Exceeding all my expectations of a what a portable Super Mario title could be.

I'm probably not going to blow your mind when I tell you Super Mario 3D Land is totally worth picking up. After all, it's a first party developed Super Mario title, and it's kind of hard for Nintendo to really screw that up nowadays. That said, I'll freely admit to being pretty lukewarm on the game after its initial reveal. All the trailers I had seen led me to believe this was a somewhat slower paced adventure than I was expecting, and the camera view always seemed to be so zoomed in that the game looked restrictive in some way. But I will now freely admit to be utterly wrong, and I'm happy to see my low expectations completely dashed by how damn good this game is.

Super Mario 3D Land is a game that takes elements of Super Mario 64 and mixes them in with parts of New Super Mario Bros. Wii to make something that ends up feeling pretty unique when compared to the more recent console releases. It keeps the World structure of NSMB, along with the three star coins per level theme, but the way the stages are designed feel like they've been heavily influenced by the Nintendo 64 classic. Sure, the character designs are more in tune with the Galaxy series of games, but the stage design clearly is not. And I'm ok with that, because even though I really loved the Galaxy series, I was ready to see something different in a 3D space for Mario. And different is certainly what you get here.

It doesn't have the wide open stages contained in Mario 64, but I'd chalk that up to the fact that one world is divided up into 5 or 6 levels. Each level usually contains a particular hook, like using cannons to travel from one point to another, or making use of a propeller block to glide around platforms. Some stages are just straight up platforming as well, and the controls feel so good on the 3DS for these sections that you'll rarely get frustrated with the compact size. It does feel a little odd to use a run button in conjunction with the slide pad, especially considering analog controls should allow you to adjust speed without it, but it doesn't take long to get accustomed to the set-up.

There's also a variety to the presentation of some stages. One of my favorites involve a series of rooms that are connected in a Zelda like fashion, so each room fills the screen, and you need to navigate a series of traps or enemies before moving into the next with the second room shifting in to replace the last. Another favorite of mine is the 30 second levels, where you start with just 30 seconds to reach the level goal, and need to collect a series of clocks to add seconds onto the timer. That variety goes a long way towards breaking up any sense of monotony you might get from the stages, but really, the stages are so unique from one another that I can't see that ever becoming an actual problem for anyone.

Mario also comes equipped with his usual arsenal of moves, including a back flip and butt stomp. Mario starts off in his Super form, but after being hit will default to a little Mario that becomes hatless. There are a number of suits in the game, with the Tanooki suit being the main focus. And no, the Tanooki suit does not have a flight function, but it does allow Mario to sort of float around after a jump, similar to Yoshi's walking on air animation in other games. The flight function wouldn't have made a lot of sense in the way the game is designed, so it's not something you'll really miss. Besides the Tanooki suit, Mario gains access to a few other suits throughout, some of which were expected and a couple others that surprised me.

The 3D element of the game, as far as the system function goes, looks pretty good. It does help on certain stages to gauge depth a bit better than you can in 2D, and then there are also certain item rooms that actually use the 3D function to help you figure out block placements to jump on. It's not a necessary element though, so if you have trouble viewing the 3D or if throws your eyes into fits, you can safely turn it off and still get everything out of the game that you would with it on.

The game looks absolutely gorgeous on the 3DS, and the colorful stage design goes a long way in making this a great looking game. In the same way the Galaxy series overcame its non-HD shortcomings through a fantastic art style, Super Mario 3D Land overcomes its diminutive screen size by producing eye-popping stages, character art, and animation at every turn. There's also a surprising amount of enemy variety, with a lot of brand new enemies developed for this one title.

And then there's the super-secret surprise of the game that I can't delve into, but I'm sure you'll love it when you come across it. It's rare to see a game actually surprise someone when it comes to content, but Super Mario 3D Land certainly accomplishes that.

If you're on the fence about whether or not Super Mario 3D Land is worth picking up, which I certainly was before I played it, I highly urge you to jump off that fence and check it out day one. I don't tend to throw this little reviewer chestnut out there often, but if there's any game on the 3DS that's worth picking up the system for, it's this game. I'm literally floored by how much I enjoyed it, and I find it quickly rising in the ranks as one of my favorite Super Mario titles.