Discussion How do you feel about Mario 3D land?

With the game being the least talked about, i'm curios what's everyone opinion of this game is, since it's probably the safest Mario game of the 3D Mariop line up, but somehow, it's one i think about sometime, with it being the saviour and the killer app of the 3DS.

Like despite the game not doing anything special, somehow i feel extreme nostalgia for it.

I remember thinking 3D World wasn’t much better, despite all the praise it got.
outside of World Bowser both games tend to be fairly generic in terms of content.

still decent enough platformers regardless though.

I love it.

I like the game a good deal! It just feels very fun and immediately satisfying to play and the post game being the same length as the base game (even with a good handful of remixed challenges) was very cool. It probably has my least favorite extra hard final level since it is so short and not too difficult, but I remember being pleasantly surprised to see it.

Rankings wise it's near the bottom for me, but when every game is awesome that's not a bad thing.

64 > Galaxy 2 > Odyssey > 3D World > Sunshine > Bowser's Fury > 3D Land > Galaxy

I liked it. I knew what it was when I got it. It was also made for 3DS, so there was no expectation of it being a full blown 3D Mario at all.
3D World was "disappointing" to many because it came as a surprise replacement for the 3D line on consoles.

This sub-franchise might be dead now though, since Mario Wonder.

I can't see them making another one to replace 2D games now. Nor can I see there being 3 different sub series.

I like it. It's not my favorite 3D Mario, but it's also pretty far from my least favorite. Probably solid middle of the pack, and it definitely makes me nostalgic for when the 3DS was the new hotness. Also maybe my favorite Bowser fight outside of Yoshi's Island?


also borderline-cancelable take but I think this game committed harder and more "understood the assignment" of being a linear "not even pretending to be a 64/Sunshine successor" 3D Mario way better than either of the Galaxy games and I love it for that

I finished it.

But it was kind of middling.

World was such a massive upgrade in every single way.

Super Mario 3D Land is a good game that excellently fit the platform it was on.

Yes, this game is vanilla. Out of any 3D Mario, this is the one that feels the most "on-brand". It lifts its structure from 2D Mario, focuses on standard platforming with no wacky gimmick (well, mostly, we'll get to that), features only one new power up, and its central power up is a nostalgic returning ability.

But you know what? Vanilla is a good flavor. And when every other 3D Mario goes in bolder directions (even 3D World, the direct sequel, focusing on its multiplayer and wider camera views), gimme some vanilla in my bowl. You got solid platforming in bite sized levels that you can pick up and play. Movement feels good, if a bit simplified compared to the other 3D Mario games. The powers are as solid as ever, nicely translated to a 3D platformer. It just works - simple yet elegant, a bit too easy and lacking in boss variety but a blast to run through. For a portable game, the structure worked perfectly, even if it was not as ambitious as its cousins.

If 3D Land has one gimmick, its the usage of 3D, some of the best on the 3DS. The effect helps with depth perception in platforming, adds a new way to structure puzzles, leads to some nice effects in certain levels, and is also just dang nice looking. Lots of games had good 3D at launch, but 3D Land sells that effect for the gameplay and the presentation.

It makes perfect sense why it was a 3DS killer app. It's a quintessential Mario game that is approachable as heck and sells the 3D well. It may not impress compared to the others, but for what it is, it's a good time!

i like it, in some ways i think it's better then 3D world

It's on the lower end of 3D Marios for me but I liked it well enough. Wouldn't mind a remaster tbh.

Aside from 3D World completely upstaging it I think the biggest thing against 3D Land is it's probably the most basic Mario platformer after SMB1. The only real unique thing about 3D Land I can think of is it being the only original handheld 3D Mario and I don't think that really means much.

I don't mind generic Mario as long as it's fun, I guess. I enjoyed it a lot at a time where I wasn't really a Mario fan yet. 3D World is obviously much better though, and I don't really want to ever replay 3D Land, but I did beat it twice after getting it.

It's a great 3ds game and when I beat it and they were like haha you're halfway through I was SHAKING. A blast!

Awesome game!

I absolutely love Super Mario 3D World.

I really just truly don’t like Super Mario 3D Land.

I mean it’s like good, don’t get me wrong. And an exciting maneuver for the time and device.

I just don’t like it.

Worst 3D Mario game, and one of the worst entries in the series overall. Akin to the experience and nutritional value of eating raw marshmallows, or perhaps a bag of air.

