Gameplay
Several enhancements are made to the overall gameplay compared to the original Wii U release. For example, all characters except Captain Toad move approximately 40% faster than in the original game, in both levels and the world map. Cutscenes that serve as the intermissions between gameplay are now able to be skipped. Various basic character movements and abilities have been enhanced: for example, characters bouncing off of an enemy while Long Jumping now automatically perform another Long Jump, rather than a standard jump, and characters jumping while facing a wall with no directional input now slide against the wall, enabling them to Wall Jump. Additionally, Side Somersaults are now able to be performed while walking. When carrying objects or other characters, players no longer are required to hold Y; pressing the button again is instead required to throw the object or character. Due to this change, Rosalina can no longer spin while holding an object or character. Throwing distance for objects and characters has also been increased. Performing handstands atop trees has varying distances with directional inputs. When handstanding, characters turn clockwise if the player holds right, and counterclockwise if they hold left, which is reversed compared to the original version. When crouched on a slope, characters remain crouched for about one second before beginning to slide down it, rather than sliding the moment they touch the slope. When jumping while crouched and sliding down a slope, characters now perform a Long Jump instead of a regular jump. Rosalina has some tweaks to her gameplay: her jump is slightly less floaty and she lands slightly faster.
Gameplay improvements inspired from
Super Mario Odyssey are implemented in the game. In addition to four save files now being present instead of three, they are saved, loaded, and copied in the same manner as in
Super Mario Odyssey. Characters can now roll in midair, similar to the dive, and they can perform a roll or Ground Pound Jump immediately after landing from a Ground Pound. Characters can also fall through upright Warp Pipes when performing a Ground Pound through the center from above. Similarly, characters now enter sideways Warp Pipes immediately when rolling through the center without their momentum being interrupted. The sped-up variant of the Warp Pipe sound effect from
Super Mario Odyssey is reused upon entering Warp Pipes in either of these ways.
To accommodate for the change in character speed, some levels, such as Conkdor Canyon, have had minor alterations to the objects within them. Some general improvements include changing behaviors and properties of various objects and camera controls. Rows of coins triggered to appear by collecting certain lone coins finish appearing faster than in the original game. The camera no longer zooms if the player remains idle in some areas, such as the beginning of Piranha Creeper Creek, and the idle zoom does not reset if the player presses Y as it does in the original release. If players lose a life after collecting a Green Star or a Stamp, they keep it instead of having to collect it again; this does not apply to Captain Toad's levels, however. The Goal Pole can no longer be jumped over, as characters now snap to the top if they attempt to pass it.
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The Propeller Platforms from the Wii U version (top) have been replaced with standard Lifts in the Nintendo Switch version (bottom). |
Power-ups have also received improvements and alterations to their functionality. Green Shells can no longer be occupied idly; the shell always slides in the direction the user is facing when entered, but it can be stopped by the touch cursor. They also move faster than in the original game. Fireballs move faster and cover a longer distance. They also have a slightly different angle when thrown. The Cat forms now allow characters to climb higher. Additionally, the form's claw dive continuously dives until the character touches the ground, similarly to
Super Mario Maker 2, though it does stop eventually at extremely long distances. For characters in the Tanooki Suit, the window to perform a charge jump while crouched during a tail spin is now much smaller, and most attempts are cancelled out by a normal charged jump instead. It is also more difficult to perform a Long Jump while using a tail spin, as it is usually cancelled with a normal Long Jump.
In the world map, the yellow path that connects levels is created more quickly when a new level is unlocked. After exiting a level, the player regains control of the characters quicker, as the game now saves in the background. Switching between the map, course list, and Stamp chart is now done by pressing the L and R buttons, rather than buttons on the screen.
