How to play Super Mario 3D World on Mac

Game summary

Super Mario 3D World is a 3D platformer action game for the Wii U, and a follow-up of the Nintendo 3DS installment Super Mario 3D Land. The game builds upon the previous installment, following a similar 3D level-design convention inspired from the 2D platformer titles where players must navigate through a linear-designed level within a time limit to reach a level's Goal Pole. One key aspect introduced in this title is the simultaneous multiplayer: while not the first game in the series to do so, it is the first 3D title in the Mario series to incorporate up to four players cooperating with each other to reach the goal. Players can select their character from a pool of playable characters prior to starting the game, and each of these characters have their own unique playstyle that gives them advantages and disadvantages over other characters. The game makes use of several Wii U exclusive features, such as tapping blocks with the touch screen on the GamePad and blowing into the mic to reveal hidden items and blow away enemies. Various new power-ups are introduced in this title, with the trademark suit being the Cat power-up, which enables characters to perform a melee attack, climb up walls, and leap while midair, as well as the game generally having a cat-based theme.
First released: Nov 2013

Play Super Mario 3D World on Mac with Parallels (virtualized)

The easiest way to play Super Mario 3D World on a Mac is through Parallels, which allows you to virtualize a Windows machine on Macs. The setup is very easy and it works for Apple Silicon Macs as well as for older Intel-based Macs.

Parallels supports the latest version of DirectX and OpenGL, allowing you to play the latest PC games on any Mac. The latest version of DirectX is up to 20% faster.

Our favorite feature of Parallels Desktop is that when you turn off your virtual machine, all the unused disk space gets returned to your main OS, thus minimizing resource waste (which used to be a problem with virtualization).

Super Mario 3D World installation steps for Mac

Step 1
Go to Parallels.com and download the latest version of the software.
Step 2
Follow the installation process and make sure you allow Parallels in your Mac’s security preferences (it will prompt you to do so).
Step 3
When prompted, download and install Windows 10. The download is around 5.7GB. Make sure you give it all the permissions that it asks for.
Step 4
Once Windows is done installing, you are ready to go. All that’s left to do is install Super Mario 3D World like you would on any PC.
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