Super Mario World

aka: SMW, Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4
Moby ID: 6591
SNES Specs
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Description official descriptions

Mario is having a vacation in Dinosaur Land when he learns that Princess Peach Toadstool has been kidnapped by the evil King Koopa Bowser. When Mario starts searching for her he finds a giant egg with a dinosaur named Yoshi hatching out of it. Yoshi tells Mario that his fellow dinosaurs have been imprisoned in eggs by Bowser's underlings. The intrepid plumber has to travel to their castles, rescue the dinosaurs, and eventually face King Koopa himself, forcing him to release the princess.

Super Mario World is a jump-and-run platformer and a follow-up to Super Mario Bros. 3. The gameplay is similar to previous installments and includes fast-paced platforming in (mostly) side-view stages populated by various enemies and traps, which must be completed within time limits. Mario has access to his traditional power-ups — the Super Mushroom that makes him bigger, the Fire Flower that allows him to throw little fireballs at enemies, and others. A new power-up is the Cape Feather: when wearing the cape, Mario can spin to hurt enemies, and fly as long as the player is able to sustain his balance in the air. Another new feature is the possibility to ride the dinosaur Yoshi, who can eat enemies and gain special attacks from some of them. In order to unlock certain areas, it is sometimes necessary to physically pick up and carry items (e.g. keys) and use them in appropriate places.

The game's world is divided into several large areas, each containing a number of stages. Outdoor scenarios prevail, but there are also many underground and underwater levels. Each large area has at least one ghost house, typically containing more elaborate traps and ghostly non-destructible enemies. In order to venture to the next area, the player usually has to visit a castle (a more difficult stage with harder enemies and dangerous traps) and defeat the boss enemy guarding it.

Many stages have secret exits, which lead to optional areas, such as fortresses with recurrent boss enemies, interconnected stages of the Star World, and Switch Palaces, which allow the player to materialize specifically colored bricks in all the stages, gaining access to power-ups and other secrets. Secret areas may also open access to other dinosaur types, with different abilities such as breathing fire or flying.

Spellings

  • スーパーマリオワールド - Japanese spelling
  • 슈퍼 마리오 월드 - Korean spelling

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Credits (SNES version)

23 People (16 developers, 7 thanks)

Lead Director
Map Director
Area Director
Programming Director
Mario / System Programmer
Object Programmer
Background Programmer
Map Programmer
Area Data Input
Character Graphic Design
Sound Composer
Special Thanks
Producer
Executive Producer

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 93% (based on 41 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 394 ratings with 9 reviews)

Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4 - A Timeless Masterpiece

The Good
Engaging and well-balanced gameplay mechanics. Vibrant and meticulously designed levels offering diverse challenges. Introduction of innovative power-ups like the Cape Feather and Yoshi. Nostalgic charm with colorful graphics and memorable characters.

The Bad
Limited multiplayer options compared to later Mario titles. Some players might find certain levels overly challenging.

The Bottom Line
Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4 remains a timeless masterpiece in gaming history. With its exceptional level design, engaging gameplay, and nostalgic charm, it's an absolute must-play for gamers of all ages. Despite minor drawbacks, its enduring appeal secures its position as a classic 2D platformer, earning it a well-deserved spot in the hall of fame.

SNES · by Riccardo Bastoni · 2023

Nice game! But it's overrated.

The Good
Super Mario world for the SNES is a good game, it's fun to play has lots of power-ups, lots of levels but it's overrated. There are some who say it's the best game ever made and the best platformer ever- but trust me it's not THAT good. It's nowhere near as good as people say it is, but it's still fun. Just believe me, this is the honest truth. Anyway, here's what is good about the game:

Loads of level and secrets to find! This gives the game lots of replay value. It's also quite well presented, with nice music and nice sprites. There are loads of enemies to fight, some of which are actually quite funny and the bosses are wonderfully inventive. This is Yoshi's first game, and while his presence does little to enhance the gameplay, it's good to have a new form of power-up. The game also invents various new things for the Mario series (like spin jumps, Yoshi, reserve items and secret worlds) which really helped to make the games after this good. And the gameplay is rather good if you compare it to the previous titles which were occasionally rather unbalanced. All these things mixed in with great level designs, clever puzzles and fun mini games make for a GOOD (not great) platformer. (It's better than Cheetahmen 2, the worst ever platformer ever devised)



