In the neverending debate on which Mario title deserves the immortal status of the best of the bunch, there is no unanimous pick. Whether the basis of the argument stems from a Mario title's impact, influence, or objective quality, almost all of the early 2D Mario games are steep contenders. For many years, the game I fervently argued for was Super Mario Bros. 3., as it is arguably the most impressive sequel of all time. The level of quality SMB3 greatly surpasses the first game in every single aspect. Its quality level also exceeds every other game released for the NES, extending the system's limits that gamers during the NES era didn't think were possible. The game came out early enough in the series to overshadow the impact of the first game, a difficult feat considering it was the savior of the video game medium. Super Mario Bros. 3 is a gargantuan achievement in so many ways that it seems ludicrous to argue against it. However, that is what I'm going to do in this review in favor of its next-generation follow-up, Super Mario World. This is because I've deeply considered Mario's role as the most notable video game series of all time, as a figurehead for the medium. I thought to myself, for those few who have never played a Mario game before, which one would be the most appropriate to start with? The key to Mario is a worldwide appeal, an accessible game that still offers something to more experienced players who yearn for a challenge. Super Mario World is the most appealing early 2D Mario game, and that's why it reigns supreme over the others.
My evidence to back up this claim can be supported by an early commercial for Super Mario World. The emphatic voice-over claims that Super Mario World is "a bit more" than any Mario game that came before it, relating to several familiar aspects from the NES games. Everything mentioned signaled that this new iteration of Super Mario would be a grander experience, but this isn't just because of its inherent nature as a sequel. Super Mario World was also a launch title for the SNES, the advanced new piece of hardware marketed as a direct sequel to the NES that Nintendo issued in 1990. Super Mario World wasn't only meant to prolong Mario's lifespan with another sequel, but to sell the new system. In many ways, the SNES itself was "a bit more" of everything that the NES was. Nintendo used Super Mario World as an example of what the SNES was capable of and why everyone should buy it. Considering the release of a new console is always a milestone for any video game company, the launch title they highlight needs to catch the attention of the consumer. Given Mario's iconic status in gaming, launching the system with him seemed obvious, but Nintendo wasn't just using Mario's reputation to sell the SNES.
As the advertisement stated, everything about Super Mario World was "a bit more" than what people were familiar with regarding Mario. While the ad tried to sway people into purchasing a product, it is undoubtedly correct. Super Mario World is an enhancement in every aspect of the NES games, especially in the graphics department. Until the 16-bit generation, Mario's sprites had never looked crystal-clear. The revolutionary 16-bit sprites highlighted every feature of Mario's body: his eyes, nose, mustache, and red overalls to his schlubby beer gut. The enhanced graphics add a heaping amount of character to the Italian plumber. In the process, between four games in a short five years, Mario transformed from a rendered blob of reddish pixels into looking almost like a human being. The same transformation applies to the familiar enemies from the previous games. The Goombas look less mushroom-like but have more pronounced facial characteristics. The Koopas are bipedal creatures now and they march around like the soldiers they are intended to be instead of crawling reptiles. Sometimes when Mario bonks them out of their shells, the Koopa will get visibly upset and throw his shell back at Mario if he gets a hold of it. It's a small but amusing detail that couldn't have been executed with 8-bit graphics. The Boos will cover their faces with their arms if they catch Mario glancing at them, and the Thwomps have a range of angry faces that signify their mobile positions to crush Mario. New enemies such as the lava creature Blaarg could not be adequately rendered due to the limited graphical capabilities of the NES, so we wouldn't be able to see its demented facial features. Wigglers could've simply changed colors to signify their anger on the NES, but the steam that they expel from their noses coupled with their downward-facing eyebrows do it justice. The only character that is sadly not given more characteristics is Luigi, who is still simply "green Mario" for the second player. The backgrounds are more exquisitely detailed, with an array of clouds, hills, and blue skies making up the backgrounds of the levels. Darker levels set at night are akin to a realistic nighttime sky rather than simply having a black background color. The cave levels have dimmed lighting with the twinkling of minerals in the background.
