Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury - Preview, ready to save the fairies

Il Nintendo WiiU has had so many fantastic games unfortunately passed a bit on the sly due to the lack of success of the console: even if aficionados of the brand have had the opportunity to get one and spend endless hours dedicating themselves to fantastic adventures, they certainly did not reach today's level, where the Nintendo Switch has returned to count on the support of third parties, a larger installed base and a much wider target diversification than that of the previous console. After seeing Mario Kart 8, Pikmin, Hyrule Warriors and all that series of games that, surely, have found new players on Switch, the time has come for the great return of the Super Mario adventure in 3D with something new. We tried a few game worlds of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, also testing the online mode well, and what we saw was a product that was certainly refined (although already at the time it was of the highest level) and improved where possible. Obviously we will be able to discuss it well in the review, but for now, here are our first impressions.

The mechanics of Super Mario

The thing that immediately catches the eye on seeing Super Mario 3D World is the proximity to its origins: get used to Galaxy, or better still with Super Mario Odyssey, there is a certain gap between those games and the more "classic" construction of this Super Mario 3D World. Meanwhile, the game is divided into worlds, each populated by various levels: this gives the game a "faster" note, thus offering self-contained stages that fit well both in long game sessions and in small snacks to be consumed on break from work. , from the studio, or if you only have 10 minutes of free time. No open world then, and this is good: the division into levels at the time allowed the developers to experiment on each of them different things. Here then appear tributes to the past of Super Mario, mechanics dedicated to a single stage and small special twists capable of snatching a smile.

Each level is different from the others, and the ability that the developers had to amaze in each of them has something fantastic, even now afterwards. 7 years passed from that original game. Obviously the past also serves to learn from mistakes, so Nintendo had the brilliant idea of ​​fixing those small problems highlighted at the time, such as the speed of the characters (now increased by about 20/30%) or the actions that Mario can do in Super Mario Odyssey, now also implemented in Super Mario 3D World (like that sort of mid-air dive).

The other interesting part is undoubtedly the rest of the adaptation: already the WiiU at the time it had a touch surface, and for this reason it was not difficult to replicate those levels that required the touchscreen, but now also manageable with motion sensors (in case you play in the docked version). Finally, there is no lack of improvements of various kinds, including 1080p in the dock version and the decidedly stable frame rate.

The multiplayer, but this time it is not limited to the local: the game in fact will allow you to play online or locally with 3 other friends, thus allowing the game to progress in company. Finally, the photo mode cannot be missing, which arrives in this game and takes full advantage of the stamps (given the non-use in the Miiverse, now closed since 2017 and not present on Switch).

Super Mario 3D World

The origins of this Super Mario date back even earlier to 3D Land, a title released on 3DS that offered a very similar gameplay. Each series of Super Mario, especially when we talk about 3 dimensions, it has a unique subtitle that perfectly explains the philosophy of that game: we have therefore seen the series Galaxy differentiate from Odyssey, in turn different from Sunshine and so on, as if to identify each single gameplay with specific dynamics. The dynamics of the 3D series (understood as Land and World) has always been to be able to summarize the experiences of the mustachioed little man in the red-blue dress.

It often happens then to see in 3D World levels that are inspired by other levels of other games dedicated to Mario, or maybe some really fun mechanics emulations that will require you to learn new things to do from time to time. Among the many examples stand out the level of shadows, the spatial one made in beat time, or the various ones boss fight scattered throughout the map, each with a different modus operandi. For those who had never seen the original game, this Super Mario 3D World proposed, among the many innovations, the use of a tender dinosaur named Plessie for play sessions in the water, upgrades classics of the series such as mushroom, flower, tanuki and many interesting additions such as Mario Gatto, and the Mega Mushroom, capable of transforming Super Mario into a giant version. Finally, there will be various cubes that can be used, or gadgets to be exploited on certain occasions.

Bowser's fury

The other side of the coin of this game is given by a new title, something that perhaps has also passed too quietly for the value instead that it can have: let's talk about Bowser's fury, an adventure that takes advantage of the Super Mario 3D World game system but takes you to an open world to explore in the company, for the first time, of Bowser Jr. This mode, also playable in local multiplayer but for limits due to its history, only in 2, differs from the rest of the game as it loses the division by levels in favor of a free roaming that is very reminiscent Super Mario Odyssey. The theme is decidedly darker (a bit like Majora's Mask it was for Ocarina of Time) and this has repercussions on art design, on what you will explore, and even on the more rocking music. However, we will talk more about this in the review.

For now this Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury turns out to be a fantastic dive into a not too distant past: as we said, the game was not appreciated as much as it deserved, especially given the smaller installed base of WiiU, and now this transposition, which is in addition to the many others made following this criterion , is the right way to discover this fantastic Super Mario adventure, which for now fully respects what we expected.