The Bad
Most of the reviews of this game say that it's utterly perfect- but that isn't true at all. Yeah it is good and all that but it's far from perfect. Super Mario world is probably the most overrated game of all time to be honest. (The most underrated game ever is Cheetahmen 2, which got horrible reviews that weren't bad enough for it)

For starters, the controls on the SNES joy-pad are terrible. They are so bad they lead to various frustrating deaths and power-up losses. And while the idea of having roughly 100 levels is nice, a little bit more time could have been put in to the secret levels. Some (But not all) are rather badly designed which shows that the design team were running out of ideas. One level has you just smashing an endless array of bricks to reach an low down exit. One is just a single screen, with a floor made of grab blocks and a lakitu in the sky. The exit is actually on screen as soon as you begin the stage. There are also lots of pointless blocks, like jumping blocks (which are pointless because Jumping boards do exactly the same) and bonus blocks (which are just plain useless). There are also message blocks (that give you tips) which are a real waste of time because it tells you all you need to know in the instruction booklet. The ending is also annoying because you've just battled your way through a huge game and all you get is a boring credits screen and screens that tell what the enemies are called. BUT IT'S STILL FUN TO PLAY!!!

The Bottom Line
Overrated! But a very good game. Fun to play, interesting ideas and great power-ups. However, the game falls short when it comes down to secret level designs, poor controls and various pointless ideas. Only recommended to proper Mario fans or people who want a long and challenging SNES game. The remake for GBA is far better.

SNES · by james bright (4) · 2007

The greatest game in this universe.

The Good
There are games, board games, sport games and video games. Now, video games, tell me what you say when you think of video games. You say: "...Super Mario World.".

When Super Mario Bros. was unleashed in 1985, it took the world by storm. When Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) was unleashed in 1988, it was okay, but still took USA by storm. When Super Mario Bros. 3 was unleashed in the same year, it was loved from the start. When Super Mario World was released, that was when the world stood still.

Super Mario World was released in 1991 to positive reviews and critical acclaim. Nice graphics, great gameplay and lovely music. Replay value is served as good as an Italian chef serving Pizza.

There is nothing you should hate about this game.

Hey, after all, it's Mario.

The Bad
Nothing. Just one word. Nothing. Okay, two words.

The Bottom Line
The Bottom Line??? Buy this game off Ebay or something. Now. Or if you already have it, get it out of your 80 year old plant, and SLAM it into the cartridge slot.

You won't regret it. It's not too late before it sinks into the depths of time.

The Track Master

SNES · by NovedSelim (144) · 2007

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The SNES version of Super Mario World appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Development

This game took approximately 29,000 hours to program. (Sources: Nintendo, World Features Syndicate)

Sales

Super Mario World sold over 20 million copies and is,a so 2003, the second best-selling Mario game (only behind the original Super Mario Bros., which sold over 40 million), the best selling Super NES game and the best selling 4th generation console game ever. The reason for those huge sales: It was the original "pack-in" game for the Super Nintendo. A copy was included in the package when you bought a new SNES.

Yoshi

Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to have Mario ride an animal since Super Mario Bros. (among other discarded ideas), but couldn't figure out how to make it work within the limits of the Famicom's graphical capabilities. This was finally resurrected in Super Mario World as Yoshi.

Yoshi's arms in the game are orange no matter what color Yoshi you are riding. Art on the box and in the game manual portray only green Yoshi with green arms. The re-release on the Game Boy Advance now has each color Yoshi with arms matching the color of his skin.

Awards

  • EGM
    • 1992 Buyer's Guide - Best SNES Game of the Year
    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #11 (Best 100 Games of All Time) (SNES version)
    • February 2006 (Issue 200) – ranked #88 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time"
  • Game Informer
    • Issue #100 (August 2001) – #46 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • Power Play
    • Issue 02/1992 – Best SNES Game in 1991
  • Retro Gamer
    • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #2 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
    • Issue #37 – #1 in the "Top 25 Platformers of All Time" poll

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Echidna Boy, Marquerite Richardson, MegaMegaMan and PCGamer77

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Wii added by Corn Popper. Wii U, Arcade added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. New Nintendo 3DS added by Harmony♡.

Additional contributors: chirinea, Mumm-Ra, Sciere, Joshua J. Slone, Alaka, Luchsen, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson, Michael Cassidy, Rik Hideto, FatherJack, A.J. Maciejewski.

Game added June 6, 2002. Last modified March 7, 2024.