Super Mario 3D World

SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD

Today, let's go over Super Mario 3D World, the last of this section of games under the "New" series. 3D World followed heavily after its predecessor 3D Land, though with a unique aesthetic to it that helped it stand out enough that it was included as its own layout in Super Mario Maker 2, though the game does seem to pay homage in many ways to Super Mario Bros. 2, with its four player options being the same, and the plot revolving around Bowser having captured a band of fairies. (I'll have more to say about said fairies later).

Our main playable characters include Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Buckenberry (the blue Toad), with Rosalina being included as a fifth secret character upon completion of the base game. Captain Toad, our main red-spotted Toad, is also playable in certain sections which we soon found out was basically the equivalent of those episodes of TV shows that are stealth test pilots for other TV shows. This test pilot was successful as it spawned the creation of Toad's Treasure Tracker.

The four/five main game players all function the same way, gameplay wise, running and jumping and using all the basic Mario game mechanics, with the Starman, Fire Flower, Tanooki Suit, Boomerang Flower, Propeller Hat, and Mega Mushroom returning. The game also features the new power-ups including a new Cat Suit, which is basically the main Furry suit for this game, except that it lets you climb up wall with ease, as well as the Double Cherry, which spawns duplicates of the main characters, and a pair of blocks, one that shoots cannon blasts from its face and another with a flashlight. You can also skate around in a giant ice skate, but that's more an extension of Kuriboh's Shoe than anything. I suppose its also worth mentioning that Mario and Luigi are actually shown doing real plumber work in the game's opening cutscene. As for Captain Toad, really his whole mechanic is to simply walk around a maze, with no jumping or anything else attached, so not much yet.

Now, let's talk about the Sprixies. Did you ever have one of those characters that you had simply written off as never going to happen in a million years, only to start up an analysis of a game and said character has the nerve to go and make a really solid case for itself? I have. I'm not very happy about it. The Sprixies, the little fairies that act as Bowser's captives in this game, ahem, have little hammers and wrenches that they use to fix up pipes and other broken things, supply literally every power-up in the game as shown in the opening cutscene (meaning every unique item in the game can be attributed to them, including the collectible stamps), are also the only central characters of the game unique to this one meaning they can act as reference characters like Wart and Daisy before them, build a rocket ship, have a friendly pet dinosaur named Plessie that Mario can ride, I mean, even the bottle used to contain them can be attributed to them. They even have built-in color swaps. I ask you, how am I supposed to say no to all of that?

So, yes, I suppose the Sprixies get a yes for the roster. Oh, and Lumas and Rabbits crop up in this game. They don't do much, but they're here.

As for Bowser, he acts as our main villain, and fights our protagonists a few times. Most of his boss battles feature him driving a large car, from which he throws out soccer ball bombs and breathes fireballs that make patches of lava on the ground. He also gets a cat form which he uses to chase the heroes up a wall, claw at them, and break through said wall on multiple occasions. He also uses the cherry to multiply himself. And as mentioned before, he is also shown using a bottle to trap the Sprixies.

Boom Boom and Pom Pom act as recurring bosses once again, with Boom Boom swinging his fists, spinning like a tornado, and ricocheting around inside his shell, sometimes turning invisible. Pom Pom carries a shuriken this time, which she uses to create multiples of herself and teleport slightly. Five other bosses appear, including: the Hisstocrats, a pair of royal snakes with a bunch of servants carrying plates on their heads; Boss Brolder, a very large living boulder that can throw out lava; King Ka-Thunk, who clings to the corner of a frame and tries to slam down on Mario; Prince Bully, a silvery bully that tries charge enemies and gets knocked through a pipe to become cylindrical; and Motley Bossblob, a clownish Marx-looking enemy that attaches what looks like those metallic blobs from The Incredibles to make himself a giant and stomp around on stage.

Now, let's cover our enemies. Returning from previous games, we have Goombas (with cat versions), Koopa Troopas, Chargin' Chucks, Piranha Plants (with their large, elongated Creeper forms), Biddybuds, Stingbies, Magikoopas, Galoombas, Fuzzies, Fire/Boomerang Bros, snowman versions of Pokeys, Boos, Peepas, Cheep Cheeps, Porcupuffers, Fizzlits, Bullet Bills (with cat forms), Spinies, Bob-Ombs, Spikes (with spike bars now, instead of spike balls), Bullies, Coin Coffers, Ty Foos, Dry Bones, Bloopers, Octoombas, and Charvaarghs (Blaargs that leap from the lava) all returning. Man, some of these are a blast from the past.