Mario is so painfully slow that you can barely tell the run button is doing anything. Its big selling point apart from like, "here's Mario! on 3DS!" was bringing back an old power-up. In its less iconic form. Without the one ability it was famous for. And the tanooki suit still makes the other power-ups almost completely irrelevant due to how totally overpowered it is, but it's also very uninteresting to use. The game repeatedly pulls out really awkward camera angles because it thinks the depth perception will make them work (it doesn't), and 3D World has none of this game's problems with judging distance despite not actually being in 3D because it stopped doing this.

Of course, its true crime is the pathetically unengaging and uninspired level design that gets recycled to oblivion (be prepared to fight the same three bosses like five times each). The level of creativity on display makes New Super Mario Bros. look like Galaxy 2. Even the presentation is somehow more generic than an NSMB game.

This game should be a cautionary tale about rushed development cycles and watering down your product to oblivion to attempt to appeal to absolutely everyone. The saw level in world 7 is easier and has less going on than the one section of the level from Galaxy 2's world 2 that it's based on. The second half doesn't fix this, the remixed levels don't become good just because a clone is chasing you or it's full of spikes now or something, if hard levels were automatically more engaging then all of the best platformers would be random indie Super Meat Boy clones.

Even conceptually, what a sad thing this was. It was a purely subtractive move from where they had left things in Galaxy 2. The launch stars are still there, but they're just random orange teleport boxes now. The gravity mechanics are gone and so is all the grand presentation. The spin has been dropped, and the classic 3D Mario moveset has been watered down a second time. The only new addition is the pretty useless roll move and the pointless inconvenience of a run button in a 3D platformer with analog controls. Instead of using power-ups to build levels around unique mechanics, the 2D Mario health system has been imported and we get three underwhelming power-ups with one simply being a "trivialize all platforming" button.

The only positives I'll say for it is that it is somehow not the worst Mario platformer for 3DS, for some reason has a much better final boss than 3D World, and that one desert tower level was actually pretty cool with its open-ended structure that allows you to scale the tower in several different ways. Also Mahito Yokota's beach theme was nice.

It's been too long since I last played it, definitely more than a decade so I don't remember all that much about it. 3D World is probably the best game ever made though.

I have little reason to revisit it with 3D world being a thing but it was a very solid title that genuinely blew me away when I first played it.

It’s a perfectly good 3D platformer for a handheld if nothing exceptional. While 3D World is better in almost every regard, I still enjoyed replaying it a few years ago. I’d buy a remaster for a reasonable price.

I never finished it because my brother lost the cartridge lol

(But I liked what I played)

It's okay, not a bad game but it's easily my least favorite 3D Mario.

Top, much better than 3D world because it's actually suited to the system, takes advantage of the 3D very well.

Fantastic game that actually took advantage of the 3D. It's definitely underappreciated.

Interesting takes here’s.

But I think the reason the level designs are kinda basic fun is I think because of Nintendo philosophy of picking up and play in a short burst, because of it being an handheld.

Which we sometimes see in this day and age, a good example would be Splatoon.

Also with the context of 3D world I think the game as it core is incredible, but it’s that type of game that’s more like a spin-off you’ll see in the middle of a console life, instead of the big bombastic and unique designs of 3D Mario that we see, like Galaxy and Odyssey. (That reminds me captain toad is pretty based)

Also the soundtrack is pretty good, especially crown world 8

It gives Sunshine a run for its money for the worst 3d Mario game. It's still fun though.

I like it! I think I prefer 3D World ultimately, since it is the same “style” of Mario with additional stuff that elevates it, in my opinion.

On its own, though, I had fun with it. A tight 3D platformer that felt perfectly suited for the 3DS.

I'm pretty hard on the game but most of my complaints are just that it doesn't quite hold its own with other 3D Mario games. For what it was, it is a very polished little slice of platformer that really shows off the potential of the hardware it's on. Is it a little bland sometimes? Sure! But it's definitely not a bad time.

It's like if you put New Super Mario Bros in 3D. It's perfectly good and has great level design, but you can't help but feel like something's missing.

TheSpaceBetween said:

It gives Sunshine a run for its money for the worst 3d Mario game. It's still fun though.

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y’all and your Sunshine slander… Sunshine rules. it’s decidedly better than 3D Land. but not 3D World (because 3D World is one of the best)

its the worst 3d mario and also a great video game.

I really enjoyed Super Mario 3D Land, probably my second favorite Nintendo 3DS game (after The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds). I played it from start to finish back to back on release then haven’t touched it since.

I’m weary of replaying it now as I want to preserve the memories I have of it being a top Nintendo 3DS game.

The weakest 3D Mario title by a country mile*, it barely holds a candle to New Super Mario Bros. U, 64 isn't even in the same universe. It's boring, repetitive, simultaneously bereft of content and utterly bloated. I will give it credit in places like the way coins effectively replace points, a system that World and Wonder both sort of ignored for some reason, it felt like a nice middle ground. But it's just not that good or interesting, other than being "well made" in the abstract.

