Super Mario 3D Land

 3DS
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1428 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,181 out of 1428
  2. Mixed: 183 out of 1428
  3. Negative: 64 out of 1428
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  1. dimweat
    Nov 25, 2011
    7
    Its a Mario game. You've been playing them for 25 years. The only real difference with Super Mario 3D land is you get more head-aches playing, less of a sense of accomplishment....and you can throw a boomerang, which Nintendo has made as redundant as a weaponized boomerang would be in real life.
    After a fair bit of thought, I really don't understand what market Nintendo was aiming for. The    Its a Mario game. You've been playing them for 25 years. The only real difference with Super Mario 3D land is you get more head-aches playing, less of a sense of accomplishment....and you can throw a boomerang, which Nintendo has made as redundant as a weaponized boomerang would be in real life.
    After a fair bit of thought, I really don't understand what market Nintendo was aiming for. The game is simple and unchallanging, great characters of a game targeting the casual gamer market...But the game is coated in heavy-handed Mario nostalgia and subtle references that would only appeal to long-time fans of the Mario franchise....    … Expand
  2. Redz0ne
    Apr 16, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mario is back and this time the 3d is not a hindrance (as opposed to Mario64 where it was tough to judge distances and jump accordingly.) on first playthrough it felt like it was waaaaaaaaaay too easy but once you beat the first set of levels, you get another set with increased difficulty and surely will challenge diehard run-n-jump players. this game takes a long time to shine but once it kicks in, it revamps the spirit of the mario franchise successfully. the downside is that the level designs didn't hold to any sort of consistency in theme which isn't in itself bad but is indicative of poor designing. for example, you can play on a level that is made out of mattresses and springs and the next level will have you scaling trees and/or cookies. if the themes were consistent, it would have earned a MUCH higher rating.… Expand
  3. Swiggy12
    Dec 3, 2011
    7
    There is nothing particularly wrong with Super Mario 3D Land...except for its predictability. The level design is superb, just like any other Mario game. The problem is that it is so easy that it becomes boring after a while. I'm not gonna spoil anything, but after beating the game, I now have 108 lives. The game practicality GIVES them away. It's just way to easy for me, simple as that. IThere is nothing particularly wrong with Super Mario 3D Land...except for its predictability. The level design is superb, just like any other Mario game. The problem is that it is so easy that it becomes boring after a while. I'm not gonna spoil anything, but after beating the game, I now have 108 lives. The game practicality GIVES them away. It's just way to easy for me, simple as that. I can only recommend this game to kids quite frankly.… Expand
  4. Leigh28
    Dec 11, 2011
    7
    Oh mario am getting quite sick and tried playing same thing over over again. Tell peach to get a restraining order out on bowser because clearly hes got issues. Play one mario game then you've played them all. Am sorry i just wanted play sumthing fresh new and i just didnt see enough in your newest adventure to get excited over. While everything looked lovely and 3D looked great. I justOh mario am getting quite sick and tried playing same thing over over again. Tell peach to get a restraining order out on bowser because clearly hes got issues. Play one mario game then you've played them all. Am sorry i just wanted play sumthing fresh new and i just didnt see enough in your newest adventure to get excited over. While everything looked lovely and 3D looked great. I just felt like ive done this all before. I hoping we were gonna see other step forward like we did in mario galaxy. But what we got was one step forward 4 steps back:(… Expand
  5. cinavenom
    Dec 31, 2011
    7
    First off I will state that I have been a fan of Super Mario Bros. since the original NES release, so I may be slightly biased. Having said that, Super Mario 3D Land is an entertaining game with several flashes of nostalgic gameplay inspired by Super Mario Bros. 3. The tanooki suit is revisited giving this game a twist that we have not seen in many years. The graphics are clean and crisp,First off I will state that I have been a fan of Super Mario Bros. since the original NES release, so I may be slightly biased. Having said that, Super Mario 3D Land is an entertaining game with several flashes of nostalgic gameplay inspired by Super Mario Bros. 3. The tanooki suit is revisited giving this game a twist that we have not seen in many years. The graphics are clean and crisp, the sound and music is top notch like all Mario games and the control is exceptionally smooth for a hand held game. The big flaw in this game however, is difficulty level. This game is extremely easy. You can tell that this game is aimed at the very casual gamer. Any gamer with any significant experience will be able to coast through this game with relative ease. Even the gamer with very limited skill will complete this game easily because you are given assistance after you fail a level several times. All in all this is a fun and enjoyable game that revisits several nostalgic NES themes, however, like many new age games, it lacks in the difficulty department allowing you to cruise through the game nearly unopposed.… Expand
  6. Zegilgamesh
    Dec 30, 2012
    7
    Sporting varied difficulty levels, great graphics and a great use of the 3DS's technology, Super Mario 3D Land is an innovative twist on classic Mario action we had a long time coming.
