According To... Lily (Super Mario 3D World)

According to… is a series where we sit down with our kids and talk about the games they/we have been playing. Each article, we will have different questions for them depending on the game and will be answering some of our own that will stay the same. We’re hoping that these questions will help us to explore the potential benefits that games offer children.

This is a special entry in the According to… series, as I will be talking with my three-year-old daughter, Lilith (Lily for short). While she isn’t as grown up as her elder sister, Eris, she enjoys gaming just as much. One of her favorite games has to be Super Mario 3D World, which is the subject of today’s article. Since I’m not a huge Nintendo fan, I have not been following the Italian ̶p̶l̶u̶m̶b̶e̶r̶ hero very closely and have missed out on many of the Mario games.

At some point, we decided it would be a good idea to pick up a Wii U for the family and with it came Super Mario 3D World. Shortly after hooking up the console, it was obvious that both my girls loved the game and would be happy to spend ludicrous amounts of time running, jumping, collecting, and doing all the other wacky things they can within this version of the Mushroom Kingdom. It’s always Lily that asks to play so I decided to ask her a few questions about her experience with the title.

Q: What is Super Mario 3D World?
A: A game with Rosalina and Peach and Toad because he’s cute.

Q: What do you do in this game?
A: I jump around and hide and twirl. But I only play girls because they have dresses.

Q: Do you like how the game looks and sounds?
A: Yes! It’s very colourful and pretty.

Q: Who is your favorite character?
A: Rosalina. Because she looks just like me and I can slam on the ground and spin around. She has my blonde hair and wears blue dresses like me.

Q: Why is it so much fun?
A: Because it’s a Lily game. (Translation: Lily game=game she can play)

Q: What’s your favorite thing to do?
A: Become a cat and crawl around. Cats are so cute.

Q: If you could do anything in the game, what would you do?
A: Beat all the levels and beat all the Goombas.

Q: Could you tell me a story about your favorite time playing?
A: I jumped and slammed on the ground. (Why’d you do that?) To beat all the turtles and Bowser because he’s a meanie.

I think she’s made it clear she’s the destructive one in the family. Even if her answers don’t offer as much insight as I’d like, I’m still happy with her answers. But how do I feel about the game as her dad? These questions should make my feelings pretty clear.

Q: What do I think of Super Mario 3D World?
A: This is actually one of my favorite Mario games simply because i can play with both my daughters and someone else if there’s anyone around. This final player has been the girls’ mother, my best friend, and even a friend of the girls. The title plays wonderfully and offers tons of content to play through.

Q: What is she learning?
A: Unlike other games I’ve featured on this series, I feel like Super Mario 3D World mostly provides basic reflex practice, memorizing what buttons do, and other simple skills platformers offer up. This is handy for Lily since she doesn’t have as much time gaming as Eris.

Q: Do I play with her?
A: Not as much as Eris does. I jump in as Luigi every now and then, but they usually just play as Peach and Rosalina.

Q: Will I let her keep playing?
A: As long as she doesn’t get too mad at it. I made it a point to farm up over 1,000 lives for her to burn through, but she still gets upset when a level is simply too hard.

Q: Are there any negative effects?
A: The only downside I’ve seen is how much she wants to play and when she refuses to give up on the rather difficult late stages.

That’s all from us this time! Lily loves playing Mario and I have no doubt that we will be revisiting and completing this game when she’s a bit older.