I initially played this on my Game Boy Player for a little while, but later sold the cartridge after beating Bowser on the original through Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online. Years later, I had second thoughts and decided to emulate it using mGBA on my modded Wii, this time aiming to find every exit and collect every Dragon Coin (this version keeps track of them). In the end, I earned 3 stars on the select screen, I will not be going for 5.
I think it took a second, more thorough playthrough for me to finally "get" Super Mario World. The branching paths on the overworld map encourage exploration and reward sharp-eyed players, and Yoshi more than makes up for the shortage of power-ups compared to Super Mario Bros. 3. On top of that, the level design is more varied than ever, with cleverly implemented stage elements that make individual courses even more memorable than that of its predecessors. My only disappointment was with the bosses, save for Bowser; they were clearly treated as an afterthought, but then again, doesn't nearly every other 2D Mario game do this? I now see why the original game is hailed as an SNES icon, and I'm more than willing to recommend it to those less acquainted with retro titles.
That said, this review is covering the GBA port, not the SNES version. Many have said it already, but I'll say it again: the screen crunch is an issue, and a hard one for me to ignore. When you port a platformer to a system with an aspect ratio it wasn't designed for, you're often left with a comparatively cramped game. The level design is tweaked to accommodate this new orientation, but I noticed the screen was constantly shifting left and right at the slightest movements, frantically trying to adjust to my inputs; ironically, this only made landing jumps harder. Super Mario World is tough but fair, while Super Mario Advance 2 makes me question whether or not I really could've anticipated that Para-Koopa coming. The quality-of-life adjustments and other new features are nice to have, but to no fault of their own, the developers could not overcome the screen crunch.
I'm sure it was nice in 2001 to play a wonderful game like Super Mario World on the go, but QoL enhancements aside, there is little reason to play this port nowadays.
I think it took a second, more thorough playthrough for me to finally "get" Super Mario World. The branching paths on the overworld map encourage exploration and reward sharp-eyed players, and Yoshi more than makes up for the shortage of power-ups compared to Super Mario Bros. 3. On top of that, the level design is more varied than ever, with cleverly implemented stage elements that make individual courses even more memorable than that of its predecessors. My only disappointment was with the bosses, save for Bowser; they were clearly treated as an afterthought, but then again, doesn't nearly every other 2D Mario game do this? I now see why the original game is hailed as an SNES icon, and I'm more than willing to recommend it to those less acquainted with retro titles.
That said, this review is covering the GBA port, not the SNES version. Many have said it already, but I'll say it again: the screen crunch is an issue, and a hard one for me to ignore. When you port a platformer to a system with an aspect ratio it wasn't designed for, you're often left with a comparatively cramped game. The level design is tweaked to accommodate this new orientation, but I noticed the screen was constantly shifting left and right at the slightest movements, frantically trying to adjust to my inputs; ironically, this only made landing jumps harder. Super Mario World is tough but fair, while Super Mario Advance 2 makes me question whether or not I really could've anticipated that Para-Koopa coming. The quality-of-life adjustments and other new features are nice to have, but to no fault of their own, the developers could not overcome the screen crunch.
I'm sure it was nice in 2001 to play a wonderful game like Super Mario World on the go, but QoL enhancements aside, there is little reason to play this port nowadays.