The wild thing is, 3D World is my second favourite 3D Mario, so at least Land led to that!

*I'm not counting Sunshine because like, a country mile is one thing, Sunshine didn't even show up to the race. Probably drowned on the way.

It’s the only 3D platformer from Nintendo with actual depth*, so it’s pretty great for that reason alone.

*Well, excluding Super Mario Odyssey’s VR mode, but that’s not a full game so it doesn’t really count.

It’s great and the 3D was very effective!

tye kind of beat me to it but yeah this shit is arguably more playable than 3d world by way of stereoscopic 3d

3d world, of course, has enough else going for it that 3D is not part of the conversation

Not the best game in the world, but still a great one absolutely worth remembering

Absolutely loved it, especially back when it released. The previews were so hype.

It’s behind the Galaxies, Sunshine and Odyssey but I like it way better than 64 and 3D World.

It's the only wholly disappointing 3D Mario. I genuinely was so let down when I played it because it felt like a NSMB but in 3D.

It probably didn't help that I played it like four months after my mom passed away tho, as there was definitely some transference there.

I don't remember much about it. I suspect I didn't play through the post-game. The feeling I associate with it, though, is "charming." I liked seeing Tanooki Mario in 3D.

xghost777 said:

I like the game a good deal! It just feels very fun and immediately satisfying to play and the post game being the same length as the base game (even with a good handful of remixed challenges) was very cool. It probably has my least favorite extra hard final level since it is so short and not too difficult, but I remember being pleasantly surprised to see it.

Rankings wise it's near the bottom for me, but when every game is awesome that's not a bad thing.

64 > Galaxy 2 > Odyssey > 3D World > Sunshine > Bowser's Fury > 3D Land > Galaxy

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The gulf between your Galaxy 2 and Galaxy rankings surprises me! If I may ask, what separates those games for you?

Raccoon said:

tye kind of beat me to it but yeah this shit is arguably more playable than 3d world by way of stereoscopic 3d

3d world, of course, has enough else going for it that 3D is not part of the conversation

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3D Land (well, stereoscopic 3D in general, really) has spoiled me. So often do I cry “this would be so much better in 3D!” for basically any game in which depth perception is a factor, lol.

Catsylvania said:

I really enjoyed Super Mario 3D Land, probably my second favorite Nintendo 3DS game (after The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds). I played it from start to finish back to back on release then haven’t touched it since.

I’m weary of replaying it now as I want to preserve the memories I have of it being a top Nintendo 3DS game.

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I will say that I played the game a few years back, and that reinforced my thoughts of it being a pretty good time! So maybe try it and relive those memories.

The weaker of the linear obstacle courses 3D games, but still a great game nonetheless. I rather re-play it over 64, Odyssey or Bowser's Fury any day... and especially over Sunshine (well, I'd play any other Mario game over it, even The Lost Levels)

Honestly I thought it was great and was sorta bummed the Switch 3DWorld port didn't port it over as well; its 3D gimmick isn't super prevalent to the point where you can't still comfortably play through the whole thing in 2D.

kirbyfan407 said:

The gulf between your Galaxy 2 and Galaxy rankings surprises me! If I may ask, what separates those games for you?

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Galaxy really suffers by having a ton of repeated content as a lot of the planets and challenges repeat between levels. Mario's more simplified moveset is rarely ever put to the test and the levels themselves rarely give you as much room for expression as in other games which is perhaps the biggest mark against it for me.

Galaxy 2 greatly solves this by the upping the complexity and exploration of new mechanics and challenges and is absolutely stuffed with tons of new ideas and obstacles in every level. It's such a significantly expanded and richer experience from top to bottom and even has a wonderful bonus post game and the addition of the first ever super hard level in the series, "The Perfect Run."

The 3D Marios are some of my favorite games of all time and even with Galaxy's relative shortcomings that stick it on the bottom of my rankings, it's still probably in or very close to being in my top 100 games of all time. The vibe that game has is just incredible and even if it is easy, I'll always adore the final boss fight in it. It also introduced Rosalina who I love.

It's in the same boat as the NSMB games and 3D World where it's fine but pretty sterile and boring creativity wise.

I love it. And the 3D effect is amazing. I just want a 3D All Stars 2 with Mario 64 DS, 3D Land and Galaxy 2.

Kinda exists. My least favorite 3D Mario but it wasn't bad either. 3D World on the other hand is my favorite Mario game of all time probably.

It's not really bad in the way that Sunshine is, but it doesn't exactly have a ton going for it either. It's not something I really have a lot of desire to revisit.