The graphics weren't the only aspect of the Super Mario series that was enhanced with Nintendo's new system. Mario has never controlled so smoothly as he did with this leap into the next generation. Mario still jumps under blocks with question marks and on the heads of his enemies, but his movement is so much tighter in Super Mario World. In the NES games, the jump detection tended to falter at times due to the restricted mechanics of the NES, but I never felt cheated by a jump that resulted in Mario's untimely demise here because the control was much more fluid. The game also introduces a spin jump move relegated to another button that disposes of enemies more efficiently. The number of power-up items from Super Mario Bros. 3 has been greatly reduced. The mushroom, fire flower, and star from the first game all appear here, but the frog suit, leaf, tanooki suit, and hammer suit are all gone. Super Mario only includes two new power-ups, the cape, and the balloon. The balloon inflates Mario to a comical size as he soars like powerup just involves being filled with helium. The cape acts as an alternative for the leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3. It allows Mario to glide as well as lets him fly upward for a short period. However, no variation of the cape will allow the player to fly through the level with ease. The player has to flutter the cape in mid-air to do such a thing which takes some practice. Overall, the limited number of items compared to the smorgasbord that was presented in SMB3 is a more streamlined approach. This was a better decision on the developer's part as many of the items in SMB3 were either used only once or could've been relegated to one power-up. A smaller number of powerups ensures that every one of them is useful and they are used frequently.
Another new feature that certainly makes Super Mario World more appealing is the inclusion of Yoshi, everyone's favorite dinosaur with a voracious appetite. Mario discovers his first Yoshi trapped in a question box, and this Yoshi claims that Bowser has kept it and his entire race of Yoshi contained in tight boxes and Mario must save all of them. While saving all of the Yoshis isn't a concise objective in the game, Mario encounters plenty of the cute, colorful creatures by hitting item boxes throughout the game. Mario rides around the island on the Yoshis as if they are his collective, trusted steeds. Not only can the Yoshi stomp on enemies like Mario, but they can also use their long, elastic tongues to grab enemies and eat them. If they weren't so damn cute, this would be disturbing. Depending on the color of the Koopa shell a Yoshi has in its mouth, they obtain special powers like being able to fly and spit three fireballs. Another perk of riding a Yoshi is being able to withstand a hit. If the player gets hit with Yoshi, Yoshi will get upset and scurry off, leaving the player with a small chance to mount him again. Don't get distressed over losing him though as the Yoshis seem disposable. I would hope Mario wouldn't bash the head or sacrifice a true companion by having them fall under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, it's obvious why Yoshi is aesthetically appealing, but his inclusion as a playable character gives the game an extra layer of depth to the gameplay.
With the enhanced graphics and gameplay in mind, I'm glad that a more expertly made world accommodates them. Super Mario World is set on an island called Dinosaur Land, which explains why Yoshis and other prehistoric-looking creatures roam these parts. It's uncertain whether or not this island is a part of the Mushroom Kingdom, but it's definitely unlike any other location from the previous Mario games. The layout of Dinosaur Island is much more widespread and intricately designed than the level maps of SMB3. The sections of Dinosaur Island are not designated by elemental themes, nor are they progressed through as tightly as the levels of SMB3. If the player presses pause at any point on the map, four arrows from all directions will guide the player around the entirety of the game. Dinosaur Island is one big world of levels with sections of it only partially dividing with subtle theming. Yoshi's Island and Donut Plains are sections with sprawling green hills with sunny, tropical backdrops. Vanilla Dome takes place entirely in a twinkling cave, so the levels are danker and confined. Forest of Illusion takes place in the towering treetops of a forest so dense it exudes mystique. Chocolate Island is similar to Yoshi's Island, but the earth of the land is colored brown like chocolate. I suppose it makes sense geographically considering Chocolate Island shares the same longitude as Yoshi Island. All of these sections have a varying number of levels with the bridge section only having a minuscule two. It's a far cry from the sections of SMB3 which would have up to ten or twelve levels as the game progressed. While the number of levels isn't as significant, Super Mario World makes up for it with quality. The overall layout of Dinosaur Island feels meticulously designed, much more so than the grid map that made up the worlds of SMB3. One could argue that the level variety is not as vast as what SMB3 offered, but I much prefer the more succinctly planned world design of Super Mario World because using the elements as themes would go on to be a tired cliche in the platformer genre.
