Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury for Nintendo Switch – My Nintendo News

Feline fun returns in Super Mario 3D World on the Nintendo Switch, but this time it comes with a twist. To quote a literary visionary, where from ashes a fire will be awakened and a light from the shadows will spring, there is only one fury of Bowser, to calm down it takes a Giga Cat adventure. So, with improved visuals, refreshed gameplay, and online multiplayer fun for all ages, there’s no reason a Nintendo fan should miss this double-dash platformer.

We can all agree that everyone wants to be a cat. It was a unanimous decision in our household while playing Super Mario 3D World on Wii U in 2013. Now, in 2021, I imagine my nieces, nephews and godchildren (many of whom were not yet born when the game was released. ), alongside my retired parents, I still want to grab the Super Bell for crawling, climbing, and sweeping up all fours. I expect tantrums, tears and frustration when there are few great bells available in a level – and these players sit in their bubbles, screaming in anger, refusing to join in the fun. . All of the above – combined with its classic platforming smoothness – is why Super Mario 3D World was one of the best-selling games on the Wii U, with 5.86 million units in total. In fact, we liked the title so much that it got top marks in our opinion. Back then, Super Mario 3D World was a powerhouse in platform game design. Now it’s a beautifully polished port with an intense, albeit repetitive, spin-off campaign.

As covered in our Overview, Super Mario 3D World brings several improvements to the core gameplay, including online multiplayer. For those who owned the Wii U version, online multiplayer is perhaps the biggest draw to justify the Switch buyout, with portability coming right after. For those who experience the antics of Cat Mario for the first time, you can experience the delights of Double Cherry Chaos in local or online multiplayer, experience the grace and beauty of Rosalina’s spin attack to help you with some of the most challenging levels in the game and show off your platforming dexterity in crazy dashes of Mystery House.

Unlike Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World is designed in a classic Mario setting, where players enter levels from a map around the world and can earn bonuses from Toad Houses and additional 1-ups from slot machines scattered around every world. Of course, Bows lives up to his old tricks again; this time he captured the Sprixie Princesses in an attempt to overthrow the Sprixie kingdom. When Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad catch wind of the situation, they follow the clear pipe and land in Sprixie Kingdom, ready to face Bowser again. With three (or more) green stars and a collectible stamp to obtain in each of the themed world levels, players must race against the clock to reach the goal post and progress through the game.

Playing solo with the upgraded port is great for those who want to experience the game firsthand, but for franchise veterans you’ll want to tackle it in local co-op, local wireless, or online multiplayer. While local co-op is open and discontinued, online multiplayer requires players to join or create a room (using your own save file) to play with all registered friends. You can even restrict the room by setting a password, allowing access only to friends you’ve shared it with. A cool feature, of course.

Discovering online multiplayer for the first time in Super Mario 3D World is a real joy. Between hunting for green stars and working as a team for classic sprint racing, there is a style of play that will appeal to everyone. As mentioned in our preview, some of our favorite levels included Double Cherry Pass and Beep Block Skyway – it’s impossible to say where the chaos will reign next! Without a doubt, online multiplayer is the key to the castle in Super Mario 3D World, we’re just gutted that it wasn’t included earlier.

Once you’ve experienced the thrills and excesses of Super Mario 3D World, a short, crisp, and intense showdown unfolds in Bowser’s Fury. Accessible from the game’s main start screen, Bowser’s Fury is a 3D open-world adventure in which the goal is to collect numerous Cat Shines to unlock the power of the Giga Bell and tame the hot-headed beast in its Ink lair under the sea. Between teaming up with Bowser Jr., discovering each Cat Shine across Lake Lapcat, and tricking Bowser into destroying his own “ Bowser Blocks ” during his state of fury, the spinoff campaign delivers hours of fun in this tropical paradise – albeit stormy. But that doesn’t mean it’s faultless.

Playing the role of Mario, with Bowser Jr. as a helpful assistant (or vacant spectator, if you wish), the spin-off campaign will put you in a state of uncertainty. While you figure out your next move, Bowser stays in a pool of black gloop, steadily increasing over the next six minutes until he can unleash his fury on Lapcat Lake. After a minute or two of experiencing this hellish landscape, complete with fire-breathing antics and lava bombs, his fury will subside and return to the lake. But that rinse and repeat cycle isn’t our biggest gripe with Bowser’s Fury, it’s the increasing frequency of how often this happens throughout the game, combined with the monotony of the battle of Giga Cat. after a certain number of cat shines are collected. It is this repetition that begins to dilute the explosive and chaotic sequences, as well as the rare framerate hiccups during the most intense scenes. Before long, Bowser’s “ fury ” boils down to an awkward “ cat and mouse ” affair, where you’re more likely to weather the storm in a tunnel than to go ahead with a platform. form.

Fortunately, aside from the fury sequences, the campaign features some awesome 3D platforms, exploration puzzles, and timed coin collecting sequences. What is particularly impressive is the attention to detail. From perfectly themed islands to feline characteristics of enemies, Lake Lapcat is simply full of charm. Players can descend Slipskate Slope in an ice boot, locate the mischievous calico kittens hidden for a grieving “ mama cat ”, and explore each entire island to find the five Cat Shards. And, if you’re feeling more adventurous, you can hop aboard the Plessie and race against the clock to capture your next cat’s glow. In addition, there are also small visual and musical “ Easter Egg ” references to Super Mario Sunshine, Galaxy and 3D World. And while you can easily complete the main mission in five hours, there are still plenty of Cat Shines to collect afterward for an overall 8-10 hour experience. Nothing to sniff.

As we mentioned in our preview, cooperative mode with Bowser Jr. is more of an assist mode, similar to Luma in Super Mario Galaxy or Cappy in Odyssey. While he can attack, Bowser Jr. is linked to Mario’s point of view and cannot venture out on his own. If you’re playing with a sibling or a younger child, this is a nice addition, but for couch co-op, you’d better stick to 3D World. It’s also worth noting that handheld mode works wonderfully in single player mode, although it’s much more difficult in co-op due to the lack of split screen for exploration.

To this day, Super Mario 3D World remains one of the best 3D Mario games that uses the classic 2D platform style. Of course, it’s not on the grand scale of Super Mario Odyssey, but it never intended to be. Designed for couch co-op and online multiplayer, it’s definitely worth its time in the Switch port spotlight. And while Bowser Fury doesn’t quite measure up, he does deliver for those who possessed the original thinking. After all, the euphoria of catnip only lasts so long.

9/10

A review copy of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury has been provided to My Nintendo News by Nintendo UK.