Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Review
Review Date: February 20, 2021
Note: A video review was not created for this game.
By now, we all know Super Mario 3D World's story. At its reveal, it looked like a nothing more than a bland sequel to Super Mario 3D Land. It didn't take long before we considered it a masterpiece of a Mario title and one of Nintendo's crowning jewels in the series. Now, one of the Wii U's finest games has finally made the jump to Nintendo Switch. Not to mention it comes with a brand new subgame, Bowser's Fury. Truly this is quite an impressive package. But it begs the question, is it worth it, especially for those of us who owned the game on Wii U?
Since there are two different games in this title, I will be reviewing each independently. In essence, you're getting two reviews in one.
Note: A video review was not created for this game.
By now, we all know Super Mario 3D World's story. At its reveal, it looked like a nothing more than a bland sequel to Super Mario 3D Land. It didn't take long before we considered it a masterpiece of a Mario title and one of Nintendo's crowning jewels in the series. Now, one of the Wii U's finest games has finally made the jump to Nintendo Switch. Not to mention it comes with a brand new subgame, Bowser's Fury. Truly this is quite an impressive package. But it begs the question, is it worth it, especially for those of us who owned the game on Wii U?
Since there are two different games in this title, I will be reviewing each independently. In essence, you're getting two reviews in one.
Super Mario 3D World
I originally wrote a review for Super Mario 3D World in 2014. I awarded the game a perfect 10/10, and it still rightly deserves that score. Furthermore, everything I said in that review still holds true, so if you would like to read it, please click here.
However, there are still some significant changes that were made in the jump to the Switch that I would like to mention here. Perhaps the most noticeable change is that your characters move faster. This is a welcome change from the original game, as at times it felt like your characters sauntered along at too leisurely of a pace on the Wii U. Even though you're playing the same exact levels, they feel fresh in a sense as you tackle them at this increased pace. If I were to make one small criticism, it's that some of the platforms are too small to handle the new speed. There are very few moments where your character is moving too fast to be able to execute perfect jumps. However, this happens so rarely that it's not much of a concern at all.
The remaining changes are all fairly minor. The levels that made use of the Wii U GamePad have been adapted slightly to compensate for the lack of a touch screen. Like with the Switch port of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, a motion controlled pointer is used to interact with the environment. Unlike Treasure Tracker, the pointer only comes on screen when you press the R button and disappears after a few seconds of idle, rather than being present on screen all the time. However, it's still a tad unwieldy to use at times, which can detract from the experience ever so slightly.
The last thing from 3D World I'll touch on is that the visual fidelity of the game has been improved. The Wii U game ran at 720p and was upscaled to 1080p; on the Switch, the game runs natively at 1080p in docked mode and it's absolutely gorgeous. The HUD has received a minor redesign and the menus have been overhauled to look more sleek and intuitive. All of these changes make the game look more polished than it already did.
You are also able to play 3D World with friends via local wireless play and online. However, I'm very much a solo player when it comes to Mario platformers, so I have nothing to review in this regard.
However, there are still some significant changes that were made in the jump to the Switch that I would like to mention here. Perhaps the most noticeable change is that your characters move faster. This is a welcome change from the original game, as at times it felt like your characters sauntered along at too leisurely of a pace on the Wii U. Even though you're playing the same exact levels, they feel fresh in a sense as you tackle them at this increased pace. If I were to make one small criticism, it's that some of the platforms are too small to handle the new speed. There are very few moments where your character is moving too fast to be able to execute perfect jumps. However, this happens so rarely that it's not much of a concern at all.
The remaining changes are all fairly minor. The levels that made use of the Wii U GamePad have been adapted slightly to compensate for the lack of a touch screen. Like with the Switch port of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, a motion controlled pointer is used to interact with the environment. Unlike Treasure Tracker, the pointer only comes on screen when you press the R button and disappears after a few seconds of idle, rather than being present on screen all the time. However, it's still a tad unwieldy to use at times, which can detract from the experience ever so slightly.
The last thing from 3D World I'll touch on is that the visual fidelity of the game has been improved. The Wii U game ran at 720p and was upscaled to 1080p; on the Switch, the game runs natively at 1080p in docked mode and it's absolutely gorgeous. The HUD has received a minor redesign and the menus have been overhauled to look more sleek and intuitive. All of these changes make the game look more polished than it already did.
You are also able to play 3D World with friends via local wireless play and online. However, I'm very much a solo player when it comes to Mario platformers, so I have nothing to review in this regard.