Some of our new enemies include: Ant Troopers, who mainly just walk in a straight line and don't even really hurt you; Blocksteppers, who walk in formation and go crazy if you take out just one of their number; Brolders, living boulders; Conkdors, ostriches that think their those little drinking birds from people's desks; Flopters, little spinny helicopter things; Fuzzlers, the answer to "what would happen if you crossed a Fuzzy with a Wiggler?"; Hopchops, living springs that chase you; Madpoles, who just kinda swim; Rammerheads, hammerhead sharks that should probably get that looked at; Skipsqueaks, mice running on spinning wheels, some with spikes; Splorches, living lava balls that roll around a stage after you; Splounders, who bounce Plessie up; and Walleyes, who try to block you.

Each world has a theme, much like Super Mario 3D Land, but like 3D Land, that theme only occasionally matches up with the worlds within it. Basically, World 1 is a Grassland, World 2 is a Desert, World 3 is a Snowland, World 4 is a canyon/mountainous region, World 5 is a beach, World 6 is the sky, and World Castle is a Lava Land, but again the levels within often don't match up. There is also the final World Bowser, which seems to have a sort of carnival theme, then World Star where you encounter Rosalina, which has a space theme, and then World Mushroom, Flower, and Crown which are just post-game worlds with a random assortment of levels. And finally, we should consider the Captain Toad levels, which have their own unique design and mechanics to them.

Our new items include stamps, the Super Bell, which makes you a cat, the Double Cherry, and the two different kinds of blocks. Perhaps the teleportation boxes used in the game (crap, those can be attributed to Sprixies too, can't they?) could also present an interesting challenge as an item.

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, Cat costume, climb walls, double cherry, cannon block, flashlight block
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, Cat costume, climb walls, double cherry, cannon block, flashlight block
Toad: run, jump, fireballs, invincibility, get mini, ice balls, penguin suit, propeller hat, give items, flying squirrel suit, Baby Yoshi, throw coins, presents, Cat costume, climb walls, double cherry, cannon block, flashlight block, Tanooki suit, Propeller block, Mega Mushroom, boomerangs
Princess Peach: not much, whack with umbrella, send postcards, run, jump, fire flower, invincibility, Cat costume, climb walls, double cherry, cannon block, flashlight block, Tanooki suit, Propeller block, Mega Mushroom, boomerangs
Rosalina: run, jump, fire flower, invincibility, Cat costume, climb walls, double cherry, cannon block, flashlight block, Tanooki suit, Propeller block, Mega Mushroom, boomerangs
Yoshi: run, flutter jump, eat enemies and fruit, breathe fire
Baby Yoshi: eat enemies, bubbles, inflate, glow
Toadsworth: give items, cast spells
Sprixies: hammer, wrench, fix things, clear pipes, all unique items, stamps, cannons, warp blocks, rocket ship, Plessie, bottle, reference character
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, throw barrel, bottle, ride car, soccer ball bombs, lava balls, Cat form, climb wall, break through wall, claw, double
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, turn invisible
Pom Pom: boomerang, float inside shell, slam down, shuriken, doubles, teleport
Goomba: walk forward, fly, stack up, skeleton, Tanooki tail, Cat form, ice skate
Koopa: walk, tuck in shell, fly
Piranha Plant: rise, chomp, breathe fire, extend neck, walk around, ptooie, skeleton, creeper
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
Chargin' Chuck: charge
Tentative - Spike: cough up spikeballs, snowballs, rocks; Nabbit: run, steal things

Bosses:
Mummipokey
Cheepskipper
Mega Goomba
Monty Tank
Lakithunder
Reznor?
Hisstocrat
Boss Brolder
King Ka-Thunk
Prince Bully
Motley Bossblob

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
Super Bell Hill
World 1 - Grassland
World 2 - Desert
World 3 - Snowland
World 4 - Mountain
World 5 - Beach
World 6 - Sky
World Castle - Lava Land
World Bowser
World Star

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
Super Bell
Double Cherry
Stamp
Cannon Block
Light Block
Warp Block

Thanks for reading! Now let's get started on our character revisions, starting with Mario!