Super Mario World
Reviewed by Psycho Penguin
Super Mario Advance was an easy attempt by Nintendo
to cash some money out of the Mario franchise.
Thinking the average consumer will just buy anything
with the Mario name in it, they put together a subpar
port of a heavily aged Super Mario 2 for NES and
remade it into Super Mario Advance. It sold well, and
a lot of people liked it, but I was not one of those
people. Super Mario Advance was a dry effort that
never really clicked. It was missing a certain
element that made the Mario series so enjoyable.
Then, Nintendo announced they were remaking Super
Mario World for the Game Boy Advance. I was a little
skeptical, even though I knew they could pretty much
make the same game and I'd love it. That is because
Super Mario World has aged a lot better than Super
Mario 2 has. So, maybe it wasn't totally Nintendo's
fault that Super Mario Advance sucked, but they could
have chosen a much better game to kick off the era of
the Game Boy Advance.
When I first played the remake of Super Mario World,
I was instantly transported back into my youth, a
time when everything was so much simpler. I
remembered staying up late at night to find all the
star world entrances. I remember the amazement of
seeing the lighting effects for the first time. That
is what Super Mario World is all about. It's not
about marketing hype or ad campaigns. It's not about
how much polygons each character has. It's all about
fun and classic gameplay. Back when gaming was all
about fun, Super Mario World was the game to play,
and it still is, even today.
A famous man once said, "to see one, is to see them
all". That's the perfect quote to match what the
Mario series has in storyline. Every Mario game seems
to follow the same basic storyline path: Princess is
kidnapped by Bowser. Mario must save Princess. Mario
defeats Bowser. Princess is saved. So, Super Mario
World isn't going to win any awards for storyline
excellence, but the addition of Yoshi definitely adds
a little variety. Especially when you find out he
isn't home, so you need to go rescue him. It's a nice
little mix to the same tried and true formula. But as
they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
From the time you first turn on the game and see the
awesome title screen to the time "The End" is
shown, you will be completely blown away by how fun
the game truly is. For those of you familiar with the
original Super Mario World, skip to the next
paragraph. It's a side scrolling game, just like most
of the other Mario games. You go from stage to stage,
collecting coins and items to help you on your quest.
An addition to the game was a power up item holder.
You can hold one item at a time, and when you get hit
by an enemy, the power up item comes down and you can
regain your strength. Also, if you need to fly, and
don't have a cape on, but have a cape in the holder,
you can press a button and the cape will come down,
so you can fly up to where you need to go.
The port of this is basically a straight remake with
a few new additions. For one, colored yoshis are now
found in the stages, instead of just star world.
Also, you can now have up to 999 lives. Of course,
the main addition to the game is the inclusion of
Luigi. Like in Super Mario Advance, Luigi is now a
playable character. He acts just like he did in Mario
Advance, meaning he can jump higher, but he also
drank way more coffee than he should have. Therefore,
he is harder than normal to control, especially when
he jumps. You can also save at any time, and the
difficulty level has increased a tad.
While some platforming games spend too much of their
time focusing on other things, Super Mario World
concentrates a lot on stage design to make the game
more fun, and boy does it show. Featuring some of the
greatest stage designs ever put into a platforming
game, Super Mario World is truly the pinnacle of
stage design. For instance, in one of the main
dungeons of the game, you are forced to climb on a
sort of fence-like wire to avoid enemies. Along the
way, you must avoid enemy fire, enemies, holes and
gaps, and more. You can swing back and forth behind
and frontwards, but you can also fall off. It's this
kind of imagination that makes the game feel truly special.
The game still looks just as wonderful as it did when
it was first released ten years ago. I remember being
amazed by how amazing the graphics were back then,
and I am still amazed. From the grassy terrain of the
opening stages, to the murky and muddy overtones of
the Chocolate Island, the game will never fail to
amaze you. Some of the enemy designs are just
wonderful, while some disappoint. For instance, the
huge black bullets are now smaller in size, but the
koopa enemies still look as wonderful as ever. And
the animation is dead on, as well. I especially love
it when you knock the shell off a koopa turtle and he
walks around without a shell. The enemy designs were
definitely innovative and creative, like the flying
koopas with capes on. The lightning effects when you
finally meet Bowser will blow you away the first time
you see them, guaranteed.
Orchestrated by one of the best composers in the
world, the soundtrack for Super Mario World combines
magestic orchestrations and rock music-like sounds.
The result is one of the better sounding Mario games
ever. You will be completely mesmerized by some of
the music in the game, like the Forest of Illusion.
One of the cooler songs in the game is found in the
Ghost House. It's a scary music that sounds perfect
for a ghost ship, and it is slow, dark, and brooding.
The music definitely fits the feeling of the game.
While not being quite as good as the music, the sound
effects are quite good, despite the fact the new
voices can get a bit annoying. Although, they will
never get quite as annoying as the voices in the
original Super Mario Advance.
Back when I was a kid, I used to stay up late at
night to find out all of the secrets the game had to
offer. I spent week after week trying to get to the
most special of special stages. I checked out
strategy guide after strategy guide looking to see if
I missed everything. Yes, Super Mario World truly
grabbed my attention in a magical way when it was
released. While it does not have that hold over me
today, I still find myself turning on my Game Boy
Advance just to relive the experience. It is
definitely true gaming bliss. Featuring a boatload of
secrets, a ton of cool tricks to try out (Forest of
Illusion 1-up trick, for instance), and some of the
best stage designs ever featured in a video game,
you'd be hard pressed to find a more addicting
platforming game on the market today.
Perhaps the only crack in an otherwise solid brick
gaming experience is the challenge level of the game.
It starts off way too easy and never really recovers.
While it does get challenging as the game progresses,
it never really makes it to the level you'd expect it
to be. Some of the stages will frustrate you, but
you'll never really get that "this is going to take
me ten lives to get through" feeling some other
games would give you. Regardless, the game is still a
decent challenge, and the last few special stages are
some of the toughest stages ever featured in a
platforming game.
Words can not describe how awesome this game is. If
it wasn't for Circle of the Moon, this would be my
favorite portable game of all time. It is truly
addictive and will be loved by absolutely everyone
that plays it. Despite the fact that there are not as
much additions as I may have liked (the only main
one, a playable Luigi, is not exactly cutting edge),
there is still more than enough here to warrant a
purchase. If you missed the original Super Mario
World, now is your chance to experience one of the
greatest games of all time, and you can take it on
the road. With the price cut of both the Game Boy
Advance and this game, now is the best chance you'll
have. Don't pass it up.
Good Points
-The graphics are absolutely phenomenal.
-The music and sound effects are amazing.
-The game controls about as well as it possibly could.
-Due to the load of secrets, the game has a ton of replay value.
-The game is absolutely addictive, enthralling, and deep.
-The game features the absolute pinnacle of stage designs.
Not So Good Points
-The challenge level could have been a bit greater.
-Some of the music did not port well from the SNES to the GBA.
-The storyline is still rather basic and boring, except for Yoshi.
Storyline - 3.1/10
Graphics - 9.9/10
Music - 9.8/10
Controls - 9.9/10
Gameplay - 9.9/10
Fun Factor - 9.8/10
Replay Value - Above Average
Challenge - Average
Game Length - 10 Hours
Is This Game Worth A Purchase? - Absolutely.
Overall - 9.9/10