  7. DoungnutGamer
    Mar 28, 2012
    7
    Super Mario 3D land is good game, that takes inspiration from everything that made Mario what it is today but unfortunately after awhile it gets bland and wont inspire you to come back to it.
  8. Tall_But_Short
    May 26, 2012
    7
    Whenever I play Mario games, i feel different than when I play other games. Mario games are simple, fun, and sometimes challenging. This game, however, was simple, fun, but extremely easy. The graphics were great and the gameplay was fun in the beginning but all the levels feel very much the same. Super Mario 3D Land is literally the original Mario games we know, except in 3D. I am a fanWhenever I play Mario games, i feel different than when I play other games. Mario games are simple, fun, and sometimes challenging. This game, however, was simple, fun, but extremely easy. The graphics were great and the gameplay was fun in the beginning but all the levels feel very much the same. Super Mario 3D Land is literally the original Mario games we know, except in 3D. I am a fan of the Nintendo 3Ds â… Expand
  9. wesker2012
    Apr 11, 2013
    7
    Solid Mario game. Game is a little too easy until very end. Doesn't get challenging until the last level and the secret levels. Good game for younger gamers or something to play to relax. Has typical Mario charm and upbeat whimsical music.
  10. ihatecheez
    Apr 14, 2014
    7
    great game but way too short and easy, its clear that this game was aimed for children. the bonus levels they put at the end of the game should of been part of the main game. also, its sometimes hard to tell where mario is and then he falls off the ledge, this happened to me way too many times.
  11. ERB
    Dec 7, 2013
    7
    Super Mario 3D Land is a must buy game for you Mario Fans.This Game has an awesome game play and it is so addicting to play this game.The world in this game looks very creative and that is why I love it.The story in this game is so obvious but the story is not bad.Although the story is really obvious and we will all know what will happen so the story isn't really interesting.But it isSuper Mario 3D Land is a must buy game for you Mario Fans.This Game has an awesome game play and it is so addicting to play this game.The world in this game looks very creative and that is why I love it.The story in this game is so obvious but the story is not bad.Although the story is really obvious and we will all know what will happen so the story isn't really interesting.But it is still okay.The graphics is what should I say?Not good.I should admit It looks like I was playing a 2004 game rather than a 2011 game.

    Well anyway despite hating the graphics and hating the story line the game play saved them all from sinking into a low score.I love the game play in this game because It is fun.The verdict for this game is a 7/10 a good game.This game is a must own game for you Mario fans and I hope you will buy this game and have fun.    … Expand
  12. memus
    Sep 11, 2018
    7
    It's a good and addictive platform game. Closer to old Mario games in feel and style due to technical limitations of 3DS, but still impressive.
    But for me it was a completionist's highlight and nightmare at the same time:
    +Compared to Mario Odyssey with endless moons the stars here finite and doable. They are much tougher to get on underground Luigi level, so I needed some breaks in    It's a good and addictive platform game. Closer to old Mario games in feel and style due to technical limitations of 3DS, but still impressive.
    But for me it was a completionist's highlight and nightmare at the same time:
    +Compared to Mario Odyssey with endless moons the stars here finite and doable. They are much tougher to get on underground Luigi level, so I needed some breaks in fury. Still, I got them all. And it felt rewarding.
