Summary
The ultimate Jump-&-Run
The Good
Now we are able to add SNES games to MobyGames database, I am swept by nostalgic emotions. SNES, SNES, what a wonderful machine it was. The console which brought us the first true examples of the greatest series of videogames ever: Final Fantasy. And for those who prefer arcade action, SNES offers two great Mario World games, the best jump-&-runs I know.
"Super Mario World" has it all: furious arcade action, great monster design, cool level design, great boss battles, a huge world to explore with many, many hidden levels and secrets. The game is so addictive, I remember playing it at the age of 19, a bit ashamed of the fact I, almost no teenager any more, still play such childish games. Childish or not childish, "Super Mario World" is great. Whatever you might expect from an arcade game, it has it, and with a little extra. The levels span a huge variety of areas: plains, forests, underground caves, underwater, and many others. You fly in the air and you descend to the sea bottom. Not to mention the great Ghost Houses and the devilishly difficult and exciting Boss Castles. The game divides itself cleverly into parts, each part embracing five-six levels (with a couple of hidden ones), all sharing a similar scenery, with a Ghost House, which is usually more difficult and requires some puzzle-solving than the usual levels, and the final battle against a boss in a Castle. Then you proceed to the next part. Thus, the tension is kept, and the player is never bored. The Ghost Houses and the Castles were my favorite levels, because they had so much atmosphere. By the way, "Super Mario World" features great music, it has the best score I've ever seen in an arcade game. Especially breathtaking is the Castle melody. Generally, the castles change the atmosphere a lot and provide a sharp contrast to the (usually) light, brightly colored Mario World.
The monster design... what to say, from silly kappas to deadly big black flying things (I have no idea what their name is), the game embraces a huge variety of monsters. Some are easy, some are not; different strategy works better or worse with this or another type of a monster. The boss battles are fascinating, because you don't just hit the boss repeatedly, but must figure out what exactly you need to do to defeat him and what strategy to choose.
One of the best things in the game is the upgrading part. Mario can be helpless, or he can be unbeatable. You upgrade the hero constantly by eating mushrooms, flowers or feathers, turning him, respectively, into Big Mario, Spitting Mario (who can throw little pearls on enemies), and Flying Mario, who can... well, fly. The flying part of the game is a lot of fun, although it's not as easy as one might think, and requires balancing in the air and controlling altitude. Besides, in many places you find green mushrooms, which turn into the dinosaur Yoshi, whom you can ride. Yoshi is great when it comes to eating things, but he can be a pain in the neck when you lose control of him, because then he would just run away in panic and commit suicide by running amok and falling into the nearest pit. Yoshi can eat different kappas and learn some great abilities from them, which includes flying! Finally, you can also eat big yellow stars, which make you invincible for a while.
The game has a lot of secret and bonus levels, I think I discovered on ly a part of them. You can complete the game without discovering a single hidden level, but it would be a lot more difficult and a lot less fun. Many hidden levels offer an alternate way of finishing a game part, even avoiding a Castle. Non-linearity at its best :)
The Bad
You die often, and you can save only at certain points. I'd appreciate a system which allowed you to save at least after each level. The game gets really difficult sometimes, especially the castles are pretty impossible to beat after just one try, and alone the thought of repeating the whole castle level after being killed by a skeleton just near the door which leads to the boss can easily demoralize players with little patience.
The Bottom Line
Great platformer, a classic of the genre. You really should try this one, even if you are a grown-up. But if you are a kid, this is a MUST HAVE! :))
