Super Mario 3D Land

SUPER MARIO 3D LAND

Today, let's cover Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. The 3D series falls in more with the "New" series of games, mostly because they are more or less standard 2D Mario platformers, they just have a third dimension added to them, rather than the full three-dimensional worlds of the mainline games like 64 and Odyssey. They are both decent games in their own right for what they are.

Mario and Luigi are the stars of the game, both functioning more or less the same as all Mario games, with a third dimension added, though with not quite as much nuance as the mainline titles. Fire Flowers and Starmen return, alongside the Tanooki Suit (Fox Suit for Luigi), which takes up the Furry form slot for this game, though with a separate power-up that gives them the ability to turn into a statue that the form had before. They can also use a propeller box to launch themselves into the air, and a boomerang flower that allows them to throw boomerangs as weapons. Cosmic Mario's also return from their appearance in the Galaxy games.

Princess Peach is captured once again in this game, though with the added element that between the levels, Mario will receive a postcard, updating him on Peach's current status. This does include an escape attempt on her part, though whacking a Goomba on the head with her umbrella is the extent of any action shown on the cards themselves. Toads of all colors feature in the game, running ahead of Mario and tossing out special coins and presents for him to find throughout the levels.

Bowser of course acts as the big bad, though not accompanied by any of his children or his advisor the way he was in the "New" games. His boss battles feature him on a much more three-dimensional bridge over a lake of fire, with Mario stepping on a button to drop him in as always. He can be seen jumping around, breathing fire, creating shockwaves, and throwing barrels during this fight. Dry Bowser also appears, doing more or less the same, just more boney. Boom Boom acts as the world bosses, joined by a . . . girlfriend? Pom Pom. Boom Boom's battles consist of him spinning like a tornado and ricocheting around inside his shell at high speeds, while Pom Pom's battles feature her throwing a boomerang and hovering inside her shell to slam down from above. I'd say we probably have some echoes on our hands, considering her and Dry Bowser, but we'll wait and see.

Our returning enemies include: Goombas (with Tanooki tails), Cheep Cheeps, Piranha Plants (some who spit ink), Dry Bones, Coin Coffers, Thwomps (also with Tanooki tails for some reason), Pokeys, Bloopers, Porcupuffers, Chain Chomps, Fuzzies, Bob-Ombs (also with Tanooki tails), Koopas, Fake Blocks, Boos, Peepas, Hammer/Boomerang Bros, Rocky Wrenches, Spinies, Monty Moles (and their hefty cousin Morty), Magikoopas, and Magmaarghs.

A few new enemies are included this time, including: Biddybugs, little ladybug things that tend to travel in groups; Draglets, little dragons that breathe fire; Stingbies, bees who rocket toward you; Sandmaargh, a new version of the Blaarg or Magmaargh that lives in the sand; Wallops, walls that copy you; Blokkablok, snakelike lines of blocks that fly around; Spike Eels, another species of giant eel; Flophoppers, who flip themselves over like various predecessors; and Prongos, strange creatures with spiky buckets on their heads that like to dive at people.

Technically, each of the various worlds in this game do have a theme, but that theme seems mostly limited to the aesthetic of the world map and maybe one level within the world, but for the most part, each world seems to be made up of a random assortment of varying themes common to every Mario game. Although, I'd say the current 3D Land stage in Smash Ultimate does a fair job of demonstrating the core mechanics of the 3D Land game style, so, maybe we could keep it. (I know, moving stages aren't most people's cup of tea. I do find the sideways scrolling ones to be at least manageable though, unlike the vertically scrolling ones)

As for our items, we're joined by the Super Leaf once again, though this time supplying the Tanooki suit instead of the Raccoon tail, with a second gray leaf that supplies the statue ability. We also have the Boomerang Flower, and the Propeller Block.

