Half of one sentence amongst all the 'fiscal year' this and 'third quarter' that from Nintendo's latest financial briefing stuck out like a nugget of news gold.
"We are planning to release a totally new side-scrolling action Super Mario in 2D as a key title for the Nintendo 3DS in the next fiscal year."
And a hundred thousand blogs speculating on exactly what that might be were born. I'm not going to do that myself here - I'm going to leave that to regular blogger John Vekinis on Sunday, because he told me the other day that he can genuinely see into the future - but what I will do is this: explain why Mario returning to a strictly 2D plane is exactly what I wanted to hear.
Yes, Super Mario 64 was a stunning, groundbreaking piece of software that changed an entire genre forever. And there's no doubt that the Galaxy games represent Nintendo gaming at its most vibrant and ingenious. Super Mario 3D Land wasn't half bad either.
And yet the blackened joy-void that is my beating heart will always belong to the games in which Mario just runs from left to right.In between things like grazing my knee, playing football badly and unironically wearing shell suits, the first four Super Mario Bros. games were a large part of my childhood.
And it's not just nostalgia talking (although, y'know, it is muttering quietly in the background somewhere): I've played and re-played these side-scrollers again and again over the last 20 years and tried to understand why I prefer them to the 3D wonders of 64, Sunshine, Galaxy and 3D Land.
Some context: I'm an impatient man. I do that thing where my leg is constantly juddering up and down like I've just injected six double expressos directly into my eyeballs. I hate waiting for trains and buses because it feels like I'm wasting time.
My preference for the simpler joys of side-scrolling platformers is down to the fact that they're fundamentally more direct, compact and efficient experiences. Not a pixel is wasted and not a second is spent just holding forwards and heading towards some intangible point on the horizon, or wandering around not really knowing where the next Star might be.
They are simpler games, but therein lies their beauty. Now, as is tradition, you tell me: 3D or 2D? Tell me which you prefer in the comments and you win a prize (you don't win a prize).
OMG I just had a crazy idea! what if they mix things up a bit by having one level where you run from right to left...
I love both; 2D is more pick-up and play, and I find them more precise, but I could never say I don't love Super Mario 64 or Galaxy, either.
But they're two entirely different experiences (well, less so in the case of 3D Land). It's like comparing apples to oranges, Sonics to Mega Men. There are some shared elements, true, but beyond that, they are completely different... and are wonderful for that.
The simple fact of the matter is, I've no problem with getting more 3D Marios, so long as we also get more 2D Marios as well. I love both for what they are (though Sunshine a little less so), but admittedly, if I had to pick one? 2D Mario just squeaks by.
OMG I just had a crazy idea! what if they mix things up a bit by having one level where you run from right to left...
They do that now and then. In fact, one time, you even got to spend most of the level wearing a giant green shoe...
To be honest I do prefer 3D...64, Sunshine, Galaxy, Galaxy 2, 3D Land
All of the best Mario games are 3D...sure there are fantasitaclly, amazingly stupendous 2D games but I just feel restricted with 2D. I love the freedom of 3D!
My dad always joked that I was adopted...now I believe him and I ask you...Neil Long...are you my father? I agree with everything you have just said and I even do the jigger leg thing too...it's like I'm looking into a written word mirror...
I enjoy both 2d and 3d Mario games, although my experience for 3d only extends to Super Mario 64 ds, Galaxy and 3D Land but which were fantastic in my eyes.
This new 2d game could be very interesting. I guessing it could be similar to Super Mario Bros but with: 3d backgrounds that are colourful and wacky like or similar to MvsDK: Mini Land Mayhem (which there needs to be a 3ds verson of)....maybe something a future De Blobs 3 game could also do... Plenty of power ups-all of them please
As i've never really experienced a 2d mario game or a super mario bros/world (one reason why i'm pumped for Paper Mario 3d), i'm very much looking forward to this.
Then we all need is: Yoshi 3ds (year of the dragon) Super Mario 64/Sunshine/Galaxy all rolled into one with a huge hub world Mario vs Donkey Kong Donkey Kong Country Returns 2
Personally I prefer the older 2D Mario games (and SM64.)
I'm just not a fan of the newer Mario games - Galaxy was good, but I wasn't that into it, whereas I didn't much enjoy the New Super Mario Bros games at all.
So this news doesn't excite me that much. Announce a new, PROPER pokemon game, then I'll be happy
same feeling it will always be 2d over 3d mabe because of the fact 3d games are too easy e.g. super mario 64 ds 100%, super mario galaxy 2 99%, super mario 3d land 100% (not including purple box star coins).
im probably in the 3d side of things as i find they have better level design and last longer then again the 2d mario games are great for going back to over and over again something i cant say as much for the 3d games
I prefer 3D Mario games, although I did enjoy the 2D sections of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. However games solely dedicated to side scrolling isn't something that interests me any more, the freedom and endless gameplay possibilities the 3rd dimension offers is much more exciting to me. I just find it hard to go back to any 2D Mario game since I played 3D games like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy.
