Kinda wanted to do an update of my original review that goes more into detail, but tl;dr - yeah this game is still definitely a masterpiece lol.
Truth be told this was my favorite game for the longest time up until Undertale released, and frankly remains one of my all time favorite games period - weirdly enough, becoming one I have even more appreciation for growing up and getting a better understanding in game design.
This game basically took the foundation that had been set up by the NES games - especially SMB3 with it’s World Map - and managed to basically fine tune it. The controls feel smooth and fluid, and the level design is overall solid, having a good mix of more action-oriented and exploration-heavy levels (which you can find one of each in just the game’s two “intro” levels) that really offer a lot of replay value, especially when you go out of your way to “complete” the game.
On that note, I really feel like the map system is especially what makes Super Mario World such a great experience. This aspect of the gameplay did get it’s start in Super Mario Bros 3, but World really fleshed everything out, giving a more “interconnected” feel to each level with a bunch of different secret exits and potential paths that one could take. Completing this game on the GBA when I was 10 was frankly one of if not the best game experience I ever had - whereas I could have just beaten Bowser and called it there, something about the game really motivated me to keep going and I pretty much went out of my way to look for all 96 exits and any secret levels I missed on the main path. Super Mario World really feels like a game that incentivizes replayability and exploration while opening up just how one can play through this game (which, now that I think about it, supplied the DNA that could be found in the more sandbox-y 3D titles).
Plus the graphical style holds up really well and gives the game it’s own iconic look, and the soundtrack is also really good. I will say it is a slight shame that the amount of power ups from SMB3 is ultimately reduced, but at the same time, the Cape Feather is really fun to use when you get the hang of it, and of course this game also introduced the best Mario character of all time, Yoshi, and those factors alone definitely make up for it. Not to mention the bosses actually have some variety this time around lol
Not only that but the game’s modding community at SMW Central has only really kept the game feeling fresh after all these years so I figured I should shout them out. Would definitely recommend looking into that if you enjoy SMW or even just Mario in general.
Overall, Super Mario World has only continued to hold up and still remains my favorite platformer, favorite Mario game and one of my favorite games of all time. In just the SNES’ launch alone Nintendo was already cooking and it paid off.
Truth be told this was my favorite game for the longest time up until Undertale released, and frankly remains one of my all time favorite games period - weirdly enough, becoming one I have even more appreciation for growing up and getting a better understanding in game design.
This game basically took the foundation that had been set up by the NES games - especially SMB3 with it’s World Map - and managed to basically fine tune it. The controls feel smooth and fluid, and the level design is overall solid, having a good mix of more action-oriented and exploration-heavy levels (which you can find one of each in just the game’s two “intro” levels) that really offer a lot of replay value, especially when you go out of your way to “complete” the game.
On that note, I really feel like the map system is especially what makes Super Mario World such a great experience. This aspect of the gameplay did get it’s start in Super Mario Bros 3, but World really fleshed everything out, giving a more “interconnected” feel to each level with a bunch of different secret exits and potential paths that one could take. Completing this game on the GBA when I was 10 was frankly one of if not the best game experience I ever had - whereas I could have just beaten Bowser and called it there, something about the game really motivated me to keep going and I pretty much went out of my way to look for all 96 exits and any secret levels I missed on the main path. Super Mario World really feels like a game that incentivizes replayability and exploration while opening up just how one can play through this game (which, now that I think about it, supplied the DNA that could be found in the more sandbox-y 3D titles).
Plus the graphical style holds up really well and gives the game it’s own iconic look, and the soundtrack is also really good. I will say it is a slight shame that the amount of power ups from SMB3 is ultimately reduced, but at the same time, the Cape Feather is really fun to use when you get the hang of it, and of course this game also introduced the best Mario character of all time, Yoshi, and those factors alone definitely make up for it. Not to mention the bosses actually have some variety this time around lol
Not only that but the game’s modding community at SMW Central has only really kept the game feeling fresh after all these years so I figured I should shout them out. Would definitely recommend looking into that if you enjoy SMW or even just Mario in general.
Overall, Super Mario World has only continued to hold up and still remains my favorite platformer, favorite Mario game and one of my favorite games of all time. In just the SNES’ launch alone Nintendo was already cooking and it paid off.