If you made me choose my favourite Mario platform game, it would invariably be Super Mario World. Some games run it quite close (such as the gorgeous Yoshi’s Island, which is technically a Mario game), but in the end I always return to the Super Nintendo’s first ever game, and Mario’s 16-bit debut.
Why might that be? Well, Super Mario World builds, very successfully I might add, on the ideas and structures Nintendo put in place with its predecessors. There is a huge world to explore, numerous paths to take to Bowser’s final castle, and secret worlds, hidden within secret worlds! The layers to this game, bearing it mind it was released back in November 1990 in Japan, are a testament to how Nintendo painstakingly craft a video game.
Of course, the number of levels and hidden delights do not mean anything if the fundamentals are wrong. If the game suffers from clunky controls, poor level design, and senselessly frustrating bosses, the whole thing falls apart. Fortunately, Super Mario World does not suffer these problems. Instead, the levels all feel beatable, though as you progress, the levels do get tougher, with some of the Secret World stages proving especially tricky. Nintendo wanted to push players without irritating them, and they largely achieved this.
One trick that was sort of used in Super Mario Bros 3 returns in Super Mario World. Some stages have multiple exits, that lead to new paths. As with previous Mario games, Nintendo encourage and reward exploration.
There’s a bunch of boss fights against Bowser’s kids, none of which prove especially difficult. I would dare say the final fight with Bowser, once you figure out what you’re doing, is not too challenging. Super Mario World’s true test is in finding every exit to every world, which leads to… well, that leads to a unique twist on character appearance!
What more can I say than to award this beautiful game 9/10?