Bowser's Fury
Now, this is the part of the review I'm sure everyone has been waiting for. Bowser's Fury has been the topic of much intrigue ever since it was revealed and it certainly has a lot to live up to being paired with 3D World. While the game is short (it took me about 7-8 hours to complete 100%), I am happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with it.
STORY
Bowser's Fury finds Mario partnering with Bowser Jr., a partnership reminiscent of Paper Mario: The Origami King, to help free Bowser from a mysterious black sludge that has turned him into the inconsolable Fury Bowser. Mario and Bowser Jr. must traverse Lake Lapcat, a new world inhabited by cats and cat enemies (seriously, cats everywhere), in search of Cat Shines (see what I mean?) to unlock the mysterious Giga Bell, giving them the power to fight back against Fury Bowser. As expected, it's a simple story, but it comes with its fair share of comedy. Mario's annoyed expressions whenever Bowser Jr. talks to him are honestly so out of character from the happy, portly plumber we're used to that I couldn't help but laugh every time it happened. It's perhaps the unusualness of the companionship that makes the story so engaging.
GAMEPLAY
Bowser's Fury plays like an open world game. While the map is obviously much smaller than Breath of the Wild, you are free to travel anywhere in Lake Lapcat without facing loading screens. The lake is divided into three regions, and each region has three or four smaller islands with lighthouses. Most of the action happens on these islands, as it takes five Cat Shines to fully restore the power of each lighthouse. The gameplay is very reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey, where you are working towards a certain goal on each island but there are still Cat Shines for you to pick up along the way. Each island is unique and creative and they expand on ideas explored in 3D World but were only used as a gimmick in a handful of levels.
Perhaps the biggest example of this is the inclusion of Plessie, who is constantly floating around the lake waiting for you to hop aboard. Plessie takes you from region to region and there are certain Cat Shines you can only reach with him. It also seems like Plessie is easier to control in Bowser's Fury than he is in the base game, which is a welcome change.
Every now and then, Fury Bowser bursts from his shell and turns the lake into a nightmarish landscape. If you don't have enough Cat Shines to activate the Giga Bell, your only hope is to find a shine (light harms Fury Bowser, and he retreats any time you capture a shine) or ride the attack out. However, once the Giga Bell is unlocked, you transform into Giga Cat Mario and are able to fight Fury Bowser head on. The Giga Cat Mario battles are the highlight of the game. Fury Bowser employs a different set of attacks with each battle, helping them avoid repetition. It ultimately culminates in a final battle that is rather satisfying and is accompanied by a fantastic piece of music making use of 3D World's Bowser theme.
Mario's skillset from 3D World is carried over into Bowser's Fury, as is every single powerup. The biggest difference is that Mario is able to move in 360 degrees as opposed to the eight directions he's limited to in the base game. As we can expect from a Mario game, the controls are impeccable. Mario truly feels like an extension of your own arm. As for Bowser Jr., since I never played in co-op mode, I'm not sure what it's like to control him. However, when you play solo, you are able to set how involved he gets. I kept him set to "help a little," and honestly it was perfect. He'd mostly follow you around and occasionally jump into the fray if it seemed like you were overwhelmed with enemies. He'll also fly over and collect items just out of reach. His involvement isn't overbearing and that's a good thing.
All that good stuff being said, there are a couple negative points. First, Bowser's Fury unfortunately befalls the same fate as Super Mario Odyssey in the sense that many of the Cat Shines are super repetitive. Like how Odyssey had a certain number of Power Moons that were the same across each kingdom, you can count on each island having two of the same Cat Shines (collecting five shards and breaking the Fury Blocks, which is only possible when Fury Bowser is active) along with some variation of a challenge. It makes going for 100% completion a bit of a slog, especially if you save the Fury Block shines for last, as you'll often just be sitting around for Fury Bowser to appear. Also, the game is not overly difficult. While some shines are tricky, there was never really a moment where I felt challenged like I did in the special worlds in 3D World. These drawbacks are unfortunate, but they do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
Bowser's Fury uses the same art style as 3D World, which is fantastic. I really loved 3D World's art direction so it's great to see it used again here, just with an extra level of polish. The game runs at a dynamic resolution in docked mode and is locked at 720p in handheld mode. Generally speaking, surfaces are smooth, but there are some instances where you can tell the graphical fidelity has dropped slightly.
