Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is the latest Wii U port to hit Nintendo Switch. Originally released in 2013, Super Mario 3D World is published and developed by Nintendo and offers classic Mario platforming in 3D environments. Plus, the Bowser’s Fury expansion adds a completely new mode that is so great. Nintendo easily could have sold it for $20 to $40 on its own, making this game collection a must-play for any Switch fan.
The regular gameplay of Super Mario 3D World is a mixture of 2D platforming and also the 3D perspective provided by games like Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario 64. The levels are typically straightforward when the player really wants to mainline each world, but, like most Mario games, you will find loads of coins to collect and secrets to find.
In contrast, Bowser’s Fury is much less straightforward and it is possibly the closest to an open world experience the Mario series has thus far, even when including Super Mario Odyssey. Bowser’s Fury focuses on defeating an enormous, evil-looking Bowser more closely resembles a kaiju compared to big turtle fans have come to know and love.
To defeat this scarier-than-normal Bowser, players must explore various islands and collect Cat Shrines, which unlock a power-up Mario which you can use to battle him one-on-one. However, other than needing specific numbers of Cat Shrines to unlock the power-up, players can explore islands in whichever order they choose, so long as those sections of the map happen to be revealed.
As an expansion, Bowser’s Fury appeals to both new players and returning fans of Super Mario 3D World, adding a minimum of three hours of happy to the base game. The content is nice, too, and a refreshing take a look at Bowser-who most gamers have repeatedly been fighting for many years now-because it actually makes Bowser feel intimidating. Over a regular-sized Mario, it feels like a race against Godzilla until the player could possibly get their hands on the required power-up.
Exploring the hawaiian islands and finding Cat Shrines is really a rewarding experience as well. The Cat Shrines function similarly to any large collectible in the past 3D Mario games. Each island functions like a level, and each island has multiple Cat Shrines hidden on its premises. Occasionally, the gamer even must leave the island and come back to trigger events, just like a Dark Luigi that should be defeated, to show even more of the Shrines.
Bowser’s Fury is a great accessory for the Mario family, which is surprising that it was released being an expansion instead of a full game because it can easily get up on its own. As the game’s length isn’t comparable to something like Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy, mechanically, it seems like a new member of the 3D Mario family. It provides previous Super Mario 3D World fans an excellent excuse to decrease another $60 on a single of the best Mario games.
That said, Super Mario 3D World is still worth $60, even though it’s almost a decade old. The Switch version doesn’t add much towards the game itself, however the Wii U version am strong that nothing feels outdated. The amount are fun and trying to get every collectible adds another element of challenge, that is exactly what a Mario game should do.
Super Mario 3D World also introduced a brand new core Mario power-up, the Super Bell, which turns him into Cat Mario. This power-up allows Mario to climb up walls and scratch at enemies, and Nintendo is great at incorporating they into the levels so that players learn how to navigate flawlessly as Cat Mario. This philosophy of intuitive and fluid level design pertains to the rest of the game, too, and everything in Super Mario 3D World works together to produce a valuable and fun platforming experience that never feels cheap or unexplained, even though there’s no tutorial.
Overall, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is a game that each Switch owner must get their hands on, especially if they’ve been a longtime Mario and Nintendo fan. Pairing the bottom game using the new Bowser’s Fury expansion results in a phenomenal mixture of 2D platforming from a 3D perspective. It enables the player to help explore these mechanics inside a more open-world environment while portraying Bowser in a new light. Super Mario 3D World was already considered one of the greatest Mario games by those few Nintendo fans who actually owned a Wii U, and also the new Switch port shows that not just is that true but that the team behind the Mario games continues to be as creative and innovative as always with Bowser’s Fury.
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is currently available on Nintendo Switch.
