Best 3D Mario Game

[lestatdark]

Almost finished World 6 on SM3DW, so I still have at least halfway to go, but it's been a pretty good enough sample to formulate an opinion about it, so here goes:

My favourite 3D mario, until SM3DW arrived, was Super Mario Galaxy.
While I loved Super Mario 64 and all that it did for gaming back then (I remember buying my N64, booting it up for the first time, spend about 10 minutes playing with Mario's face before actually starting the game and be completely mesmerized by what I was seeing on my room's tiny TV, it was nothing like I ever saw before), Super Mario Galaxy took the concept to a whole new level by adding so much depth, replayability and general improvements for the 3D mario formula which made it superior in my opinion.

Then came Super Mario Galaxy 2, and while it had all the fun of the original plus more, it still just felt like it was an extension, not an improvement, so at best I would put it on par with SMG.

And now we have both Super Mario 3D land and Super Mario 3D world. Both games feel and play fundamentally the same, a 3D mario with firm 2D roots, which is not a detrimental quality to it at all, as I love that formula and can't get enough of both games. Having said that, both games don't feel like true 3D marios to me at all because of that same formula as well, given that in most stages you can't shake the feeling of linearity, which is something a true 3D mario must strive not to have.

So for now, until Nintendo releases a new 3D mario of the likes of SM64, SMS, SMG and SMG2, my favourite 3D mario was and still is, Super Mario Galaxy