Up to four concurrent players may control player characters, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, and the unlockable Rosalina.
The game levels play similarly to those of Super Mario 3D Land, which combine the free-roaming gameplay of the Super Mario franchise's 3D games with the mechanics of its 2D side-scrollers, including a timer and a level-ending flagpole. An enhanced port with additional content, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, was released for the Nintendo Switch on February 12, 2021. The game was a financial success, with more than 5 million units sold worldwide and becoming the second best-selling game for the Wii U. Super Mario 3D World was acclaimed for its level design, presentation, replay value, and soundtrack, though some reviewers decried its unreliable camera in the multiplayer mode. The game features a character selector as well as introducing a power-up called the Super Bell, which turns the player into a cat, enabling them to climb walls and use a scratch attack. The gameplay is similar to previous installments of the series, with players passing through individual levels to reach Bowser. The game follows Mario and friends attempting to rescue fairy-like creatures called Sprixies from Bowser, who invades the realm known as the Sprixie Kingdom. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the Super Mario series, the sequel to the 2011 Nintendo 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land. Super Mario 3D World is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in November 2013.