Super Mario 3D Land

Super Mario 3D Land is a video game for the Nintendo 3DS published by Nintendo and developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo (Super Mario Galaxy series). It was unveiled at GDC 2011.

Gameplay
From the 2D video games are present in Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS. Collecting stars, which since Super Mario 64 has been a prominent feature of the 3D games, has been omitted from the game in favor of the flags from Super Mario Bros. Other features from the 2D games that have made their transition to the 3D series include, for the first time, time-limits, short/big Mario, running by holding down a button, extremely linear and relatively short stages, and levels and items based heavily on the Super Mario Bros. series such as the Tanooki Suit.



Powerups in Super Mario 3D Land include Super Mario, which increases Mario's size and health, Fire Mario, which allows Mario to shoot fireballs, and Tanooki Mario, which allows him to perform a spin attack and flutter in the air. Nintendo has admitted that despite the fact that Mario could fly with the Tanooki Suit in Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES, this power is not present in Super Mario 3D Land due to the complications of flying in a 3D environment (note: 3D as in the game world and not the handheld's 3D visual effects).

In celebration of the twenty fifth anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series, Yoshiaki Koizumi has revealed that a special stage can be found in Super Mario 3D Land that centers around major aspects of franchise. Very little of the stage was shown during a roundtable, but Shigeru Miyamoto teased the crowd by questioning what could be found in a particular room.

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi

Bosses

 * Bowser
 * Fake Bowser
 * Boom Boom
 * Pom Pom
 * Dry Bowser
 * a Small Mario Cosmic Clone
 * A larger version of the aforementioned clone

Supporting

 * Peach
 * Toads

Mario Transformations

 * Small Mario
 * Super Mario
 * Fire Mario
 * Tanooki Mario
 * Invincible Mario
 * Boomerang Mario
 * Statue Mario

Power-Ups

 * Super Mushroom
 * Super Leaf
 * Fire Flower
 * Star
 * Invincibility Leaf - Grants invincibility and appears if Mario dies five times in a level.
 * Boomerang Flower
 * Propeller Mushroom

World 1
World 1 of Super Mario 3D Land is a grassland area that features tall mushroom hills and flowers. As this is the start of Mario's adventure, the levels of World 1 are rather basic.
 * World 1-1: A grassland level with many colored blocks. This level features Cheep-Cheeps, Goombas and the new Tanooki Goombas
 * World 1-2: An underground area, which features a Super Mario Bros. World 1-2 Warp Zone-like area. This stage's featured music is the Super Mario Galaxy remix of the Super Mario Bros. underground theme.
 * World 1-3: A Mountain stage where Mario jumps in a rainbow Music Block and is sent to a location similar to Coin Heaven.
 * World 1-4: An area where Mario rides a platform down rails.
 * World 1-Castle: A lava area with Firebars and small dragons where Bowser is fought.

World 2

 * World 2-1: A plain with many stones and grass. This level features a new overworld theme also heard in the trailer for the game and has similarities with the Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario Bros. overworld themes.
 * World 2-3: Giant 8-bit platforms, representing Mario and a Super Mushroom from Super Mario Bros., much like Toy Time Galaxy and Mario Squared Galaxy. The last part of the stage is designed after a Super Mario Bros. ground stage.
 * World 2-Airship: A level with many airships. At the end, Boom Boom is battled. The stage's music is the Super Mario Galaxy remix of the Super Mario Bros. 3 airship theme, and the Boom Boom battle music is Peewee Piranha theme from Super Mario Galaxy 2.

World 3

 * World 3-2: A water stage with Blooper and Cheep-Cheeps.
 * World 3-3: An area with many Donut Lifts. The background walls are made of yarn.
 * World 3-5: An area made of cookies with Para-Biddybuds.

World 4

 * World 4-1: A forest area with many large trees and a giant tree trunk with Biddybuds.
 * World 4-3: A Spooky area with a Big Boo.

World 5

 * World 5-2: A dungeon-like level with Spinies that is played from an overhead view, as a homage for the 25th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.

World 6

 * World 6-1: A tropical island area with palm trees and large waterfalls.
 * World 6-3: A haunted house stage with blue Timers and a Big Boo.

World 7

 * World 7-2: A desert area with enemies hiding in the sand.
 * World 7-Airship: This is where Pom Pom is battled.

Development
When the Nintendo 3DS was announced, Nintendo revealed several spin-off Mario games but offered very little information regarding the new Mario game on the system, merely saying that it was in development. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto teased interviewers with possibilities of a 3D Mario, but usually reiterated the fact that a 3D Mario would assist players in knowing where certain objects floating in the sky were, which according to him was a fault of games such as Super Mario Galaxy. At GDC 2011 Nintendo revealed Super Mario for the 3DS, showing off four images and the game's logo, as well as the developer of the game. President Satoru Iwata, who revealed the game, noted that more information on it would be shown off at E3. At E3 Nintendo released a trailer for the game and had a playable unit on the showfloor with four stages. A press release by Nintendo on July 28, 2011, confirmed the title to be "Super Mario 3D Land" along with the official title of the 3DS's Mario Kart title, "Mario Kart 7".