Super Mario 3D Land

[Nonamer]

...Well...

[DarkeSword]

Feels great, almost done w/ world 8, making it one of the few games I might beat this year... gonna agree w/ Rama though, levels feel a bit... slight. I guess that works for a handheld game, but I think some sort of additional bonus levels or (free, dammit) DLC levels are needed to widen the scope/length a bit more? And I'd still really like to see the SMG concept done on the 3DS with a Super Mario Galaxy 3DS title...

Oh Dave, you're such a funny guy. You think the game's over after beating world 8?

[Meteo Xavier]

I believe my comments were pretty clear, but it's just that nothing new or exciting has been done with the music, at all. There's nothing special about it, they put no effort into this game's soundtrack. Just copy/paste, it seems. If you like rehashed music, some of which has already been rehashed countless times, this game's for you. Time to come up with NEW memorable tunes, Nintendo! Galaxy 1 sounded awesome!

Mario Galaxy 1 was great, but I was bored with it when Mario Galaxy 2 came out and never bothered to finish that one. I agree with RDX that the Mario formula has grown a bit stale. Apparently I am one of the few who will dare say something like that. I wish they'd introduce a new IP that is pick-up-and-play. Mario is kind of a crappy character (especially when he opens his mouth, take a clue from Link, asshole). Time for something new. And no, Pikmin is not pick-up-and-play. Hell, they can't even be bothered to make new Zelda or Starfox games for the 3DS.

Is this another one of those cases where "excellent" is not good enough? That even if a game in a series is still a mile above average in general quality, it's still worthy of a "serious gamer's" unbridled ire like the explosive diarrhea of Mt. Rectum if it just doesn't quite hit the same ridiculously high standard of an era gone by?

Why yes, I think it is.

You people who bitch about Land 3D need to reacquaint yourselves with what a bad game really is.

[Tex]

I don't think Joe Redifer is saying it's a bad game. It's just that it's the same formula being used over and over.

[Gollgagh]

Fixed that.

I would pay so much money

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

I dunno, I'm going through the game once again to try to get a gold flag and all star coins, and I've gotta say that I'm enjoying it more going through it a second time. The 3D effect really is great for some tricky platforming, and trying to perfect your runs through each stage using it is pretty satisfying.

I can agree with the sentiment that the game seems a bit formulaic in structure, and it really feels like a "best of Mario" compilation(that would have been great as a release for Mario's 25th last year), but is that necessarily a bad thing? After all, Mario at his best is pretty great.

Also DJP, (spoiler for anyone who cares I guess)once you get through the game the first time, you unlock the 8 special worlds and the chance to rescue and play as Luigi. The special worlds(which are sort of nega-worlds) offer a bunch of different and more challenging levels, some of which with several frustrating obstacles to make things a bit more interesting.

[Meteo Xavier]

I don't think Joe Redifer is saying it's a bad game. It's just that it's the same formula being used over and over.

That's nearly every game you all are playing now, what difference does it make? I think the fact that Mario takes the same formula and still makes incredible game after incredible game with it is an astounding testament and key to its quality. It keeps the foundation every one is familiar and good with and writes new stuff on top of it.

When you have that working for you, no one's going to be stupid enough to screw with it. They tried that to some effect in Sunshine and look what happened (I'm playing Sunshine now and wow is it an underrated game).

[Antonio Pizza]

Imagine revisiting Sub Con( it was real dammit) or Daisy's kingdom [super Mario Land 1] instead of trudging through the mushroom kingdom for the umpteenth time.

Win.

+527 points.

[RDX]

I'm one of the few people who liked Galaxy 2 loads better than Galaxy 1. I didn't like that Galaxy 1 had a story, lol. I honestly think it would've been cooler if they created an entirely new character for Galaxy, because the atmosphere and the music in general weren't quite as upbeat as Mario games always had been up until then. But whatever, they're both great games. Galaxy 2 is probably the best game I've played in years.

My problem with Mario Land 3D is that I'm just bored with the Galaxy-type structure. Same music, same graphical style, same level gimmicks. Instead of waggling to flip the platforms, you jump. But anyway, that's just, like, my opinion.

I'm not some Mario purist, I grew up on 64 and have always known Mario as having a voice. Voiceless Mario would be weird, it's not like his little noises take anything away from the game.

What did I think of Sunshine? When it came out I didn't like it nearly as much as Mario 64, but 64 was my first console game so I was kind of biased. It's probably my second favorite 3d Mario.

[Joe Redifer]

You people who bitch about Land 3D need to reacquaint yourselves with what a bad game really is.

I know what a bad game is. But just because this game isn't bad doesn't mean it deserves loads of praise. What would it get praise for? That's right, simply being yet another Mario game. For a Mario game, it is average. Nothing new or exciting. Galaxy was at least somewhat refreshing.

I also know what a good game is. I also know that not everybody agrees on what makes a game good. Somehow, life magically goes on. This might end up being one o' them polarizing games like Sunshine.

[Bleck]

or maybe you just have bad opinions

[Joe Redifer]

I have to assume that's a joke as nobody with an ounce of intelligence would say something like that and expect to be taken seriously. Bad opinion to you, maybe, but opinions are just, like, opinions, man.

