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

This game is basically two games. Let me start with the first one, Super Mario 3D World. Basically a remake/remaster of the WiiU version of 2013, this game is just super fun. Beautiful looking levels, catchy tunes and some later levels can be pretty challenging. I loved the cat power up, making you able to climb walls and fly downwards towards enemies. But mostly, I love the couch co-op multiplayer feature. Anyone can join into a game, and this is pretty normal for a Mario game but I just love that I can show this game even to friends who arent as much into gaming but they can just enjoy a level or 2 with me. The stamp collecting is also a fun addition. The only thing that irks me about this game is that, to 100% it, you have to finish every single level with every character. That's so tedious and useless to do, and I didnt even think of trying it. I did play almost every single level though and consider that 100% enough lmao. Definitely a 8/10.

Then there's Bowsers Fury; a small open-world game basically. It kind of felt like a demo almost to mario odyssey, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Collecting the cat-shines was relatively fun and Bowser scared the crap out of me the first few times lmao. I collected all 100 shines but it wasn't suuuper satisfying to me. Bowser's fury on it's own is like a 7/10 to me.

Both games are worth trying though!

This review is for the Bowser's Fury additional content only, as I had already played Super Mario 3D World back on the Wii-U.

Bowser's Fury is a side campaign added on to the re-release of Super Mario 3D World. Nintendo kind of screws over early adopters or die hard fans with this one, as I had 100% completed Super Mario World on the Wii-U. To be able to play this then, I would need to buy the re-release on Switch with this addition while it's still a full priced "new" game. Aside from that issue, this is a really fun new style of Mario that I hope gets explored more in the future. It combines everything that worked well from Super Mario Odyssey and combined that with elements of 3D World. What you get is a hybrid of open world and almost different hubs within that world where there are objectives to complete to obtain this game's version of stars. There are some really clever challenges here that some times took multiple tries to complete. These moments of peaceful exploration are periodically interrupted when a giant goo covered Bowser pops out of the center of the world, changing the weather to rain, peaceful cats into attacking cats, dropping giant pillars around the world, and spewing a large fire attack at you. You can end these by either running around for a few minutes until he leaves, or collecting a star which will make him retreat until next time. You need to manipulate his attacks in this mode to unlock at least one star on each of the hubs. This can be frustrating as sometimes you need to drop what you're doing to go unlock that star. This becomes even more frustrating when aiming for 100% completion as late game Bowser will come out and attack VERY often...seemingly every other minute. Unfortunately there's no special ending or unlock for obtaining 100%, but the challenges are fun so no reason not to go for it. I think in total it took me around 7 hours to 100% the game. I don't think this addition is worth it if you had played 3D World previously like I had, unless you are really itching for more Mario. It is a lot of fun though, which makes it frustrating that Nintendo would not release this individually.

100% Completed Both Games

Completioner Seven Review | Super mario 3D World + bowsers fury 100%

This game is fun, it's creative and it's full of content, it's the 2nd game I have ever completed, and I'm excited to share my experience with everyone!

Completionists Expireince

First, how do you 100% 3D world?

On your save a file, 100% would look like this:

There are 5 stars + a sparkle , each star representing a big land mark in your journy!

Star * : This star marks the player defeating meowser in World 8 *

Star ** : This marks collecting the 3 green stars found in every level

Star *** : This marks the player having a complete stamp board (collect all stamps)

Star **** : The player must reach the top of the flag pole in every level with every character. Since there are 5 characters, players will need to beat the game at least twice. It's recommended to play with friends since this is the most challenging and time-consuming star to collect.

Star ***** : Complete the 3 World Crown levels with every charactar

Sparkly stars: New use the invincibility tanooki suit gained when beging defeated by a course enough

Completionists proof: save file date may also back up my proof :)

Ratings

Story: 7/10 still bland and forgettable though I do like that We were not rescuing peach this time like usual instead there were 7 sprixies to be rescued in each world

level design (8/10) creative and inovattive

Bowsers Fury

The criteria for 100%ing this game is literally just

• Collect 100 cat shines

Completionists proof:

For 3D World, they made a great game even better. Although I wish I just used the multiple controller trick instead of beating every level as every character solo. Also wasn't able to give the online a try.

