"Meow what is so damn funny?" "I could have sworn you said meow."

When I started playing Super Mario 3D Land, I described it as a middle-ground between the simplicity and accessibility of New Super Mario Bros., and the deeper and more intricate levels and mechanics of Super Mario Galaxy -- and a fun experience, while it lasted, but ultimately not deep or varied enough to keep my attention. If only the power-ups were more engaging, the levels were more diverse, and the narrative backdrop was at least slightly entertaining. And if this hypothetical game was multiplayer to boot? well that would make up for the feeling of complacency in last year's New Super Mario Bros. U. Yeah, in case this wasn't clear already, Super Mario 3D World is this hypothetical game; and yeah, it is pretty damned awesome.

Admittedly, I haven't tried the game solo yet, and the multiplayer Marios for Wii and Wii U were a lot less exciting without friends. So I'll need to tackle this question at some point.

But even as a team, 3D World feels more like a good 3D Mario game. Being in three dimensions, you'll almost never find yourself fighting with other players just to move forward (unless you intend to); and the levels are littered with optional warp pipes, warp blocks, and green stars - though you will need some of these - which support a greater sense of variety and non-linearity than other recent Marios. It's a bit of a shame that, while you can run around the overworld map freely, there isn't anything to do except select levels; but, this is at least more fun than a regular menu.

The much-vaunted cat power-up shows up a lot, but manages to avoid wearing out its welcome: climbing walls feels like a genuinely transformative Mario move, and many levels are designed with verticality specifically for it. I haven't picked up as many Double Cherries as I'd like; rampaging around with an army of jumping clones is one of the best Mario powers yet, right up there with the Godzilla-sized Mega Mushroom (which also reappears in 3D World).

This is a great Mario game, and a great party game -- and the Wii U's best attempt yet at a serious killer-app.

Progress: Bowser's Funland