Super Mario 3D Land Dared To Embrace 2D Mario In A 3D World

Summary

Super Mario 3D Land is celebrating its 15-year anniversary today, November 13, 2026. Below, we examine how 3D Land was a true iteration of the classic 2D Mario formula. I remember when the first preview images of Super Mario 64 began circulating in gaming magazines. The thought of playing a Mario game in THREE DEEEEEE blew my tiny 8-year-old mind. While the final game was absolutely wonderful, it wasn’t quite what I had in my head when I thought about Mario gameplay translated into three dimensions. The worlds were vast and open-ended. Instead of running and jumping toward the goal, players…

Description from GameSpot.