One thing the early commercial did get wrong about Super Mario World was stating that the game was "a bit harder." Super Mario World is much easier than any of the Mario games on the NES. A much-needed save feature that was absent in SMB3 is fully implemented here, and it is so relieving to have. However, the save feature can't be used liberally as one has to progress to a certain point in the game to access it. The player can only save once they finish a ghost house or fortress level, and the save feature will pop up every time one of these is finished, even on repeated plays. While the save feature makes the game comparatively easier, the player still has to proverbially hold their breath and keep their guard up before they get a chance to save. There is also no steep difficulty curve present in Super Mario World. The difficulty curve in SMB3 was steady until world 7 catapulted it into the stratosphere with incredibly punishing levels with obtuse design. In Super Mario World, that difficulty progression never takes that leap and steadily increases at a sufficient rate. Super Mario World does offer a bit of obtuse level design, but not to the same degree as SMB3. The ghost houses are intentionally askew to accentuate the warped eeriness of the setting. Some of the fortress levels have a multitude of paths and exits that can verge on being indirect. Progression through the Forest of Illusion section isn't straightforward as the player needs to unlock more paths through less than simple means. With all of this in mind, exploring off the beaten path to find other routes is fairly simple as they only require a bit of deviation to find. This is unlike the level of difficulty in the later sections of SMB3 which felt like the developers were trolling the player.
Unfortunately, one thing Super Mario World has in common with the previous games is that the bosses are still lackluster. Once again, the boss of each world is one of Bowser's seven snotty, illegitimate children. The fortresses each Koopaling is held in at the end of a world is a swirling maze of varied booby traps with the danger of falling into lava as a consistent hazard. It's a shame that the boss encounters at the end of each fortress aren't treated with the same level of intricacy. There are three types of battles presented here, two for each Koopaling. Iggy and Larry position themselves on the edge of a teetering rock and the goal is to jump on them in one direction to make them fall in. Morton and Roy are fought in a caged-in setting where the cage gets tighter as the fight progresses. They will climb up the walls to drop on Mario which is incredibly easy to avoid. Lemmy and Wendy are found in an array of pipes positioned over lava and use decoys to throw off Mario like a game of Whack-A-Mole while a bouncing fireball ricochets overhead. The only Koopaling encounter that doesn't involve any of these three is with Ludwig who feels like a more realized boss. I'm assuming the developers initially intended Ludwig to be the final Koopaling before Bowser but moved him to the bridge section due to its shorter length. Either or, his boss is still as painfully easy as the others. The one boss encounter in Super Mario World that stands out is Bowser as it eclipses any previous battle with him from the NES games. There is something so menacing about fighting him on a bridge with a black, empty background in the back with the face of his giant clown copter getting more devious as the fight goes on. He's defeated by lobbing his Koopa wind-up toys back at him which might seem a tad silly, but the presentation here makes the fight seem so grand.
From what I've said about Super Mario World, its wide appeal might just come with its general accessibility. It's a game that looks and plays fantastically, includes cuddly creature buddies, and is generally easier than the other Mario titles. Accessibility is a core aspect of Mario's appeal, but all of this just makes Super Mario World sound like the demographic was intended for a younger, more casual audience. This is not the case however as the game's worldwide appeal extends to more experienced gamers as well. I stated in my SMB3 review that I wished that the levels in world 7 were relegated to a special area. Super Mario World answers my wish with a section called Star World. In many of the levels from the base game, there are plenty of secrets located off of the beaten path that is accessed through exploring the levels a little more meticulously. Once they do this, the star road route offers an alternate pathway through the game that offers a more substantial challenge. The player will unlock extra levels, fight bosses that aren't the Koopalings (which are still easy), and gain extra rewards. Star Road will then unlock a series of challenge levels expertly crafted by the developers. These levels are just as hard as the world 7 levels from SMB3 but are optional for those who seek the pinnacle of Mario's difficulty. Star Road is like a roundabout difficulty selection that can only be accessed by those who are worthy of facing it. For those who aren't up to the challenge, the game can be finished regardless. This organic way of providing appropriate difficulty for all players is brilliant, earning its appeal through accessibility instead of watering down the experience.
