Something I just recently noticed in Mario games:

In 2D games, lava is deadlier than quicksand.  Lava kills you instantly while quicksand you can jump out of.  I think this is the way it should be since, even though you can't jump out of quicksand in real life, lava is clearly deadlier.

Then we get the 3D mario games.  Suddenly, things get reversed.  Quicksand can kill you instantly, while lava only takes ~1/3 of your life.  I see no reason for this to be switched around.

I know "It's a Mario game and it is not supposed to be realistic", but this change seems kinda weird.  Do you ever think about it?

that is kinda weird. i wonder why they decided to change it

Good observation. I've never thought about that, but I agree with you. Lava should be instant death.

Never once have I thought about this.

I must say that you've made a brilliant observation and completely agree.

That's interesting, never crossed my mind to be honest.

Because you jump on Mushrooms' heads to defeat them. Mushrooms !

If you didnt get what I meant to say ( quite propable ):
It's a gameplay decision.

In 2D Marios you always shrink / die when being hit only once.
In 3D installments you have a life bar. Dying instant on a lava ball would ridicule the whole system.

Now if your alluding to FALLING into lava, that's possibly right.
My explanation would be : You have to play much longer if you die in 3D mario to reach the point where you died, in 2D mario its usually just a few steps from the last checkpoint.

And, for me, the parts in Mario 3D with instantkill quicksand ( not the one you can jump out of ), have always been the most fearsome, dungeon-esque, and deadly parts.
Remember the interior of the pyramide in Mario 64, then compare it to the interior of the volcan - also M64- in the lava level ( you jump into a little aperture and land inside the volcano )

In which of both did you feel more scared ? - For me its clearly the pyramide

- Would be my way of explanation, in the end its a pure gameplay decision. Noone wants to die instantly when falling anywhere ( those quicksand spots have always been very rare ) - just imagine all the casuals :)

Haha I love how you made your mind up about this, shows you were really thinking about Mario games lately

And yes, I was also way more scared in the pyramid than in the volcano, especially when collecting 100 coins... one wrong step and you start with 0 again.

I guess they thought it would make it too difficult

Though to be fair, lava *was* instant death in Sunshine. That's what made Corono Mountain so tough (that and that boat was almost completely unsteerable)

wow, now that you mention it, it is kind of funny...