Being a huge fan of Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS, I was pumped when Nintendo followed it up with a huge 4-player expansion of the concept for the Wii U. The fact that they finally reassembled the playable cast of Super Mario Bros. 2/USA as well—Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad (in blue)—was icing on the cake. So when I finally did purchase a Wii U, I chose the bundle that came with 3D World and Nintendo Land already installed.

Super Mario 3D World

To my surprise, I didn’t really connect with Super Mario 3D World the way I had with 3D Land. The simplest explanation as to why is likely just that bigger is not alway better. While the sheer creativity of 3D Land had taken me by surprise, 3D World almost felt like just more of the same. Perhaps if I had someone to play through the game in multiplayer, it would have made a better impression, but alas, I was playing solo. I’ve certainly seen kids today take to this game with the same level of joyous fervor my generation had for the likes of Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World, so maybe I just set my expectations too unattainably high.

One thing that 3D Land has over 3D World is the stereoscopic 3D visuals of the 3DS. While it was an incredibly stupid gimmick, and I suspect went largely unused by 3DS players most of the time, the 3D actually worked particularly well in 3D Land. It was the one game that I would choose to enable the 3D effect for, as it made the platforming much easier to judge. 3D World, on the other hand, doesn’t have a 3D option, but it does use the exact same static camera and diorama-esque perspective. This makes for some really tricky platforming, as it can be very hard to judge where your jump is going to land. (Especially if you’re playing Luigi, my God have mercy on your soul.)

One aspect that I’m sure plays into my lack of enthusiasm for 3D World is the Cat Suit; I kinda hate it. Perhaps it’s just me, but I don't really like any of the Cat stuff at all. It's just a little too overtly cutesy—too kawaii—for my tastes. Without a doubt, I find Mario's "meow" voice clips to be the most annoying thing he’s ever done. This is paradoxical, because I absolutely love Tanuki Mario, along with all of the suits from Super Mario Bros 3. And the Boomerang Suit from 3D Land is especially cool! But the cat stuff is frankly just too much, it’s intolerable. Like, if they do Mario in a Puppy Suit next, I will officially be too old to enjoy these games.

My personal gripes aside, Super Mario 3D World is still an incredibly fun game, especially in multiplayer. If you can gather a few friends and tackle this game together, it’s a crazy good time. Although it is pretty huge game, so you’re likely to be playing solo much of time, especially if you’re planning to find and do everything. Also, as the first 3D Mario made for HD, the visually here look amazing, with the cartoony characters rendered particularly well.

So having already played 3D World on the Wii U already, and not being overly enthused about it, I had fully intended to skip the Switch version. However, the addition of Bowser's Fury really sold me on the new package…

Bowser’s Fury

Even though it's not a full-length game on its own, I really appreciate Nintendo trying out something new with Bowser’s Fury. Here the devs are giving us a new open world to explore with Mario, and not even putting the lil’ guy’s name in the title. Super Mario 64, Super Mario Odyssey, and Super Mario Sunshine (when played with a GameCube controller) are some of my favorite games ever and Bowser's Fury is nice for scratching that exploration itch.

It’s funny to hear people giving rave reviews for Bowser’s Fury merely because it’s an “open-world” Mario adventure. I mean, Nintendo already gave us a more open, exploratory Mario adventure with very similar themes & characters back in 2002, it was called Super Mario Sunshine. And Sunshine is arguably the worst-regarded 3D Mario game. Yet, when Mario and Bowser Jr. return for a new island hopping romp, everyone is onboard? Go figure.

The setting of “Lake Lapcat” and it’s various cat-themed islands does provide a lot of variety in explorable environments. It’s a bit like the devs first made a handful of stand-alone levels, Mario 64-style, and then merged them together with water in between. And it works really well for Bowser’s Fury, especially with all the little secrets sprinkled throughout.

Unfortunately the cat stuff from 3D World is in Bowser’s Fury too and more omnipresent than ever. You’ve got cat ears on the flora and fauna, the building architecture, even the HUD icons; it’s just absolutely everywhere. This game even features gigantic kaiju battles, with Super Sayian Cat Mario facing off against Giant Demon Lord Bowser, so there is literally no escaping the cat stuff. That said, there’s still a good variety of power-ups to use for the majority of the playtime, so I’ll try to look past it.

What I find most interesting about Bowser’s Fury is that it represents yet another slightly altered take on 3D Mario gameplay. 3D Land and 3D World were already a novel fusion of traditional 2D Mario elements (one set path to traverse, time limits, hold B to run, reach the flagpole at the end to complete the level) with classic 3D Mario elements (long jumps, butt stomps, side flips), however Bowser’s Fury turns the dial just a bit more in the traditionally 3D direction. The player can again freely move the camera, doesn’t have to worry about time limits, and a second player can take control of Bowser Jr. to assist Mario Galaxy-style.

All things considered, the total package of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is definitely worthy of a place in your Nintendo Switch collection. While I still prefer 3D Land, 3D World is a colorful good time; just a huge game bursting with multiplayer potential. And Bowser’s Fury, as a new exploratory 3D Mario, is even more my jam. As a smaller game, it makes for a briskly fun experience that doesn’t wear out its welcome. Well, I mean, except for the cat stuff—which has been slathered all over Bowser’s Fury—I still think that was probably a mistake.