Super Mario 3D Land

Super Mario 3D Land is a 3D platformer for the Nintendo 3DS, by Nintendo. The gameplay of Super Mario 3D Land for 3DS is similar to previous 3D Super Mario games, which include Super Mario 64 and its DS remake, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy 2. In "The Official Nintendo Magazine," the magazine, as its name implies, states there are plenty of references to Super Mario Bros. 3, too.

This game combines two and three dimensional gameplay, thus making it unique. It also has sold over six million copies worldwide as of June 2012. It also has a considered sequel called Super Mario 3D World.

Gameplay
Super Mario 3D Land was described by the game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto (also creator of Mario), as a "3D Mario that plays as a 2D Mario game." Just as Miyamoto said, Super Mario 3D Land combines the elements of traditional side-scrolling Mario titles with those of the modern open world Mario titles, with are much more three dimensional.

Much like the classic side-scrolling Mario titles, the goal of every stage is to get to the flagpole located at the end before the time limit expires. The game has a similar health system to other Mario games, in which Mario shrinks after being hit or touched by enemies or hazards, and damage while "small" results in losing a life. The game offers a number of traditional items, like the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Starman, along with some new power-ups that give Mario a special suit that grants him new abilities. Some revealed power-ups are the Super Leaf that first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3, which allows him to turn into Tanooki Mario and attack with his raccoon-like tail and float in the air, and the Statue Leaf, which allows Mario to turn into a statue, and also the Propeller Box, which acts similarly to the Propeller Block and the Propeller Mushroom from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, allowing Mario to reach high places. Also revealed is the Boomerang Flower that lets Mario transform into Boomerang Mario, allowing him to throw boomerangs. Later revealed was the Question Box, a suit which has an appearance similar to the Question Blocks, which allow Mario to collect coins by walking around while he wears it. Much like the Super Guide feature in previous Mario titles, certain items can be made available if the player is having a difficult time on a certain level. The Invincibility Leaf, which appears after the player loses five lives in a level, gives Mario invincibility and Tanooki Suit abilities, whilst the P-Wing, which appears after the player loses ten lives in a level, sends the player right to the end of the level.

Super Mario 3D Land uses the Nintendo 3DS autostereoscopic technology, allowing players to perceive depth when looking at the game screen. While the game is designed to not require the 3D effect, some obstacles or points of interest are much more noticeable or easier when the 3D is turned on. Super Mario 3D Land also uses the 3DS gyroscope for binoculars that allow players to look for Toads and earn additional power-ups. The game also features StreetPass, allowing players to exchange mystery boxes containing bonus items. Luigi also appears in the game as a playable character, but having different handling from Mario.

Plot
A tree that is on Princess Peach's castle grounds is stripped of all its leaves during a heavy storm. The leaves, which turn out to be Super Leaves, are blown across the Mushroom Kingdom, bestowing Tanooki tails on all living things they touch. When Mario and the Toads go to inspect the tree the next day, they discover a letter from Bowser, learning that he has kidnapped Princess Peach once again. Mario sets off in pursuit to find and rescue the princess. Mario then must go through 8 worlds and defeat Bowser.

Development
In November 2010, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that both 2D and 3D Mario games were in the works for the Nintendo 3DS. He also described this particular game as "completely original" and a cross between Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64, and revealed that the game will use the 3DS gyroscope. The game is being developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo, which had developed Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Satoru Iwata pointed out that the game's tentative logo sports a tail, and stated that its purpose would be revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011. Miyamoto later stated that "it's what you think it is." While no exact release date was announced, Miyamoto stated that he hoped to release the game during 2011.

The game was showcased at Nintendo's press conference at E3 2011, where a 2011 release date was confirmed, along with the appearance of the Tanooki Suit, a power-up originally from Super Mario Bros. 3. The power-up allows Mario to float down gently, but unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3, he can no longer fly.

Director Yoshiaki Koizumi said Mario will have access to a number of his famous suits. While only the Tanooki Suit was revealed at E3, Koizumi told Official Nintendo Magazine UK: "I can't reveal the actual number of power-ups in the game right now, but suffice to say that we do try to include enough so that people can enjoy a variety of different kinds of play experiences in the title. But I can say that we will definitely have some more familiar suits than just the Tanooki Suit."

Reception
Super Mario 3D Land received mostly critical acclaim. The game sold over 343,000 copies in the first week in Japan, and helped move over 145,000 Nintendo 3DS units in doing so. Famitsu awarded Super Mario 3D Land a score of 38/40, praising level design, accessibility for beginners and the use of 3D. IGN gave the game a 9.5 and an Editor's Choice award, saying it was "brilliant and addictive," and stating that "3D gaming has never been fully realized before this." GamesRadar gave the game a score of 9/10, praising its wealth of content, although criticising the inclusion of a run button and some easy difficulty. Game Informer gave 3D Land a 9.5/10, saying ﻿"it lives up to the level of quality set by previous entries and is easily the best reason to own a 3DS," and enjoying both the use of a run button and the 3D effects, while criticising the fact that there was a "lack of variety in boss battles". PETA has created a game called Mario Kills Tanooki, criticizing Mario of wearing tanooki fur.

Levels
Super Mario 3D Land has a total of sixteen worlds, which include eight normal worlds and eight special worlds, the latter of which are unlocked by defeating Bowser in World 8-Bowser's Castle. Each world contains four or five normal levels and one boss level. World 8 is an exception, containing six normal levels and two boss levels.

