* Big Galoomba
* Blockstepper
* Blooper
* Blue Podoboo
* Blurker
* Boo
* Boomerang Bro
* Brolder
* Bullet Bill
* Bully
* Cat Banzai Bill
* Cat Bullet Bill
* Cat Goomba
* Chargin' Chuck
* Charvaargh
* Cheep-Cheep
* Coin Coffer
* Conkdor
* Fire Bro
* Fire Piranha Plant
* Fizzlit
* Flopter
* Fuzzler
* Fuzzy
* Fuzzy Horde
* Galoomba
* Goomba
* Goomba Tower
* Grand Goomba
* Hammer Bro
* Hop-Chop
* Horned Ant Trooper
* Ka-thunk
* Koopa Troopa
* Madpole
* Micro-Goomba
* Octoomba
* Para-Biddybud
* Peepa
* Piranha Creeper
* Piranha Plant
* Podoboo
* Porcupuffer
* Ring Burner
* Skipsqueak
* Snow Pokey
* Spike
* Spiny
* Spiny Skipsqueak
* Splorch
* Splounder
* Stingby
* Thwomp
* Ty-Foo
* Walleye
* Winged Dry Bones

## Bosses

* Boom Boom
* Boss Brolder
* Bowser
* King Hisstocrat
* King Ka-Thunk
* Meowser (Final Boss)
* Motley Bossblob
* Pom Pom
* Prince Bully
* Queen Hisstocrat

## Items

*Super Mario 3D World* has a variety of usable items, many of which are power-ups:

* Super Mushroom - Makes you grow a size.
* 1-up Mushroom - Gives an extra life.
* Super Star - Temporarily makes invincible and extremely fast.
* Fire Flower - Makes fire balls shoot from the user's palms.
* Lucky Bell - Makes Mario and his friends turn to golden Statue Cats That gives the player coins when they drop.
* Super Leaf - Spin nearby enemies, flutter through the air.
* Super Bell - Climb onto walls, pounce on enemies, and slide on ground. Turns the player(s) into a cat.
* Double Cherry - Doubles the character.
* Boomerang Flower - Throw boomerangs to knock out enemies.
* Cannon Box - Shoot cannonballs to knock out enemies and bosses.
* Mega Mushroom - Makes Mario grow giant temporarily
* Goomba Head - The player dons a Goomba mask to avoid being detected by enemies
* Ice Skate - In the first level of World 3, the player can get an Ice Skate from Skating Goombas.
* Invincibility Leaf - Completely invincible for the entire level.

## Worlds

*Worlds in italics can only be played after defeating Meowser.*

* World 1
* World 2
* World 3
* World 4
* World 5
* World 6
* World Castle
* World Bowser
* *World Star*
* *World Mushroom*
* *World Flower*
* *World Crown*

## Differences in the Nintendo Switch remake

Main article: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
* Mario and his friends can now move faster and also roll and dive in the air.
* The Switch version is Amiibo-compatible.
* The lives icon no longer has the x symbol between the icon of the player's character and their remaining lives. This is also the case for the coin counter, as the x between the coin and number is no longer visible.
* A character can now move in any direction, instead of just the cardinal and intermediate directions.

## References to earlier games

* *Super Mario Bros.* - Most of the soundtrack consists of remix versions of the main theme for *Super Mario Bros.* Also, the second major level of the game includes an underground level.
* *Super Mario Bros. 2* - During the Slot Machine levels, the theme heard while in there is a remix version of the character select screen from this game. Also, Princess Peach's floating ability returns in this game. The Subcons resemble a Sprixie Princess in this game.
* *Super Mario Bros. 3* - Whenever a player enters a Toad House, the same theme (albeit remixed) from this game plays whenever a player is in it. When a player dies, the death music is this one instead of the ones from other games.
* *Super Mario 64* - Whenever the player(s) ride aboard Plessie, a remixed version of the Slide music from *Super Mario 64* plays as the background theme.
* *Super Mario 3D Land -* As a sequel to *3D Land*, this game borrows heavily from its predecessor in terms of standard moveset and level structure. Power-ups like the Super Leaf, Boomerang Flower, Propellor Box, and *Coin Box* return, acting identically to how they were in the previous game. Enemies like the Goomba Tower, Coin Coffer, Stingby, Peepa, and Pom Pom also make their return in this game. World Star-5 is a homage to 3D Land in terms of scenary, background music, and the stage's primary power-up.

