Super Mario 3D Land - All-In-One.

I'm getting used to being late with these updates. I've completed Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and was published by Nintendo. Super Mario 3D Land is the first game for Nintendo's 3DS that really makes use of the 3D capabilities of the system beyond some graphic fluff. The title was clearly designed from the ground up around the 3D aspect. It's the first title I've felt compelled to play with the 3D mode turned on for the entirety of the game. Super Mario 3D Land is something of an oddball. It takes from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64 to create it's own thing. It takes Super Mario Bros. 3's tightly focused levels and mixes them with Super Mario 64's smaller open world design. The resulting blend works surprisingly well. The game's camera is a large part of the success. It maintains perfect position at all times. They had to change a few things up as far as control is concerned. The long missing run button returns. And because of the 3D nature of things, pressing down to enter a pipe wouldn't work, so you'll use the shoulder buttons for that. The game first appears to be on the easy side, and once you've completed the game for the first time, a second more difficult playthrough becomes available. This second quest really extends the game for those who will feel the need to collect all the star coins and get the flag for every last stage. Graphically the game looks like your typical mainline Nintendo production. Everything is bright and colorful and clean and safe. They're not really pushing any graphic boundaries here. Musically it's much the same as the graphics. The music does a great job and feels entirely well produced and highly professional. But again it also feels rather Nintendo safe. I would like to seem them take a risk once in a while. Super Mario 3D Land is the purest Mario title produced since the advent of 3D gameplay. There's no fluff or filler, and the 3D is more than a gimmick for this one. And that's a good thing. I really liked my time with the game. It gives me some hope that future of the system might be more substantial than gimmicky. I'm giving Super Mario 3D Land an 8.5.