One of the best platforming games in the last decade was Super Mario 3D World, but it fell under-the-radar since the Wii U platform it was on did not sell well. This made the release of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on the Nintendo Switch that much more exciting, as a much bigger audience will get to experience the game.
Not only do players get to experience all eight main worlds and the collection of bonus levels, but new and returning players have now gotten to experience a new open-world format in Bowser's Fury. Both games have an amazing amount of detail throughout, which means it's easy to not find everything that is in the game.
10 Lake Lapcat's Endless Cat Collection
This may not seem like a hidden detail because Bowser's Fury really pours the cat motif on throughout the adventure. However, it is worth noting how literally every single element of the game is in some way associated with a feline. Every enemy in the game (with exception to Fury Bowser himself) has cat ears, with some even being stylized with tails and fur. Even the objects have cat ears, such as the flags waving at the top of lighthouses or the keys used during the "Key to the Cat Shine" missions. Look closely at everything to see if a cat reference is there.
9 A New Look For Stamps
Stamps are a key part of the collect-a-thon that is Super Mario 3D World. However, they did serve a purpose as these stickers could be used in posts on the Miiverse discussion boards. Those who played on the Wii U will know these stickers were black and white. The Switch version has given these stamps more life by giving them color. In the remake, there is no more Miiverse but the stamps can be used in Snapshot Mode, so their colorful nature can even further enhance a photo.
8 Unique Load Screens
Load screens are never something a game wants to bring attention to as players tend to hate them. However, Nintendo does what it can to make waiting for the game a little less boring than staring at a blank screen.
Bowser's Fury has four unique load screens that involve 8-bit sprites of significant figures of the Bowser's Fury adventure. In the bottom right, players will find Mario, Fury Bowser, Bowser Jr., or Plessie doing some sort of animated action. It's a fun detail that adds a little charm to the otherwise dull process of waiting.
7 Characters Move A Little Faster
Playing multiplayer in Super Mario 3D World is a unique experience for each player as every possible playable character has a unique move set that differs between characters. If players are experiencing this game again after playing the Wii U version, they may notice that all the characters are actually moving faster. That's because every character, with the exception of Captain Toad, has been given a 40 percent increase in speed. That means Toad, who is the fastest of the four main characters, travels at warp speed.
6 Bowser Fury's Ode To Predecessors
Mario games will always give fans of the franchise odes to prior installments in the series, so it was interesting to see so much of it in Bowser's Fury. The most obvious of the dedications was Super Mario Sunshine, with the presence of Bowser's Jr, the Shadow Mario "M" in the beginning cutscene, and the emphasis on painting and ink. Cat Shines can be collected in a similar fashion to moons in Super Mario Odyssey, and players only lose coins upon death like the 2017 hit. The "Bully the Cat Bullies" mission is referencing Super Mario 64's "Bully the Bullies" mission.
5 The Game Knows When You Were Invincible
Players can sometimes struggle when playing Super Mario 3D World, but the game will help. After dying a certain number of times, players will see a box with a white and yellow leaf on it. Hit it to get the Invincibility Leaf, which gives Mario the powers of the Super Leaf but with invincibility as well. Players can use this to beat the stage and move on. However, the game subtly shows that the level was beaten with the power-up by having the star, which rests on top of the level's flag in the hub world, not sparkle. To make it sparkle, players will have to beat the level without help.
4 Good And Evil Cats
Returning to the cat theme of these games, Bowser's Fury actually has quite a few cats scattered around all of Lake Lapcat. These cats don't serve too much of a purpose outside of roaming around, but their behavior is interesting.
If Mario is around them, they may scatter away from him. But, if he is wearing a catsuit, they will nuzzle up next to him. This is adorable until the rain starts pouring and Fury Bowser wakes up. At this point, the cats turn into inky creatures that begin to attack Mario, so he should avoid them until the skies clear up.
3 A Second Way To Enter Pipes
The changes between versions of Super Mario 3D World vary but, for the most part, are rather subtle. This means that players may need to actively search for these changes by experimenting with various different mechanics. Upon the release of the game, it was discovered that players can actually enter a warp pipe seamlessly by ground-pounding into it. The Wii U version would have players land normally on top of the pipe, but now the pipe sucks the player right in. This probably makes more sense but was a surprising change.
2 The Hieroglyphs
One of the more beautiful elements of Bowser's Fury is the level architecture throughout Lake Lapcat, which is meant to look like ancient feline ruins that Mario has just stumbled upon. There is a ton of detail here, from the wear and tear of the structures to the obvious cat shapes. But a really cool detail can be seen in the hieroglyphic-like drawings on the structures underneath Slipskate Slope. These don't necessarily tell a cohesive story, but they are a cool design that is fun to look at and dissect.
1 Hidden Luigis
Originally, Super Mario 3D World came out during the Year of Luigi, a Nintendo marketing campaign meant to celebrate thirty years of Luigi's existence. With it came the inclusion of Luigi among the playable characters in the main game. On top of that, however, players could look closely as nearly every single level in the game had a hidden 8-bit Luigi that didn't do anything but merely exist. This was not removed for the remake, so keep an eye out for the tiny Luigis popping out of pipes or chilling on a wall, for instance.