## References to later games

* *Super Smash Bros. for Wii U*: Some pieces of music return here.

## Reception

*Super Mario 3D World* received "universal acclaim" on the Wii U version, and "generally favorable reviews" for the Switch port, according to review aggregator Metacritic. It won awards from many media outlets, including Game of the Year from *Eurogamer*, Digital Spy, and MSN UK.

*Famitsu* gave the game a score of 38/40. *IGN*'s Jose Otero gave *3D World* a 9.6/10, praising the visual design's "youthful energy," the "interesting risks" taken with the level designs, the "maddening challenge" offered by later worlds, and the "genuinely funny and memorable co-op". He said, "I reveled in the sheer brilliance of how much energy and gameplay mileage Nintendo has packed into every world." Otero's only complaint was that "the camera becomes a slight obstacle in four-player multiplayer". *GameTrailers* gave the game a score of 9.5, praising its gameplay and presentation, while criticizing camera issues and some odd control choices. Henry Gilbert of *GamesRadar* gave the game a score of 4.5/5, praising improved multiplayer and some moments so brilliant that they can make some other levels seem dull by comparison. Luke Plunkett of *Kotaku* called it "a terrific video game...just not a very good Wii U game", praising the game itself, but lamenting that it doesn't do much to show off the Wii U's capabilities. Patrick Klepek at *Giant Bomb*, said "*World* continues to make the case that it's possible to reinvent a classic over and over again".

Anime News Network's Heidi Kemps gave the game an A grade, calling it "fun, imaginative, and filled with little surprises and delights". *Edge* rated the game 9/10, calling it "Wii U's best game to date," and "the most next-gen game that 2013 has yet produced," and stating that Mario is the most fun character to play as because "his cohorts' abilities aren't anything special". *Destructoid*'s Chris Carter awarded the game a 10/10, praising the power-ups, such as the catsuit, which "opens up doors platforming-wise that weren't there before", and the Double Cherry, with which "Nintendo really outdid themselves in terms of the technical mechanics" to make possible, the "incredibly sharp" graphics, and "one of the best OSTs I've ever heard". Carter wrote that "the only downfall of the design is the selection of boss fights", as Nintendo "had achieved a level of platforming design that's close to perfection". *Joystiq*'s Richard Mitchell gave the game 5/5 stars, praising the "astounding" visual craftsmanship, "excellent soundtrack", and "artful, purposeful design" which "communicates goals with complete clarity". GameZone's Mike Splechta stated "With multiple characters to play as (harking back to *Super Mario Bros. 2*) and an unlockable fifth, a fantastic and unobtrusive multiplayer component and enough new power-ups to make even Mario's head spin, you're bound to have a highly enjoyable time with one of the best 3D platformers released thus far."

*Eurogamer*'s Christian Donlan gave the game a 10/10, describing it as "an endless freewheeling treat of a game" with an "ad-libbed drive to...explore how many different situations Mario can be squashed into". He noted that this inventiveness carries over to the "lavish and quick-changing" soundtrack, saying it "is pastiche at its most skillful, its most panoramic." Cheat Code Central's Jenni Lada gave the game a 5/5, calling it "the closest we will ever come to a perfect *Mario* game, one that is a culmination of every right decision ever made in the series." Nintendo World Report stated that it is a *Mario* game that one would want to continue playing once the game is beaten and may be the killer app of the Wii U, saying "Thankfully *3D World* isn't just a refinement of the *Mario* formula, it's a powerful re-imagining. It's an explosive cavalcade of color and excitement as well as a well thought out evolution of *Mario*." Bob Chipman of *The Escapist* gave the game four out of five stars, but was slightly critical of it, saying "Buy it if you love that little plumber, and enjoy the new toys, but don't expect your mind to be blown."