    +I really enjoyed animated drawings at the end of each level. They are fun.
    +Also, Luigi screams "ОПА!" like his Russian and not Italian. And that's insanely fun.
    -Even after completing all of this, I just got 4 stars out of 5 on my profile. I needed to finish each level as Mario and as Luigi which felt boring as hell. And even after that I wasn't able to get the 5 shining stars, because I needed to die less than 5 times per level or reboot game after each 5 deaths. It's simply not fair.
    -When I finally got 5 stars the game presented the last special level. And It's so hard that I can't get even past 20% of it. So now the "!" notification will blink in my game forever, driving me crazy.
    -I played the game on New 2DS XL (Nintendo, don't be **** with your naming, please) and the 3D feature levels seemed kinda broken for me. The game was still totally enjoyable and playable, the 3D gimmick was used like maybe 5 times during the whole playthrough. But falling down from clouds due to it seemed unfair.    … Expand
  13. Inryoku
    Jan 8, 2014
    7
    For a game that's getting so much praise it's really nothing special. It seems as if the lack of any story is common in the Marioverse so I'll just skip this. The graphics are OK, but everything looks somewhat sterile to me. Yeah, everything looks like it should (and it looks even better when you consider that you're playing it on a 2ds), but everything is lacking that special somethingFor a game that's getting so much praise it's really nothing special. It seems as if the lack of any story is common in the Marioverse so I'll just skip this. The graphics are OK, but everything looks somewhat sterile to me. Yeah, everything looks like it should (and it looks even better when you consider that you're playing it on a 2ds), but everything is lacking that special something that's everywhere in games like Rayman Legends. The gameplay is amazing, Mario corresponds to commands like you would expect him to, there is no way to deny that. The level design is overall boring and way too easy in the first half of the game, but the second half will test you and in the levels with the Shadow Mario it will break you; these levels are the ones that destroyed the whole fun for me. These levels aren't difficult, they are straight out annoying. The reward for completing the game 100% (which is more of a chore than fun) is a single level which I didn't even bother playing as I was sick and tired of this game at that point. I would recommend this game to everyone who like Jump & Runs and owns a 2ds, but don't bother finishing the whole game, it's not worth it.… Expand
  14. le-weirdo
    Jun 28, 2014
    7
    Mario 3D land is not too innovative, only 4 music tracks stood out too me, the bosses are some of the most repetitive bosses i have ever faced, lame special world, and a HATE the fact that this is just a excuse for a new Mario series were all they did was copying Mario galaxy. but, this game has it's charm and is more addicting than every game i have played so far i sound more negativeMario 3D land is not too innovative, only 4 music tracks stood out too me, the bosses are some of the most repetitive bosses i have ever faced, lame special world, and a HATE the fact that this is just a excuse for a new Mario series were all they did was copying Mario galaxy. but, this game has it's charm and is more addicting than every game i have played so far i sound more negative than positive but this game have soo much charm too it that i just love it.… Expand
  15. FrannyFantastic
    Nov 15, 2014
    7
    A huge step up from the bland and sterile 2D Mario games on the Nintendo Wii. This is a fun 3D platformer with a huge array of levels. Although short, each one is unique and presents a different challenge.

    But solid as it is the game is still rather vanilla. Compared to Donkey Kong Country Returns or Shovel Knight the platforming feels plain and the level design a bit simple.
  16. smeargle05
    May 14, 2015
    7
    Super Mario 3D Land boasts colorful graphics and utilizes the 3D very well. For the most part, the first eight worlds were fairly easy, and though the game looks great, some levels looked kind of bare in some respects. The levels are quite linear, despite being a 3D game. Later levels (Beyond world 8) are more challenging with different things added to a level design that has beenSuper Mario 3D Land boasts colorful graphics and utilizes the 3D very well. For the most part, the first eight worlds were fairly easy, and though the game looks great, some levels looked kind of bare in some respects. The levels are quite linear, despite being a 3D game. Later levels (Beyond world 8) are more challenging with different things added to a level design that has been copy-pasted from previous levels.
