Captain Toad is a game set in the Super Mario 3D World environment and story line. In fact it takes place just before Super Mario 3D World. Captain Toad is a 3D puzzle platform game for the Nintendo Wii U. You primarily use the tablet to control the game world and move Captain Toad around the reach the goals. Captain toad is a very unique way to play. You either use the touch screen or the second control stick in order to rotate the world map around to navigate Toad though the level. You also have the option to use the Gyro controls built in the tablet itself. Some of the events take place in first person view on the tablet which appears third person on the TV. When you go into a mine cart level you control the aiming with the gyro controls or control stick while throwing object at enemies, coins and other collectibles. Captain Toad controls very well and runs extremely smooth.
One of the early levels.
Captain Toad is broken up in chapters. Each chapter has roughly 18 levels while the last one has 28. First chapter you play as Toad, second chapter you will play as Toadette and the chapters afterwards is a mixture of the two characters. The objective of each level is to grab coins, treasures and the star at the end of each level to complete it. Rinse and repeat. A lot of the levels are very different and offer some sort of challenge in order to grab all three diamonds. Each level also has a challenge to it in order to fully 100% complete each level. Some of these include collection a certain amount of coins or grabbing a certain item without breaking the bridge, etc... This adds a nice little challenge for the completionists out there. Each level is unique with it's own puzzles and charm. My favorite levels were the ones where you have to ride a mine cart and use the tablet to shoot coins, diamonds and enemies.
Big boss battles!
Once you have beaten the game and cleared all the chapters you unlock a bonus mode. This is where you need as much diamonds as possible to unlock these additional modes. One of the bonus levels is playing through the first few levels of Super Mario 3D World but as Captain Toad instead which makes the gameplay very interesting and changes it up a bit. Another one is grabbing and guiding all four toads in each of the levels to the finish in order to complete it. This helps extend the game play and adds a decent amount of reply value to the game. For the low price of $40 this game is definitely worth the time and investment.
Getting the Diamonds are well worth it!
The visuals are very beautiful in Captain Toad. Each level brings a breath of fresh air with different visuals, enemies, and scenery. Captain Toad runs at a smooth crisp 60 frames per second. The in game music is wonderful and some are remixes of the old Mario games. I wish the game was a little bit longer and some of the levels as well. The boss battles were fun but a little bit to easy. Overall Captain Toad is a great addition to the series and hope to see more from this franchise.
Ahhh good ol’ Mario Golf. I have fond memories from playing the very first Mario Golf game for the Nintendo 64. I was so into the game than I even remember one of the cheat codes from when it first came out 10+ years ago. KPXWN9N3 was the code me and my brother memorized and for some reason it is still stuck in my head. Mario Golf for the Nintendo 3DS is another great addition to the series.
Gameplay:
First off there is so much to do in Mario Golf. You can’t decide which mode to choose from first. I personally started with the Mii Castle Club. This mode allows you to gold with your personal Mii character in the game. The point of this mode is to challenge the three different course tournaments and try and get gold on each one. Doing so will reward you with an award ceremony cutscene with the Nintendo characters as well as a gold cup for that course. Winning one of these will also allow you to unlock the use of these courses in the challenge mode and all other modes. On top of that for completing certain goals in any golf game you will unlock a new piece of gear for your Mii character. These pieces of gear are used to upgrade you Mii. It could be to increase your Mii’s power, their sweet spot or control of the ball. So choose wisely and pick the gear based on how you play the game. You can even unlock character costumes to add to your collection for your Mii to wear. Wearing a Princess Peach costume as a man with a beard looks kind of weird. Once you complete the course tournaments you can then take to some challenge competitions to unlock more things for your Mii. Some of them are very challenging but worth it in the end. One other thing I would like to add is when you play in the Mii Castle Club you also earn a handicap rating depending on how well you do. This handicap is very smart because it allows the game to figure out the difficulty for the tournaments.
Great courses.
Another mode is the “Quick Golf” mode. This mode has other modes inside of the selection. Such as challenge mode to earn star coins. When you earn a certain amount of star coins you will unlock courses, and even new playable characters such as Birdo and Kamek. The other options are just basic modes to play if you’re in a hurry. It can be Vs. mode with a CPU character, Stroke Play to play a quick 9 or 18 hole round of golf by yourself and an offline point tourney mode. If you really want to test your golfing skills there is even an online mode where you play against other players. The online feature is really great as you can set your own rules, enter tournaments created by Nintendo to win in game prizes, and even community tournaments that other players make themselves.
In order to purchase the unlockable gear for your Mii characters you will need to buy them with coins. Coins are extremely easy to earn in Mario Golf. You earn them by simply just golfing. There are even courses that you can play where you need to get coins floating around the course which adds to your overall coin pool. With Mario Golf: World Tour there is an option to buy some DLC packs for the game. I highly recommend this because each pack adds a new character and a brand new course to play on. If you buy the season pass you get Gold Mario as a character which is a great way to earn some extra coins. Fantastic buy and really fun, especially for casual players.
