Skip to main content

Super Mario World: 30th anniversary

Thirty years ago today, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) launched in the U.S. Leading its small slate of launch titles was the much-anticipated Super Mario World.

Video version of this review

The SNES was a huge improvement over the NES, which is saying a lot since the NES itself was a revolution compared to the Atari 2600. Thanks to its sound quality and ability to display 256 (of 32,000) colors at once, SNES games still hold up beautifully in 2021 (which is not exactly true of NES games). Granted, it can't do CD-quality music, but the 16-bit graphics have become the gold standard of 2D pixel-based designs and have been imitated in loads of modern retro titles (e.g., Axiom Verge, Blaster Master Zero, and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters). Furthermore, the technical capabilities mean the system can handle many sprites at once without slowdown or flicker. It also has parallax scrolling and the system's signature Mode 7 scaling. Firing up an SNES game in the third decade of the 21st century remains a pleasure.

The pack-in game, Super Mario World, checked every box. Super Mario Bros. 3 had radically expanded the scope of a Super Mario game less than two years earlier, but SMW refined the experience with even more varied levels, a world map that changed as you cleared levels, secret paths and levels, and two bonus worlds (Star World and Special World). The game's greatest addition to the Super Mario franchise was Yoshi. As a kid, being able to ride a dinosaur, eat enemies, and gain special powers through red, blue, and yellow Koopa shells was the highlight of the game. Also noteworthy was the powerful Feather, which let Mario fly indefinitely, provided you could master tapping ← to gain altitude. Alternately, you could press → and dive-bomb the enemies!

It's almost impossible to over-praise SMW. Its levels remain benchmarks of platforming design. I replayed the whole game in a single sitting, and it has lost nothing of its pristine shine and charm. What struck me most was how varied the levels are. It never feels repetitious; each level has its own identity. SMW was one of the first games to introduce collectibles: every stage has five Dragon Coins to find. It doesn't track them outside the stage, but if you get all five in one go, you're rewarded with an extra life.

The overall difficulty level is just right, even if veterans may desire more challenge. Happily they included Special World for such players. (Even these levels seem tame compared to the nightmares people have made in Super Mario Maker and its sequel.) The Mario series has never been about difficulty, but rather replayability, which this game has in spades. The numerous secret exits and paths mean completionists can spend hours finding everything. Although there are "only" 72 levels, the 24 secret exits mean completionists have to beat 96 exits. If you do so, Dinosaur Land and its denizens receive a weird graphical make-over, and you can play through the whole thing again!

Mario uses a key to open a secret exit.

Most older video-game players have played and loved Super Mario World. If you've never played it, or haven't played it in a long time, I heartly recommend giving it a go to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Grade: A+

Linked Reviews
"Super Mario World is a masterclass in side-scrolling platforming design, to the point that modern 2D game developers should be encouraged to study it as a pre-requisite of mastering their craft."
— Jamie O'Neill, Nintendo Life, 10/10

"Super Mario World perfectly demonstrated the superiority of the new 16-bit system in all aspects: graphics, music, sound design, gameplay, and presentation."
— Pat Contri, Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library, 5/5

"Of all the releases to come along in the console's infancy, Super Mario World has held up the best and remains the most playable."
— Jeremy Parish, Super NES Works 

"Mario World doesn't reinvent platform gaming, but it does find a way to make it seem fresh again, introducing ideas like Yoshi, expanding the Mushroom Kingdom's zany cast of characters and blowing our minds with some truly excellent visuals and audio."
— IGN, #5 of Top 100

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Street Fighter II: 30th anniversary

Thirty years ago Street Fighter II made the transition from arcade to living room on the Super NES. Although quickly eclipsed by its two successors, for one year it was the hotness. It would be hard to overstate how popular Street Fighter II was in the early 90's. Its predecessor was downright bad, but Street Fighter II invented the PVP fighting genre as we know it. Its roster of eight characters was a huge step-up from Street Fighter's two (Ken and Ryu, who returned for the sequel). The next iteration of the arcade game, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, which hit arcades just as the SNES port arrived, let you play as the bosses as well, increasing the roster to twelve. A false rumor said a secret code would let you play them at home. While that wasn't true, there was a code (↓, R, ↑, L, Y, B) to let both players choose the same character for a mirror match. A prime strength of the game is how interesting each character is: the American airman Guile (think Top Gun); the
Post a Comment
Read more

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past: 30th anniversary

Hard to believe it's been thirty years since The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past came out on the Super Nintendo, yet here we are! A Link to the Past is in contention for the title of Best Nintendo Game Ever . It perfectly reinvented, reimagined, and revolutionized everything great about the original Legend of Zelda . First off, the story is expanded, with five pages devoted to it in the manual, including background mythology not included in-game about the three gods that made the Triforce. The opening cinematic tells of a war centuries earlier, which resulted in seven wise men sealing the Triforce away in the "Golden World." When the game begins, the boy Link awakens on a dark and stormy night, hearing the voice of Princess Zelda in his head, asking him to rescue her from the dungeon of Hyrule Castle, where she's been imprisoned by the evil wizard Agahnim. Link finds his uncle, wounded, who gives him his sword. Link's first task is to rescue Zelda, then lead h
2 comments
Read more

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: 20th anniversary

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is special to me because it was one of the first games I played on the Wii U. I hadn't owned a video-game console since the Super Nintendo until my wife bought me a Wii U for my 30th birthday. Since I missed the Game Cube and Wii eras, playing The Wind Waker was a revelation to me. It was as good as I remembered A Link to the Past being. I've read that, when it debuted, some people hated the cel-shaded art style of The Wind Waker. In retrospect that's hard to fathom, because the game is such a visual delight. The cartoony style and feel of the game is probably its strongest feature, at least for me. Sailing the seas and exploring the game's many islands is a joyous process of discovery. There are all sorts of quirky citizens to meet and interact with, including an auction house, bird people (the Rito), pirates, a traveling merchant (Beedle), temples, and the long-lost, sunken kingdom of Hyrule. The mid-game twist delighted me: Link l
Post a Comment
Read more