For Bowser's Fury, I was really excited to try this out because I heard good things about it. It ended up being even better than I imagined. I was expecting a little extra side mode, but it feels like its own fleshed out game, albeit condensed. It feel like a mix of 3D World, Odyssey, and Sunshine. It uses 3D World's mechanics and powerups, Oddysey's open world and infinite life system, and the episodic levels and paint cleansing in Sunshine. So like in Sunshine, the level layout and the presence of the shines is determined by which shine you select when you start the level. Bowser's Fury is similar to this in the way that it requires the player to leave the area and come back in order to collect the remaining shines on each island, with the island's layout changing each time. Playing this makes me excited to see the Mario series return to something like this.

Extra thoughts:

+Cats

+Very little loading

+Neat to see Mario and Bowser Jr. team up

-Having a run button instead of automatic running like SM64, sunshine, Galaxy 1&2, and odyssey makes the game a bit harder to play. I have to use a claw grip if I want to run and control the camera at the same time.

-Occasional slowdown. It's pretty infrequent, but I felt that I should mention it.

Playing a Super Mario game always feels like the franchise building upon what came before it, but with Super Mario 3D World, Nintendo seems to be celebrating every Mario game that came before. Especially over the last few years, with games like Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo has really given their all in their games, while honoring the series up to this point. This is why Super Mario 3D World is a fitting Wii U game to make the move to the Switch: you can see the fingerprints of every prior Mario game all over this one.

Super Mario 3D World's primary DNA seems to come from the overworld of Super Mario 3, and the level inventiveness of Super Mario Galaxy. But this truly does feel like an amalgamation of Mario's history. There's the option to play as the other main Mario characters, like in Super Mario Bros. 2, or the same character movements that were introduced in Super Mario 64, albeit in a more controlled environment. Yet even though Super Mario 3D World is so much about the past, it's wild how fresh and new this all feels.

I had played Super Mario 3D World back when it came out on the Wii U, and replaying it this time around, I kept thinking just how truly insane how many times Nintendo has completely broken new ground with Mario, both in terms of technical evolution and in overhauling what these games actually are. No matter how this series changes though, Mario always manages to fit like a glove. Controlling these characters always feels smooth, there's a comfort and reward to completing a level, and despite having decades of experience with this franchise, Mario games remain challenging.

Every level in Super Mario 3D World is like a little puzzle to crack, an opportunity to show your skills in this series. In addition to beating each level, there are also three stars to find and a stamp hidden in almost every level. This is a game that wants you to explore everything it has to offer, and is remarkably rewarding for those who want an extra challenge. Even on my second time around with this game, I found myself impressed by how intuitive and smart and innovative this feels, and how absolutely mindblowing it is that Mario has broken new ground like this over and over.

In addition to wanting an opportunity to play Super Mario 3D World again, I also picked this up for the new challenge of Bowser's Fury, which I felt might be a hint at what's to come for this franchise. Bowser's Fury is open world in a way that we really haven't seen from Mario games before. There's no breakdown of each different section, but instead, the entire world is visible from the very beginning. The scale is sort of surprising, and can at times feel a bit daunting. I don't mind bigger Mario worlds, but not having it split up into different fragments almost felt wrong for this series.

Especially after playing Super Mario 3D World, I found aspects of Bowser's Fury to be sort of clunky. The attempt to find all of the game's secrets could be daunting, especially when you're relying on the timed appearances of Bowser to find them, and the exploring of the actual world wasn't always as smooth as I would've hoped. I don't know if it was the game or my controller drifting, but I kept having extreme camera problems throughout that made this frustrating to control.

As I said before, Super Mario 3D World felt like the entirety of Mario's history in one game, but Bowser's Fury specifically reminds me of Super Mario Sunshine, for better and for worse. Setting the entire world as a series of islands is sort of obnoxious, especially since most people seem to not care about the series' water levels anyways. And while the idea of centering this game around gigantic Godzilla-esque fights between Mario and Bowser that scale this entire world map, I never felt like this concept was as interesting as it was on paper.

At the very least, I will be extremely interested to see if the ideas of Bowser's Fury are integrated into future Mario games. With a bit of polish, this could be a very cool concept, but it just never quite worked for me as much as I would've liked.

Still, this is a great collection for the Nintendo Switch, especially for those wanting a Mario fix between Super Mario Odyssey and its sequel. Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is a charming, smart, and often extremely difficult game that is also an extremely fun reminder of just how revolutionary this series has been for so long.