Let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Mario: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, grow gigantic, Koopa shell armor, ice balls, penguin suit, propeller hat, raccoon tail, gold flower, gold box, flying squirrel suit, Baby Yoshi, Tanooki suit, boomerangs, propeller block, statue
Luigi: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, grow gigantic, Koopa shell armor, ice balls, penguin suit, propeller hat, fox tail, gold flower, gold box, flying squirrel suit, Baby Yoshi, Fox suit, boomerangs, propeller block, statue
Toad: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, ice balls, penguin suit, propeller hat, give items, flying squirrel suit, Baby Yoshi, throw coins, presents
Princess Peach: not much, whack with umbrella, send postcards
Yoshi: run, flutter jump, eat enemies and fruit, breathe fire
Baby Yoshi: eat enemies, bubbles, inflate, glow
Toadsworth: give items, cast spells
Bowser: jump, breathe fire, charge, blue fireball, fan of fire, grow gigantic, destroy platforms, spin in shell, breathe meteors, airship, extendable arm, shockwave, throw barrels
Dry Bowser: jump, breathe fire, charge, throw bones, grow gigantic, destroy platforms, shockwave, throw barrels
Bowser Jr.: grab, charge, tuck in shell, jump, throw Koopa shells, ride Klown Kar, Airship, breathe fire, fire cannonbombs, submarine, punching gloves, Torpedo Ted, throw bob-ombs, slam down
Larry: tuck in shell, jump, cast spell, moving platforms, Klown Kar, flash, water jets
Roy: cast spells, tuck in shell, pipes, charge, Klown Kar, flash, bullet bill cannon, slam
Lemmy: ride ball, create balls, Klown Kar, flash, bombs
Wendy: create ring, jump, tuck in shell, raise water, summon Cheep Cheeps, Klown Kar, flash, ice skate
Iggy: cast spells, pulled by Chain Chomp, Klown Kar, flash, walk on ceiling, Magmaargh
Morton: slam down, spike balls, tuck in shell, create spike balls, Klown Kar, flash, hammer, Pokey pieces
Ludwig: float, jump, cast spells, dangle, Klown Kar, flash, doubles
Kamek: cast magic, broomstick, teleport, cast transformation spells, frozen enemies, dark cloud
Petey Piranha: fly, hop, divebomb
Boom Boom: swing fists, run around, spin, fly with wings, shell ricochet
Pom Pom: boomerang, float inside shell, slam down
Goomba: walk forward, fly, stack up, skeleton, Tanooki tail
Koopa: walk, tuck in shell, fly
Piranha Plant: rise, chomp, breathe fire, extend neck, walk around, ptooie, skeleton
Dry Bones: walk, fall apart
Lakitu: float around, throw Spinies, lightning
Hammer Bro: throw hammers, boomerangs, fire, jump around, slam down, ice, stomp, electricity
Blooper: dart up
Boo: hide face, float around, puff up, Obake candlesticks, Obake blocks
Monty Mole: drive tank, fire bullet bills, throw Bob-Ombs, pop from ground
Tentative - Spike: cough up spikeballs, snowballs, rocks; Nabbit: run, steal things

Bosses:
Mummipokey
Cheepskipper
Mega Goomba
Monty Tank
Lakithunder
Reznor?

Stages:
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Beach
World 4 - Jungle
World 5 - Snowland
World 6 - Mountains
World 7 - Sky
World 8 - Lava Land
Ghost House
Bowser's Castle
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Snowland
World 4 - Beach
World 5 - Jungle
World 6 - Mountains
World 7 - Sky
World 8 - Lava Land
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Beach
World 4 - Snowland
World 5 - Sky
World 6 - Lava Land
Acorn Plains
Layer Cake Desert
Sparkling Waters
Frosted Glacier
Soda Jungle
Rock Candy Mine
Meringue Clouds
Peach's Castle
Superstar Road
3D Land

Items:
Fire Flower
Super Mushroom
Starman
Blue Shell
Mini Mushroom
Mega Mushroom
Life Mushroom
Ice Flower
Propeller Hat
Penguin Suit
Raccoon Leaf
Gold Flower
Gold Block
Coins
Super Acorn
Tanooki Leaf
Statue Leaf
Boomerang Flower
Propeller Block

Thanks for reading! Next time, we'll be covering Super Mario 3D World!