Super Mario 3D Land

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Super Mario 3D Land (Japanese: スーパーマリオ ３Ｄランド) is an upcoming game of the Super Mario franchise for the Nintendo 3DS. It seems to be closely based on side-scrolling Mario games, but it is a 3D platformer in the vein of games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy. As noted by Reggie Fils-Aime, president and COO of Nintendo of America, at E3 2011, this game marks the first time a 3D Mario platformer has been built from the ground up for a handheld system. The game is being created by the same development team that worked on the Super Mario Galaxy games and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, currently part of Nintendo EAD Tokyo. As it will be a new installment in the main Mario series, Super Mario 3D Land follows Super Mario Galaxy 2 in this respect. It will be released in November 2011.

Story

The leaves flying during the storm.

There is a Tanooki-tailed tree outside of Princess Peach's Castle, with Tanooki leaves on its branches that all of the Mushroom Kingdom is familiar with, but one night, a huge storm blows all of the Tanooki leaves off. The next morning, Princess Peach goes outside to see if the tree is okay, but during her inspection, Bowser once again kidnaps her.

Mario and the three Toads gazing at the flying letter containing Peach's misfortune.

Princess Peach's capture.

Later on, Mario and three Toads (Red, Yellow, and Blue) go looking for the princess. Eventually, they discover that she is missing and the Tanooki leaves are gone too. Yellow Toad notices a hovering letter near the tree, which the group of four go to. Mario grabs and opens it, and a picture of Bowser holding Princess Peach with Tanooki leaves flying in the background pops out. The message shocks the three Toads and Mario, and immediately, Mario and the three Toads run to save Princess Peach.^{[video 2]}

Gameplay

Mario about to get a Star in World 2-1.

The levels of Super Mario 3D Land are much more linear and compact than the other 3D titles, more along the lines of the side-scrolling games. Levels have a time limit and even feature flagpoles, a staple of the original Super Mario Bros. and the New Super Mario Bros. games, rather than Power Stars, as the level goals. When Mario is defeated, the "Too Bad" banner from every 3D Mario platformer since Super Mario Sunshine is displayed, but a circle covers the screen instead of a Bowser face. To enter pipes, the player must press the button. The graphics of the game greatly resemble those of the Super Mario Galaxy games, while the levels show visual similarities to the New Super Mario Bros. titles.

Tanooki Mario in World 2-5.

While giving examples of how the Nintendo 3DS enhances gameplay, Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that hitting blocks from underneath in 3D Mario games would be easier with stereoscopic 3D. Blocks will be more prevalent in the title, unlike past 3D games, where blocks were more few and far between. Star Coins that have a similar design to the Comet Medals from Super Mario Galaxy 2 will be found in each level, with collecting all three being part of the level's challenge, like in the New Super Mario Bros. games. Checkpoint Flags and green Timers can be picked up to give the player more time to complete the level, the latter a mechanic only seen previously in Super Mario Galaxy 2's Speedy Comet missions. Mario himself returns with some of his trademark 3D abilities, such as the Wall Jump, Long Jump, and Ground Pound, and is now capable of performing a somersault, which is done by crouching while moving. Because the Long Jump is now performed through a somersault, it includes a front flip during the jump, but is functionally identical. Mario's health system is now based on the side-scrolling titles rather than being a numbered meter: one hit shrinks Mario to a smaller size and removes his cap, while power-ups give him an extra health point. These power-ups include the Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower, the Star, and the Super Leaf, the last of which has not been seen since Super Mario Bros. 3. Notably, the Fire Flower, unlike its previous 3D appearances in Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, no longer has a time limit imposed on it and is retained until Mario is hit, as in the side-scrolling games.

There are at least two returning tracks from Super Mario Galaxy: the Airship theme and the Sweet Sweet Galaxy theme. There are also at least two tracks returning from Super Mario Galaxy 2: the Peewee Piranha boss theme and the theme used on Bonus Planets. The "tick-tock" that is heard when a timed Ground Pound Switch in the Super Mario Galaxy series is activated is used for when a P-Switch has been jumped on.

