Kotaku Games DiaryThe latest thoughts from a Kotaku staff about a game we’re playing.Nintendo’s first major release of 2021, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Wrath, packs a reissue of a seven-year-old game along with a new, yet bite-sized, adventure. The most important draw is the latter, which provides a showcase of what could be an open world mario game. What’s more, Bowser’s Fury technically has a couch collaboration mode. But you intend to pick up the collection because of this and that alone, note this simple advice: Do not.
Like you i love Mario games. I like a good couch. (If you live in a packed four-person household, this is one of the few things help me get through the pandemic.) Then I picked up Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Wrath almost the second time I heard it had local cooperation.
Here’s how it works. You, as player one, are played in the role of Mario. You walk along and see paint that strongly matches the signature graffiti of Shadow Mario, the villain of Super Mario Sunshine. In short order, you will be taken to another area, where you will find Bowser Jr. touch (as if the Sunshine-style paint was not an idea). This is who plays two controls.
Bowser Jr. is less of an entity and more of a gadfly. As usual, he is confined to his buggy, which uses two players to fly around, collect coins and so on, all in the service of player one. Player two cannot mess with the exact platform being defined Mario games since the Paleolithic era. Indeed, as far as I have experienced, there are few or no interests for whom Bowser Jr. does not control. least in local cooperation. (Bowser’s Fury have online cooperative, but for that you need two Switch consoles. I could not try it.)
This is the kind of ‘collaborative’ mode, ideal for a younger sibling, for example – just interactive enough to make them feel like they’re playing really seriously. At the same time, it is not so intrusive that player two allows two to accidentally or intentionally refurbish things for player one.
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Well, that does not mean Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Wrath is a total bust in terms of the cooperation of the couch. I, in my eternal basicity, have you always used my Wii U to play Super Smash Bros., and thus missed Super Mario 3D World‘s original run. Uh, why didn ‘t you all say that to me? Super Mario 3D World is a phenomenal co-op game for couches? We play it every night in my household and had an absolute blast.
For those like me who skipped it for the first time, you will be forgiven for thinking Super Mario 3D World is another Mario platform with a fixed perspective. The trick is that you can play with up to four players, each taking on the roles of Mario, Peach, Toad and that other man with the green hat and very gym pants. Each character plays a little differently. Toad, for example, runs the fastest, while Luigi has a little more airtime while jumping. Your goal is very much the same as in many of these games: pick it up at the end of the stage and jump on a flagpole. When you complete phases in a specific region, you unlock the castle level of the region. When you complete it, you will be able to go to the next area.
But here’s the catch: you’ve scored. Every star you find, every Goomba you step on, gives you points. There is a shared team, but whoever scores the most individually is bequeathed a literal crown. What’s more, whoever jumps the highest on the flagpole at the end will then have that flag marked with a symbol of their character on the overworld. You may forget the scores, but there is always a visual reminder of who really to win all these phases. At any given level, yes, you all work together, but you also work against each other.
Even better, as with all the best local co-op games, you can ruin the team’s day. With the push of a button you can pick up any of the other players and, I do not know, throw into an enemy or a wreath. However, you share lives as a team, which is why you often have to choose to wreak havoc and play the game as intended. (Always choose chaos, people.)
But Super Mario 3D World is smart enough to force you to work together on points. On one level, you and your team control a water dinosaur walk as you drive through rapids. If you coordinate when you turn or jump, you will have more control, which reduces the chance that you will take care on the side of the stage. Another stage requires players to navigate on platforms marked with two opposite arrows. To make any progress, you must jump on the same arrow at the same time.
Bowser’s Fury can indeed be a disappointment in terms of collaborative play. But if you fancy a new couch game and missed it the first time, Super Mario 3D World is worth checking out.