I’ve resumed my adventure in Super Mario 3D World for Wii U, this time heading off to World 3. It appears to be an ice world as it starts out with an awesome first level filled with surprises, Snowball Park. The snow-covered trees lose their snow when you climb them, and snowmen pop out of the ground. Knock the snowmen apart, and you can pick up their…uh…snowballs and roll them at other enemies. There are also propeller blocks which you can pick up to soar high into the air.
But my favorite part of the level is the ice-skating Goombas. Stomp them and you can hop into the big ice skate and skate around! It reminds me of Kuribo’s shoe from Super Mario Bros. 3, although this isn’t quite as useful since it doesn’t work very well once you leave the ice. It’s a whole lot of fun while it lasts, though. Another cool feature of this level is the return of the tanooki suit! Even though it doesn’t let you turn into a statue this time around, it’s awesome to hop into a tanooki suit once again.
World 3-2: Chain-Link Charge ramps up the challenge. This is the first level I’ve really had some trouble with. It’s a forced-scrolling obstacle course with lots of hazards such as moving gates that block your path and donut blocks that start falling after you land on them. The cat suit comes in very handy, thanks to Cat Mario’s ability to climb walls. But even as a cat, some of the jumps are quite tricky. I had trouble with the depth perception; it can be difficult to see where your character is at when you’re in mid-air. I lost a number of lives here that I felt were cheap deaths. World 3-1 may have been my favorite level of the game so far, but World 3-2 is my least favorite level.
World 3-3: Shifty Boo Mansion is the first ghost house. There are branching paths and plenty of ghosts. Things aren’t as they seem here, with some fake items and even a fake exit. But this level is really cool; there’s even a part where you go outdoors in the rain on a balcony. This is quite an enjoyable stage.
Even though World 3 first appeared to be an ice world, it’s really not. World 3 is surprisingly diverse and enjoyable. Aside from the levels I talked about above, there’s also a level with a short 100-tick time limit, a train level called the Bullet Bill Express, a Mario Kart themed level (complete with the Mario Circuit music), and a very cool beach/underwater level. Super Mario 3D World seems to get better and better as it goes along. I’m looking forward to see what kind of surprises lie ahead in World 4. Join me next time as I continue my adventure.