IMO Mario 3D World is like a 3 stars game but BOWSER'S FURY IS A 6 STAR GAME BABY probably my fave 3D Mario game since 64 (sunshine wasnt finished, movement in the galaxies is stiff, 3D land was okay but not awe inspiring like previous games, 3D World's movement is even stiffer and the lack of 3D makes it weird to navigate (I fell off platforms so much because of that camera), Odyssey loses so much steam after the end credits it's comical and so many moons are BORING to get).

Bowser's Fury is short, yes, but how can that be a problem when we all have INFINITE backlogs. Plus I'd much rather have a 5 hour experience that is JAM PACKED with fun, cool stuff than have a 20 hour game that has you ground pounding sand for an hour to get your 900th boring ass moon.

(This is a 3.5 stars review but I feel more at ease by giving it 3 rather than 4).

I think this is the first time I feel that the camera plays against you. Not always. For instance, when you're playing levels that are 2.5D (the ones that feel like 2D layers mounted on top of each other, I don't think I'm being clear with this concept), the camera feels fine. Not perfect, but fine. The excruciating part comes when the levels become 3D and you have to actively move in diagonals to survive. There, the camera feels like another obstacle and makes the platforming more difficult just by being there as it is. One of the areas that suffered this the most was the building climbing during the Bowser fight. Moving in diagonals in such a space felt really unpolished.

The new additions to the game, say, the stickers and cat Mario were okay too. Nothing great, nothing off-putting. And fire flower is still OP so this is still a Mario game.

Bowser's Fury? I felt the camera to be easier to manage but the game overall didn't feel like a Mario game. Probably, what induces this feeling for me is everything having those cat ears and tails. I know those are goombas, just make it easier for me to remember that, please. It could perfectly be a Mario skin on top of another game. Oddly, like Mario 2.

The game is not difficult and it's quite short. Managed to beat it all with the exception of the final 5 stickers, which I will probably never going to get.

Played JUST Bowser's Fury Mode

• Reached credits

My thoughts:

I just so happen to actually be able to borrow this game just to quickly clear out Bowser's Fury mode. It's a quick 5h~ sidemode that takes 3D World's platforming mechanics but expands it in a more sandbox environment. I actually prefer this mode's structure of collecting specific Cat Shines over Mario Odyssey's Moons, which had TOO many to the point it really devalues them. There's are however also times I feel the Bowser's Fury mode (when Bowser wakes up and starts to attack you) are pace breaking, and you can't control when to trigger it.

I do feel the endgame's difficulty really depends on which shines you still haven't collected. [Tips for playing but may be considered spoiler]. Once you're at 47 shines, Bowser's Fury mode will be PERMANENT until you hit 50. If you purposefully left the Bowser Blocks, this is super easy to do! However, if you did all of the sections in order and did all the easy parts and THEN leave only the hard ones left... Have fun being forced to do already challenging levels ONTOP of Bowser's rampage.

I still wouldn't recommend the game at full price for just the Bowser's Fury side-mode, but if you still haven't played 3D World or want a replay, then this is definitely worth it. I personally think 3D World the most refined linear-platforming challenge for a Mario title (as opposed to 64, Sunshine, Odyssey), and it has just enough original ideas to stand out from the bland New Super Mario Bros series.

It's been a week and I have completed SM3DW + Bowser's Fury. I am not going to get the last 5 stamps because that's not fun. I'm happy with my 80.

Super Mario 3D World remains as a top 5 Mario game in my book with its perfected level design philosophy, inventive ideas and mixes, and its soundtrack. And this port makes a phenomenal game even better. The best Switch port Nintendo has released.

Thoughts on Bowser's Fury

SM3DW RATING: 9.5/10

BOWSER'S FURY RATING: 7/10

100% Completion for Bowser's Fury

I enjoyed Bowser's Fury. It's the most streamlined version of the sandbox Mario games and I'd like to see it's structure in the future without it feeling too similar to BF. I love how seamless going into islands is. I enjoy how returning to islands changes some things up, even if some feel even more repetitive than in Odyssey. 3D World's level design philosophy of making the player master a mechanic still remains strong with Bowser's Fury. That being said, I didn't like some of the shines. Ever had shines where you had to wait for Bowser to show up because of these fury blocks? They're in every level, and I didn't like them at all. I hate these shines. Also there is an odd design choice to turn cats evil when Bowser appears, which while it does make sense, ruins the flow of bringing the kittens to their mother. One time when I was holding the cat, I was so close to the mom, but Bowser showed up and I can't hold the cat anymore. I feel like how the levels are designed lack for high skill ceiling gameplay like in 64 or Odyssey. They're really good for 3D World levels, but not for 64/Odyssey levels and that's fine, but with its sandbox structure, I was expecting that, but I think I shouldn't have because it's a side game that 3D World has. I'm just not as much of a fan of the lack of crazy tricks you can do, even though Galaxy 2 is in my top 10 and my is 2nd favorite Mario game.