    There's no doubt that the game is great fun, but I feel that there is more to be desired.    … Expand
  17. Untitled94
    Feb 26, 2018
    7
    This game is pretty fun, but it does sort of lack variety. At the time, this was one of the best 3DS games, and really showed off what the 3DS could do in a lot of ways. It's great how the game actually lasts a decent amount of time. Not too long and not too short. The only thing is, once you've beaten it, there's not much else to do. There's a lot to do, just not after 100% it.
  18. Kosama
    May 19, 2018
    7
    La primera mitad es extremadamente fácil, la segunda mitad aumenta a un muy buen nivel de dificultad.
    No me gusto mucho este tipo de niveles 3d, me atrevo a decir que es el peor Mario que jugado.
  19. sitebender
    Mar 26, 2019
    7
    I struggle with Mario 3D Land a lot due to the 3D issue and there being so many pits. There's a reason the game gives you so many leaves to slow fall. Game looks great, on paper it may play great, but it just doesn't feel good to play when the game opens up to be lots of narrow lands and pits.
  20. RedXTL
    Oct 31, 2019
    7
    This game is alright for the system that it is on. It presents many things and brings back power-ups that are awesome in this game.
  21. Denvers
    Jun 18, 2020
    7
    Super Mario 3D Land is both one of the most fun Mario games I have ever played while being one of the most dissapointing. A 2 1/2D Enviornment (Not fully 3D) is super fun to play on and mess around with. The game feels like a natural evolution to the 2D Mario formula that I hope they continue to improve on. My main issue with the game is that is lacks content and has annoying and excessiveSuper Mario 3D Land is both one of the most fun Mario games I have ever played while being one of the most dissapointing. A 2 1/2D Enviornment (Not fully 3D) is super fun to play on and mess around with. The game feels like a natural evolution to the 2D Mario formula that I hope they continue to improve on. My main issue with the game is that is lacks content and has annoying and excessive padding. The game, without filler, is about 3.5-5 hours long. To make up for this, is is required of you to go back to levels you have already beaten, each level multiple times over, to gather collectible to progress. As fun as the levels are, playing the same levels over and over in a short period of time is super annoying and tedious. I don't know if I would reccomend this game - if you want a really fun Mario game and don't mind the tedious grind, I would pick this game up. Otherwise, I would probably stay away from this title.… Expand
  22. Babalee
    Jun 22, 2023
    7
    Super Mario 3D Land is without a doubt one of the highlights of the 3DS, but nowadays there isn't really much of a reason to go back to it. My main complaints with this game are it's lack of memorability and the fact that it's a little slow at times. It also doesn't help that this 3D platformer is on the 3DS, making it a little more difficult to play. I still really like this game andSuper Mario 3D Land is without a doubt one of the highlights of the 3DS, but nowadays there isn't really much of a reason to go back to it. My main complaints with this game are it's lack of memorability and the fact that it's a little slow at times. It also doesn't help that this 3D platformer is on the 3DS, making it a little more difficult to play. I still really like this game and think it's a great experience, but compared to other 3D Mario games it falls a little short.… Expand
  23. Frost_Cube
    Jan 7, 2022
    7
    Solid plattformer, without the quality thad made the series great, and without any innovations or especially well gameplay, level design, graphics or 3D.
    Pretty much feels like New Super Mario Bros in small 3D environments, which definitely isnt a bad thing, and i can certainly see people having fun with thi
  24. MrTheMan
    Feb 20, 2021
    7
    It's great mario platforming, but the levels are very short and not very memorable. For the 3DS they managed to make good but something that doesn't match the likes of the traditional 3D Mario games.
