Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury – Review

To end off Mario’s 35th anniversary celebrations, Nintendo had planned Super Mario 3D World to be ported from the Wii-U to the Nintendo Switch. However, the catch this time is that unlike other Wii-U ports, this one had entirely new content that looked similar to the style of gameplay from Super Mario Odyssey, or at least to me it did. In this review I’ll be going over a complete review of Super Mario 3D World, as someone who had never played the game prior. I’ll also be doing a complete review of Bowser’s Fury in attachment to this, as they are in the same cartridge after-all. This will culminate in Super Mario 3D World and Bowser’s Fury getting their own individual ratings, followed by a final rating for the bundle as a whole.

Super Mario 3D World –

As mentioned, I had never played Super Mario 3D World or Land when they came out on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii-U respectively. However, since the Switch landed in my hands, 3D World was a game I looked at fondly as someone who had never been able to give it a try, so when it was ported to Switch it was a no-brainer for me to try it out.

Porting Wii-U Games –

First up, I’d just like to clarify that I am not the biggest fan of constant porting of old-games to new hardware, especially when the release of new titles has not been up to scratch. This was certainly the case for Nintendo in 2020. However, on this occasion I shall let it slide now that almost all of the ‘good’ Wii-U games are on the Switch.

Story –

For once, 3D World does not have Mario set out on a mission to rescue Peach from Bowser. Instead, it follows Mario as he attempts to save all of the Sprixie Princesses from him as he attempts to unleash his inner furry. Yes, this story is not as good as it sounds, it is a Mario game after-all. However, does the rest of the game hold up in place of the story like is the case with most Mario games? I’d say yes.

3D x 2D Mario Combination of 3D World –

Now as a young’n, I adored New Super Mario Bros, and hey, even as an adult I have a guilty pleasure in admitting that I found New Super Mario Bros. 2 quite addictive. However, this style of game is something that has gone stale in recent years, and with 3D World adopting a lot of New Super Mario Bros.’ tropes and adapting them into a 3D landscape, I was sceptical. In the end though, it is fun and enjoyable, and despite its linearity, it offers a decent blend between something like Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros.

However, it is important to note that there is plenty of aspects in the game that feel like just the same cookie-cutter New Super Mario Bros. format that we had come to expect back when this game originally released. I would say if you genuinely hated these games, and by the time New Super Mario Bros U Released, who didn’t, you will most likely find a lot of 3D World to be providing similar emotions.

Power-Ups & Different Characters –

Something that has always has its place in Mario games are power-ups. In this game there is the new additions of the double-cherry and the cat-bell. The double cherry is fun, however, not prominent or explore enough throughout the game. The cat-bell is the most common power-up in the game, hence the whole ‘fursona’ vibe that the game has going on. It is alright, enjoyable to use and can get you out of plenty of tricky situations. Other than those two power-ups though, there doesn’t seem to be anything new. The game has some older power-ups, but they are already mostly known by anybody who has ever played a Mario game.

Other than power-ups, a new way to provide a different experience is through different characters. You can obviously play as Mario, who is the most balanced of the lot, however, for some reason, lacks his triple and long jump moves, which is incredibly annoying. Luigi, who is more float-y and has a higher jump. Toad, who is small and fast yet has a pathetic jump-height. Lastly, Peach, whom is not busy being courted by Bowser this time around so she can offer her gliding abilities to aid the player throughout levels.

I appreciate the different options offered, however I really just found myself playing as Mario for the majority of the game unless another character offered a specific advantage in certain levels, which is not often the case.

Game Length and Collectors Items –

The game was actually a lot longer than I expected. In my memory, the usual length for these types of Mario games could be completed within a day. However, keep in mind I played through this game without advancing until I had collected all stamps and green stars in previous levels. There was plenty of worlds, along with a fake-out ending that reveals Bowser’s final world, which looks incredible by the way.

As well this, the change of pace from traditional levels is also supplemented by other challenges such as Captain Toad levels and the star gauntlets. Captain Toad obviously was good enough to get its own game, but I feel the star gauntlets have an idea there too for its own game, it felt similar to WarioWare, but that’s just something to note for the future potentially. So, there is plenty to do, whether that be filling in the sticker book, which is satisfying, or collecting all the green stars.

Visuals –

I am not the biggest fan of this plastic-type style that these types of Mario games go for, however 3D World looks nice with it. The worlds are often vibrant and offer some great visual satisfactory eye-candy, such as all the different colour rainbow blocks in certain hidden rooms.

