Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, the tried
Exaggerating a little, we could say that this game is a kind of "two in one". We will talk more about Bowser's Fury shortly, at the moment we limit ourselves to writing that it is an unpublished adventure, developed specifically for the Nintendo Switch. After the last trailer, some of you will have imagined the nature of the work: despite this, let us say that, even for the most far-sighted, it will reserve several surprises. Length aside, of which we cannot anticipate anything, we leave it to you to decide whether or not a new game is considered: the setting is original, the stages also, but almost all of the contents (enemies, power-ups, objects) are imported from Super Mario 3D World. However, they are two totally separate experiences: as soon as the game is started, you have to choose which one to start. You can finish one and immediately start the other, or go through them simultaneously: in short, they are not interdependent.
Super Mario 3D World is the Nintendo Switch conversion of the classic released on Wii U at the end of 2013; here you will find our more than positive review of the time. Before going into the analysis of the most obvious changes (which are not a few), and in a general description of the game, we would like to remember how much sense it makes, on a commercial level, an operation like this: Super Mario 3D World is still a current game, both structurally and graphically, and the wide audience of Switch could help it take flight. After all, Super Mario Odyssey has achieved exceptional results, superior to any previous three-dimensional episode. Let's go into more detail about our impressions of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury's experience.
Super Mario 3D World
Some of you may have already played it, and will remember the setting of the title; in short, it is a three-dimensional platformer clearly inspired by two-dimensional ancestors. In a sense, it is the faithful 3D transposition of Super Mario Bros. (and continued): a linear path, in which the most important part does not lie in the exploration but in reaching the end of the path. Not surprisingly, each stage (or almost) proposes at its end the historic flag on which to cling. On this subject we reserve the right to express our opinions during the review, which also implies a certain amount of personal taste: this is an adventure carried out in a sublime way, whether you prefer the exploratory setting or not.A structural level, compared to the original, the angle of the shot seemed slightly different to us, a little more flattened than in the past. Above all, the movements of the characters have been speeded up: not of all, only of the protagonists. This means that the enemies proceed at the "usual" pace, while Mario, Luigi, Peach and Toad, each with its own characteristics, go slightly faster than in the past. This has had two main consequences: in general, the pace of the game is more adrenaline (not comparable, however, to the best two-dimensional peaks). Secondly, and especially with Toad (the fastest character), sometimes it is too fast: we do not want to imply that it is difficult to control, it is the stages that are set up for a more peaceful journey. You know the 200cc mode of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? Here, something similar, albeit with less marked variations.
The other big news of this Switch edition concerns the online, absent on Wii U; we only tried it in a short half-hour test, in a session specially organized by Nintendo. For the moment some annoying phenomena of lag have arisen, but it is not certain that they will not be fixed in the last days that separate us from the publication. The operation is in all respects similar to that of offline multriplayer, and it is also possible to play in two from the same console: you are hosted by whoever creates the room, who is also the only one to whom the progress obtained together will be recorded. Curiously, at the end of our test, even though the host left, the room continued to function, passing into the hands of the second player (in this case, we imagine that the saves were simply ignored). Even if the lag was resolved in time for the launch, in certain situations it seemed difficult to organize ourselves without being able to speak, giving advice or commands. In general, online multiplayer, just like offline multiplayer, is more about sharing the experience than facing each other in a competitive way.
The action (offline) always travels at 60 fps, regardless of the chaos that rages on the screen (and sometimes, trust me, it's immense), exactly as it did on the Wii U. Graphically, the game is still today very nice, clean and stylistically coherent.
Bowser's Fury
At the moment we can tell you little about Bowser's Fury, and we have already mentioned some details in the introduction. We reiterate that this is a separate mode from the main game, apparently smaller, but certainly no less dignified. On the contrary: it seemed an extremely courageous and interesting project. As a setting, and we will deepen the discussion in a few weeks, it is a sort of open world that, within it, contains linear paths.Bowser's Fury shares the engine, most of the engines, with Super Mario 3D World. contents and the entire control system: it is very strange that such a free adventure exploits the controls of what, without a doubt, is the most linear three-dimensional Mario. It is not nonsense, however: as we said, the stages of Bowser's Fury, whose entrance is marked by feliform arches (everything in this setting is connected to the cats), take place in a rather linear way, and often the eight-way controls help to maintain the desired trajectory. The shot, to adapt to the experience, has been largely modified: as in Super Mario Odyssey it is placed behind the plumber, and can be rotated to your liking.
Mario in this adventure is accompanied by Bowser Junior: it is possible to select, from the pause menu, the intensity of his interventions. You can make him harmless, or extremely effective, to the point that he will knock out many of the enemies that stand between you and your target. A second player will be able to take control of it, but the multiplayer mode is more similar to the classic three-dimensional Super Mario than to that of Super Mario 3D World: in essence, it is more a pleasant side dish than a pillar of the experience. The second player will be able to flit around the plumber, he will be able to hit the enemies, but the shot will not take it into consideration: he is a kind of spiteful - and useful - electron that revolves around the protagonist.
Every now and then , without a well-defined time limit, Bowser is unleashed: Mario can face him - at certain moments - by playing the Gigacampana, and becoming an immense Cat. For the moment we tell you nothing more, if not that the fury of the stubborn antagonist is not limited to the fight in and of itself, but alters the whole territory: the paths are sprinkled with annoying platforms and falling flames. In these cases, a mighty deluge engulfs the entire scene: to your delight, unlike Link in Breath of the Wild, Cat Mario has no problem climbing under the water.
We still have to finish the experience with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, and at the moment we can't even reveal everything we've seen to you. Regarding the new adventure, we assure you that, although it cannot be considered in all respects a new three-dimensional Super Mario, it is an extremely interesting experiment: it blends linear paths with an open setting. Super Mario 3D World is always beautiful, just like on Wii U, but faster than in the past: a choice that generates pros and cons. Online multiplayer, an absolute novelty of this edition, is currently not up to the local one, due to an annoying lag: Nintendo still has days to improve it, and it is not excluded that it will be different in the final edition. br>
