ShareThis
4. Swimming in Air
Notable games: Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land
Swimming in platforming games stinks. Who knows why, but it just always has. Even in great games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Rayman Origins being in the water is never as fun as being on land, and it is often just plain bad. Slow pace, awkward floatiness, and devious enemies are all common, and always make for a frustrating stage. But then New Super Mario Bros. Wii (and possibly some other games before it) had the brilliant idea of scattering floating water bubbles around one of its levels, mixing short swimming sections in with the traditional platforming. Even though the section was short I was pleasantly surprised by this level that had somehow managed to make such a maligned feature feel so fresh and fun. I found myself wanting whole levels built around the idea, suddenly warmed to the idea of swimming in a Mario game. I’ve since seen this idea implemented in a few other games and it has been fun every time. Hopefully we will see something like this in Super Mario 3D World. Fingers crossed!
