Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury initial review: Let's-a go!
Oh, the Wii U. That poor console really was a trial for Nintendo. But just because it didn't sell well, let's not forget some of the goodies that graced the platform.
Premier of which is Super Mario 3D World - which has now been ported for Switch (it's out 12 February 2021), complete with brand new add-on Bowser's Fury.
Ahead of our full-review - penned for 10 February - we've had some time to dabble in Mario's remastered world on Switch, including its online multiplayer. So is Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury the platforming perfection on Switch that you're looking for?
Bowser's Fury
First thing's first: the title that people most want to know more about. As Bowser's Fury is brand new, exclusive for Switch, it's got tongues wagging. What's it all about? How does it play?
Well, there's not a great deal we can say at this point in time because Nintendo wants to keep the majority of this game under wraps. And fair dos, as we all want a bit of a suprise.
What we can say is that you play as Mario, assisted by Bowser Jr. - the latter is available for a second player to command if you wish (otherwise he's computer controlled - but you can state whether he's helpful "a lot" or "a little") - in taking down a very angry Bowser.
Bowser is giant, clearly not very happy about daylight - his head plonked down in the mud - and you have to collect 'Cat Shines' in order to progress to battle against him. Intermittently during navigating the open-world level - which has elements of Super Mario Odyssey meets Mario 64 about it, in a wide-open world - Bowser will get, well, furious and start spitting fire in your general direction.
Bowser's Fury's world - the first section, anyway, we can't speak about the later stages - lovingly takes on elements from Super Mario 3D World, the most prominent of which is the Cat Mario power-up. Except, specifically in Bowser's Fury, to take on giant bowser you need to become Giga Cat Mario - yup, a giant cat Mario! - in order to fight your dino-like foe.
It's a bit perplexing that Mario is helping Bowser Jr. to take on his Dad. But then this is Nintendo and you just never know what to expect (indeed, Super Mario 3D All-Stars' Super Mario Sunshine might be the quirkiest Mario game ever made).
Floaty fun
But back to the main event: Super Mario 3D World. Which, for Switch, is given an extra lick of paint with sharper graphics, smoother and faster characters, and three-dimentional platform gaming fun just as you'd expect. It's humble to the original game, so whether you want to relive the Wii U experience from back in 2013, or learn now why it's was back then a future classic, it's a great opportunity.
If you're as old as we are then you'll very much find all the references in this Switch title that were in the 1990 SNES original, Super Mario World. The boss themes overlap with that game. The music often echoes the original, albeit brought up to date. It's like a 3D homage, as the game's title says.
But as Super Mario 3D World is, indeed, in three dimensions you'll quickly need to get to grips with the floaty nature of the characters' mechanics, as it's very easy to get 'lost in space', per se, and not land where you want to go. Although, in our case, that's most likely because we've spent two months 100 percenting Sackboy: A Big Adventure on the PS5, which is a more advanced and complex platform game than Mario (which, we must say, echoes many play points from this very Mario title).
You can commence your Super Mario 3D Adventure as Mario, naturally, or pick Luigi, Princess Peach, or Toad instead. Each character has a slight shift in handling style - Luigi can jump higher, Peach floats farther, Toad is a little faster - but whichever character you pick it won't affect what's possible to achieve in the game or any level.
In addition to the usual favourites - firepower, mushrooms, mega Mario - there's also the Cat Mario power-up, in the form of a bell, which gives this game its most distinctive feature. As Cat Mario you can climb walls, swipe at enemies, and it gives the game a real distinctive play-style. Not that you're Cat Mario all the time - but you'll often want to be.
Multiplayer antics
While you can pick one of the four main characters to play as, it's also possible to play up to all four of them at once - whether in local co-operative play or online multiplayer via Nintendo Online. We've dabbled in both.
That's part of the beauty with the Switch. The controller, as it's made up of two parts, can be split to make two mini controllers - more similar to the NES from the 1980s - in order to have two-player co-operative play. Or buy more controllers for a better experience.
Online takes the idea of co-op but means you needn't share any controllers at all. Dig into Nintendo Online and find friends to play along with. But, be warned, the camera focuses on who is farthest ahead, and it's very easy to counter a lot of your cooperatives' plays - such as throwing one another off the side of the playfield, for example - which can be both hilarious and infuriating in equal measure.
It also gets competitive, because the highest points scorer gets a crown, which is taken into the next level. Get hit and you'll drop your crown, which can be pinched by other players too, but you'll want to keep ahold of it to show-off that you're the best - plus it's worth extra points when you cross a level's finish line (or, more accurately, climb the finish pole - just as you'll be familiar with classic Mario titles).
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