I can't believe I thought Super Mario Bros. 3 was the supreme Mario title for so long. After reevaluating both games many years after initially playing them, Super Mario World is the clear winner of the crown. Super Mario World almost seems like the dominant 2D Mario game based on a scale of objectivity. The 16-bit graphics, smoother gameplay, better level design, and more varied level of playability are more than enough proof to come to this conclusion. My reasoning for arguing in favor of Super Mario Bros. 3 was on the merits of being impressive for an NES game, but Super Mario World is on a whole other level of quality. Super Mario Bros. 3 might have been the best game in the NES library, but it was merely the top minor league player. Super Mario World brought Mario into the major league and brought about a new exciting chapter in gaming.
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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com
My evidence to back up this claim can be supported by an early commercial for Super Mario World. The emphatic voice-over claims that Super Mario World is "a bit more" than any Mario game that came before it, relating to several familiar aspects from the NES games. Everything mentioned signaled that this new iteration of Super Mario would be a grander experience, but this isn't just because of its inherent nature as a sequel. Super Mario World was also a launch title for the SNES, the advanced new piece of hardware marketed as a direct sequel to the NES that Nintendo issued in 1990. Super Mario World wasn't only meant to prolong Mario's lifespan with another sequel, but to sell the new system. In many ways, the SNES itself was "a bit more" of everything that the NES was. Nintendo used Super Mario World as an example of what the SNES was capable of and why everyone should buy it. Considering the release of a new console is always a milestone for any video game company, the launch title they highlight needs to catch the attention of the consumer. Given Mario's iconic status in gaming, launching the system with him seemed obvious, but Nintendo wasn't just using Mario's reputation to sell the SNES.
As the advertisement stated, everything about Super Mario World was "a bit more" than what people were familiar with regarding Mario. While the ad tried to sway people into purchasing a product, it is undoubtedly correct. Super Mario World is an enhancement in every aspect of the NES games, especially in the graphics department. Until the 16-bit generation, Mario's sprites had never looked crystal-clear. The revolutionary 16-bit sprites highlighted every feature of Mario's body: his eyes, nose, mustache, and red overalls to his schlubby beer gut. The enhanced graphics add a heaping amount of character to the Italian plumber. In the process, between four games in a short five years, Mario transformed from a rendered blob of reddish pixels into looking almost like a human being. The same transformation applies to the familiar enemies from the previous games. The Goombas look less mushroom-like but have more pronounced facial characteristics. The Koopas are bipedal creatures now and they march around like the soldiers they are intended to be instead of crawling reptiles. Sometimes when Mario bonks them out of their shells, the Koopa will get visibly upset and throw his shell back at Mario if he gets a hold of it. It's a small but amusing detail that couldn't have been executed with 8-bit graphics. The Boos will cover their faces with their arms if they catch Mario glancing at them, and the Thwomps have a range of angry faces that signify their mobile positions to crush Mario. New enemies such as the lava creature Blaarg could not be adequately rendered due to the limited graphical capabilities of the NES, so we wouldn't be able to see its demented facial features. Wigglers could've simply changed colors to signify their anger on the NES, but the steam that they expel from their noses coupled with their downward-facing eyebrows do it justice. The only character that is sadly not given more characteristics is Luigi, who is still simply "green Mario" for the second player. The backgrounds are more exquisitely detailed, with an array of clouds, hills, and blue skies making up the backgrounds of the levels. Darker levels set at night are akin to a realistic nighttime sky rather than simply having a black background color. The cave levels have dimmed lighting with the twinkling of minerals in the background.
The graphics weren't the only aspect of the Super Mario series that was enhanced with Nintendo's new system. Mario has never controlled so smoothly as he did with this leap into the next generation. Mario still jumps under blocks with question marks and on the heads of his enemies, but his movement is so much tighter in Super Mario World. In the NES games, the jump detection tended to falter at times due to the restricted mechanics of the NES, but I never felt cheated by a jump that resulted in Mario's untimely demise here because the control was much more fluid. The game also introduces a spin jump move relegated to another button that disposes of enemies more efficiently. The number of power-up items from Super Mario Bros. 3 has been greatly reduced. The mushroom, fire flower, and star from the first game all appear here, but the frog suit, leaf, tanooki suit, and hammer suit are all gone. Super Mario only includes two new power-ups, the cape, and the balloon. The balloon inflates Mario to a comical size as he soars like powerup just involves being filled with helium. The cape acts as an alternative for the leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3. It allows Mario to glide as well as lets him fly upward for a short period. However, no variation of the cape will allow the player to fly through the level with ease. The player has to flutter the cape in mid-air to do such a thing which takes some practice. Overall, the limited number of items compared to the smorgasbord that was presented in SMB3 is a more streamlined approach. This was a better decision on the developer's part as many of the items in SMB3 were either used only once or could've been relegated to one power-up. A smaller number of powerups ensures that every one of them is useful and they are used frequently.
