More superpowers than The Avengers and the Justice League put together!
The game features the usual assortment of Mario items you'd come to expect.
Mushrooms, 1-Up Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Super Stars, and Coins are a given. Small stacks of Coins can even be found tucked away in hidden places, letting players bump up their total coin tally in a neat bundle. There are, however, plenty of new items to collect as well!
Here are the highlights of the upcoming game.
The centerpiece of the game's item buffet. When Mario and company grabs one of these cat bells they'll don a Cat Suit. Cat Mario is able to scramble up walls, pounce, and slash at enemies with his claws, and quickly race to the top of tree trunks and even the Goal Pole at the end of each level.
This item will instantly clone whomever grabs it, creating a double that will follow in its leader's footsteps. The interesting thing about these fission fruits is that they are stackable, not only with themselves to make additional copies, but with other items like the Fire Flower. Some puzzles require players to keep a certain number of copies alive in order to reach certain points, or to activate multiple switches that have to be pressed at the same time.
In certain levels, some Piranha Plants are stuck in small pots that players can carry. The hungry plant will quickly gobble up smaller enemies in the players path as they carry it through the stage, but beware not to treat it carelessly. We've seen some dropped plants turn and attack the player!
The game features all the different types of item blocks you'd expect to find in a Mario game, but one new type of Brick Block is particularly interesting. Made of purple crystal or glass, a nearby POW Block or bomb blast will start a chain reaction that smashes an entire row in turn.
Calling someone a blockhead would normally be an insult, but not in 3D World. In several recent Mario games we've seen new blocks that attach themselves to Mario's head and bestow interesting new powers, such as a propeller that sends him spinning into the sky and a golden coin block that spits out more coins the faster Mario runs. In addition, two new blocks join the stack with some interesting new powers:
When attached to Mario's head this block gives Mario the ability to fire cannonballs at enemies. Players can also charge up power and unleash a much more devastating attack.
The impact explosion has a large enough radius to take out multiple enemies at once, break bricks, and activate other blocks.
Wearing the Light Box gives Mario a flashlight on his face, which so far has only been shown to provide defense against Boos and other ghost enemies. While mainly appearing in the haunted house levels, it will be interesting to see if this will be used in other ways such as finding the correct path through a darkened maze, or casting shadows.
Defeating certain Goombas will drop a wearable mask.
With this piece of fungus fashion lodged on your noggin, all other Goombas in the area will idly stroll by and ignore you.It is unknown how many levels this item will appear in, as we've only so far seen it in the Goomba hotel stage.
In an awesome throwback to one of the best items in Super Mario Bros. 3, some Goombas in snowy levels will be seen riding in oversized ice skate shoes. Of course, Mario and the gang can hop in and try them out, making for a wild ride across the slippery surfaces. Careful not to fall into pits!
Returning from the New Super Mario Bros. series and, noteworthy to mention, it is the first time this item appears in a 3D Mario title. Unless you're counting the regular Super Mushrooms that worked the same way in Super Mario 64 DS, which we're not.
This allows players to supersize their character and stomp through the level, crushing everything under their feet.
A number of sports-themed items make an appearance in this game, perhaps to pay tribute to the return of Chargin' Chuck (more on him later). This time around Mario is able to pick up baseballs and throw them at enemies as recyclable weapons. Bowser's castles feature large cannons that spit out big soccer ball bombs, which can be kicked around the level to destroy block barricades and attack foes.
A great item for completionists, these rubber stamps are hidden throughout levels and bestow the player with collectable graphics to stick on their Miiverse posts. I'd like to see features like this implemented in future Wii U titles!
Finally, there are a number of items that are too important to skip over. Super Leafs that grant Tanooki powers to the user return in this game, as do the white Invincibility Leafs that assist players who struggle with the more difficult levels. The Boomerang Flower also makes a comeback, allowing players to don the costume of a Boomerang Bro.
Star Coins are nowhere to be found in this game. Instead they are replaced with Green Stars hidden in each level, though some levels may contain more than three stars. Some of the trailer footage reveals large coins with what looks like a key shape engraved into them. We've seen some screenshots depicting small concrete blocks with keyholes in them. These key coins likely allow players to grab the items locked away inside. And finally, since there is a time limit in which to complete each stage, the Stopwatch item also makes an appearance, suggesting that some levels will feature a hectic race against the clock much like in Super Mario 3D Land.
Finally, and possibly the coolest of retro reminders, is that Koopas pop out of their shells when stomped on, just like in Super Mario World. A shelled Koopa will angrily chase down his former carapace dressed only in a singlet and shoes while Mario and the gang can pick it up and make their escape. In a new twist, running whilst holding a stolen Koopa shell will cause the character to dive inside and skim along the ground like in New Super Mario Bros. In the new isometric 3D plane the shell can be steered left and right to take out baddies in its path.
