Super Mario World. The Super NES needed a strong showpiece to get people to buy the system. I was probably 11 when this came out, and I knew I had to have it. This game is just what Nintendo needed. It has the plumber you know and love, a huge world for one to enjoy, showed us Mode 7 graphics (creating depth and size), and brought us Yoshi, the dinosaur.

I do not know a single person who hates this game. I even went to a forum labeled "Mario Bros. Games I Hate", there was none for this game. It does a lot of things right. I won't tell you this is a bad game, because it clearly is not. But its not perfect.  Lets see where this review warp pipe takes us, shall we?

Changes from Super Mario Bros. 3 - wow, well you don't have the suits anymore, but you do get a cape to fly, much like the raccoon and tanuki suit. There are different themes sub-worlds like before, but levels are now replayable. The minigames have taken a large nose-dive, and I miss that from SMB 3. Also I miss Kuribo's shoe, but it was so awesome, I don't blame Kuribo if they just got their shoe back. Also no Koopalings and no airship armadas. Your enemy here is all Bowser.

 
Graphics: 9
The graphics had to sell this system and this game that came with it. The rich textures, the bright colors! The playful, wonderland like zones! From Yoshi's small island, you get to explore forests, a big lake, a cave network under a hill, even a pirate ship! The feeling of speed you get when flying is great, but the controls feel a little sloppy. I didn't like the ground-pound move for the cape, and found the simpler flying in SMB 3 more my style - it was way easier to control.
The ever changing world map is a great addition, as you find the exits to levels, the topography often changes. Its brilliantly done, and often unexpected. 
The enemies are much sharper in quality than the NES graphics, so here old foes like Koopas pop. The goombas look way more rounded now, and Pokey the cactus - well he looks a bit evil in this one, honestly.  The beauty of having scrolling stages and castles with climbable walls, everything here tries to impress and it does. My favorite stage of all has to be the ghost houses. Very clever idea, putting all those shy boos together.


Sound: 9
The music is fantastic in this game. I love how each zone has its own track, and the different types of levels (the self-scrolling ones for example) also happen to have their own songs so you kind of know what to expect before you start. The castle music is dark and the ghost music spooky! I also love the hidden tracks as well. The sound effects are kind of funny, the bullets firing, the goofy whirl of the cape. Its classic stuff.


Addictiveness: 9
For some people this is their favorite mario game. It has so much to offer in the sheer number of levels, of things to unlock and do, the powers of the different Yoshis. Super Mario World brings a lot to the table, and its still a lot of fun to play through. My favorite thing to do was always explore the red stages until I found all the secret exits.


Story: 5
Nothing new here (until Super Mario RPG), you rescue the princess. You also get the side-quest of freeing Yoshi, which takes little to no time. I was disappointed that more wasn't done with the story - and that the mushroom guys like Toad are not featured here. Who lives on this land besides the Yoshis?  Also the ending does not mention Luigi, even if you beat it as him. Poor, dissed Luigi!


Depth: 9
When I first found out some stages had alternate exits that open up completely different areas of a level, I was floored. The choices and paths to take are yours. There is even a hidden bonus level just to get power ups.  The best surprise of all is the star markers, but I won't say more about it. Its just a lot bigger than I thought it would be. And of course its two player, but not at the same time. No one forget Luigi!


Difficulty: 6
The game is accessible to anyone, and quite fun even if you do die a lot. As we know, a weakened, small Mario dies quickly. Unlocking the zones can bring new challenges and new creatures to fight, some are definitely more annoying than others. The sub-boss is Reznor, and you will see a lot of them. Too much of them honestly. After the cornucopia of bosses that were the Koopa Kids, I missed having a different enemy per level. Bowser is there at the end, and his entrance is impressive and much more a threat than he was at the end of SMB3. So while Reznor fizzles, Bowser finishes strong.


Final Verdict: 9.3
This is a solid addition to Mario gaming, and started to bring about the changes of having a open world you could explore as you wanted, right at your fingertips. He may not talk in this version, but Luigi and Mario have everything to impress and delight in this great game.