Super Mario World Review

I want everyone to think about the '90 for a moment.  Back then, games were jumping into a new type of technology, which lead to the Great Bit Wars.  This caused lots of competition between companies.  Furthermore, one of gaming's greatest rivalries was created, which was SEGA V.S. Nintendo.  Even to this day, people still debate whether the SEGA Genesis was better than the Super Nintendo and vice-versa.  As SEGA emerged with Sonic the Hedgehog on the Genesis, Nintendo decided to let their mascot Mario step up to the 16-bit plate and prove SEGA's famous phrase, "SEGA does what Nintendon't" wrong.  This is Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo.  This game was released on November 21, 1990 for Japan, August 13, 1991 for the United States, and April 11, 1992 for Europe.

Story

The story is as simple as any other Mario plot.  Mario is on vacation with Luigi and Princess Peach on Dinosaur Island.  As the brothers are napping, the princess disappears.  After searching for many hours, they come across a giant egg, which reveals Yoshi, a young dinosaur from the island.  Yoshi tells them that his friends have been captured by turtles.  The brothers realize, which shouldn't have taken so long, that King Koopa (now Bowser) and the Koopalings are behind this evilness.  Then, our adventure begins.  Save Princess Peach once again and Yoshi's friends, and bring peace back to Dinosaur Island.

Gameplay

Super Mario World, just like most Super Mario Bros. games, are platformers.  You start off at Yoshi Island, and you keep going forward through Donut Plains, Vanilla Dome, Twin Bridges, the Forest of Illusions, Chocolate Island, the Valley of Bowser, and the Star Road.  Yoshi joins you in this game, and you get to ride him like a horse.  He basically can eat most enemies and grab items with his tongue.  If you get hit while on Yoshi, he'll run around back and forth and hopefully not into a pit.  One factor that kept me hooked was the multiple exits.  In this game, levels are indicated by yellow or red dots.  Yellow dots mean that the levels have only one exit, while the red dots represent multiple exits.  It's really fun to backtrack to certain levels to find the multiple and secret exits.

Another factor that let me love this game was the power-ups.  As we know, the red and green mushrooms are back, as well as the fire flower.  The new power-up that appears in this game is the cape feather.  The cape feather is a power-up that you should never let go.  You're probably wondering why I said that.  You should keep it because not only does it let you hover in the air, you can also get some extra range when using your spin attack.  More importantly, if you gain enough speed, you can fly in the air.  This is a fun, but game breaking move.  To do this, start running and as soon as you have max speed, jump.  You'll skyrocket into the air and as long as you're rhythmically pushing the opposite direction you're going on the directional pad, you will stay in the air.

There are boss levels in this game, and they're somewhat easy.  You do fight the Koopalings in each of the different areas, and they're out in three hits.  New to the fray is Reznor and Big Boo, who pop up in secret houses in certain areas.  They are also pretty easy to beat, but if you're short on time, they might be difficult.

New to this game is the Star Road, which is the most fun and difficult levels that the creators made.  All I can say is that Tubular and Awesome will kick you ass if you don't position yourself correctly.  I rather not spoil what happens when you finish the Star Road.

Difficulty

Super Mario World is a pretty mellow game.  I mean that this game has levels that are easy and you'll make it through without dying and levels that are difficult and make want to rip your hair out and burst into flames (I'm looking at you Tubular and Awesome).  It can at times be difficult to find certain exits, especially some of the secret exits.  The reason I say this is because you might need a certain power-up or Yoshi, and you might lose them in the middle of the level.  I don't think anyone wants to start a level all over again.  And then we have Charging Chuck, an enemy in the game who doesn't know what sport he wants to play, apparently can make shadow clones, and be a grade A dick to you.

Graphics/ Sound

The game is nothing but 16-bit glory.  The colors, especially on the SNES, are beautiful and vibrant. You may get distracted just by looking at the backgrounds.  The music is also amazing.  Whenever I think of this game, I think about the bonus stage music.  It's very energetic and it puts you in the right mood.

Final Verdict

In the end, I love this game.  I'm a huge Sonic fan, but I would definitely cheat on him with Mario.  There is so much to do in this game that you won't finish it in one sitting.  Trying to find every exit in the game makes it fun and worth going back to.  I wasn't a huge Mario fan, and I'm still not a huge fan.  However, this game has helped me understand why the Italian plumber is so famous and important to the video game world.  With that said I would love to give this game a 9.5 out of 10.  I highly suggest that you play this game no matter what, and you don't have an excuse not to play it.  

Super Mario World © Shigeru Miyamoto, Takeshi Tezuka, and Nintendo 1990