Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one in the world that feels these games are the Taylor Swift albums of the game industry; Impossibly revered as masterpieces every time they play the same song wrapped up in another 15 song set. I almost feel the need to ask someone to explain the appeal but I never will because their answer will merely be as it always is: "You just don't get it." And I certainly don't - they're very right. Just as I am not one of the girlies that just gets it with swift, so too do I not understand the appeal of getting to the end of a stage in Mario. It elicits no feeling of accomplishment, no satisfaction of mastery, only relief that I don't have to touch the level ever again.
Please understand I write this in admittance of defeat, that to me- I've failed as a well-versed "gamer" to appreciate a game series near universally loved as Super Mario. So badly I want to get it, so badly I'd love to appreciate more than the endearing designs of the characters and the timeless music and actually love the GAME part of the games, but I think that as long as the point of them remains as simple as "get to the end", I fear that I never will. If one feels it necessary that I am burned at the stake for not getting the appeal of mario games, so be it.

Everybody's favorite italian plumber makes his jump to the Super Nintendo, with Super Mario World, and it shows!

While future SNES games would look better and utilize the console's capabilities more efficiently, as a launch title, Mario World looks pretty good. Sprites looks nice, colors are vibrant and background are more detailed than before!
Additionally, Mario World has a different set of environments than last time. Of course, you still have your underground levels, your athletic levels, and so on, but it doesn't exactly follow the "Grass-Desert-Water" level tropes from last time. I appreciate the variety this game has, and it even introduces the Boo Houses, which are nice little puzzles in the form of a stage. Although I'd say that overall, this game does not have a much variety as last time, in spite of the new themes.

In terms of music, this game coined what I like to call the "Super Mario World Syndrome", where most, if not all of the soundtrack is a rendition of the main theme in some ways. It feels like it could get stale, but surprisingly, they managed to pull it off very well!
Each theme is instantly recognizable, and they all sound really good!

In terms of gameplay, it continues a lot of the concepts of Mario 3, but introduces some new stuff as well. The ability to Spin Jump was added, which allows Mario to break certain blocks and even bounce off of certain enemies!
Koopa Shells and other objects can now be thrown up, which allows for new approach in how to defeat enemies or break blocks that are too high to reach.
And of course, this game introduces Yoshi, one of the most iconic Mario characters! He serves as a sort-of power-up, that does not substitute any of Mario's other power-ups. He's more like an add-on, being able to swallow most enemies and can act as an extra jump (I'm so sorry, Yoshi!).

And we have new power-ups too! Many of the ones in Mario 3 did not really return, but we do have the Cape Feather and the P-Balloon.
The P-Balloon is pretty situational, but the Cape Feather is awesome! With good timing, you can make Mario pretty much fly forever with the Cape Feather, and it breaks levels. I love it!

Besides that, the Koopalings return, and they have new patterns to beat, which is nice. And the final boss against Bowser is also nice, utilizing the ability to throw objects up pretty well.

But wait there's more! If you thought the game was done after you've beaten all the main worlds, think again! This time around, we also have special levels in the Star World!
And by beating them, you gain access to even more levels, that are probably the most challenging in the game, and have the most excellent names!
Some of them can be a bit annoying, but I find these a nice little piece of extra content.

Unlike Mario 3, the difficulty in Mario World is actually pretty solid. It can get a bit hard later on, but it never becomes the roller-coaster ride of last time.

Overall, Super Mario World is a great 2D Mario, and I actually struggle to think of many flaws with it, outside of the variety of environments. It's a great time, check it out if you're curious!

Still the king, baby.

Now, I already reviewed Super Mario World in the past and feel that I said everything I needed to say about this game there. However, as I replayed this game over and over throughout my life, I have yearned for ways to make each new playthrough feel unique. For a while, the randomizer did just that for me, and later on I would experience the joys and hilarity of the ROM hack where the game's stages and music were remade from memory. Now, I return to Super Mario World once more for another twist, focusing entirely on the soundtrack.

