The timing of this Destructoid article was most peculiar, as I had just been finishing up the “mastering” of Super Mario 3D Land this weekend. Truth told, it was an experience that generated a sort of love-hate relationship with the game, forcing replays in order to unlock the super secret level that doesn’t really reward the player in a meaningful way.

That’s a rant for another day.

The Destructoid article lamented how similar each entry of the New Super Mario Bros. games looks, seeming to make use of the exact same art assets from title to title. While this may not be completely true, the resemblances between the games are uncanny. I don’t know if this is Nintendo’s attempt at making one game available and customized to a variety of different platforms, but it seems as if Nintendo has devised a “Make-a-Mario” kit. The trouble of all that bothersome programming and artwork minimized to allow emphasis on level-design*.

I don’t think that Tony Ponce, writer of the article, takes his analysis far enough. Nintendo is pushing their evolution forward in the realm of 3D, where Super Mario Galaxy is to Super Mario 64 as Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World were to Super Mario Bros.. The entire New Super Mario Bros. line-up is a product of nostalgia. It’s not an effort to push the franchise or the side-scrolling platforming genre forward.

New Super Mario Bros. was specifically designed to make crotchety old bastards, such as myself, stop whining about how Mario was better when he fit on a flat two-dimensional plane. Some of us didn’t really take to the three-dimensions well with our classic favorites (Mario and Zelda), some of our classic favorites didn’t take to three-dimensions well (Sonic), and some franchises just never quite caught on (Mega Man Legends).

Of course, this was just a small portion of its market. Nintendo knew that the original Super Mario Bros. was responsible for introducing a new generation of gamers to the market, but they also knew that a lot of the folks buying a DS and Wii hadn’t played a video game since the original Super Mario Bros. Nintendo clearly came to the realization that there’s an empty hole that all three markets are looking to fill. They all want something like the original Super Mario Bros., a time-tested example of good and accessible game design while providing a challenge to gamers of all ages.

Thus New Super Mario Bros. was born. The play style mostly focused on the original game, but managed to carry influences from Super Mario Bros. 3 as well. The visual aesthetic also pulls in from Super Mario 64, perhaps as Nintendo’s current model of how the Mushroom Kingdom should look. This is why each of the games ends up looking the same. They’ve created a sort of “best of” compilation of design ideas and implement them together.

That’s not to say the games are devoid of new or clever concepts, but for the most part it is all about what they already know works.

Which makes Super Mario 3D Land an interesting hybrid of the two Mario styles. You get the best of both worlds, filled with linear levels that still permit movement and exploration in three dimensions (and I don’t mean of the pop-out-of-the-screen variety). It manages to feel different despite being a complete retread of old ideas.

This is an aspect of the games that Tony Ponce only barely touched on, though. He focused a lot on the visual style of the games and the aesthetics present in the different worlds, but he only briefly mentioned the gameplay. In every New Super Mario Bros. game, and even Super Mario 3D Land, you end each level by trying to hit the top of a flag pole as opposed to switching it up as Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World had managed. We’ve gone back to using the leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3 instead of switching it up with the feather and cape from Mario World and the winged cap from Mario 64.

Nintendo has chosen to simply use old tools to build new games with the New Super Mario Bros. series. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re using the best nostalgia available.

While a lot of folks will make claim that Super Mario Bros. 3 as being the best in the franchise, I have to disagree. I personally favor Super Mario World. Sure, it built off of ideas presented in Mario 3, but it improved on most of the elements that made its predecessor so good and influential.

In particular, the overworld map was more than just a visual representation of a linear track of stages. While Super Mario Bros. 3 had a few short cuts and optional levels, it did not have all the secrets hidden away that Super Mario World had. A primary path through the required levels was on display for the player, but there were also several hidden locations and roads that wouldn’t reveal themselves unless the player discovered the secret locations. Once you hit the second world, levels start having two or three separate goal posts that lead to a number of different locations. This even includes a spot where Mario can always get extra lives and a Yoshi in case things get tough, access to the Star Road which can shorten the journey of Mario considerably, and a back door to Bowser’s Castle.

In the early 90’s, that was absolutely huge and amazing.

Yet it seems as if Nintendo has abandoned most of this excellent charm contained within Super Mario World. The colorful collection of brand new foes, the ever-changing world with all of its secrets and the ridiculous themes across the different worlds have all been cast aside. We’ve never had a 2-D Mario game that has simply felt so huge and carefully constructed as Super Mario World has.

While I enjoyed Super Mario 3D Land, I still can’t help but feel as if it’s merely a shell of what it could be. That’s all because of Super Mario World.

* Let’s face it, releasing a New Super Mario Bros. with a level-generating tool-kit would make for one of the best Mario games ever, and could really help Nintendo show how serious they are with the Wii-U’s and/or 3DS’ online capabilities. The Wiimote, Wii-U touch pad and 3DS touch-screens are all perfect input devices for such a kit.