SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD + BOWSER'S FURY: FOUR PLUMBERS, ONE CAT SUIT, AND A GIANT ANGRY KING
9.0 of 10 bananas. The best four player 3D Mario ever made, rescued from the Wii U, plus Bowser's Fury, a short open area experiment that points at Mario's future. Elite co-op chaos with small scars: the camera is fixed and Fury is over in an afternoon.
By the Alpha. Switch cartridge listing. Updated Oct 28 2026.
Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch only (developed and published by Nintendo, released February 12 2021; 3D World first came out on Wii U in 2013). It also runs on Switch 2. The Amazon button is the US Version Switch cartridge. At my Oct 28 2026 check it was sold by a third-party seller named Click4Fun and shipped by Amazon, a little under the original 59.99 dollar price. Sellers and prices change, so look before you pay.
Get Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury for Nintendo Switch on AmazonStore check, Oct 28 2026: new copies on offer from a third-party seller, Click4Fun, shipped by Amazon. Prices and sellers change, so look before you pay.
Sit with me a moment. Four apes, one couch, one level with a clock ticking down. Somebody grabs the cat bell, somebody else picks up a friend and throws him off a ledge, and the whole troop is screaming and laughing at once. That is what this game does to a living room, and it has been doing it since the Wii U nobody bought.
What It Wants To Be
Super Mario 3D World is a level based 3D platformer for up to four players. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad, plus Rosalina once you unlock her, run through short obstacle courses on a map, climbing walls in the Cat Suit and racing to the flagpole. The Switch version adds online play and faster character movement. Bowser's Fury is a separate new game in the same box: one open lake world where Mario collects Cat Shines while a giant, furious Bowser rises from the water on a timer and wrecks the place. A second player can join as Bowser Jr.
What Works
Critics sat it in the high 80s on Metacritic, and the praise is easy to understand. Every level throws a new idea at you and then leaves before it gets old. The Cat Suit is one of Mario's best power ups. In co-op, the game becomes a friendly fight for the crown, and the faster Switch movement fixes the old Wii U sluggishness. Bowser's Fury is the surprise: a compact open world where you choose your own order, and where the storm and the giant Bowser turn a calm sandbox into a panic.
What Breaks
Listen well. The camera in 3D World is mostly fixed, so depth can fool you in four player chaos and someone always falls. Online play works best with friends, not strangers. Bowser's Fury is short, roughly five hours for the credits, and the Bowser Jr. role is weak for the second player. And it is still an old Wii U game at a near full price, so a fair seller price matters.
Who Should Play
Play it if you have a couch and three friends or young apes, or if you want the most generous 3D Mario after Odyssey. Skip it if you only play alone and already finished Odyssey and Wonder; the co-op is the heart here.
STRENGTHS
- Brilliant level design that never repeats
- Best four player Mario on a couch
- Cat Suit is pure joy
- Bowser's Fury is a bold extra
HONEST COSTS
- Fixed camera fools your depth
- Bowser's Fury is short
- Weak Bowser Jr. co-op role
- Old Wii U game near full price
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