Review: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

Not got a lot to say then Az?

Flynnie said:
Not got a lot to say then Az?

I really am excited to give this game a try! I didn't have this game for Wii U, so the fact that Nintendo is bringing this out for the Switch (thankfully not for a limited time!) is great. 

I like being able to play this game with friends too. Nintendo has always been pretty good at making multiplayer family friendly. It sounds like I'll have a lot of laughs with this one! At the same time, I understand the points made when it comes to wanting something a bit more competitive. I remember tossing the snes controller to my niece, unplugged, so she felt part of the action. The problem was when they became aware they weren't controlling everything. I feel Bowser Jr. makes it a big game changer, especially with him just FLOATING around. I remember my niece screwing up EVERYTHING while I played Sonic. Sure, Tails is invincible, but when my niece (or the AI) went running ahead of a falling platform, it just screwed it all up. 

I feel Mario games are very simple and don't offer much of a challenge nowadays. I get why, but they're still fun. Bowser's Fury seems like a great add on if that's what you're looking for. Shame that it's short though! I want to be able to struggle getting to a platform other than it being super simple. You're right, there is more of a reward with something like that.

Finally someone talks about Sound Controls! I've always loved the option to turn down background music and raise the voice for characters. Nintendo doesn't really do that! It's terrible! It's stuck on one option! At least for the majority of games I've played on Nintendo. I'm rambling now, but great review! Very in-depth and a lot of good points were made. 

( Edited 10.02.2021 15:39 by Pixel Zomblina )

Pixel Zomblina said:
I remember tossing the snes controller to my niece, unplugged, so she felt part of the action. The problem was when they became aware they weren't controlling everything. I feel Bowser Jr. makes it a big game changer, especially with him just FLOATING around. I remember my niece screwing up EVERYTHING while I played Sonic. Sure, Tails is invincible, but when my niece (or the AI) went running ahead of a falling platform, it just screwed it all up. 

I feel Mario games are very simple and don't offer much of a challenge nowadays. I get why, but they're still fun. Bowser's Fury seems like a great add on if that's what you're looking for. Shame that it's short though! I want to be able to struggle getting to a platform other than it being super simple. You're right, there is more of a reward with something like that.

Finally someone talks about Sound Controls! I've always loved the option to turn down background music and raise the voice for characters. Nintendo doesn't really do that! It's terrible! It's stuck on one option! At least for the majority of games I've played on Nintendo. I'm rambling now, but great review! Very in-depth and a lot of good points were made. 

Thank you for reading and commenting!

( Edited 10.02.2021 16:11 by Azuardo )

For me, being able to control Bowser Jr with a simple tap of a button and then motion him to wherever you want, is absolutely brilliant and saves those hair-pulling moments of trying to get that final collectible for the umpteenth time. Getting too stuck? Just send him on his merry way to clear out enemies and grab that elusive 'cat medallion thingy'! (official term )

jesusraz said:
For me, being able to control Bowser Jr with a simple tap of a button and then motion him to wherever you want, is absolutely brilliant and saves those hair-pulling moments of trying to get that final collectible for the umpteenth time. Getting too stuck? Just send him on his merry way to clear out enemies and grab that elusive 'cat medallion thingy'! (official term )

Worried that the boost pad will make Mario fall off the tiny cloud before killing all enemies to trigger the Cat Shine? Just get Jr to do all the dirty work from a distance Loving the Sunshine touches throughout, as well.

I guess I did things the "harder" way haha. Although with the lack of challenge, I'm kinda glad I didn't abuse Jr's abilities too much haha. Great to know for next time though!

You like 3D World, Adam? Or did you already get your fill of it on Wii U? I beat it on Wii U, but never properly appreciated it at the time. This time, I gave it much more attention and can respect it for what it is and not for what I wanted at the time (which was an open world 3D Mario).

I hope this isn't the last we see of this style of game. It proves there is room for open world as well as this classic style on the same console.

Only tinkered with Bowser's Fury so far, completed it once and now having fun going back to collect any Shines missed on the first go

I've been enjoying Bowser's Fury more than the main game. Probably because of the freedom of movement and full camera control. It feels more like a traditional 3D Mario game and I prefer those, personally. It's just so much fun and so inventive in world design. Though, I don't like that there's a run button, I wish there was an option to have full analogue controls. Same goes for the main game. Also the cat-theming overload is amazing, I appreciate the length they've gone to, with cat versions of pretty much everything, even the seagulls!

Also! I love the soundtrack for Bowser's Fury. There's so many amazing tracks and the main game has a really great soundtrack, too! It all sound so jolly and upbeat. Such a feel-good soundtrack.

