Wii U

[MegaMooseJam]

I finally got Mario 3D World cleared, so I'll be heading out after work to see if my local GameStop has Monster Hunter.

Did anyone else (this means you, Jacobus, since you seem to be the only other one with Mario) find that last level to be unnecessarily, but satisfyingly difficult?
Seriously, the lives I lost in that stage alone had to be over a hundred. ^.^

[Lord_Jacobus1]

I didn't reach it yet. I'm still at the second Boom Boom fight.

[MegaMooseJam]

Is that what that guy is called?
Hahaha. I had no idea.
(I knew the ninja one was called Pom Pom, at least.)

Ah. Such sadness.
As a heads up, the game gets pretty crazy after world 6.
There seemed to be a pretty significant difficulty spike to me, anyways. ^.^

[Lord_Jacobus1]

There's certainly a Green Star spike. You need 170 to reach the final battle against Bowser!

[MegaMooseJam]

I did notice his Star Lock required a higher percentage of collected stars,
but I was grabbing them all as I went so I didn't pay it much mind.

[Lord_Jacobus1]

Well, I'm not very good at finding stars. I wish there were more Captain Toad levels. Those always net 5.

[Luna Pixu]

This is one of my major complaints about Super Mario 3D World. The Star Lock which forces you to go back on levels to find more stars. I can understand it in Super Mario 64, Sunshine and the Galaxy games. But for a very linear game that plays like a 3D version of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it does not work. In fact, it frustrates me to go back on levels that never have any change to them just because of a collectible. If I were doing it for completionist runs, then I could understand. But collecting green stars is mandatory in that game and is needed to progress.
Isn't beating the levels at least once enough? Why implement a stupid collectible lock?

[MegaMooseJam]

But! But!
Collecting! How can anyone hate collecting?
I could understand if the stages were like reeeally long or the Stars extremely well hidden,
but in this game, it wasn't bad at all.
(Then again, I'm a guy who happily went back through all the stages up to World Bowser with every character before realizing that multiple people can clear a stage at once.)

[Luna Pixu]

Oh, don't get me wrong. If the actual game is about collecting or that collecting is there to allow for some nice secrets (Sonic Rush for its extra boss and true ending), then I can understand and would openly welcome it. For example, Banjo Kazooie. But the green stars seem extremely out of place. The formula of traditional Super Mario Bros. does not work with collectible locks. Super Mario Bros. is a linear series (but can have its secrets) that you expect to progress through by just beating the stages. Collectible locks can be annoying and frustrating for the user if introduced and handled badly. A prime example of this is if one is forced to redo numerous stages in order to get past the collectible lock. This can be mitigated if the locks are lenient or if there are wide variety of stages with a lot of collectibles prior to the lock. Super 3D World does not use collectible locks well from what I have seen. I could be wrong on that.

[MegaMooseJam]

Before I begin, I'd like to say that Banjoo-Kazooie is great, and you're great for having mentioned it.
I'm getting a good picture of what you're getting at now, too.
In games with more open levels it's a lot easier to have collectibles because it makes exploring the level more interesting,
but in extremely linear games, like this one, having to check for extra nooks and crannies is more banal than fun, yes?

I'd have to agree, then.
Mario 3D World's use of Green Star Locks is sub-par, and if you weren't already looking diligently for them,
having to go back and search can be a pain.
The only thing in this game that can truly be considered a "reward" for collecting instead of just a "roadblock" to overcome
would have to be the final bonus world, which requires all prior Green Stars, Stamps, and Gold Flags to access.