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Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue with 3D Land. Platformers can be very frustrating at times if you don’t feel like the controls are as precise as they need be. Mario is as nimble as ever and you can be assured that any and all failure to beat a level in the game won’t be because 3D Land itself failed you, rather that you just weren’t good enough. The tunes are as catchy as ever and the controls respond phenomenally. You can go through every level again if you want, trying to get all three of the star coins and collecting other goodies, but there isn’t much in-game incentive to do so.Īnother peaceful day for Mario to skip about. Just when the game starts to crank up the heat, the timer on the oven beeps and the game is over. This is really the only factor that holds Mario 3D Land back from being something special.
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While the Tanooki suit is optional, it takes a lot of restraint to resist grabbing it and blazing through a tough level. Gold Tanooki turns Mario invincible and appears at the start of every level after you’ve failed a dozen times. In fact, the game isn’t hard at all and the few levels that provide somewhat of a challenge can easily be tamed with the gold Tankooki suit.
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Hardcore Mario veterans will find 3D Land to lean more on the easy side. The shortened game speed isn’t purely just based on the length of the levels. However, you can probably breeze through the game in about 3-4 hours. The quickened pace of each level is perfect for waiting room visits or airport terminals. Super Mario 3D land was developed for a handheld, so do you really want to play through levels ten minutes at a time? I don’t think so. There are roughly about thirty five levels or so, with some hidden of course, and they all play very fast. The game might fall a little on the short side in terms of length. Still, you’d be hard-pressed to argue that it doesn’t feel great to play. Nintendo didn’t do a whole lot to “shake” things up in regards to the core mechanics. This may all seem like familiar territory, and to be honest it is. You run through levels stomping on Goombas, kicking Koopas, avoiding spiny shells and trying to jump to the top of flagpoles. The core gameplay is tried and true to the familiar Mario formula. But this is just one of the dozens of tricks that 3D Land might play on you. You may be wondering “What just happened? Did I miss-time my jump? Surely, this is something Mario can do?” So, you continue on through the level until you reach our famous 3D block once more, only this time you examine it more closely, panning the camera slightly shows you that this block is actually FLAT! “Holy Hell!” you might think.
![super mario 3d land speedrun super mario 3d land speedrun](http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/C68e0B-9Drw/maxresdefault.jpg)
Much to your dismay you fall flat on the ground, or worse, to your death. So you casually trout Mario over to the block and try to jump and land on top of it. Perhaps there is a block floating in the corner. As I mentioned above, the best part of the 3D Land cookie is the many optical illusions and mind tricks your eyes play on you. The colored locations pop off the screen with vibrant shades stemming from all over the color spectrum. Dusty desserts, icy landscapes, and lush greenlands are a few locations Mario visits in 3D Land. Visuals in Mario games have never left players wanting more and always feature an assortment of varied themed levels. Mario plays Halloween and dresses up as a Goomba. Just play the game and experience it for yourself. I could probably type an essay of words trying to describe it to you, but how’s about this. Some really amazing optical illusions are produced as a result of Nintendo’s newest concoction. What do you get with all that? What you get is one special treat that is easier to experience than to describe. Almost every level in Super Mario 3D Land combines the Nintendo 3DS’s “3D effect”, 2D environments, and 3D environments together. Then you add on the layer of “3D effect(s)”, you know, that special thing that the 3DS can do? Play games in 3D? If you aren’t already lost on the overuse of the word 3D let me add one more to the mix. In Super Mario 3D Land, levels are mixed between 2D environments, similar to Super Mario Bros franchise, and between 3D environments, similar to the Mario Galaxy franchise. I know all of this might seem confusing, but bare with me for a minute. The biggest difference in 3D Land compared to Mario’s other adventures is how creatively the 3D effects are used. Who doesn’t love these flip-switch levels?