Another new feature that certainly makes Super Mario World more appealing is the inclusion of Yoshi, everyone's favorite dinosaur with a voracious appetite. Mario discovers his first Yoshi trapped in a question box, and this Yoshi claims that Bowser has kept it and his entire race of Yoshi contained in tight boxes and Mario must save all of them. While saving all of the Yoshis isn't a concise objective in the game, Mario encounters plenty of the cute, colorful creatures by hitting item boxes throughout the game. Mario rides around the island on the Yoshis as if they are his collective, trusted steeds. Not only can the Yoshi stomp on enemies like Mario, but they can also use their long, elastic tongues to grab enemies and eat them. If they weren't so damn cute, this would be disturbing. Depending on the color of the Koopa shell a Yoshi has in its mouth, they obtain special powers like being able to fly and spit three fireballs. Another perk of riding a Yoshi is being able to withstand a hit. If the player gets hit with Yoshi, Yoshi will get upset and scurry off, leaving the player with a small chance to mount him again. Don't get distressed over losing him though as the Yoshis seem disposable. I would hope Mario wouldn't bash the head or sacrifice a true companion by having them fall under normal circumstances. Nevertheless, it's obvious why Yoshi is aesthetically appealing, but his inclusion as a playable character gives the game an extra layer of depth to the gameplay.
With the enhanced graphics and gameplay in mind, I'm glad that a more expertly made world accommodates them. Super Mario World is set on an island called Dinosaur Land, which explains why Yoshis and other prehistoric-looking creatures roam these parts. It's uncertain whether or not this island is a part of the Mushroom Kingdom, but it's definitely unlike any other location from the previous Mario games. The layout of Dinosaur Island is much more widespread and intricately designed than the level maps of SMB3. The sections of Dinosaur Island are not designated by elemental themes, nor are they progressed through as tightly as the levels of SMB3. If the player presses pause at any point on the map, four arrows from all directions will guide the player around the entirety of the game. Dinosaur Island is one big world of levels with sections of it only partially dividing with subtle theming. Yoshi's Island and Donut Plains are sections with sprawling green hills with sunny, tropical backdrops. Vanilla Dome takes place entirely in a twinkling cave, so the levels are danker and confined. Forest of Illusion takes place in the towering treetops of a forest so dense it exudes mystique. Chocolate Island is similar to Yoshi's Island, but the earth of the land is colored brown like chocolate. I suppose it makes sense geographically considering Chocolate Island shares the same longitude as Yoshi Island. All of these sections have a varying number of levels with the bridge section only having a minuscule two. It's a far cry from the sections of SMB3 which would have up to ten or twelve levels as the game progressed. While the number of levels isn't as significant, Super Mario World makes up for it with quality. The overall layout of Dinosaur Island feels meticulously designed, much more so than the grid map that made up the worlds of SMB3. One could argue that the level variety is not as vast as what SMB3 offered, but I much prefer the more succinctly planned world design of Super Mario World because using the elements as themes would go on to be a tired cliche in the platformer genre.
