Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

 

Super Mario 3D World is a mashup of Mario genres, mixing the best of 3D World/Land with the multiplayer action of Deluxe with the colorful worlds of Super Mario World and Mario 64. Mario fans will quickly become familiar with the gameplay, which is traditional Mario with the addition of cats (which appeals to my 7 year olds). The gameplay is fun, challenging at times but never frustrating. 

Between the new Mario 3D games (Land & World) and the 2D games (The New Super Mario Bros. Deluxe), I actually prefer the 2D games. Their stage design to me is more innovative and overall more fun. I also think the 3D games look and play more like the main Mario games (like Odyssey), so my brain tends to compare them, which isn't fair since they are remakes of older games and not a brand new game.

Regardless, 3D World was a fun game with classic Mario platforming action we've all come to love. Stage design, as in other Mario games, is fantastic. Every item is deliberately placed, serving a specific purpose. As a kid, except for the secret warp zones in Mario Bros., I was completely oblivious to the hidden levels and shortcuts in Mario games. Playing these games as an adult (and with the help of guides) I have discovered a lot of these hidden items and stages which emphasize how well thought-out these stages are designed. In this game in particular, finding as many green stars as I could was one of my favorite parts of the game. 

My absolute favorite part of the game, however, is the co-op play. It is so cool that I can play through the game together with my girls. While having multiple people on screen simultaneously can be challenging (i.e. when you have a player channeling their inner LeRoy and going rogue), it does lend itself to working together to achieve a common goal (like getting a green star). My only complaint with co-op play is that when a player dies, there is a brief pause to the game. For a platforming game, this can really screw up your timing of jumps, and it would be nice if they could figure out a way to eliminate this pause from the game.

Bowser's Fury appears to be a completely different kind of Mario game. I've watched my girls play 15 minutes of the game, and it seems to be more of an open world style of game. It reminds me a bit of Sunshine, which is one of my least favorite Mario games. Based on what I've seen, I'll likely skip this game and let my girls play it. Skyward Sword HD comes out in less than two weeks so I need time on my gaming calendar to get started on it.