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.
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.