One thing the early commercial did get wrong about Super Mario World was stating that the game was "a bit harder." Super Mario World is much easier than any of the Mario games on the NES. A much-needed save feature that was absent in SMB3 is fully implemented here, and it is so relieving to have. However, the save feature can't be used liberally as one has to progress to a certain point in the game to access it. The player can only save once they finish a ghost house or fortress level, and the save feature will pop up every time one of these is finished, even on repeated plays. While the save feature makes the game comparatively easier, the player still has to proverbially hold their breath and keep their guard up before they get a chance to save. There is also no steep difficulty curve present in Super Mario World. The difficulty curve in SMB3 was steady until world 7 catapulted it into the stratosphere with incredibly punishing levels with obtuse design. In Super Mario World, that difficulty progression never takes that leap and steadily increases at a sufficient rate. Super Mario World does offer a bit of obtuse level design, but not to the same degree as SMB3. The ghost houses are intentionally askew to accentuate the warped eeriness of the setting. Some of the fortress levels have a multitude of paths and exits that can verge on being indirect. Progression through the Forest of Illusion section isn't straightforward as the player needs to unlock more paths through less than simple means. With all of this in mind, exploring off the beaten path to find other routes is fairly simple as they only require a bit of deviation to find. This is unlike the level of difficulty in the later sections of SMB3 which felt like the developers were trolling the player.
Unfortunately, one thing Super Mario World has in common with the previous games is that the bosses are still lackluster. Once again, the boss of each world is one of Bowser's seven snotty, illegitimate children. The fortresses each Koopaling is held in at the end of a world is a swirling maze of varied booby traps with the danger of falling into lava as a consistent hazard. It's a shame that the boss encounters at the end of each fortress aren't treated with the same level of intricacy. There are three types of battles presented here, two for each Koopaling. Iggy and Larry position themselves on the edge of a teetering rock and the goal is to jump on them in one direction to make them fall in. Morton and Roy are fought in a caged-in setting where the cage gets tighter as the fight progresses. They will climb up the walls to drop on Mario which is incredibly easy to avoid. Lemmy and Wendy are found in an array of pipes positioned over lava and use decoys to throw off Mario like a game of Whack-A-Mole while a bouncing fireball ricochets overhead. The only Koopaling encounter that doesn't involve any of these three is with Ludwig who feels like a more realized boss. I'm assuming the developers initially intended Ludwig to be the final Koopaling before Bowser but moved him to the bridge section due to its shorter length. Either or, his boss is still as painfully easy as the others. The one boss encounter in Super Mario World that stands out is Bowser as it eclipses any previous battle with him from the NES games. There is something so menacing about fighting him on a bridge with a black, empty background in the back with the face of his giant clown copter getting more devious as the fight goes on. He's defeated by lobbing his Koopa wind-up toys back at him which might seem a tad silly, but the presentation here makes the fight seem so grand.
From what I've said about Super Mario World, its wide appeal might just come with its general accessibility. It's a game that looks and plays fantastically, includes cuddly creature buddies, and is generally easier than the other Mario titles. Accessibility is a core aspect of Mario's appeal, but all of this just makes Super Mario World sound like the demographic was intended for a younger, more casual audience. This is not the case however as the game's worldwide appeal extends to more experienced gamers as well. I stated in my SMB3 review that I wished that the levels in world 7 were relegated to a special area. Super Mario World answers my wish with a section called Star World. In many of the levels from the base game, there are plenty of secrets located off of the beaten path that is accessed through exploring the levels a little more meticulously. Once they do this, the star road route offers an alternate pathway through the game that offers a more substantial challenge. The player will unlock extra levels, fight bosses that aren't the Koopalings (which are still easy), and gain extra rewards. Star Road will then unlock a series of challenge levels expertly crafted by the developers. These levels are just as hard as the world 7 levels from SMB3 but are optional for those who seek the pinnacle of Mario's difficulty. Star Road is like a roundabout difficulty selection that can only be accessed by those who are worthy of facing it. For those who aren't up to the challenge, the game can be finished regardless. This organic way of providing appropriate difficulty for all players is brilliant, earning its appeal through accessibility instead of watering down the experience.
I can't believe I thought Super Mario Bros. 3 was the supreme Mario title for so long. After reevaluating both games many years after initially playing them, Super Mario World is the clear winner of the crown. Super Mario World almost seems like the dominant 2D Mario game based on a scale of objectivity. The 16-bit graphics, smoother gameplay, better level design, and more varied level of playability are more than enough proof to come to this conclusion. My reasoning for arguing in favor of Super Mario Bros. 3 was on the merits of being impressive for an NES game, but Super Mario World is on a whole other level of quality. Super Mario Bros. 3 might have been the best game in the NES library, but it was merely the top minor league player. Super Mario World brought Mario into the major league and brought about a new exciting chapter in gaming.
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Attribution: https://erockreviews.blogspot.com