This applies to 3D Land ’s technical side as well. Indeed, 3D Land feels at home on the 3DS, easy to play despite the 3DS’ small screen, lack of a true analog stick, and small buttons. While this creates easy levels toward the beginning of the game, it also makes for more engaging gameplay, as levels never overstay their welcome. Cognizant of the fact that players would be playing 3D Land in small, rather than sustained, bursts, Nintendo designed levels to be short, easy-to-navigate, and easy-to-complete. While its sequel, Super Mario 3D World and other Mario platformers build intricate levels that can take a few minutes to fully explore and even longer to complete, 3D Land builds its levels with the 3DS’ limitations in mind.
SUPER MARIO 3D LAND 5 2 PORTABLE
Image: Nintendo Portable Platforming: Designing for the PlatformģD Land is a notable case of building the game for the platform.
SUPER MARIO 3D LAND 5 2 SERIES
It was a critical darling, scoring an elusive 90% on Metacritic and, all these years later, deserves a closer examination of how it succeeds in adapting a classic series to the 3DS. Incorporating impressive visual design and implementing a clever use of powerups, including the Tanooki suit, 3D Land took Mario’s portable adventures to the next level, selling over 12 million copies and helping to salvage one of the worst launch years of any Nintendo console, portable or home. That changed on November 11th, when Nintendo released Super Mario 3D Land, a 2.5D isometric hybrid of Nintendo’s 2D and 3D Mario games that revolutionized the Super Mario series and its approach to platforming. Additionally, though it charged a hefty $249.99, it launched with titles geared toward casual audiences, such as Nintendogs + Cats that failed to satiate the hardcore Nintendo fans that serve as early adopters. By releasing remakes of N64-era games, such as Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64, instead of new entries in classic series (the venerable Pilotwings notwithstanding), the 3DS failed to make itself a must-have console for core gamers. Despite being the next step in Nintendo’s handheld strategy–and a noticeable power bump from the DS–the 3DS’ launch lineup failed to communicate what Nintendo’s new system actually offered. Launched during the twilight of the Wii, but before the unveiling of the Wii U, the 3DS suffered from an anemic launch lineup, a market-blind price, and a genuine lack of interest around its core gimmick: glasses-free 3D. It was late 2011 and the Nintendo 3DS had endured a tough year.