For this playthrough, I implemented a ROM hack titled Super Mario World MSU-1 Plus Ultra. For those unaware, MSU-1 is a custom coprocessor designed by the late Near that allows Super Nintendo games to play CD quality audio and full-motion videos. Many modders have taken advantage of this coprocessor to do insanely impressive things with Super Nintendo games. Look at this video of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, for example. This is what the coprocessor looks and sounds like in action!

Many games have been given MSU-1 upgrades over the years, and Super Mario World is no exception to this. In fact, MSU-1 mods for this game have had an interesting development history. At first, there were just mods that swapped the music for more orchestral sounding remixes of the music tracks, which is the standard protocol for these mods. Following these would come a more ambitious mod, titled Super Mario World MSU+, which not only swaps the original tracks for CD quality music, but also introduces voice clips for characters and implements the use of different remixes of the overworld music depending on which region of the map you're currently in. I've played that version and loved it, finding it to be a refreshing way to experience this game.

Years later after the release of this mod, however, we would be gifted with an even more ambitious mod in the form of Super Mario World MSU-1 Plus Ultra. Not only did this mod implement everything from Super Mario World MSU+. It also made it possible for every stage in the game to have its own unique remix. This means that the soundtrack of Super Mario World has been expanded to 130 unique tracks!

Needless to say, I've been dying to get into this mod and hear all the music within, and after a breezy 96 exit run of this game, I can say genuinely that this is an amazing way to experience (or re-experience) Super Mario World. It's exciting to drop into a stage and hear an entirely new remix. It could be orchestral, jazzy, rock, or something else! Your ears are certainly in for a treat with this mod!

The best part of this and other MSU-1 mods is that they are fully playable on the most recent models of flash carts, such as the FXPak Pro, for example. You're going to be hearing CD quality music and voice lines from characters in a day 1 Super Nintendo game all on real hardware! It's beyond impressive, and every so often as I play mods like these, I can't help but think of how much these advancements blow me away.

If you love the Super Nintendo and want to see what their games would be like if they had a bit of that Sega CD energy (complimentary) in them, I highly implore you to check out the MSU-1 Hacks Database and try some of these mods for yourself! They take a bit more of set-up to get running than your usual ROM hack, but the extra work is worth it to see and hear how these games get enhanced by this technology!

I first played Super Mario World when I got my SNES in the 90's. I have played through the game several times over the years and recently decided to 100% the game. It was everything I remembered and holds up extremely well, it is truly a timeless game. The power ups are fun especially the different Yoshis. There is a good mix of difficulties between the levels. The worlds are varied and introduce many unforgettable enemies, many of which show up in future games. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys 2D Mario games.

When I was a child, there was a supermarket where you could find one of those SNES stands (exactly like this one https://imgur.com/a/IhkmWSh) that only played Super Mario World. Too shy, I never dared to play because there was always a crowd gathering around. Taking the shiny controller (it was shiny because it was greasy from the sebum of dozens of children) meant being watched by an impatient crowd. I didn't want to embarrass myself.

It's a strange coincidence that I never played SMW before that day. And what a mistake! The level design, the graphics, the music: everything is incredible and still interesting today. Maybe Mario 3 on NES (another untouched classic) had already introduced this, but I find it interesting to add 'dead ends' to some levels. This breaks the linearity of the game, which can be too easily criticized in 2D games.

I don't have much to add to the thousands of existing reviews except to insist that the game's inventiveness seems to crescendo: the further you progress, the more interesting it becomes. No dull moments: even the 'aquatic' moments and the 'oh, now the platforms are slippery' moments that seem to be obligatory passages in platformers are interesting and engaging here. Even if it's a criticism that can be made of most Mario games: the boss fights are sometimes too short, I would have loved bosses like the final showdown with Bowser, which is particularly epic.

Definitely a game I will replay in the future, and perhaps with a more 'completionist' approach. Finishing the game with only 50% progress has two effects on me: discouragement or encouragement. SMW falls into the latter category.