![]() That way the last level of the world becomes its ultimate test. Once you get to the King’s Castle and board the Airship, death on the level will cause the Airship to fly away to a different point on the map. That difference lies within the last level of the world – the Airship. However, there is a bit of a difference with Mario 3. There is an obvious parallel to recent Mario games, where a Castle level would allow you to save and just continue your progress from the point as you game over. Once you clear a Fortress, a path opens up on the map, allowing you to move through it even once you lose all your lives, and all previously cleared levels become roadblocks again. However, what's interesting about Castles in Mario 3, is that they provide you with a checkpoint. They act much like Castle levels from Super Mario Bros. Failure doesn't always mean you're stuck on one level. Players who aren't experienced, however, can just go ahead and skip levels they find too challenging or try just one of the levels to get a reward. Better players can go to both levels, while collecting coins, power-ups, and lives along the way. Clearing one of the levels can open up a path to a Toad House. In the very first world, you can go to 1-3 and 1-4, or skip them entirely. The first thing such a map presents you with is choice. In World 1 you walk along hills that dance to the beat of the music, while in World 6 you’re moving through a frozen land covered in ice. The boards are themed, so each World looks and sounds different from its predecessor, which adds to the charm. There are bonuses on the map – Toad Houses and Minigame Houses – which the player can travel to at any time as it's possible to walk through them. Mario can move along the paths to spaces with a level on them, and go further upon beating a level. The map screens of Mario 3 look and behave a lot like a board game. I think maps in Mario 3 are quite unique even nowadays since the game did so much with such a basic concept. ![]() A level select with a themed board around it. 3 introduce the concept to a lot of gamers, but also evolved it over later games.Īmidst all this, it's easy to dismiss Mario 3's maps as something similar and something that we've all seen too many times. That is no surprise, since not only did Super Mario Bros. One of the most famous series that uses map screens is Super Mario. Clock rings, wakes up the bear, bear stretches and moves the ground above him just enough so that you could reach the door to the next level. Upon throwing a clock, it goes to a specific spot near a sleeping bear. For example, one of the badges that you obtain is a clock. However, the presentation is so unique, that animations of levels opening could be described as rewards. The player will have a badge that they can drop to reveal a new level. Upon beating each world the player is returned to a room that looks and plays much like a normal level. However, games that do map screens well usually nail them. Some, like Super Meat Boy, offer just a more interesting version of a level select screen. Of course, not all games do that perfectly. They offer players a natural stopping point and make the levels, which are usually quite abstract, feel like they belong to an actual world. Not surprising, as they're often stylish and interesting, and are way better than plain menus. Nowadays maps like that are common and mostly used in platformers. When speaking about maps, I don't mean those that show your position in an open-world or a dungeon, but those that creatively showcase the world around you in games that consist only of levels or missions. There's something cool about video game maps to me.
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