### Fan Reception

WatchMojo ranked *Super Mario 3D World* as the eighth best *Super Mario* game in their "Top 10 Mario Games of All Time" list countdown, and they also placed it the #6 spot in their "Every 3D Super Mario Game Ranked" video over on MojoPlays.

## Trivia

* For unexplained reasons, sound the Emperor Bulblax makes with his tongue in *Pikmin* is in the files for *Super Mario 3D World*.
* While Toadette is absent from this game, she would later appear in *Super Mario Maker 2*Template:'s *Super Mario 3D World* style.
* *Super Mario 3D World* was released on the same day as *Mario Party: Island Tour* and *The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds* in the United States.
* This game marks a few milestones for Peach:
	+ The first mainstream *Mario* game since *Super Mario Bros. 2* to feature her as a playable character.
	+ The only 3D *Mario* game in which she is playable.
	+ This is the only 3D *Mario* game to have her not be kidnapped at any point.
	+ The first *Mario* game since *Super Mario Bros. 2* where the main plot doesn't revolve around rescuing her since she is a playable character in this game.
* When two or more players are present in the game, and one or more has acquired a Double Cherry, another player can ground-pound on one of the player's clones and take it as their own.
* If one counts the wearable items (such as boxes and shoes), *Super Mario 3D World* has the most power-ups in any *Mario* platformer thus far, with fourteen power-ups (compared to *Super Mario Bros. 3*, which has nine).
* This is the second 3D *Mario* game to have Mario slide down a flagpole. The other was its predecessor *Super Mario 3D Land*.
* This is the first 3D *Mario* platforming game that features the Mega Mushroom.
* This game is the second 3D Mario game that is a 3D platformer and not an open world platformer, the other being *Super Mario 3D Land*.
* This is the fourth 3D *Mario* game in the franchise to be "Course clear" styled, following *Super Mario Galaxy* (1 & 2) & *Super Mario 3D Land*.
* At 5.1 million copies, *Super Mario 3D World* ended up becoming the 3rd Best-Selling game for the Wii U, right behind *New Super Mario Bros. U* and *Mario Kart 8*.
* This is one of four prior 3D *Mario* titles to be ported to the Nintendo Switch. The others being *Super Mario 64*, *Super Mario Sunshine*, and *Super Mario Galaxy*.
* The final boss in the game is a reference to the 1933 film "King Kong".
* This is the first 3D *Mario* game since *Super Mario 64 DS* where regular Dry Bones are absent. Instead, they are replaced by the Parabones.

## External links

* Title at MobyGames
* Title at GameFAQs

## References

1. ↑ "Super Mario 3D World for Wii U Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
2. ↑ Romano, Sal (November 12, 2013). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1302". Gematsu. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
3. ↑ Otero, Jose (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
4. ↑ "Super Mario 3D World Review". GameTrailers. November 19, 2013. Archived from the original on November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
5. ↑ Gilbert, Henry (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World Review". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
6. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
7. ↑ Klepek, Patrick (November 20, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World Review". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
8. ↑ Kemps, Heidi (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World - Game Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
9. ↑ Edge Staff (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World review". Edge. Archived from the original on November 21, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
10. ↑ Carter, Chris (November 19, 2013). "Review: Super Mario 3D World". Destructoid. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
11. ↑ Mitchell, Richard (November 14, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World review: Just Peachy". Joystiq. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
12. ↑ Splechta, Mike (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World Review: Once more with Feline". GZ. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
13. ↑ Donlan, Christian (November 14, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World review". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
14. ↑ Lada, Jenni (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World Review". Cheat Code Central. Archived from the original on November 23, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
15. ↑ Baker, Justin (November 14, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
16. ↑ Chipman, Bob (November 19, 2013). "Super Mario 3D World Review". The Escapist. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
17. ↑ Richardson, T. (2019, May 21). *Top 10 Mario Games of All Time*. WatchMojo.
18. ↑ MojoPlays (WatchMojo). (2019). *Every 3D Super Mario Game Ranked*. *YouTube*. Retrieved August 16, 2023.