Time Honored Tuesdays: Mario

Out of all the video games I could have started out with in my youth, Super Mario World just so happens to be the very first for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Yes, of all games that a child could get introduced to when starting an adventure into the gaming world, why did it also have to be one of the greatest games game creators have ever produced. This game is the true perfection of any 2D platform adventure game. Super Mario Brothers started its legacy, but Super Mario World for the SNES is the true birthright of all Mario games. Top-Nintendo seller, Mario is indeed the father of this company. The Mario series has always had its trend as a launch game for the Nintendo systems that has been going on for nearly forty years and has its reasons. This game had a huge impact on not only the series, but also the success of Nintendo. As proof of this, majority of the Mario cast (i.e. Wiggler, Bob-omb) that you still see today originated from this Mario Era and continues to stem from this game alone. Now let’s get on with the review.

Gameplay: 10/10

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. One change Nintendo made was increasing the over-all size of the levels, instead of doing the same old small run to the right before time ran out ordeal, 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 uncommon 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. Yoshi's came in four colors each with their own ability. Green was your standard Yoshi which featured no special offensive move but could run slightly faster than the others and depending on the color of a shell he ate adopts the ability of said colored Yoshi for a short time. Blue, which is a fan favorite, allowed the Yoshi to grow wings whenever a Koopa was consumed, Red allowed Yoshi to throw fireballs after eating an enemy, and finally Yellow allowed for a powerful stomp. One should also note that not only does Yoshi grant you extra protection; you also get an extra jump in exchange of hoping off and potentially, in most cases, losing poor old Yoshi (as demonstrated in my video 2:54). The use of Yoshi certainly makes the levels less difficult and is required to access certain secret parts of certain levels. In any case, even if you disregard Yoshi, the game still has a new twist, which you'll love. The previous items are indeed present but now have new a new blend, such as the spinning fireball and caped Mario instead of your flying raccoon. You also now learn new tactics to fight enemies. Sure the game isn't terribly hard and you'll find you can catch on to it in no time flat. The map is 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, some levels have an alternative route to reach the bosses like a shorter way or through a fortress. Once inside the castle you were presented to a host of more challenging elements than the ones found in the levels which all leads up to a unique battle with a Koopa. Sometimes you have to defend yourself from a charging Koopa or bounce on of a small island floating in lava.

Story: 8/10

Something has gone wrong, and Mario is out to save someone from the clutches of his arch-nemesis, Bowser. This time, the Koopa Kids have come returned from Super Mario Bros. 3 and have stolen the Yoshi eggs. On top of that…yup, you guessed it: the princess has been kidnapped by Bowser once again. Mario has to go around Dinosaur Land and retrieve the eggs, then commence the final showdown with Bowser for the princess. Not much you wouldn't expect from any Mario game but can you get any more classical with that plot?

Graphics: 10/10

Super Mario World pushed the graphical capabilities of the SNES to its limits. The graphics were colorful, and although they didn’t have much texture, the lighting effects were very well done. The graphics even had a 3D feel to it, and I don’t think there is a single person out there who popped this cartridge into the console after years of NES games and was not awestruck by the graphical presentation. In fact, the graphics were nearly unrivaled by any SNES game until Donkey Kong Country, which did not come out for another 3 years or so. This game perfectly presented the system’s capabilities graphically at its time.

Sound: 10/10

I’m sure you guys remember the classic tune for the NES; well I could tell you that playing this game will only make your ears become more appeased. Being a retro fanatic, especially for the sake of music, I cannot stress to you how impressed I am with the musical quality of this game. The enhancement from its predecessors of the Super Mario Brothers series is phenomenal. Much like the Mario Bros., the music in this game is classy and some people may even listen to it on their iPods. When I was snooping around in the game, I couldn’t help but air dive to my television set to crank the volume just to get that nostalgic feeling to flow though my veins. By only playing a few minutes of the game, the entire soundtrack has resurged back into my head and I cannot stop singing the tunes. All the songs have been redesigned from the ground up and with this music, any player can move to the wonderful and catchy tunes as Mario glides through the air, jumps floating islands, or runs through a spooky area filled with the infamous hard-to-defeat Boos. If you catch yourself humming a tune to this game, then you know that this game is truly classic. This game contains more songs than the typical Mario game in the past, and its songs are longer, not as repetitive, and more pleasant on the ear.

Replayability: 10/10

After a player has conquered this game, he or she may have to take another look through it before washing up and hitting the sack. There are many secrets that the player has yet to determine than he or she has still not discovered. Besides having epic replay value, let me emphasize the power that this game incorporates in its game length. To complete all the portions of this game is quite a stunning feat and most players will find that they spent their money well on this game, especially a 2D platform action game that can deliver hours upon hours of varying fun and adventure. So you beaten the great King Koopa Bowser, but have you found every nook and cranny bottled up inside? Well I highly doubt it. With this game, it may take several more hours to try to solve all the mysteries and many players will resort to guides figure out all the secrets. Not only will players try to explore every single aspect of this game, but they will also take note that in these discovered secrets a player can easily beat the game in less than half an hour, if he or she takes advantage of the secrets that litter this game. It is no surprise that many players return to this game, especially after several years of activity. With the advent of technology and the internet, people can post videos and show off their skills at a game that has garnered much respect from all gamers. Once you play through a game a couple times though, nonetheless it will be time to move on, but after a few months or years, when you have the option and the availability of this game, there is no doubt that many players will return just to relive the experience. Not many games offer this and most gamers can only count a couple games as true classics – which not only have all the aforementioned content, but they also possess immense replay value.

OVERALL RATING: 10/10

Final Comments: This game has everything that any person would want. It is so marvelous that even people who are not big into games would surely enjoy having a go at it for at least a few well-spent minutes. Now then, what makes this game incredibly awesome? Well due to the fact that it has everything a classic game should have – a classic story, flawless gameplay, astounding graphics, great music, and epic replayability- it serves its purpose on those grounds alone. When I play a game, I do not play a game hoping that it will live up to some false hype. I want all the games I play to be classic. The reason? Well, I do not like wasting my money on games that don't offer the same nostalgic feeling or just games that generally don’t live up to my standards. With it being a nice action game, most players will enjoy the full extent of this game in a few hours and if a player wants to draw it out for a couple days, then yeah, that is possible. If you do not have anything to do and want to kill some time, Mario is infamous for being a time killer. Unfortunately though, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and its Super Mario World game are not easy to find anymore, but fear not, because Super Mario World is a lot more common for the Gameboy Advance as a port, although the system itself is becoming a little obsolete due to the Nintendo DS. Whatever the case, a player can either take pleasure in a world of portability or be stationed on that lazy boy. With the graphical nature of the Gameboy Advance, nothing is lost and everything is maintained. So if you don't happen to have a friend with this old game, then why not go out there and experience in a portable world, because that is quite fun as well. I will stress to my fellow gamers that if you want to play a true Mario game, then there are two that are not worth missing and those are this game and Super Mario 64. No other Mario game before and since has been able to live up to this sort of legacy.