World 1

 * World 1-1
 * World 1-2
 * World 1-3
 * World 1-4
 * World 1-Castle

World 2

 * World 2-1
 * World 2-2
 * World 2-3
 * World 2-4
 * World 2-Airship

World 3

 * World 3-1
 * World 3-2
 * World 3-3
 * World 3-4
 * World 3-5
 * World 3-Airship

World 4

 * World 4-1
 * World 4-2
 * World 4-3
 * World 4-4
 * World 4-5
 * World 4-Airship

World 5

 * World 5-1
 * World 5-2
 * World 5-3
 * World 5-4
 * World 5-5
 * World 5-Castle

World 6

 * World 6-1
 * World 6-2
 * World 6-3
 * World 6-4
 * World 6-5
 * World 6-Airship

World 7

 * World 7-1
 * World 7-2
 * World 7-3
 * World 7-4
 * World 7-5
 * World 7-Airship

World 8

 * World 8-1
 * World 8-2
 * World 8-3
 * World 8-4
 * World 8-5
 * World 8-Castle
 * World 8-6
 * World 8-Bowser's Castle

Special 1

 * Special 1-1
 * Special 1-2
 * Special 1-3
 * Special 1-4
 * Special 1-Castle

Special 2

 * Special 2-1
 * Special 2-2
 * Special 2-3
 * Special 2-4
 * Special 2-5
 * Special 2-Airship

Special 3

 * Special 3-1
 * Special 3-2
 * Special 3-3
 * Special 3-4
 * Special 3-5
 * Special 3-Airship

Special 4

 * Special 4-1
 * Special 4-2
 * Special 4-3
 * Special 4-4
 * Special 4-5
 * Special 4-Airship

Special 5

 * Special 5-1
 * Special 5-2
 * Special 5-3
 * Special 5-4
 * Special 5-5
 * Special 5-Castle

Special 6

 * Special 6-1
 * Special 6-2
 * Special 6-3
 * Special 6-4
 * Special 6-5
 * Special 6-Airship

Special 7

 * Special 7-1
 * Special 7-2
 * Special 7-3
 * Special 7-4
 * Special 7-5
 * Special 7-Castle

Special 8

 * Special 8-1
 * Special 8-2
 * Special 8-3
 * Special 8-4
 * Special 8-5
 * Special 8-Castle
 * Special 8-Crown

Playable:

 * Mario
 * Luigi

Not Playable:

 * Peach
 * Bowser
 * Toad

Enemies

 * Piranha Plant
 * Goomba
 * Paragoomba
 * Bob-omb
 * Tanoomba
 * Boo
 * Magikoopa
 * Fuzzy
 * Boom Boom
 * Pom Pom
 * Bullet Bill
 * Cheep Cheep
 * Spiny
 * Spike Pillar
 * Ball 'n' Chain
 * Stingby
 * Black Venus Fire Trap
 * Prongo
 * Purple Eel
 * Flying Bill Blasters
 * Tail Goomba
 * Bowser
 * Dry Bowser

Bosses

 * False Bowser (world 1 and world 5 castles)
 * Boom Boom (world 2, 3, and 7 airships and special 4, Special 6 airships and Special 8 crown.)
 * Pom Pom (world 4, 6 and 7 airships + special 4 airship and Special 8 crown.)
 * Bowser (world 8 castle 1 and world 8 castle 2)
 * Dry Bowser (special 1, special 5 and special 8 castles)

Transformations

 * Fire Mario
 * Tanooki Mario
 * Starman
 * Super Mario
 * Boomerang Mario
 * Propeller Mario
 * Statue Mario (Use Statue Leaf)
 * White Tanooki Mario

Items

 * Question Blocks
 * Blocks
 * Used Blocks
 * Brick Blocks
 * Elevator
 * Coin
 * Donut Lift
 * Jump Block
 * Blue blocks with arrows on their sides, similar to Arrow Lifts.
 * Rotating multicolor blocks.
 * Purple teleporting blocks
 * Flagpole
 * Midway Point
 * Note Blocks
 * Spring Block
 * Roulette Blocks
 * Star Coins
 * Red Ring
 * Red Coin
 * Green and blue timers that look like those from Super Mario Galaxy 2.
 * P-Switch
 * Green Shell
 * Warp Pipe
 * Crate
 * 1-up Mushroom

Power-Ups

 * Super Mushroom
 * Super Leaf
 * Fire Flower
 * Starman
 * Invincibility Leaf (Block) (A condition appears to have lost 5 lives, only in Normal Mode)
 * Boomerang Flower
 * P-Wing (Block) (A condition appears to have lost 10 lives, only in Normal mode)
 * Statue Leaf
 * Propeller Block
 * Coin Block (randomly found through little amount of levels)

Trivia

 * This game's logo is related to Super Mario Bros. 3 ' s logo.
 * The main overworld theme has portions of the Super Mario Bros. 3 overworld theme in it.
 * In World 5-2, there is a task where the player will need to light two fire torches. The Legend of Zelda music for whenever Link discovers something will play upon completion.
 * The fire flower is the only flower you can pick up.
 * This is the first Mario platformer game since Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins where Mario cannot perform a Double Jump or a Triple Jump.