[Bleck]

opinions are subjective and despite popular conception this does not mean that they are infallible

when I say you have a bad opinion I'm not saying that your opinion is clearly wrong or something, I'm saying that what your opinion is made of does not really make any sense

for example, the part where you said that the music was just rehashed from super mario galaxy, or where you said that you enjoyed mario galaxy, but mario galaxy 2 was "stale" - even though critical examination of those games reveals that super mario galaxy actually reused more music than super mario galaxy 2 (or super mario 3d land, for that matter), and that super mario galaxy actually took less innovative design risks than super mario galaxy 2 did, which would therefore make mario galaxy 2 the one that is the least stale in the list of entries used in this response, which would therefore make your statement that 'galaxy was at least refreshing' sort of invalid

which would make your opinion invalid

I mean it's your right to be able to have that opinion, but it's kind of stupid to say that "nobody with an ounce of intelligence would say something like" call your opinions bad, because not only does it imply that you don't know what subjectivity is, but you're also being a hypocrite by insulting somebody for disliking or disagreeing with your opinion - even though that's just, like, their opinion, man

[Joe Redifer]

Honestly you should have justified your comment with this stuff in your previous post. Going around saying something like "Maybe you have bad opinions" and then just splitting does not make me think you are a member filled to the brim with intelligence. If you had explained your statement as you did here, I would have not responded the way I did. Instead I would have responded like this:

-My main opinion of Super Mario 3D Land is that is an average 3D Mario game. Nothing special as far as Mario goes. This does not mean it is a bad game, but it's not exceptional.

-I never said anything about Mario 3D Land's soundtrack being rehashed from Galaxy. I just said I got bored with Galaxy 2 as a game. I never even said anything bad about Galaxy 2 or attempted to justify my opinion of being bored with it mainly because I haven't played through much of it, I just found other things to do. I never, not once, compared Galaxy to 3D Land in any way other than Galaxy had new music that really stood out and sounded great. Not once. Please don't think that I am responsible for what someone else may have said and please do not put words in my mouth.

-Most of the music I remember from Galaxy was new music. Yes, there were some reused/rearranged music here and there, you bet. But Galaxy being the older game, I am more willing to forgive it for doing anything like that (and actually enjoy said music's inclusion). Mario 3D Land is the newer game and it is still rehashing a large percentage of its music. It felt like very little effort was involved in making the game stand out among other Mario games. The original music that is in there doesn't even stand out. The original stuff in Galaxy sure did.

[Meteo Xavier]

I know what a bad game is. But just because this game isn't bad doesn't mean it deserves loads of praise. What would it get praise for? That's right, simply being yet another Mario game. For a Mario game, it is average. Nothing new or exciting. Galaxy was at least somewhat refreshing.

You're still super spoiled. History has shown that the quality chain doesn't start at the parts (Exciting, new, balance, music, etc.) to lead to a quality conclusion, the conclusion actually comes first and then you dissect it down to why. I think a lot of gamers would agree some of their favorite games just felt "good" and approached with an open mind to start with instead of making false idols of the individual reasons first.

When gamers get hung up on the individual reasons, they start making bullshit opinions why X game sucks when it really doesn't. Super Mario Sunshine is an example. Another of my favorite examples is Ghoul Patrol for the SNES. Castlevania 64 is another good one - it got some really good review scores and then it got nothing but shit - from the same fucking people that reviewed it! EGM gave is 8.0-9.0 scores and then went on to trash it from there on out. Insane!

Gamers are the most spoiled "intelligent" subculture in the Alpha Quadrant. A speck of dust gets on your diamond and then RRRRAAAAWWWWRRRRRRR. Sparta indeed it is - reality unfortunately it is not. I don't care if a game is exciting, new, novel, etc. as long as it just WORKS when it's in my hands. This game is a good buy, so goodbye, from the good guy. I'm Gene Shalit.

[Toadofsky]

When gamers get hung up on the individual reasons, they start making bullshit opinions why X game sucks when it really doesn't. Super Mario Sunshine is an example. Another of my favorite examples is Ghoul Patrol for the SNES. Castlevania 64 is another good one - it got some really good review scores and then it got nothing but shit - from the same fucking people that reviewed it! EGM gave is 8.0-9.0 scores and then went on to trash it from there on out. Insane!

Sunshine wasn't a bad game by any means to me at all. I'm not sure about Castlevania 64 because I've never bothered to play it. This is something that's NOT uncommon these days. A game that is being paid to be hyped to death gets showered with praise at launch. But then after being finished with the game, and the hype finally settled and long gone, you don't find the game was worth those 9.5's or 10's that game critics give out so judiciously.

Gamers are the most spoiled "intelligent" subculture in the Alpha Quadrant. A speck of dust gets on your diamond and then RRRRAAAAWWWWRRRRRRR. Sparta indeed it is - reality unfortunately it is not. I don't care if a game is exciting, new, novel, etc. as long as it just WORKS when it's in my hands. This game is a good buy, so goodbye, from the good guy. I'm Gene Shalit.

Gamers are entitled little brats. And everyone who is involved in game journalism, game making, AND in gaming culture is to blame for making them(selves) that way.

I'm inclined to agree about games. I try not to demand much from them, especially when most of the games that have been released these past couple of years have not held my interest, or at least for very long. I've been delving more and more into older games. Games that I missed out on when I was being an die hard Nintendo fan nerd.

Honestly, Mario 3D Land isn't a bad game, I even did a review on it on my web page stating that. I just don't think it's a game that is going to sway anybody who prefers 2D Mario games. Will 3D Mario fans eat it up? Absolutely.

[Joe Redifer]

Meteo Xavier, that's fine. I respect your opinion of the game. I am not trying to argue that it isn't exceptional as a point of fact. It works for you, that's great! Nobody can tell you what not to like. I love Shenmue and people hate on that thing all the time. Whatever, I still enjoy the game every time I play it. But some people refuse to even acknowledge it as a legitimate "game". While I certainly disagree with their reasons, nothing I can say will make them like the game more. In fact, causing friction about why they should like it would probably make them hate it even more.

BTW I did come to the conclusion first before I dissected it down to "why". I think a lot of people here think I am hating on the game (and for some reason, Galaxy 2).