Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury (2021)

I've beaten both 3D World (when I had a Wii U) and now Bowser's Fury (on the Switch) and must say this is a wonderful Mario game in the fact that in blends in both the best of the 2D games, with the graphics/set up of the 3D games. It's a nice synergy of both and that's what makes it such a fun game.

Now, as a Wii U owner, buying this game again was a bit of a tough decision, but I decided that Bowser's Fury was enough for the price of admission. I loved it! A truly open world set up with such a unique gameplay dynamic. While it isn't perfect (Bowser loves to show up at the worst times, and once you get around 40 cat shards, things get very, very tough), it's a totally new take on the Mario genre that, while maybe a little short, I still think was worth the price of admission.

If you never played 3D World on the Wii U, then I highly recommend the game, and if you played it, then if you have the money, get it for Bowser's Fury.

I’ve got 95 shines in bowsers fury, and I’m really starting to hate bowser. I wish there was a way to turn him off. You need him for a lot of the shines, but if you aren’t going for those, then it would be nice to turn him off. I just feel like I’m always in the middle of trying to get some shine, having fun just jumping around, and then he shows up and I have to go sprint around looking for another shine, or just hide until he’s gone. Once you get 50 shines, you don’t really want to do the cat kaiju fight because it rolls credits again. It’s really bizarre.

I’ve seen people call this half baked, and I think I agree. It’s mostly great, but it seems like it could have used a little more play testing and feed back to tweak the bowser stuff.

So after my question the other day, I did end up snagging this. I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I'm hoping the boyfriend and I will spend some time on it this weekend.

I also need to sink some more time into 3D All-Stars. Spring break is the week after next, so maybe I'll actually finish up a few games.

Question for anyone who has this already:

How exactly does the local multiplayer work? Which controllers can you use (like is it Joycon only or can two people use Pro controllers)? If you play using two Switches, do you both need a copy of the game, or is it like the download play on the 3DS?

I searched for info briefly but most of what I found was regarding online play or just simply stating that there IS local co-op for up to 4 people. I'm at work so I'm hoping you guys can provide me with a better answer than me sifting through more articles.

Continuing my march through Mario madness, following up my time with 3D All-Stars...

3D World -- I had my doubts, since the times I've played "New" Mario titles (I forget which ones) with friends I found them not very fun at all. But this one (usually) manages to make co-op play through levels less frustrating, since there's generally enough room for everyone to actually move around in. It's still very chaotic, but it's manageable -- especially if you have cat suits (which can save you from falls, and are easier for dealing with enemies). I think a lot of people have seriously over-hyped this one, but it's still a good game overall to mess around in with friends. I'll share more thoughts once I've finished all the levels and perhaps attempted some completion-ing on my own.

Bowser's Fury -- This is basically a big Odyssey DLC level with 3D World mechanics and aesthetic. Perhaps the equivalent of 3 levels in Odyssey? There are 100 stars to collect scattered about some Mario-ey islands, and they're about as commonplace as the moons in Odyssey. Every few minutes a Godzilla-like Bowser shows up and breathes fire lasers at you, and you have to either just survive for a while, hide somewhere, or collect a star to get rid of Bowser. It's all... fine. I like it well enough, though I did get tired of Godzilla Bowser after a while. Getting to the credits for this one is a really quick breeze, but going for 100% will probably take a little more effort. I'll probably shoot for it, why not.