I'm sure there is room for both 3D and 2D iterations of the game, but personally I wouldn't pay full price for a another 2D Mario game.
The 2D games are very significant for me for the exact same reason - I grew up with them. The 3D games are fantastic though, and I do think my preference would all depend on my mood.
On the whole, I agree with Neil. I'd rather play Super Mario World than both Galaxy games, Sunshine, and 3D Land. However, there is one game which puts a spanner in the works of this theory - Super Marip 64. Finest Mario game ever and one of the best things every crafted by human beings, it alone means that 3D has to beat 2D.
Not sure I'd say either design is intrinsically better than the other, each has their own set of benefits and limitations. I probably enjoyed Super Mario Bros 3 the most, but part of that is because it pushed the limits of its respective console in a way that none of the 3D games have done. I still don't think we've seen a 'perfect' 3D mario game though, Mario 64 comes closest in my opinion, since Sunshine was plagued by unsteady controls/camera, and the galaxy games didn't feel quite as well paced as SMB3. After playing Super Mario 3D Land though, I'm really happy with it, and that makes me think that maybe some sort of hybrid between the two styles would be best, perhaps with a little more focus on free roaming than 3D land had.
No thanks. 2D Mario is pretty boring nowadays when you compare them to the recent 3D ventures.
I couldn't agree with you more. I've played a lot of 2D Mario games (Super Mario Bros 1, 2 and 3, New Super Mario Bros Wii, New Super Mario Bros on the DS, Super Mario Land 1 and 2) and yet I have also played all of the 3D ones. Although I grew up with Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, I don't really think it's the nostalgia talking when I say that 3D is better. I have enoyed the Snes classics mentoned above (slightly more than the new 2D Mario games) but 3D really does allow more freedom and imagination. Even when I play these games now and compare them, 3D always win's for me.
Having said that, I certainy recall enjoying the Super Mario Land games when I was a child.
It's just a matter of taste really. This new title will probably be New Super Mario Bros 3, but i'm much more interested to see what Super mario Wii U is going to be-if he's gone to space then wherever next...Super Mario Dimensions, only for Wii U, coming 2013?
I enjoy 3D games overall more than 2d ones. Of course, when a 2d game makes a BAD leap to 3d I stick with 2d but I enjoyed galaxy 2 much more than mario bros wii. Same with Zelda and Zelda.
2D!!!! FTW! I loved super mario world on the snes, and was also pretty addicted to New super mario bros when I first got the original nintendo DS. I have played a 3D mario game before, and that was super mario 64 and, while it was pretty good, it just didn't cut it for me in terms of replayability (if thats even a word) and neither did New super mario bros on DS. Heres hoping the upcoming 2D mario side-scroller fixes that.
I believe that the 2D Mario games are better than the 3D ones because they are more accessible, and ontop of that levels don't last as long so they have more of that 'pick up and play' effect. I will always pick Super Mario Bros. (original NES) over Super Mario Galaxy 2 any day, because it is so much more original.
the 2D games are probably better as they are much more addictive and they are more of a challenge,quite unlike Marios latest 3D outing,which I completed in 2 and a half weeks,and i wasn't playing it half the time!
Why are we having this conversation? Of course 3d is better, it's got an extra dimension. More exploration and action=EPIC WIN!!! Admittedly, there are some series that are great in 2d e.g. Kirby, Rayman. But they all have something unique about them which makes them fun. For me, a 2d game either has got it or it doesn't and in my opinion, Mario hasn't got that 2d uniqueness displayed in his 3d adventures
Since 3D Land was a 2D game in a 3D shell, this game should be the opposite. Imagine a sidescrolling Mario game where the Fire Flowers are timed, there's no run button, there's a level HUB and each level has around 8 different Stars each making you do weird stuff like cleaning up some random guy. All in a 2D plane.
They should do what the console version of sonic generations did and mix things up but if i had to choose one it would have to be 3d purley because my fav mario game is sunshine which is 3d
2D is so much better. I like Mario because you have to go from a to b and the skill lies in getting there, not meandering about thinking 'Where the **** should I go next and where is the star coin I've played this level 20 billion times to find!!!!'
I love good old 2D side scrolling, of course I do, but I feel so restricted sometimes! For example: "Oh I missed that block, which, if I recall correctly had a mushroom in it! Darn now it's gone!! NO I CAN'T GO BACK AND GET IT AND THE GOOMBAS ARE SWARMING IN! NOOOO!".
3D is better suited to consoles and 2d is better suited to handhelds. What you prefer could depend on what system your playing on...
Following New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Rayman Origins, and Super Mario 3D Land, I couldn't disagree more. Once upon a time, maybe, but now it seems that following that mindset really just limits the experiences one can enjoy, unless you own both. And even then...
It's really hard to decide one over the other. When it's Super Mario 64 then of course 3D is better. Then again when it's Super Mario World then surely 2D has to be the winner. Based on just those two examples my personal favourite is Super Mario 64, but truefully I vey much enjoy both styles and could never claim either 2D or 3D to be my preference out-right.
