Jeff's Gaming Blog

Super Mario 3D World – World Star

I’ve taken a very long break from playing Super Mario 3D World, but in the past month or so, I’ve returned to it to finish collecting the stars, stamps, and flagpoles in the eight standard worlds. Once I did that, I opened up a bonus world: World Star. And yes, I’ve been playing primarily as Peach lately. Her SMB2 style hover jump is very helpful for levels with tricky jumps. It also helps for reaching the tops of flagpoles.

I’ll be giving my impressions and opinions of each level in this world.

World Star-1: Rainbow Run is bound to bring back memories of Rainbow Road in the Mario Kart games. The first and third sections of the level feature some tricky jumps on spinning rainbow-colored cylinders.

The second star challenge actually involves a cool Legend of Zelda reference, and the Zelda theme song even plays for a short time! This level also has a Plessie swimming segment that takes place over rainbow-colored tiles. This section is very short, but it’s a fun (and colorful) diversion from the platforming sections.

World Star-2: Super Galaxy is a Super Mario Galaxy themed level with lots of rotating platforms and some peaceful Galaxy music. The background features the northern lights and Rosalina’s ship, the Comet Observatory. Completing this level unlocks Rosalina as a playable character! She has a spin-attack move, although I decided to stick with Peach.

World Star-3: Rolling Ride Run is probably my second least favorite level from this world. It involves running on giant rolling pins–which in itself is quite tricky–while navigating through a maze of blocks and avoiding enemies and other obstacles. Needless to say, it’s a challenging level.

World Star-4: The Great Goal Pole is basically a practical joke on everyone who plays the game. You’re only given 100 seconds to complete the level, but it appears to be no problem since the goal pole is only a few feet away from the starting point. However, once you try to jump on the goal pole, it suddenly sprouts wings and flies away from you! It’s hard not to laugh the first time it happens. You then have to chase down the pole over a series of clouds and falling donut block bridges, while avoiding enemies of course. You have to be quick to clear this level!

World Star-5: Super Block Land features giant brick blocks and some hefty Chargin’ Chucks. You just know there’s going to be something hidden inside some of those giant blocks. Fortunately, there are bombs to throw at them and blow them up. There’s also a tanooki suit here, which gives you a helpful tail attack. It’s a pretty fun level.

World Star-6: Honeycomb Starway is played from a fixed, top-down viewpoint (except for the flagpole section at the very end). Some futuristic, sci-fi hexagonal platforms fly out of nowhere to assemble the path ahead of you. Some of them are covered in fire (lava) or ice, making for some hazards to avoid. And there are flying enemies (including bees and anti-gravity piranha plants) that will try to defeat you, but this level is short and fairly easy. Especially since there’s a helpful boomerang suit right at the beginning of the level.

World Star-Toad is a Captain Toad level located in a cube. Captain Toad can’t jump of course, but there are P-switches that change the gravity within the cube to let you rotate the entire playfield. Like most other Captain Toad levels, it’s a nice change of pace that’s pretty fun.

World Star-7: Gargantuan Grotto features some enormous Goombas, but also some mega mushrooms that can make you just as big. This level is very easy, and being a giant is quite enjoyable. I’m just disappointed that we only get one “giant” level as opposed to whole Giant World like in Super Mario Bros. 3. Oh well, it’s fun while it lasts.

World Star-8: Peepa’s Fog Bog combines a large, open haunted graveyard with a winter wonderland. You’ll be fighting (or avoiding) ghots and snowmen alike as you collect the five key coins to proceed to the next section. There you’ll ride a raft on a poison river, leading to the final section with a sinking/rising bridge through fog. It’s a pretty cool, unique level.

World Star-9: Cosmic Cannon Cluster is my least favorite level in this world. It’s also the hardest level in the world (and one of the hardest in the whole game). Most of the level involves jumping on switchboards–directional platforms on rails. You’ll be wearing a cannon box power-up for most/all of the level, and you’ll need to shoot switches to change the paths–while you’re moving, avoiding enemies, and trying not to let your platform fall off the rails. But the hardest part of the level is a section where you have to scale a wall by jumping on cannonballs, one after another, before they hit the wall and explode. I lost quite a few lives here. There’s also an underwater segment, but it’s actually quite a bit easier than the rest of the level.

That wraps up this world, but there’s still more to come. Completing World Star-9 unlocks another bonus world, World Mushroom! The Super Mario 3D World coverage here on JVGS is far from over! Stay tuned!

Buy Super Mario 3D World at Amazon.com

Mario Kart 8 – Get-Together #3

Today I held my third Mario Kart 8 get-together. Since the release of DLC Pack 1, I’ve been using Link and his bike, the Master Cycle. When I opened the lobby this afternoon, I was joined by Khalid188, Poizon (Mike), Meli, and Ash.