Graphics:
The graphics and visuals in Mario Golf are actually really good for it being on the 3DS. All of the character models look fantastic with great animations. Each character has their own unique animation which really adds to the game. The environment on each course is very unique and is never the same. Each course has their own them like bowser’s castle or cheep cheep beach. You will always know which course it belongs too. Costumes look very nice; the customization option for your Mii also is great with a large variety of golf clubs, shirts, golf balls, etc…
Great Items Selection.
The 3D also adds a very nice effect to the game. I personally don’t really care for 3D but I was impressed by it. It adds a whole new perspective when you are golfing and is sometime breath taken. The best times to use the 3D feature are during the golf matches. It gives you a whole new view and the environment surrounds you. I find it really absorbs you into the game more than playing in 2D. Other than that the 3D doesn’t make too much of a difference while walking around or navigating the menus. It is still a nice feature overall.
Soundtrack/Music:
Not really much to say here due to it being a golf game. The music is pretty standard and quite. Nothing really unique about the in game music. The in game sounds are great overall and the menu music is really nice as well. Other than that it’s pretty average, not in a bad way just nothing the really WOWS you with the music.
Dream Team is the fourth instalment of the Mario & Luigi series. The first one came out for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and it was called Superstar Saga. In 2005 the second one came out for Nintendo DS called Partners in Time. Then in 2008 the third one was release for the Nintendo DS which was called Bowser's Inside Story. Then finally the current game known as Dream Team came out on Nintendo 3DS on August 11, 2013 called Dream Team. Overall all of the Mario & Luigi games have been very well done and have all been well received.
Dream Team is on a whole new platform and introduces some new and exciting game play for 3DS holders. There are a couple of major things that I enjoy in the series that keeps me coming back for more. Those are; the length of game play (usually over 30 hours), the humour, RPG genre, side quests, and Luigi. Luigi has always been my favourite character and he has a big role in Dream Team. He has always made the game very enjoyable with the character he portraits in the series. Luigi is always the scared and clumsy type in the series which provides a ton of laughter. The length of the game is always just right, and the difficulty towards the end always gets higher the further you go. Some of the bosses provide a nice challenge.
Giant Battle!
Dream Team starts off like a typical Mario game where Princess Peach gets captured and you have to save her. With Dream Team they added another new mechanic. Luigi has the power to fall asleep in certain areas and open up dream portals. These dream portals allow access to the dream world which provides the typical 2D platformer game play from classic Mario games. While the real world provides 3D open world game play. A fantastic mixture. Dream Team also introduces Giant Battles like in Bowser's Inside Story. You can only turn giant in the dream world as Luigi calls forth multiple copies of himself to save Mario and turn giant. These giant battles are very fun and each giant battle is different. When in a giant battle you mainly play as Luigi but Mario is there to help out with healing, special attack and the finisher move. Everything else is controlled by Luigi.
The dream world didn't interest me a whole lot but it was still enjoyable. One of the mechanics for the dream world are these dream points. To activate these you use Dreamy Luigi to turn into these objects. When Dreamy Luigi turns into these objects they play an important role to solve the puzzles. They can vary from adjusting gravity, turning the world upside down, or even fast forward and slow time. There are others as well. To use these objects or dream points you need to use the touch screen. For example to make a big gust of wind so you can jump farther you need to rotate Sleepy Luigi's nose. To turn the world upside down you need to make sure Luigi is sleeping on a floater and rotate his body upside down or side ways. Really great mechanics.
Dream Portal opened by Luigi!
As for that Dream Team plays like all of the other Mario & Luigi games where you buy new gear, explore, do side quests, gain levels, earn badges and also rank up. The ranking system is back and now goes up to rainbow rank which is level 40. Also new is whenever you rank up you get to choose a new skill to add to your slots. They can be adding an extra gear slot, earning an extra point in any stat when you level, experience booster, increase power, etc... There are also brand new bros. attacks as well as the new dream attacks. Mario and Luigi earn their own separate bros. attacks but are used together like in previous games. Also new to the game are the dream world attacks which are essentially bros. attacks but can only be used in the dream world.
Overall the game is extremely fun with lots to do an explore. There are also small side quests you can do as well as activities. You can go around and find camera boxes, take them back and solve the puzzle to earn some beans. The bros. attacks game is also back where you try and go as long as you can, and a lot more others to be discovered.
One of the Dream Attacks.