Controls

• : Move.
• : Choose level.
• /: Jump, Wall Jump.
• Hold /: Flutter Jump (Tanooki Mario).
• Hold (/)+: Dash
• (/): Crouch, enter a Warp Pipe, enter a cannon.
• (/)+: Crawl.
• +(/): Somersault.
• +(/)+(/): Long Jump.
• (/)+(/): Ground Pound
• Hold (/)+(/): Backwards Somersault
• /: Shoot Fireballs (Fire Mario), attack with tail (Tanooki Mario).
• : Pause menu.

Nintendo eShop Description

Platforming with serious depth! With the 3D visuals of Super Mario 3D Land, players can see exactly where floating ? Blocks and flying Paragoombas are, so that they can jump and stomp with the precision of the pros. Expert gamers will appreciate the way 3D graphics reveal the true challenge of the levels, so that they can focus on nailing the perfect jump or shaving precious seconds off their speed runs, while new players will find that 3D makes platforming simple to grasp and satisfying to master.

Try on Mario's Tanooki Suit, and put some spring in your step! While longtime gamers will delight in using Tanooki Mario's tail-spin attack to sweep enemies off their feet and fluttering through the air to land super-long jumps, a new generation will learn what makes this classic suit a fan favorite. But even seasoned players will be in for a surprise--Mario's enemies may be sporting the familiar Tanooki tail too!

Mario at his very best! Mario returns to his roots in his first 3D platforming adventure designed exclusively for a handheld system. From the frantic race-against-the-clock dash through the Mushroom Kingdom to that final leap to grab the top of the flagpole, this eye-popping addition to the Super Mario series combines everything that makes Mario great from one generation to the next.

Confirmed Characters

Playable Characters

• Mario

Villains

File:SM3DL Boombooms.jpg

Boom-Boom and his unnamed female counterpart.

• Bowser
• False Bowsers^{[video 1]}
• Boom Boom
• Unnamed pink female version of Boom Boom with a blonde ponytail.

Supporting Characters

• Princess Peach
• Toads
• Tanooki Luigi (Statue form)

Enemies

Mario encountering Koopa Troopas in a forest.

• Piranha Plants
• Goombas
• Paragoombas
• Koopa Troopas
• Dry Bones
• Hammer Bros.
• Boomerang Bros.
• Bob-ombs
• Tanooki-tailed Bob-ombs
• Tanooki-tailed Goombas
• Golden tanooki-tailed Goombas
• Tanooki-tailed Grand Goombas
• Boos
• Big Boos
• Tanooki-tailed Boos
• Fuzzies
• Bill Blasters
• Bullet Bills
• Tanooki-tailed Bullet Bills
• Cheep-Cheeps
• Bloopers
• Porcu-Puffers
• Spinies
• Spiky Plant
• Chain Chomps
• Rocky Wrenches
• Thwomps^{[video 1]}
• Pokeys^{[video 1]}
• Podoboos
• Biddybuds - Different colored ladybug-like creatures that bear a passing resemblance to Soarin' Stus.
• Para-Biddybuds
• Unnamed Bee enemies
• Unnamed black Piranha Plants that spit ink to cover the screen
• Goombas that stack on top of each other
• Unnamed purple eels
• Brick Blocks with angry eyes
• Black Venus Fire Traps
• Bill Blasters
• Flying Bill Blasters
• Blue blocks with yellow spikes
• Purple Ball 'n' Chains with yellow spikes
• Blue-flamed Rocket Engines
• Spike Pillar
• Yellow Blargg-like creature that emerges from sand
• Unnamed fortress-like monster with black eyes and mouth
• A blue flying dragon-like creature that looks similar to an Eerie
• A spiked blue enemy seen on the group artwork
• Moneybags
• Green spiked pointy block enemies
• Spiky Plants^{[video 2]}
• Firebars
• Rotating blue bars with spikes similar to Firebars

Mario's Transformations

A Power-Up chart

• Small Mario
• Super Mario
• Fire Mario
• Tanooki Mario
• Invincible Mario
• Boomerang Mario

Koizumi has also stated that more retro powerups will be returning.