Cup #1

The first cup started out with N64 Rainbow Road: I did awful and came in last place, while Ash picked up the win. The next track was the regular version of Rainbow Road. Khalid188 won this time, and I got 4th place. The third course was the Electrodome, which is one of my favorite (and best) tracks. Wendy joined in here, so we had six racers. I was in 2nd place headed into the last turn, but Meli zoomed past me and I finished in third. Ash won the race. The final race of the first cup was GBA Mario Circuit. Khalid188 won the race, and I finished in 4th. The final standings for the first cup were:

Ash – 22 points
Khalid188 – 19 points
Meli – 12 points
Poizon – 11 points
Jeff – 10 points
Wendy – 2 points

Cup #2

The second cup started out in Toad Harbor. Khalid won the race; I made lots of mistakes and finished in 5th. Twisted Mansion was the next course. I benefited from some lucky power-up grabs–a few invincibility stars to be more specific–and I did well. I was actually in 2nd place as I crossed the finish line, just barely beating out Khalid188, who was using a Bullet Bill. But the game apparently saw things differently, and it awarded 2nd place to Khalid while I had to settle for third.

DS Tick-Tock Clock was next, and it was a close, frantic race. At the end, I hit Khalid (who was winning) with a red shell, and Poizon and I overtook him right before the finish line. The cup finished off with Bowser’s Castle. Here, I was in 2nd place going into the final turn, but then I got hit by a Bullet Bill and finished in 4th. Here are the final standings:

Ash – 22 points
Khalid188 – 18 points
Poizon – 17 points
Jeff – 14 points
Meli – 13 points
Wendy – 4 points

Here is a gameplay video of the second cup:

Cup #3

We had some turnover after the 2nd cup: Khalid, Meli, and Wendy all left. But Jose and Danny joined in, so we had five racers. The first course of this cup was Sunshine Airport. I was actually in the lead for most of the race, but I got overtaken in the final lap and finished third. Next up was N64 Royal Raceway. I was in third place heading into the final turn, but a Bullet Bill hit me and I ended up in last place. The next two tracks were Rainbow Road and SNES Donut Plains 3. In both of them, I finished in third behind Ash and Poizon. The final standings were:

Ash – 22 points
Poizon – 16 points
Jeff – 10 points
Jose – 10 points
Danny – 6 points

Cup #4

Jose and Danny left after the third cup, so we were down to just three racers for the fourth cup. Here, we raced in Wii Moo Moo Meadows, 3DS Music Park, Cloudtop Cruise, and Mount Wario. Ash dominated here, winning all four races. Poizon and I each got second place twice to finished tied. Here are the final standings:

Ash – 16 points
Jeff – 6 points
Poizon – 6 points

After that, everyone left. The get-together fizzled out just one hour after it began. But I had a good time, so thank you to everyone who came. See you next time!

NES Remix Pack Impressions

I received NES Remix Pack (for Wii U) as a Christmas present. It’s a combo pack of NES Remix and NES Remix 2 (which were previously only available in the eShop) together on one Wii U disc. From the title screen, you can choose which one you want to play. I would have preferred if they were all integrated into one interface, but it’s not a big deal switching from one to the other.

Each game provides a collection of old-school challenges taken from classic NES games. Many of the challenges only take a few seconds, but they’re often presented one after the other in quick succession. In that respect, it’s reminiscent of Wario Ware.

NES Remix features many earlier NES games, starting out with Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Mario Bros., Excitebike, Balloon Fight, and Super Mario Bros. NES Remix 2 has some later NES games: Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Dr. Mario, Kirby’s Adventure, and Wario’s Woods. Other games can be unlocked as you progress through the game; I’ve already unlocked Punch-Out, and I’m looking forward to seeing more.

There are several challenges from each game, and they start out very simple. For example, you may need to jump over three barrels in Donkey Kong or do a wheelie in Excitebike. Even if you’re not familiar with a certain NES game, you’re taught what to do one step at a time. There are also short demo videos that show how each game is played, in case you have trouble getting the hang of things. Of course, the challenges gradually get harder as you advance to higher levels.

But the highlight of the game is the remix stages. The remix stages may take elements from one game and place them into another, or it may add completely new challenges. For example, Kirby may need to collect coins in a Mario level, or you may need to race on an Excitebike track in the dark. Each challenge has a time limit, and you can earn 1-3 stars depending on how fast you complete the task.

I’ve spent nearly two hours with NES Remix Pack so far, and I’m not blown away or anything, but I am enjoying my time with the game. I particularly like seeing each new spin on the existing NES games, although the regular (non-remixed) challenges feel a bit like filler. And you’ll have to clear a number of regular challenges before you can unlock each new remix level. Granted, these challenges don’t take long to clear (especially if you’re familiar with the game already), but I wish the remixes made up the bulk of the gameplay.

Between challenges, you may see some general hints displayed. But some of these “tips” are just common sense. Really, Nintendo?

One other note. I know Miiverse can be helpful and fun at times. But I’ve long questioned why Nintendo feels a need to actively display other people’s comments within a game. I mean, is this really necessary?