Graphics:
The art style is very different compared to previous games in the series. The real world graphics on Mario and Luigi are very different. It looks as if they are almost made of clay. I think the new art style is great and changes it up a bit. The real world is a full 3D environment like in previous games but with the Nintendo 3DS it is a lot more colourful. The dream world is a 2D environment. The backgrounds in the dream world are fantastic, they are colourful and always different. One of my favourite parts in the dream world is while you are walking small flowers and plants quickly sprout up as you walk and vanish. The area where you are in Luigi's dream center is amazing. While you walk you see little Luigi figures running around which small quotes floating in the background.
Boss Time!
The 3D effect in Dream Team is the best I have ever seen on the Nintendo 3DS. The best parts in the game to turn on the 3D is during battles and boss battles especially. Some of the battles require you to run away from the boss or objects and it looks like they are running towards you. I was blown away by the 3D effect that I actually used it. Some of the bros. attacks have an option to turn the 3D effect on or off with the "R" button. If you keep it on you need to use the 3D vision to help you get these attacks "Excellent". The effect is just amazing.
Audio:
Honestly this is probably my favourite part of the game. The audio is so beautiful. I love the soundtrack so much. The boss battles, dream world, Luigi dream center, are my most favourite locations for the soundtrack. When you are in Luigi's dream center it makes you feel sad for Luigi. That is what they are trying to portrait in that location of the game. The soundtrack was so enjoyable I put my 3DS down and just listened to the music. I give Nintendo high props for the music.
The battle music is great as always. The boss battle soundtrack is phenomenal. Overall the audio is fantastic! I had the volume on all the time and even hooked it up to my speakers a couple of times. The final boss battle music is creepy and really makes the experience feel like a boss battle.
Just a sample of the Music.
Conclusion:
Dream Team is the best Mario & Luigi in the series. Every time they release a new Mario & Luigi it is ALWAYS better than the last one. If you are just a fan of good game this is A MUST buy for the Nintendo 3DS. This will be a fast treasure in your collection. The music is outstanding, graphics, game play, everything makes this game what it is. This game made Luigi more of a badass. The ending with the giant boss battle against Bowser showed what Luigi is made off. When Bowser turns giant and attacks them Luigi jumped into the action immediately full of confidence and turned giant to defeat Bowser.
New Super Mario
Bros 2 is the second game for New Super Mario Bros. The original game
debuted on the Nintendo DS hand helds. This one however is now on the
Nintendo 3DS. The original NSMB was a huge hit on the DS because it
was Mario, but Mario remade. It's basically Super Mario Bros. Remade
onto the hand held systems. Everyone loved it. Now we have NSMB Wii
and NSMB WiiU. The game play is your basic Mario plat former. You go
through worlds, each world has a castle with a boss and when you beat
the boss you move onto the next world. Not really much to explain
more about the game play. However I had a few issues with it. Now it
is a fun game don't get me wrong. But this game is missing a lot. The
point in this game is to collect as many coins as possible. This is a
nice new twist on a Super Mario game. They also introduced a coin
rush mode into the game where you play a few levels that have a lot
of coins to collect and a short time limit. The other nice thing
about this one is it has DLC. The DLC content are new coin rush maps,
one they included for free. When you get your one million coin goal
all that happens is you get a new background on the game menu, that's
it. Not really much of an award.
The Tanooki Suit is back!
The issues I have
with this game is it is so plain. The backgrounds, the level designs,
and the overall game play lasts only a couple of hours. Sure if your
a perfectionist like me then you want to try and unlock all the
levels and the star coins. But while your playing through the worlds
or even navigating each world to your next level it's just so plain
compared to NSMB for the Wii or even the WiiU. The environment in the
Wii and WiiU titles are fun, interactive, and adds some life to the
game. Compared to the first one on the DS, they really didn't change
anything at all besides collecting coins. This I found was very
disappointing. It's like they didn't care all to much about this game
because they wanted to boost sales on the 3DS system because it is a
Mario game. Maria game = sells a lot of consoles.
However when you
complete the game you unlock Star world. I like the levels in Star
World but when you beat the game and didn't really focus on
collecting the star coins it's frustrating to try and go through
these levels because it costs a butt load of star coins just to even
go to the first level in star world. I do like how they added that
feature to the game though. They do have a co op mode within the game
as well where you can a friend can connect locally and play the game
together collecting your coins or just plain and simple beating the
game. I am happy they are sticking with the co op route of things
even on the DS systems. Overall the game play is fun, just a bit
upsetting with the lack of effort put into this game and the boring
environments. I would recommend picking up Paper Mario Sticker Star
before this game.
Graphics:
The 3DS uses the
graphics very well in this game. The textures are crisp and it looks
really good. The only problem which was mentioned up above is the
plain environments and bad level designs. Almost all of the levels
had a plain background and was really fast and easy to run through.
