Super Mario World Review (SNES)

Since receiving my SNES, I have played a great deal of Super Mario World which happens to be the game that was first packaged with the system during its retail years. I have to say, this is a really good Mario game, I expected it to be decent of course. But after playing Dr. Mario on NES and knowing they never made a Mario "4", I would think that Nintendo could never match the godliness of Super Mario 3. Not impossible but I would have been surprised, does Super Mario World live up to the Mario in its name. HELL YES.

First of all, this game greatly took advantage of the SNES to make it better than the original Mario, and it even becomes it's own unique experience of a game. Mario World does employ the pattern system utilized in past Mario's, mostly in the style of the original one during the first or third castle raid. It took the idea of the pattern system to proceed through the level and did it more times than I have ever seen in a Mario game. Mario is mostly trial and error, but Super Mario World makes you stop and consider your options like Mario 3 does.

Super Mario World is clearly newer and graphically superior to the first three Mario games, but the question is whether its a successor to the original Mario Series or a stand alone game? I would have to argue stand alone, because it equals Mario 3 in game play variability but it doesn't exceed it. Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World are equally good games, i'm surprised Super Mario World could even match Mario 3. It does as far as I see, the thing is it overdoes the level progression pattern system to the point that you get stuck from a huge guessing game that would likely not get resolved in the first few hours.

Also, Yoshi is advertised on the cartridge, but he only comes in every now and then. Yoshi has some benefits as an accompanied friend to Mario, but I really didn't enjoy using him and preferred to leave him behind. I remember having a Yoshi-like character in the form of a dinosaur on Crash Bandicoot...2 I think, that was what Mario World SHOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOSHI. Granted be it's an unfair comparison because the Bandicoot wasn't around till the release of the Playstation, but when you give an animal like Yoshi, he has to have a big advantage or a skill NEEDED to go through the level. Yoshi really hasn't done that so far, so I forget about him pretty quickly.

Overall, Super Mario World is a game you will regret not having as soon as you do get a copy. So if you don't have it and want another game, get Super Mario World, you shouldn't need my encouragement.

I give this a 5 out of 5