  25. Cale
    Dec 18, 2011
    6
    Okay, I'll admit that Mario games and myself have been on the outs since Super Mario 64. Lucky for me, there have been other games outside of the main series platformers, so I'm not living an entirely Mario-free life. The reason why is simple: Camera Screw. I can't stand games with camera screw. While Super Mario 3D Land is most definitely better about this than pretty much everyOkay, I'll admit that Mario games and myself have been on the outs since Super Mario 64. Lucky for me, there have been other games outside of the main series platformers, so I'm not living an entirely Mario-free life. The reason why is simple: Camera Screw. I can't stand games with camera screw. While Super Mario 3D Land is most definitely better about this than pretty much every Mario-themed platforming game with better-than-mild 3D worlds, it still suffers from this crippling disease. Symptoms of strange, inconsistent controls, death-by-camera, Indiana Jones syndrome (as in 'Why am I looking backwards at the thing I'm trying to run from instead of looking forward so I can evade obstacles in my path?'), inflated boss difficulty, inflated jump difficulty and suicidal hero are all present and accounted for. Happily, unlike many of it's predecessors, these issues are more moderated, and I could tell that it had been tweaked to minimize the very complaints I have. Unfortunately, minimization isn't elimination. Granted, I only rarely had to use the camera controls, and the fact that you can rack up an incredible number of lives not even playing seriously does help a great deal, but I shouldn't need so many lives, and I should never need to mess with the camera either. Worse, when I felt I did need camera help, the controls were usually locked, and when they weren't, they were so minimal that they provided no help whatsoever, except in a very few cases. Many of the levels also triggered my fear of heights as well. Seriously, why do so many levels have to look like they're a mile or more in the air? All in all, it's a great stride forward in making a better modern platformer Mario game that appeals to people like myself, but the continued camera screw continued to detract from the experience. A step in the right direction to be sure, but not out of the yellow for me.… Expand
  26. duckypwns
    Jul 18, 2012
    6
    Easily the best original / non-remake Mario game for a portable system. It's very linear which is a blessing and a curse for anyone familiar with Mario games. It means that we don't have the element introduced to us in Mario 64 where you're thrown into a large, open world and you have to figure out what to do yourself. Instead, you just work your way through the levels with not muchEasily the best original / non-remake Mario game for a portable system. It's very linear which is a blessing and a curse for anyone familiar with Mario games. It means that we don't have the element introduced to us in Mario 64 where you're thrown into a large, open world and you have to figure out what to do yourself. Instead, you just work your way through the levels with not much deviation from what the developers intended. I prefer the Mario 64 style but I'm not going to criticize it based off of what it doesn't do, but what it does do. So for a portable, linear Mario game, it's exactly what I expected - a whole new set of levels, enemies, and mechanics such as the boomerang suit, the tanooki suit (this is the first 3D Mario to use the tanooki suit), the propeller box, and probably several others I can't think of at the moment. The controls of this game are generally pretty decent, but trying to get Mario to do the side flip for example can be frustrating. Mario's momentum can also be odd at times. If you don't get a huge running start and keep moving, you may find Mario to be somewhat slow, clunky, and unresponsive. If you jump in the air with no momentum, and try to start moving at the peak of your jump, Mario will barely move at all. Experienced players may find it frustrating that the advanced maneuvers are hard to do, and are scarcely useful anyway. This is an extremely basic and simplistic 3D Mario game. If you want something more than that, go with Mario 64 or the Galaxy games, depending on whether you want to play something nonlinear or linear respectively.… Expand
  27. thor0298
    Nov 14, 2011
    6
    This was a game I really wanted to like but it felt uninspired and simple to me. It isn't just an easy game it is downright simpe. After a few levels it is so easy that you lose any connection you had to the game.
  28. GoombaJMR
    Jan 12, 2014
    6
    Super Mario 3D Land was played for 18:35 minutes by me.

    So, I was expecting a game like this to come out, a hybrid of SMG1&2 and SM64 with some hints of NSMB in it. It was very good looking, and I went to grab it. As I played the level, I realized a couple of things that may seem awkward for long time Mario game players. Mario is extremely unresponsive when he jumps. This is a big    Super Mario 3D Land was played for 18:35 minutes by me.