Confirmed Features

Power-Ups

• Super Mushroom
• Super Leaf
• Fire Flower
• Star
• Golden Super Leaf which grants Mario invincibility (it appears after the player loses 5 lives in a level)

Other Items

• Question Blocks
• Flying Question Blocks
• Used Blocks
• Brick Blocks
• Coin Blocks
• Donut Lift
• Jump Block
• Propeller Blocks
• Rectangular Jump Block platforms
• Rotating multicolor blocks (red, yellow, green, and cyan)
• Purple teleporting blocks
• Red and yellow blocks which Mario can enter to go to a bonus area with a Coin Block
• Blue blocks with arrows on their sides, similar to Arrow Lifts
• Yellow step block that changes camera angle
• Roulette Blocks
• Rectangular Question Blocks
• Green ! Switches
• Elevators
• Coins
• Star Coins
• 1-Up Mushrooms
• Green reproducing panels that resemble Snake Blocks and Flipswitches
• Green binocular-like device with a step pad to activate it, used to look around the level in first person perspective
• Flagpoles
• Boxes that shoot out unlimited enemies.
• Checkpoint Flags
• Warp Pipes
• Green Shells
• P-Switches
• Unnamed cutout-like Goombas that slightly resemble those of Handfakes
• Crates
• Green and blue Clocks
• Cannons
• Red Rings
• Red Coins
• Green platforms used for traveling down rails with arrows indicating which direction
• Bouncy orange platforms with yellow dots
• A P-Wing in a block that teleports Mario to the end of the course (it appears after the player loses 10 lives in a level)
• Red and blue platforms that strongly resemble Flip-Swap Platforms, but are instead activated by jumping
• Music notes, possibly Rainbow Notes, activated by a P-Switch that play the Super Mario World main theme
• Rings that give the player five coins when passed
• Giant red Exclamation Mark Blocks
• Giant yellow blocks with faces that resemble the Stretch Blocks from World 2-1 of New Super Mario Bros.
• Blocks with Bowser symbols on them that release Goombas
• Rainbow Jump Blocks
• Flying Roulette Blocks

Worlds and Levels

File:SM3DL 3-2.jpg

Mario swimming in an ocean.

Mario in a land of cookies.

World 1

World 1 of Super Mario 3D Land is an area that contains grassy fields and tall mushroom hills. However not all of the levels of World 1 are grassland themed.

• World 1-1: A grassland level with many colored blocks.
• World 1-2: An underground area, which features a Super Mario Bros. World 1-2 Warp Zone-like area. The stage's music is the Super Mario Galaxy remix of the Super Mario Bros. underground theme.
• World 1-3: A Mountain stage where Mario jumps down a cliff, that contains a place similar to a Coin Heaven.
• World 1-4: An area where Mario rides a platform down rails.
• World 1-Castle: A lava area with firebars and small dragons where Bowser is fought.

World 2

• World 2-1: A plain with many stones and grass. This level features a new overworld theme also heard in the trailer for the game and has similarities with the Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario Bros overworld themes.
• World 2-3: Giant 8-bit platforms, representing Mario and a Super Mushroom from Super Mario Bros., much like Toy Time Galaxy and Mario Squared Galaxy. The last part of the stage is designed after a Super Mario Bros. ground stage.
• World 2-Airship: A level with many airships. At the end, Boom Boom is battled. The stage's music is the Super Mario Galaxy remix of the Super Mario Bros. 3 airship theme, and the Boom Boom battle music is Peewee Piranha's theme from Super Mario Galaxy 2.

World 3

• World 3-2: A water stage with Bloopers and Cheep-Cheeps.
• World 3-3: An area with many Donut Lifts. The backgroud walls are made of yarn.
• World 3-5: An area made of cookies with Para-Biddybuds.

World 4

• World 4-1: A forest area with many large trees and a giant tree trunk with the same aforementioned ladybugs.

World 6

• World 6-1: A tropical island area with palm trees and large waterfalls.
• World 6-3: A haunted house stage with blue Timers and a Big Boo.