For the most part, the game chugs along at a buttery smooth 60fps, but when there's a lot on screen at once, the framerate can stutter. For example, there was one instance when Fury Bowser appeared while I was in the middle of an enemy battle challenge and the framerate noticeably lagged. Furthermore, the framerate disappointingly drops to 30fps in handheld mode. It's rather unfortunate considering the base game never falters from 60fps. All that being said, it appears Nintendo put a lot of effort into making sure the framerate remained stable during the Fury Bowser battles, and I honestly feel that's an acceptable tradeoff. I'd rather have a few moments of stutter while traversing the map than suffering through an inconsistent boss battle.
And now, the music. Let's be real, the soundtrack has a lot to live up to being paired with 3D World, which, dare I say, is perhaps the finest Mario soundtrack Nintendo ever made. Thankfully, Bowser's Fury's soundtrack lives up to its expectations. In fact, the music is phenomenal. Taking a more orchestral approach than the base game (don't worry, there's still a few jazzy tracks here), the soundtrack is catchy and stirring. Not to mention the mixture of electric guitar and choral vocals for Fury Bowser's theme is fantastic. There are many themes here that will be remembered for generations to come, which is saying something considering both composers are newcomers to the 3D Mario franchise.
If I were to have one criticism of the soundtrack, and this is extremely nitpicky, it's that there's not enough music. I'll admit I found it somewhat disappointing that several islands reused themes heard earlier in the game. For such a small game, you'd think that each island would get its own unique theme. But again, this is such an inconsequential remark. The music we did get is incredible.
CONCLUSION
Ultimately, Bowser's Fury is a fun game. While it may lack some of the polish we expect from Nintendo, it's still a great experience that I'd recommend to anyone. Above all, Bowser's Fury definitely plays like Nintendo's test run at a truly open world Mario game, a la Breath of the Wild. If that's the direction Nintendo is wanting to go with their next 3D Mario game, I'm all for it. This was a fantastic first step and I hope they continue with this format in some form.
STORY
Bowser's Fury finds Mario partnering with Bowser Jr., a partnership reminiscent of Paper Mario: The Origami King, to help free Bowser from a mysterious black sludge that has turned him into the inconsolable Fury Bowser. Mario and Bowser Jr. must traverse Lake Lapcat, a new world inhabited by cats and cat enemies (seriously, cats everywhere), in search of Cat Shines (see what I mean?) to unlock the mysterious Giga Bell, giving them the power to fight back against Fury Bowser. As expected, it's a simple story, but it comes with its fair share of comedy. Mario's annoyed expressions whenever Bowser Jr. talks to him are honestly so out of character from the happy, portly plumber we're used to that I couldn't help but laugh every time it happened. It's perhaps the unusualness of the companionship that makes the story so engaging.
GAMEPLAY
Bowser's Fury plays like an open world game. While the map is obviously much smaller than Breath of the Wild, you are free to travel anywhere in Lake Lapcat without facing loading screens. The lake is divided into three regions, and each region has three or four smaller islands with lighthouses. Most of the action happens on these islands, as it takes five Cat Shines to fully restore the power of each lighthouse. The gameplay is very reminiscent of Super Mario Odyssey, where you are working towards a certain goal on each island but there are still Cat Shines for you to pick up along the way. Each island is unique and creative and they expand on ideas explored in 3D World but were only used as a gimmick in a handful of levels.
Perhaps the biggest example of this is the inclusion of Plessie, who is constantly floating around the lake waiting for you to hop aboard. Plessie takes you from region to region and there are certain Cat Shines you can only reach with him. It also seems like Plessie is easier to control in Bowser's Fury than he is in the base game, which is a welcome change.
Every now and then, Fury Bowser bursts from his shell and turns the lake into a nightmarish landscape. If you don't have enough Cat Shines to activate the Giga Bell, your only hope is to find a shine (light harms Fury Bowser, and he retreats any time you capture a shine) or ride the attack out. However, once the Giga Bell is unlocked, you transform into Giga Cat Mario and are able to fight Fury Bowser head on. The Giga Cat Mario battles are the highlight of the game. Fury Bowser employs a different set of attacks with each battle, helping them avoid repetition. It ultimately culminates in a final battle that is rather satisfying and is accompanied by a fantastic piece of music making use of 3D World's Bowser theme.