Even beyond little moments of satisfaction like that, there is moments of grandeur, such as the arrival towards Bowser’s tower in the final level, which gave me Odyssey-scale vibes.

Lastly, the HUD and menus in 3D World may be simplistic but that is what makes them so gorgeous. They’re responsive, bright, and slickly laid out, and although their simple, they are beautiful nonetheless.

Music –

Personally, this game has one of the weaker soundtracks from any Mario game. There is a one or two songs I enjoy, such as the dance-remix you get from the cloud-levels, however, other than there, I really cannot think of anything that particularly stood out to me.

Post-Game –

Even after a pretty hefty length of main-game, there is still four more worlds, followed by one ultimate world that is supposed to be a lot harder than the regular game. However, to get this, you’ll need to obtain all of the green stars, all of the stamps and reach the top of every single flagpole in the game before you can travel there. So, you certainly have to be committed. Nonetheless, despite some areas of this game being obvious rehashes of recent Mario tropes from the time, these moments of extra-content that weren’t required show that this game clearly was intending to offer an efforted and complete experience for those who bought it. There is enough for 3D World to hold itself up, even without Bowser’s Fury.

Conclusion –

Super Mario 3D World was an experience that I thought I’d enjoy, and I did. There was a lot that felt similar to those cash-grab New Super Mario Bros games, however there was also a lot that felt unique and like there was genuine effort and passion put behind it, even going beyond what I had expected in the ways of content that the game offered at times. This game is very fun, simple, and offers a lot more to do than I thought there would be. It holds up on its own and to add Bowser’s Fury in with the mix is just a cherry on top of the cake. However, there is still a lot more the game could have done, but that just generally comes with the limitations of the 2D x 3D game-play that they went with.

Final Rating of Super Mario 3D World – 7/10

Bowser’s Fury –

Super Mario 3D World was obviously a welcome addition to the Switch libary, however, where this release truly caught the eye was with the addition of Bowser’s Fury included. This game turned heads for its unique approach to 3D World, as well as some weird game-play ideas and imagery teased before release such as the Super-Sayain Cat Mario versus a Godzilla-esque Bowser. So, what did I think?

Story –

The story follows Mario as he arrives in a new location, to be greeted by one of his old enemies, Bowser Jnr. Bowser Jnr. explains to Mario that his father has gone crazy and is now a giant monster, even more so than in the past. This ultimately leads to Bowser Jnr. and Mario joining forces for the first time to try and collect all the cat shines and turn Bowser back to normality.

Mario’s Partner and His Involvement –

A big quirk of almost every 3D Mario game is some sort of partner that plays their part. In Sunshine it was Fludd, in Odyssey it was Cappy and now in Bowser’s Fury it is Bowser Jnr. However, admittedly, Bowser Jnr. has almost no bearing on the actual game itself outside of a few motion-pointer interactions to get you an extra power up or something. He sometimes takes out enemies, but never efficiently enough. Really, Bowser Jnr. is more of a fan-pleaser to see these two characters joining together rather than him actually having any impact on the gameplay itself.

3D World Combined with Sandbox Mechanics –

In terms of the game-play, this is really interesting. Bowser’s Fury is a mixture between Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Odyssey’s style of game-play in my opinion. Mario has the moves of 3D World but in a more traditionally sandbox terrain. Elements such as collecting all the stars, moons, shines or whatever they are in each sandbox Mario game is prevalent here, as each areas has a specific amount of Cat-Shines to collect in order to fully complete it.

Bowser’s Fury isn’t anything crazy, but it is a genuinely unique and interesting way to approach a sandbox Mario title.

Bowser Timer Mechanic –

Even more so than the mixture of 3D World and Odyssey’s game-play styles, the mechanic of Bowser is the most obvious and interesting mechanic in the game. Every now and then Bowser will appear from his shell in rather dramatic fashion, which is sure to get your heart racing just that little bit more. This often led to me having to abandon what I was doing in an attempt to avoid him until he calmed down, attack him, or find a quick shine in order to make him retreat.

Bowser appearing every few minutes is odd, and takes some getting used to especially after years of Mario games that encourage you to take your time in areas. However, it really is one of the most unique and interesting ideas Mario has had, and hey, Bowser looks unbelievably good.

