#36: Super Mario 3D Land (2011)
Last Year: New
After finishing the sublime Galaxy 2, Nintendo EAD Tokyo started their next project on Nintendo's newest handheld. The result was Super Mario 3D Land, a wonderful 3D Mario game that also incorporates many elements from a 2D Mario game (Welcome back Tanooki suit!). With such an interesting combination of classic and new Mario elements, this game was the best of both worlds. But it wasn't just old school and new school, as the 3DS gave the game an added element of being affected by 3D imagery. The game really used this effect in interesting and fun ways, and once again established Mario as a pioneer in different gameplay elements. 3D Land took a while to get going (some would say it took getting to the second playthrough to really get to the game's high point), but the fun was always there. Can't wait to see what EAD Tokyo is up to next.