Not a whole look of level creativeness in this version of the game at
all. The animations on all of the enemies are great. Like in the
first one the enemies dance to the beat of the music as they are
walking. I still think it's funny when they hop around or swing their
arms to the music.
Co op Style!
Audio:
The soundtrack is
basically the same one used in the DS title. Most of the levels have
a good soundtrack and goes well with the game but it is all just from
the original game. All of the audio in the game is what you'd expect
from any Mario plat former game.
Conclusion:
Overall the game
is fun, just upsetting on the level design and environments. I mean
go watch a video on NSMB for WiiU and compare it to the 3DS version.
I wish I was playing the WiiU version is all I am saying. I do like
the co op mode in the game and how you can also play as luigi. I also
enjoyed the Coin Rush mode which you unlock after the first world is
beaten. They have also included a free DLC coin rush map pack for
free for a limited time to celebrate the anniversary of Mario. This
map pack is known as the “classic map pack” because you play re
designed levels from the original Mario games. They are also fun. If
you are debating between NSMB or Paper Mario Sticker Star I recommend
you pick up Sticker Star before this game.
Genre: Racing Release Date: December 4, 2011 Reviewed: Feb. 2/12
Gameplay:
Mario Kart 7 is the seventh instalment in the Mario Kart series. This time it is coming to the handheld, the Nintendo 3DS. May I add that it is a fantastic addition to the series. Mario Kart 7 plays like all other Mario Kart games ever released. There are a couple of new additions to the game like parachutes or para sales. These are only activated when driving over a rainbow colored (<----Canadian) boost arrows. When driven over you sore in the air and your parachute is activated and you take the race into the skies for a few seconds anyway. There are other great features added to the game to keep the interest level high. You can use the built in gyro controls within the 3DS system to steer in Mario Kart 7. While your racing in some of the courses you will notice that there are coins scattered everywhere throughout the entire track. You can only get 10 coins per track but these coins to provide a use for the game. When a certain amount of coins are collected you unlock extra vehicle parts to customize your kart. Each unlockable part provides some sort of stat to your vehicle such as speed, handling, weight or even drifting. There are some pretty awesome unlockables like the mushroom wheels. That is not all you can unlock though. In addition to unlocking vehicle parts you can also unlock additional characters, up to eight to be exact. Some of these characters include Metal Mario, and Wario. The other characters are up to you to find out ;). As usual there are 16 new maps added to the game and 16 old maps from previous mario kart games added to the game as well. I was pretty happy to be able to race on Koopa Beach again. With the old maps added they didn't just port over the old maps over they actually added boosts or updated some of there areas on the map. They even added some shortcuts.
Once you have received all of the trophies in the game and unlocked all of the characters they brought the famous and flawless multiplayer back. With this multiplayer they added features like creating or joining community groups and racing with people in the group. Overall the online experience in Mario Kart 7 is as fun as it's always been with the previous Mario Kart games. There are only a couple of things that annoy me in Mario Kart 7. When your racing on 150cc or Mirror Mode the computers are constantly using Blue Shells which just urks you especially when your right in front of the finish like and you lose due to the shell. Another thing is the shortcut people like to take when your racing with them online in the map Maka Wuhu. You can take a shortcut on this map which skips over half of the course. One other thing is the overall music quality in the game isn't all that impressive compared to the other Mario Kart games. One of the maps "Neo Bowser City" takes a msuci from past games and combines them into one.
Graphics:
The graphics in Mario Kart 7 are great. The game really uses the power of the 3DS to make the game lively and colorful. The graphics are roughly the same as compared to the Wii version but much better than the DS version by far. Of coarse you have your occasional 2D background environments but most of it is all in 3D and looks fantastic. The 3D is something I would not recommend. With the 3D you will be moving your head a lot with the game due to the racing, especially if your using the gyro controls. It will end up giving you a huge headache and hurting your eyes. It's nice to have on once in awhile just to see the 3D but it is not recommended that you keep it on for long especially when your racing. Overall the graphics are great.
Audio:
The Audio in Mario Kart 7 overall is well done. There are some courses where the music just makes no sense and drives you crazy because of the annoyance but overall the music experience is pretty good. One level I mentions above earlier "Neo Bowser City" takes some music from previous games like "Toad's Turnpike" from the N64 version and combines them into one for "Neo Bowser City". The other maps are retro maps so they have the original music from the previous Mario Kart Games. Overall excellent audio.
Conclusion:
Mario Kart 7 is a fantastic addition to the Mario Kart series. As always there is lots to do. Mario Kart 7 will keep you occupied with it's time trials and multiplayer for awhile. I highly recommend this game to anyone, especially the Mario Kart fans. Other then some small minor issues like the shortcut glitch in Maku Wuhu or the endless blue shells of death it is a great experience for anyone. The 3D is not recommended for this game while racing but it is nice to turn on once in awhile to just look at the 3D.