Length and Content –

Bowser’s Fury is obviously a side-game. It is a bonus. Thus, this game isn’t that long. Most shines are easily found and follow same-y tropes of older shines in the game. There are a total of 100 Cat Shines to collect across multiple different areas, which for a side-game really blew me away. This game could be finished in quick succession if you really wanted to, but for a bonus, it blew me away just how fleshed out and complete this game felt on its own, it was truly a shock.

Conclusion –

Bowser’s Fury is a short but shockingly fleshed out and full experience. I am still shocked that a bonus of this quality was just that, a bonus. This shows what should be made of ports, when extra content goes the extra mile like Bowser’s Fury did it validates the reinvigorated €60 price tag on a port of an old game.

Final Rating of Bowser’s Fury – 7.5/10

Final Thoughts on Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

So, did Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury disappoint? No, far from it. It was the exact sort of experience I expected, that being an obviously fun game that I knew I’d enjoy all the way to the end. Price tags are usually a point of argument for ports, however Bowser’s Fury is so fleshed out and fresh that it validates a full price on a port of a Wii-U game. This game further hammers home the Nintendo Switch as the definitive console for Mario games.

Final Rating of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury – 7.5/10

Paper Mario: The Origami King – Review

I think that the background of the Paper Mario series is always one that has avoided me, in terms of actually experiencing past games. This was my first Paper Mario experience as you can probably tell from that previous sentence. Despite the lacklustre response that Origami King got, and in even some cases, a negative response, I found it to be a lot more engaging and enjoyable that what some others may have done.

Gameplay –

For me, Origami King was an engaging experience, though mostly I felt it was most enjoyable as a calming game to play with something on in the background. Exploration and the scenery of the world of Origami King provide a lot to see and do, with it being highly incentivised too.

As I said, for me playing Origami King wasn’t something which required my undivided attention, yet it was still engaging enough to maintain my attention throughout.

In terms of mechanics, I do not have much negatives to discuss regarding the battling system, I found it pretty enjoyable at times, however it has to be said that battles can become tedious and unrewarding in a system where there is no XP to incentivise the battles actually taking place.

Visuals and Graphics –

Rather surprisingly for me, Origami King is probably one of the best looking games on the Switch. The scenery is vibrant with incredible detailed foregrounds and backgrounds, with plenty to look at. Of course there was the famous pictures of the absolutely phenomenal water from the game, and yes, that was legit and is definitely as beautiful when you play it for yourself.

In general, as I said, Origami King surprised me when it popped up as potentially one of the most beautiful and graphically crisp games in the Switch’s lifetime so far.

Humour and Characters –

The humour is something that stood out for me. Paper Mario games are always known for being a little more self-aware than the mainline games, which is something I found incredibly enjoyable. I am usually one to skip over needlessly spammed text, but through Origami King I would find myself reading every line of dialogue out of fear of missing a funnily written line or reference.

This also blends into the characters of the game, such as Bobby and Olivia. Of which Bobby’s death is one of the most impactful moments throughout Origami King’s story, showing the importance of creating unique and personified characters who have their own individually stories coinciding alongside Mario’s.

Music –

The music, as with almost every Mario-related title, is stellar. I particularly found myself sitting on the title screen just calmly listening to the glistening and fluid tune of the main-theme for the game. You can listen to this song here if you’ve yet to hear it: Origami King Title Theme

Difficulty –

In terms of difficulty, this game is far from difficult. The battles are a breeze, however there was a major difficulty spike for me personally when I came to take on the Water Vellumental, this did take me quite a few tries.

XP does feel evidently missed, which can make battles feel tedious, meaningless and completely unrewarding, with me often looking to avoid battles due to the lack of incentive to need to do them.

Where the Game Went Wrong –

In terms of where the game went wrong, I feel the major issue of a lack of an XP system was evident, as I said, this is something which quite simply for me could not be overlooked. I thought that the enjoyment and incentive of the game would have benefitted hugely from an XP system being put in place.

Elsewhere, the lack of personified characters who have their own visual style or join you along your journey in the way Olivia and Bobby did was clear for me also. The best parts of the game were the interactions with Olivia and Bobby, so to have such a lack of partner characters was a big miss.

Final Thoughts –

In general, despite what many user reviews on sites like Metacritic may say, for my first time playing a Paper Mario game, I enjoyed myself, and although it wasn’t the most riveting of experiences, I do not regret giving the game my time. It isn’t the type of game to leave you jumping off your seat for years to come, but it is an experience I am glad I had and something I feel was an enjoyable time overall despite some glaring issues.

Final Rating – 6.5/10