Written by Jo�o Pedro Lopes

When Super Mario 64 launched, 3D was a brave new world, running and jumping so free in a polygonal world felt, and indeed was, an enormous step for gaming. Here we are 15 years later and the moustached plumber is coming back to us in a different kind of 3D and promising change yet again.

Now, one of the supposed advantages of stereoscopic 3D is that we'll be able to judge distance more accurately, thus making moving around in a 3D world easier, but truth be told, playing Super Mario on the 3DS I didn't feel like it made calculating a jump all that different. That isn't to say the 3D effect isn't noteworthy, the sense of depth when moving towards the background or foreground is amazing and the simple act of moving through rows and columns of coins was a different visual experience. I don't know if the auto-stereoscopic 3D will make you jump better or not, but it sure looks great, especially with graphics that look pretty close to the Super Mario Galaxy games on a small screen, albeit less detailed and with flatter lighting.

It wasn't the 3D that made this feel like a new breed of Mario though and make no mistake, it does. The line "it's a mix between 2D and 3D Mario" has been thrown around a lot and may seem lazy, but it is indeed a great way to describe the levels present in the demo as the progression was linear despite being completely in three dimensions. The stages were classic Mario: there were grassy hills, some Galaxy-like abstract platforming, the classic underground level and an airship like the ones seen in Super Mario Bros 3. Asides from the latter which was a frantic ride I wasn't completely satisfied with the levels, they were fun, but they were still missing some extra flair or Nintendo magic if you will, something I trust EAD Tokyo to deliver in the finished game. I would be lying if I said I didn't smile when I controlled Tanooki Mario the first time in 3D and fluttered from platform to platform and onto the top of the flagpole at the end of the levels.

The stereoscopic 3D, different viewpoint, level progression and yes, the return of the Tanooki Suit- all these things together and more make Super Mario look like a somewhat different take on the Mario we've grown used to and even though it still felt like there was work to be done, it's hard not to be excited about the latest Mario from EAD Tokyo and Yoshiaki Koizumi.