    So, I was expecting a game like this to come out, a hybrid of SMG1&2 and SM64 with some hints of NSMB in it. It was very good looking, and I went to grab it. As I played the level, I realized a couple of things that may seem awkward for long time Mario game players. Mario is extremely unresponsive when he jumps. This is a big downside because in other games, mario was responsive enough that you could easily dodge and avoid things that were coming at you. Another issue was the amount of levels. It's understandable that the game is linear and takes some more effort to make, but there are only around 5 levels a world, and 8 worlds, so you have a basic 40 levels in the game. That amount of gameplay won't be that much to entertain you, and the difficulty is very low. Now once you have all the star coins in each world though, Another set of 8 bonus worlds open up. It's very difficult to play with the unresponsive controls in those worlds, but that basically adds another 40 levels...BUT you actually get the same (usually) level with a few additions of spikes, time limit, or other things that don't really make it a separate level. I highly recommend this to platforming beginners and people who can find simplicity for their best, as this game is NOT recommended for long time Mario Fans that have mastered the art of platforming and want a challenge.

    Gameplay: 8.5/10
    Story: 7/10
    Music: 8.5/10
    Presentation: 7.5/10
    Length: 6/10
    Overall: 7/10    … Expand
  29. noob_saibot
    May 3, 2013
    6
    Looked good but most the levels was very easy to figure out and do, non the levels was quite hard has Mario Galaxy was.

    So if you must know it was a straight one linear game that's what you Mario fans get nothing to hard to do and same boring story as usual like Bowser kipnapps Peach yet again yawn. Most of his moves was gone too eg the backflip move anyway can't remember all them    Looked good but most the levels was very easy to figure out and do, non the levels was quite hard has Mario Galaxy was.

    So if you must know it was a straight one linear game that's what you Mario fans get nothing to hard to do and same boring story as usual like Bowser kipnapps Peach yet again yawn.

    Most of his moves was gone too eg the backflip move anyway can't remember all them but they was not on this game unlike Mario 64.    … Expand
  30. TristanBomb
    Oct 19, 2013
    6
    Good enough. Honestly, I had some fun playing this game and it killed my boredom, but the levels were very linear. Linear is okay once in a while, but at this point everyone's gasping for something new. And at first glace, it looks like they did but did they really? No. It's New Super Mario Bros but with a few blocks forward and backward. I never had a feeling of exploration, and theGood enough. Honestly, I had some fun playing this game and it killed my boredom, but the levels were very linear. Linear is okay once in a while, but at this point everyone's gasping for something new. And at first glace, it looks like they did but did they really? No. It's New Super Mario Bros but with a few blocks forward and backward. I never had a feeling of exploration, and the level design here went for quantity instead of quality. Certainly, it was decent, but it wasn't developed. Having a time limit and a flagpole really brought this game down. I would have much preferred, perhaps, Super Mario Sunshine 2, or even just another Mario 64-like game. Again, decent, but not in any way captivating or exciting.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best 3DS Game of 2011
2
#2 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2011
3
#3 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2011

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 82 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 81 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 82
  3. Negative: 0 out of 82
  1. Gamer.no
    Feb 6, 2012
    80
    Mario is back! In a classic Mario-fashion you jump your way througheight worlds, where you battle goombas, koopas and the main meaniehimself, Bowser. This game is never particularly difficult, butgradually advanced to a challenge that feels just perfect. Fun, varied and guaranteed to make you smile.
    Read full review
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 19, 2012
    90
    Lifesaver for all Nintendo 3DS owners. Super Mario 3D Land delivers flawless design and perfect use of 3D effects during the whole game. [Christmas 2011]
  3. DarkStation
    Jan 11, 2012
    90
    The Nintendo 3DS has had a slow start, but I feel this marks one of the first important games to come out on this system. I can't say it's a must buy, but is really close for those who have already picked up a 3DS. The amount of content in this game along with the varying degree of gameplay makes this one of the best Mario games I've played in a while.
    Read full review
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