Multiplayer mode now supports both local wireless and Nintendo Switch Online connections. Up to two players can play on a single system in local wireless mode. In these modes, entering a bubble to rendezvous with other players can now only be performed by pressing L and R together instead of either one alone. Captain Toad's Adventures can now be played with up to four players, unlike in the original release where these levels were single-player only. For these levels, additional players play as the Toad Brigade members, with all players being able to select one to play as before a level begins. Similarly to normal levels, the game ranks each player's points in multiplayer in the Captain Toad levels as well, though the winning player does not get a crown.
Improvements and alterations introduced in
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker are retained in the Captain Toad levels for this game. Captain Toad's headlamp can now defeat Boos and Peepas, similarly to the Light Box. The pause menu now features the ability to retry a course, rather than having to return to the world map to do so. In TV mode, gyroscopic pointer controls replace the touchscreen controls of the Wii U version, which are activated by pressing R, and an emblem of the character controlling the pointer is present. Due to the lack of a microphone on the Nintendo Switch console, Propeller Platforms have been replaced in every level where they appeared; they are replaced by Lifts in Captain Toad Goes Forth and Puffprod Peaks, invisible clouds in Blast Block Skyway, and Touchstones in Captain Toad's Fiery Finale.
Luigi Bros. can now only be unlocked by defeating Meowser in The Great Tower of Bowser Land; having
New Super Luigi U save data on the system through ownership of
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe no longer unlocks it from the beginning. There is also now an option to quickly exit to the title screen from
Luigi Bros., as opposed to being forced to exit to the Home Menu.
Functionality for amiibo has been added. A complete list of functionalities for them can be found in the corresponding section.
Due to the lack of Miiverse on the Nintendo Switch, Miis no longer appear on the overworld nor when revisiting a cleared stage, and Stamps are now used as decorations for the new Snapshot Mode, which is similar to the one seen in
Super Mario Odyssey.
Aesthetic
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The graphics and user interface in the Wii U version (top) and the Nintendo Switch version (bottom). As you may notice, the camera angle has also been changed at the start of this level. |
The user interface has received minor changes. The Item Storage has been revamped with a dark translucent circle and new button icons. The interior shadows and the "×" icon between the images and numbers in the UI for lives and coins have also been removed. The pause menus have a different interface, with the UI being smaller than in the original
Super Mario 3D World.
Some of the visual effects have changed in terms of character movement. In some shallow pools of water, such as the beginning area of Pipeline Lagoon, characters now walk on the seafloor instead of floating on the surface of the water, and the camera stops following their movement while they are doing so. Another change to the underwater movement is that the cat scratch attack has a new animation when used underwater. All characters now have a brief start-up animation when beginning to walk that was not present in the original
Super Mario 3D World. If a Captain Toad's Adventures level is completed as a character in their small form, their victory pose is with their mouth open, instead of closed as in the original game.
Some of the colors have been changed compared to the original game. Button prompts are red with white characters, as opposed to white with red characters and outlines. When entering a Captain Toad's Adventures level, the loading screen is red with dark red spots instead of white with red spots. The images of Stamps are now colored, rather than being black and white, and they are more spread out on the Stamps page.
A few visibility effects have been changed. A light source on top of the broken Koopa Chase in The Great Tower of Bowser Land has been removed, and the rain particle effect in said level is now slightly more visible. At the end of the swimming section in Champion's Road, the Clear Pipe becomes invisible within the moving body of water.
Changes have been made to how text and icons are presented. The typeface used for menus and general text has changed from Seurat to Rodin NTLG, which belongs to the same font family as the typeface used in
Super Mario Odyssey and
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. On the world map, the Sprixie Princess' "Help!" text before a world's castle is completed has been changed to "HELP!" During gameplay, touch input prompts now show only a hand, instead of a hand with the Wii U GamePad. The English version of the game always shows the American spellings and namings for all subjects, rather than having different spellings and namings for certain subjects depending on the game's or console's region.
In the original version, jingles in the following pitches play after collecting each Red Coin in a group of eight: C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G. This has been changed to a more natural progression: C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G.