BOWSER'S FURY RATING: 7/10

I've yet to beat champions road, but since I just saw the credits rolling and finished the regular game with all green stars, stamps and golden flagpoles, I had to review this. Also, I'm looking forward to play Bowser's Fury.

I missed out on the Wii U era and catching up on the Switch Deluxe re-releases has been a ton of fun. I would see this game widely regarded as an inferior Mario experience, with Mario Odyssey being considered a true return to form for him. Like 3D World and Land were just Nintendo phoning it in (which I think is valid to say about New Super Mario Bros games). Though I enjoyed Odyssey a whole lot, I found myself more at home with this style. When I played Mario 3D Land I called it my favorite Mario game, so my expectations for this were high.

I thought I would be getting a pretty similar experience to Mario 3D Land and even though this game is essentially a console version of that, it was just an even better experience. I don't know how people called this a mediocre game. Don't care to make some deep analysis, anyway. This game is simply FUN. Pure, unadulterated fun! Like it was made in a lab to specifically stimulate that part of my brain. I would sometimes catch myself smiling like a crazy person when I found a green star that was cleverly hidden. This game is just idea after idea.

The graphics are beautiful and brimming with color, the music is stuck in my head as I type this, the controls are tight and the difficulty ramps up perfectly (might change my mind about this after champions road, lol). And the collectibles, though optional in terms of the amount needed to progress, simply demand that you collect them all. More than just obstacles for people who want to make the game harder or requirements for completionists, you get a sense that you don't really get to see all the game has to offer unless you go for everything. Some are just there as a challenge, but a lot made me appreciate the creativity and the love that went into making this. Also, I've yet to play this with my friends. Which I imagine will only make the experience that much more fun.

Criticism? Heck, who knows. If I really want to split hairs, I guess sometimes moving inward in this 3D space feels weird and the depth perception made me take a couple hits from enemies. But it's really just a nitpick.

To correct my 3D Land review: 3D World is hands down my favorite Mario and platforming game.

This game was a ton of fun in the beginning. It was like a new level in Super Mario's Odyssey with tons of areas to explore and lots of little collectibles and secrets to find. Open world Mario is a fantastic formula. The periodic Bowser appearances were neat at first and I liked that it was needed to unlock certain shines, but I definitely preferred the casual exploring of the world.

But now I am thoroughly loathing the game. I got to the point where Bowser just comes back continuously and won't go away. I haven't yet hit 50 Shines so I can't fight him as giga-cat Mario. Even if I find a shine it won't send him away. All the easy to find and unlocks shines are gone. And certain shines can't be unlocked unless Bowser is gone (find the missing kittens).

What a thoroughly bizarre and horrendous turn for a game that I loved at the start.

The original 3D Land and 3D World were both system sellers for me at the time of release, and they didn't disappoint. It felt so refreshing to experience classic "reach the flagpole" gameplay across three-dimensional levels, each feeling like a little playset or diorama. While I still have a soft spot for 3D Land's smaller scope and stereoscopic effects, it's hard to deny how much 3D World improved on that foundation with greater variety, grander levels, more playable characters and an incredibly fun Super Bell power-up. It feels just as refreshing to play in 2021 after Odyssey and the 3D All-Stars collection as it did in 2013 after 64, Sunshine and two Galaxy titles.

I waited to play the new Bowser's Fury content till I'd finished the main game. It serves as a fun and strange bonus feature, sprinkling 3D World elements across a larger, Odyssey-esque playfield that's periodically terrorized by a giant kaiju antagonist. This section is impressive for all the surprise and delight it packs into a modest playtime, which helps keep Fury Bowser's tantrums from getting too discouraging. I'd be interested to see Nintendo release shorter adventures like this more often.

This is not a review for Super Mario 3D World. If you wanna read my review for that title, here is the link

SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD

Bowser's Fury is such a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It makes you really think about the future of 3D Mario. It's a future I'd definitely wanna see.

Essentially the plot of this game is that Mario falls into Lake Lapcat. Where he confronts Bowser Jr. who is pleading for help as his father has become a mindless, Godzilla like, monster. With the help of Bowser Jr., you must collect the Cat Shines to return Bowser to his normal state.

