The year was 1991 and Nintendo was preparing to release their first console since the Nintendo Entertainment System of eight years previous to compete with the Sega Genesis; the rightly named Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The SNES as it was called among the fan base had everyone eager and willing to play the many games Nintendo was sure to throw at them. If the games were as good as their previous work then they were in good shape. Finally the SNES was released bringing with it what many call the first prefect game, Super Mario World. This was the fourth game in Nintendo's flagship series and the first game that would show off what this new hardware could do.

The Graphics

SMW featured unparalleled graphics for it's time. The sprites featured were of a detail unheard of then. Mario himself never looked better and animated like a dream. From his running to spinning to the revamped flying where his cape fluttered in the wind, it all looked great. Enemies now numbered in the dozens and animated equally as impressive. The most important and the first to catch your eye is the new and improved environments. Taking what was started in Super Mario Bros 3 and fine tuning it, the environments here are breathtaking. The new engine allows for the levels to quickly and effortlessly move from one “type” to the other and look great doing it. No more of the obligatory ice levels or desert levels that all tended to look the same. Now we had levels that grew outwards as you explored them and their uniqueness had you playing simply to see what surprise was coming next.

The graphics here are nothing short of amazing and this is due in part to the new console being able to display thousands more colors then it predecessor could and more importantly to a new design tool known as Mode 7. Mode 7 allowed for three layers of backgrounds that could each move separate of each other. This allowed for impressive scaling in the levels which gave it a true 3d look and feel. As you ran down a level the background moved realistically. This was a first of its time and really showed that we were in for some good games on the new console. Simply put Mario has never looked better.

The Sound

As amazing as the graphics were SMW also had an equally robust sound department for you to wonder in. Mario himself had a whole slew of new sounds to go with his new abilities. Everything from running to hopping on the back of his new pal all sounded like it should. Enemies all made unique sounds for what they were doing, be it attacking or standing. More importantly the sounds of the enemies could be heard before they appeared on screen which allowed you to prepare a course of action to how you were going to attack the creature or maybe avoid him all together. The music and sound is just awesome.

Gameplay

Present here was everything that the Mario franchise had been made famous for including running, stomping, flying and swimming. All was reproduced faithfully and kept the classic Mario feel to them. Two big changes here in the game-play though. One being the overall size of the levels, instead of a small run to the right before time ran out now levels grew in all directions that you had to travel in to beat the level. As the level changed direction so did the environment. It wasn't on common to travel through four or five different climates in the course of a single level. Even on top of that were multiple other types of levels including the standard underwater level to my personal favorite, Tubular, a level with no floor. The second and most famous of the changes was the inclusion of Yoshi the Dinosaur as Mario's sidekick. Hit an egg block and Yoshi sprang to life. The use of Yoshi made the levels certainly easier and was required to access certain secret parts of the current level.

The map was split into different climates each guarded over by a son or daughter of Bowser. Go on one of the multiple paths to the castle and defeat the Koopa inside to open up the next exciting area. That's right each area had more then one way and difficulty to go to reach the boss. Once inside the castle you were presented to a host of more challenging elements then found in the levels which all leads up to a unique battle with a Koopa. Some times you had to defend yourself from a charging Koopa or bounce on of a small island floating in lava. Unique game play is the name of the game. Mario had been known for great platforming action and Super Mario World did as any good sequel should and built on what was right. Great Stuff here.

Story

Your basic Mario story is found here but hey he was the first to use it. Story should never really matter in a Mario game in my opinion.... Princess Peach has been kidnapped once again by the evil King Bowser and you most rescue her from his castle. You'll work your way through eight areas each consisting of more then a dozen levels of which some are secret. Along the way you'll meet Yoshi whose kin have also been locked up by Bowsers children throughout the lands. Defeat the Bowser clan and save Peach. Sure it isn't original but in Mario's case is doesn't have to be but.


Control

Control is tight and responsive. SMW took the standard layout found in the original and expanded on it. Direction pad to move Mario/Yoshi. X and Y are used to grab items, and sprint, B was to jump, and A was your new spin ability. The triggers were used to move the screen [L]eft and [R]ight so you can get a peak of what was coming up. The controls are everything you would want in a platform game. Very precise.

Overall

In the beginning I asked if this game was perfect. Replace was with still is and you have your answer. Super Mario World continued the fine example of platforming that Mario had become know for. SMW went on to sell a half a million copies in 5 years due in part to being bundled to the new system which was showed a shining example of the games to come on the new system It showed that Nintendo had nothing to fear from rivals like Sonic or the upcoming Crash and that like always video games are supposed to be about having fun. Video game fans owe it to themselves to play this game.

Wow, you should do reviews professional for a living lol, this is a great review, nicely formatted, great grammar and spelling, broken down perfectly, etc.

Yeah this game is probably my favorite SNES game, almost everything about it is perfect.

That was pretty descriptive! In other news, I played this game, and it is pretty cool

Davideo7 : Thank you, I really appreciate that! I'm not so sure if it's "Professional" but I find it easy to review games that I have loved over the years. I will do more in this format when I have some more time.

I hate this game it feels so dull and theirs no story theirs no uniqueness and its so dang bland D=*

DARKANINE : Well everyone has their own opinion, but I have to say that this game took everything that was great about Mario, and added to it. Who needs a story in a Mario game anyways? Mario games should always be about fun game play, not some needless story.

I figure that you probably don't like NES, SNES, or Platformers in general if you don't like this game.

Wow, that was a really long review...I guess.

Yep, that game was really neat, although I played it on the GBA, not an SNES

Omniterran : It wasn't really that long of a review. I wrote about a paragraph for each feature of the game, which is pretty standard for a text review.

Jordanv78 : You're wrong at the controls. (Y) and (X) are to run and grab. (B) is the jump, and (A) is for the spin jump. Well. Everyone make errors. I just wanted to note that. Also. Your review is excellent! Mario is my favourite character and Super Mario World is my favourite Mario game. Bye!

Pablo : Thanks for pointing that out. Looking back on it, I'm not sure why I wrote that. haha

plagiarized review

[trashed]