A lot has been said about Super Mario 3D Land’s (ugh, that title) use of the 3D display. Yes, it makes platforming easier as you can more accurately judge distances thanks to the Nintendo 3DS’ fancy screen. Something I haven’t seen mentioned is the in-game 3D toggle. Unlike the 3DS’ hardware toggle that varies the amount of 3D output on the screen, 3D Land has its own toggle that changes the way the game is presented in 3D. More
In John Gaudiosi's interview with the Avatar director:
People apply these sort of artificial arguments, "Oh, well this is going to be good in 3D but this doesn't really need to be in 3D." But the entertainment industry spent twenty years arguing about what should or should not be in color and then color TV came along and everything was in color. Every movie was in color, every TV show is in color and we never went back. I think that that's what 3D is going to be like.
You make a good point there, Jimmy...I can call you Jimmy, right?
I have seen one 3D movie at the theater and I came away unimpressed. Fast-forward to my time with the 3DS and I feel completely different. Its not simply 3D for the sake of having things pop out at you. It is additional information being transmitted to your brain that helps you better understand what you are seeing. The added depth that comes from flipping that little 3D switch to 'on' comes across as more detail and clarity just as HD was to SD. Turning it back off is jarring and the loss is noticeable.