Mario's skillset from 3D World is carried over into Bowser's Fury, as is every single powerup. The biggest difference is that Mario is able to move in 360 degrees as opposed to the eight directions he's limited to in the base game. As we can expect from a Mario game, the controls are impeccable. Mario truly feels like an extension of your own arm. As for Bowser Jr., since I never played in co-op mode, I'm not sure what it's like to control him. However, when you play solo, you are able to set how involved he gets. I kept him set to "help a little," and honestly it was perfect. He'd mostly follow you around and occasionally jump into the fray if it seemed like you were overwhelmed with enemies. He'll also fly over and collect items just out of reach. His involvement isn't overbearing and that's a good thing.
All that good stuff being said, there are a couple negative points. First, Bowser's Fury unfortunately befalls the same fate as Super Mario Odyssey in the sense that many of the Cat Shines are super repetitive. Like how Odyssey had a certain number of Power Moons that were the same across each kingdom, you can count on each island having two of the same Cat Shines (collecting five shards and breaking the Fury Blocks, which is only possible when Fury Bowser is active) along with some variation of a challenge. It makes going for 100% completion a bit of a slog, especially if you save the Fury Block shines for last, as you'll often just be sitting around for Fury Bowser to appear. Also, the game is not overly difficult. While some shines are tricky, there was never really a moment where I felt challenged like I did in the special worlds in 3D World. These drawbacks are unfortunate, but they do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
Bowser's Fury uses the same art style as 3D World, which is fantastic. I really loved 3D World's art direction so it's great to see it used again here, just with an extra level of polish. The game runs at a dynamic resolution in docked mode and is locked at 720p in handheld mode. Generally speaking, surfaces are smooth, but there are some instances where you can tell the graphical fidelity has dropped slightly.
For the most part, the game chugs along at a buttery smooth 60fps, but when there's a lot on screen at once, the framerate can stutter. For example, there was one instance when Fury Bowser appeared while I was in the middle of an enemy battle challenge and the framerate noticeably lagged. Furthermore, the framerate disappointingly drops to 30fps in handheld mode. It's rather unfortunate considering the base game never falters from 60fps. All that being said, it appears Nintendo put a lot of effort into making sure the framerate remained stable during the Fury Bowser battles, and I honestly feel that's an acceptable tradeoff. I'd rather have a few moments of stutter while traversing the map than suffering through an inconsistent boss battle.
And now, the music. Let's be real, the soundtrack has a lot to live up to being paired with 3D World, which, dare I say, is perhaps the finest Mario soundtrack Nintendo ever made. Thankfully, Bowser's Fury's soundtrack lives up to its expectations. In fact, the music is phenomenal. Taking a more orchestral approach than the base game (don't worry, there's still a few jazzy tracks here), the soundtrack is catchy and stirring. Not to mention the mixture of electric guitar and choral vocals for Fury Bowser's theme is fantastic. There are many themes here that will be remembered for generations to come, which is saying something considering both composers are newcomers to the 3D Mario franchise.
If I were to have one criticism of the soundtrack, and this is extremely nitpicky, it's that there's not enough music. I'll admit I found it somewhat disappointing that several islands reused themes heard earlier in the game. For such a small game, you'd think that each island would get its own unique theme. But again, this is such an inconsequential remark. The music we did get is incredible.
CONCLUSION
Ultimately, Bowser's Fury is a fun game. While it may lack some of the polish we expect from Nintendo, it's still a great experience that I'd recommend to anyone. Above all, Bowser's Fury definitely plays like Nintendo's test run at a truly open world Mario game, a la Breath of the Wild. If that's the direction Nintendo is wanting to go with their next 3D Mario game, I'm all for it. This was a fantastic first step and I hope they continue with this format in some form.
Final Verdict
Now, to answer that question I posed at the beginning: Is Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury worth it? If you're one of the many that has never had the chance to play 3D World, absolutely. Go buy this game now. 3D World is still every bit the masterpiece it's been since it first released seven years ago, and Bowser's Fury is a wonderful addition. And to the original Wii U players: Is it worth the double dip? I'd say yes. Unlike many of Nintendo's other Wii U ports (looking at you, Pikmin 3 Deluxe), 3D World + Bowser's Fury actually feels like it's worth splurging $60 for again. The changes to the base game truly refine the experience and Bowser's Fury is a substantive addition to justify the double dip. This is a must own in your Nintendo Switch library. Buy it now.
PROS:
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CONS:
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Score: 9.5/10
- Super Mario 3D World: 10/10, Bowser's Fury: 8/10. Final score is not an average.