Unconfirmed Worlds

• An airship level with Bob-ombs and Spike Pillars.
• A sky level with rotating blocks and a white floating wall.
• A place with many platforms and blocks. Elevators, blue blocks with white arrows on them, and Donut Lifts appear here.
• A ghostly stage with a giant piano.
• A underwater hole with purple eels.
• A dark area with metal gears and Bob-ombs.
• A snowy area with tightropes and Fuzzies.
• A haunted level with giant books.
• A dungeon-like level with Spinies that is played from an overhead view, as a homage for the 25^th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.
• A desert area with a cannon that is controlled by the 3DS Gyro Sensor.
• Another stage with an overhead view, which contains Pokeys, quicksand, and a Thwomp. However, this also could be the same stage as the one mentioned before.
• A spooky area with a tightrope and a Big Boo.
• A desert area with enemies in sand.
• An area designed after an optical illusion with Toads (possibly the Toad Brigade).
• An area which takes place outside a castle with Thwomps, green panels and Goombas.

Development

Game screenshots as seen at Game Developers Conference in 2011.

Super Mario 3D Land was first mentioned in an "Iwata Asks" interview with Shigeru Miyamoto in October 2010, where he confirmed that a brand-new Super Mario Bros. game for the Nintendo 3DS was already in development, but had not yet been given a proper title. It was known by its tentative title, Super Mario Bros. at the time. In November 2010, Shigeru Miyamoto announced that both 2D world (side-scrolling) and 3D world Mario games were in the works for the 3DS. Four screenshots were available on March 2 2011, and the game was officially announced during the Game Developers Conference, under the name Super Mario. The logo had a Raccoon Tail on the "O" letter, similar to that of Super Mario Bros. 3's logo, which had Raccoon Mario's tail shadow behind the "3". Available screenshots of Super Mario revealed that the game is a 3D platformer and the game was stated to be developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo's same team which had previously developed Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, as shown how a Goomba runs after Small Mario. It even contained features from the 2D Mario side-scrolling games. Satoru Iwata stated that a more official announcement would be shown at E3 2011 on June 7. According to Iwata, "it will be a game that will come with the kind of surprises and fun that only the 3DS can offer."

In a later interview, Shigeru Miyamoto described the title as being a combination of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario 64, with a little bit of New Super Mario Bros and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. He mentioned there would be an option for a fixed camera system, very similar to the one in Super Mario 64, to demonstrate depth and the 3DS's 3D. He added, however, that it was tough to describe it, before mentioning that not only would the title be shown, but that it would also be playable at E3 2011. Shigeru Miyamoto explained that playing it will give fans a better idea of what it's like. He also commented on the speculation regarding the temporary logo, already confirming that the tail on the end of the logo's "O" was a hint at the return of Super Mario Bros. 3's Tanooki Mario.

The four playable levels demo.

The game was given a full reveal with a trailer at E3 2011 and was playable on the show floor, as previously stated. It was announced that the game was targeted for a release by the end of the year. Attendees were allowed to try the game for themselves in four different levels - a standard plain area, an underground area, a level of switch-activated platforms, reminiscent of a few galaxies from the Super Mario Galaxy titles, and an airship level ending in a fight with Bowser's henchman, Boom Boom. In addition, the E3 2011 trailer was put up for download on the 3DS eShop. By playing the trailer on their 3DS, viewers could see the game in stereoscopic 3D for themselves.

Trivia

• According to Shigeru Miyamoto, the term Land is used in the title of this game to pay homage to past Mario titles, like Super Mario Land and its 2D art style.
• In World 1-2, it is possible to do the "Unlimited 1-Ups Trick" that dates back to Super Mario Bros.
• The yellow switch that changes the camera angle from this game has an eye icon. This eye is the same as the one seen when in first-person mode in the Super Mario Galaxy games.
• A screenshot of the World Map shows 1-1 as a grassy level with colored blocks. However, in the second trailer, 1-1 features a castle.
• Consumers who pre-order the game from GameStop in North America get a Tanooki Mario keychain.
• The game has an area with coins forming the word "3D". This can be a reference to Super Mario Bros. 3, that has a room with the number 3 made of coins.
• This is the first mainstream game since Super Mario World where Mario can't Triple Jump (released 21 years prior). This is also the first 3D mainstream game where he can't perform this move.

External links

• Official Japanese Website
• Official American Website
• Official European Website
• Official Australian Website
• Super Mario 3DS at Nintendo 3DS blog
• Video showing Super Mario for Nintendo 3DS at GDC2011
• YouTube - What is Super Mario 3DS? (IGN Analysis)
• Super Mario 3DS - E3 2011 Trailer
• Nintendo Network @ E3 2011 - Games