I grew up playing Super Mario World, which was the bomb, so I was sure I was in for a treat. I got home, put my baby to bed, fell onto my couch and popped the game in (Oh, also, /gasp, I didn't charge the 3DS before I turned it on like recommended in the information booklet. #yolo) and started playing. At first I was too distracted with the amazing 3D screen, and the fact that I was playing a DS, when mere hours earlier I was playing Candy Crush on my "measly" iPhone (And by measly, I mean still awesome and expensive.. but not an actual video game system) (By the way, a 3DS is a great way to break the CC addiction) But the more I played, the more I noticed major flaws in the game. Okay, not so major. But they stink. And here's why:
1. "Lives" are a dime a dozen.
Seriously. It doesn't matter how many times you die. You know why? Cause you get 5 freaking lives for every level you play. I remember when I would play Super Mario World, I'd have maximum 8 lives. I even remember returning to some levels because I knew they had lives in them, and I needed some. It gave you a reason to go back. Guess how many lives I have in Super Mario Bros. 2? 104. I can die one hundred freaking times before I need to search for new lives. Which I wont have to. You know why? Yup - because the next level is going to spoon feed me 5 lives anyway!
2. It's really short.
Did I mention I bought my 3DS three days ago? I'm already halfway through the game. Compared to Super Mario World (Can I just call it SMW and SMB2 from now on? Too bad, I'm doing it anyway) where I would probably still have 85-90% of the game to go after 3 days, that's pretty stinky. Let us remember that I'm a new mom. I basically have about 2 or three hours that I really get to sit down and play the DS, and I'm also switching between Brain Age and Zelda. That leaves me about an hour of SMB2. And I'm 50% through? Whaaaat.
3. It's nearly impossible to struggle.
The first time it happened I thought it was pretty cool. Mostly because I'd never seen it before. It was a striped golden leaf - you know, the thingy that makes you fly (Ignore my super technical jargon). It was after I'd lost a level probably about three times. At the beginning of the level there was the golden leaf awaiting me in the trusty little box. It looked like this:
Upon further research it appears to be called an invincibility leaf. It sounds basically like what it is. The game basically said, "Shit, this momma sucks at this level. Lets make it impossible for her to lose." And with that, I started my level. The first time I should have died by accidentally hitting a Kooper, instead of me dying, the Kooper died instead. What the f-. As I progressed through my level I realized that I could also walk on water, and nothing could kill me. It was such a boring level, and I instantly felt like a 7 year old playing a video game who was handed a freebie because I stunk.
4. The whole game itself is not very challenging.
Maybe it's just because I'm older now. In fact, every one of these points could be because I'm older. The game feels shorter. It feels easier. It IS easier because I've grown. However I like to believe the that original SMW was still relatively challenging. In SMB2, I can beat a boss in under 1 minute. Give me a few seconds, even. In SMW I often had to fight a boss at least twice, even if it was just from human error (like falling into lava - doh)
5. Finally, and most importantly: Where the hell is Yoshi?
I don't really think I need to elaborate on this one. Maybe I'm behind the loop - did Yoshi go on strike, and separate from Mario? I miss flying in the sky, and hatching eggs, and - aaah, nostalgia.
I will continue playing this God awful game until the end, just to get my money's worth. But I wish it was better. In the mean time - I will probably continue to buy every and all Super Mario games. You win this time, Nintendo.
Tell me, viewers (or lack there-of): If you've played this game, did you enjoy it? What are some other 3DS games you can recommend to me?
(On a side note, my wonderful daughter decided to have the loudest, smelliest, most-resembling-grown-up-diarrhoea right as the cute Walmart employee was selling me my 3DS. Imagine the horror upon my face as I try to explain that "I'm not farting, it's my daughter, I swear!")
Momma - out.
Once the internet came around and game design went to graphics game play was slacked, and they want you to see all the pretty in the game so they hand feed you everything. There was even a Mario game that if you die 5 times in a level, a ghost will appear and show you how to beat the level.
ReplyDeleteNintendo tho knows 3 things. Zelda, Mario and Pokemon. They remake the same game over and over and over again and people will buy it for no reason what so ever. They know this so they just push a new game as quickly as possible and rake in the money.
This is partly the reason my console gaming in the recent past has pretty much died besides people that are too scared to move to PC or are diehard console fans. Single player console games are a bore anymore, the story is terrible and the gameplay is something a 2nd grader could come up with. PC isnt perfect either, but it does have certain games that can fix the single player boring aspect of a game to a degree.
As to answer the question tho, what other games for the 3ds would you get? Well, since you made the mistake of buying one its really up to you and what you like really. Know that your choices are going to be very limited, the games are all going to kill maybe a weekend in total time if that.
That ghost thing is terrible. I'm starting to see throughout the game (now probably 75+% through it) a lot of rehashed stuff from SMW, too. Except, as you said, it's "prettier".
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that I much prefer PC games. Especially the MMO genre. No other game has brought me such a great community and long term gameplay that often lasts me months, if not years.
But, I think I'll be able to get my moneys worth with the 3DS. I bought it so that at the end of the day, I can sit down in bed while my daughter sleeps, and unwind with ~30 mins of gameplay. There's also a few games I'm actually looking forward to. So far I'm happy with the portability, and Nintendo type games are more my style anyway.