Though it runs on Super Mario 3D World's engine, it is nothing like 3D World. It's basically one large interconnecting level. Basically if Super Mario Odyssey was 3D World and had an extra level. And it sounds like it wouldn't work, but it works beautifully. The environment is beautiful and the fact it's just one large level, No flagpole, no nothing, is just awesome.

All the powerups from 3D World (with some small exceptions) are here and are now able to have multiple stored at once.

Bowser Jr. helps in combat and in finding secrets. Mario controls how you'd expect him to. But the game just flows so well.

The goal is to collect Cat Shines which are spread all around the map and require certain objectives to be obtained. There's a total of 100 Cat Shines.

But what makes this game so great is how they made Bowser work. He doesn't show up for story purposes. He shows up completely randomly and you either get a shine to draw him away for a while longer, fight him, or survive until he leaves. It's such an awesome feature and I love how scary Bowser is. He's actually really intimidating.

The music is wonderful and it's just fun to listen to.

Also, this game has a secret ending if you keep playing post-game. I'd encourage trying to 100% it

This has the potential to be how Mario is moving forward. If we get a full-fledged Mario game like this... That will be nothing short of spectacular. We got a taste of the future. I'm not against it either.

The only problems I have are framerate. There's a lot of framerate issues which makes the game less fun overall. And I wish it was longer. This is pretty short. It takes about 3 hours to beat it and another 2 extra hours maybe to 100% it.

With that being said, Bowser's Fury is a really great experience and I'd love to see something like this made as a full game instead of a side thing.

4/5

Would Recommend

Watched Bowser's Fury Mode

My thoughts:

It's very unlikely I'll pick up this game anytime soon unless it goes on major sale or I have a friend I can borrow this from because I've already cleared SM3DW on the Wii U and Bowser's Fury is too short for me to consider double-dipping. That being said from what I saw, seeing Mario's constant glare at Bowser Jr. and all of the Dragonball Z-like boss fights are all amusing. Not to mention how metal the Bowser fight music goes. It's like they took heavy inspiration from some of the final songs to be included in Splatoon 2.

I’ve been trying to get these Mario pins for months now and I completed more than enough of Nintendo’s tasks to be eligible and now they are telling me that they won’t ship them to Canada. Why let me jump through all your silly hoops if you will just exclude me in the end. I have your stupid code but it’s basically useless now.

I know it’s silly but the last time they offered them I missed out and now that there’s more I’m ineligible.

World-1 trough World-Bowser complete 100% (all stars, stamps and flag tops). Going to savour the extra worlds now but I’m almost done World-Star.

In the meantime, I’ve also started Bowser’s Fury. It’s too early to say for certain, but I think this might be my favourite iteration of the Mario 64 formula. I really enjoy the single world and appreciate that levels shift and transform right before your eyes. So far Bowser’s Fury is a very enjoyable game.

Didn't end up playing any this weekend, but I did play through a couple of stages last night, finally.

Definitely a more enjoyable type of platformer to me, as I'm pretty picky with them and don't enjoy the side-scrolling ones much. I'm pretty positive that I didn't play this one on Wii U (though I do have 3D Land on 3DS), but the stages seemed familiar. I dunno if that's just a Mario being Mario thing or if I somehow played World but didn't own it.

Either way, enjoyable so far, and a good way to get some gaming in when I don't have time for more involved games.

Let’s start with 3d world. I’ve only played and beat 3d world one time so my memory with this game was a little fuzzy after the 1st world. And I’m so glad that it was. The level design is TOP tier, these levels are just fun every single one. Maybe one gripe is the fixed camera, but at the same time you can rotate the camera into where the view is better for you. A shocking thing is that there was 8 worlds and 8 stages within them. Idk why I thought it was going to be 5 worlds. Overall, this game is near perfect and you can tell heart went into this game.

A lot of people thinks that Bowser’s Fury is just one big dlc, but I think this a very fancy alpha build for their next Mario game. Swimming to island to island like going to level to level, collecting 5 shine in each of them like collecting green stars in 3d world. It’s damn clever and the BIGGEST thing about this is that there’s NO loading screens. You’re playing and playing and there’s no stop just pure fun. I really don’t have much to say about the game since it’s really not the full experience. I really enjoy the experience and if takes 6 hours to complete basically what seems like 1 world imagine 8 of those. Wow.

If this is Nintendo’s next route for Mario then their future is BRIGHT.