I'm enjoying the main game though. It's not in my top Mario games, but there's some great stuff in there. There's stages like the music-beat one, which is so fun and also, I love the throwback Mario Kart one. I just generally find it hard to control with the fixed-camera, I've fell off stages so many times from miss judging jumps. There's something about the controls that just feel off to me, as well. Just doesn't feel as snappy as other 3D Mario's and a sort of awkwardness to them. It maybe because of the run button or just something to do with having the fixed-camera. I have to say though, I really do find it a lot more fun in multiplayer. I got to try out the online last night and had a blast. Even if it can be chaotic.

After enjoying Bowser's Fury so much, I actually am struggling to go back to 3D World's style. It just seems too different, and the timer is bugging me - I've become used to gently wandering around and enjoying everything at leisure (well, until Bowser kicks off again!).

The run button is more of a pain than it's worth, although I can see why they added it - to give that classic 2D Mario feel. I wouldn't so much mind except for the fact it far too often causes you to pick up other players/items and even just toss them overboard without realising it. Thankfully, the nature of the game in that you can quickly rejoin and there are relatively few repercussions for "killing" someone means it doesn't get me too angry, but the fact it happens too often in multiplayer starts to get frustrating!

I refuse to set up the Wii U to try the original game out, but I feel like there is smoother analogue control in that the characters don't seem to run in only 8 directions now. It feels far more 360 than it used to, perhaps to keep it in line with Bowser's Fury controls. An improvement for the better for sure, including the walking/running speed.

There is something off with the depth perception in 3D World for sure. Too often you feel like you lose track of the height of the character and it can be hard to land where you want on a platform. The casue of a lot of deaths for sure. The fixed perspective and lack of full camera control is a problem here, and then in online multi, you can't move the camera at all, which causes more problems. The default view is not always the best one!

Agree about the timer too! I wanna explore more in 3D World, taking my time, but I just can't get behind the timer in side scrollers. I feel like there are definitely too many relics from the past that Nintendo thinks it needs to cling onto in games like Mario. It's nice to see them moving away from certain things, but 3D World does retain stuff that could have done with being optional or removed.

Still, overall I have had a lot of fun with 3DW, despite the niggles!

Just to clarify too - it seems online multi does show display names over characters in a very small white text if you become idle. That isn't good enough I'm afraid, and so the option for bolder usernames even while moving (just like Smash Bros) is much needed.

I've gone back to Mario 3D World now, after playing some other games in the meantime, so the taste of Bowser's Fury is totally out of my mouth... and, lo and behold, I'm thoroughly enjoying it FAR more now. I really appreciate the fact that you can collect a star or stamp, die, and not lose what you've collected! That makes life so much easier... and going back through stages to 100% them less of a chore.

I also really love how you can wander around the level select map. Small touch, but a brilliant one. I quite enjoy finding hidden coins, blocks, pipes, etc... Oh, and at first it was a pain to find P switches that were character-specific, but it forced me to try someone other than Mario, and now I've not gone back to using Mario at all Luigi and Peach are the best for reaching the top of the flag pole, definitely

Being able to die and still keep your stamp/green stars changes everything. Now, you can kinda sacrifice yourself to get them, and if you have to replay the stage again, you only need to run straight through without having to worry about picking them up once more

You may find that if you stick with the game long enough, beating stages with each character pays off... Peach all the way! Although Toad is one super quick dude, and if you can keep good control of him, he is perfect for blasting through levels.

Definitely! It's a bit like using the cursor in Bowser's Fury to grab harder to reach collectibles. For someone like myself who can't be bothered spending hour after hour (anymore) trying to get every last item, it makes life much easier and enjoyable. It's encouraged me to go back and actually fully complete stages, whereas in other games I might no longer bother.

Toad...seriously, that little guy is a speed demon

You guys are making me want a game I already own....grrrr! I don't want to double dip on this but I feel I might have to do so

Well, you know Nintendo will only reduce their games by 30-35%, so that will be the time to get it really. It's definitely a more fun game for the small adjustments they've made, but if you didn't get to do it in multiplayer last time, I'd recommend trying so here. It does change things and becomes more fun as a result

I haven't touched multiplayer, mainly because the missus doesn't like gaming... but when I've tried in the past, it's always been with people that aren't the best, so it quickly grew frustrating. Have you been in that situation? Made me never want to play local multiplayer again

Yea, I seldom find people who I know that I like playing local-co-op with. Especially as not many of my friends game anymore! 

I think the lowest it'll get is £35-£40, so its probably already at lowest it'll get physically anyway. 

I might just have to bite the bullet!