Worthy of the title, "Super"
..: The Good :..
Feels just right, graphics are nice and colourful, a good long lifespan
..: The Bad:..
Maybe a tad too easy meaning it may be a bit lacking in hardcore gamers
1992 see's Mario first hit the Super Nintendo, and the introduction to everyone's favorite dinosaur, Yoshi. But even with Yoshi, Super Mario World had alot to live up to, with Super Mario Bros. 3, the best Mario game yet, out the previous year.
So, does Super Mario World make the cut?
... Yes, yes it does.
No prizes if you can guess the games story. Spiny-backed Bowser has returned and abducted your Princess (again), and generally makes a nuisance of himself. So you set out as Mario (or Luigi if your playing as the Second Player) to save Peach once more.
So, on his way to rescue his darling princess, Mario arrives at Yoshi's Island, where he meets... yes you guest it, Yoshi! He agree's to help Mario out, but of course Yoshi has his own motives up his sleeve. Not only has Bowser gone and kidnapped Peach, he has also captured Yoshi's friends and thrown them in some dark castles! So in return of letting Mario use Yoshi's abilities, he has to save the lovely dinosaurs friends! Fair enough.
Now lets talk about the gameplay first of all. Super Mario World feels so right, it is definitly one of the smoothest platformers ever! Of course there's an extra feature in this Mario game, absent in all others up to this point, Yoshi. He really adds an extra dimension to the gameplay and doesn't take much getting used to at all, as he is quite similar to Mario, but still feels refreshingly different.
Yoshi is practicly invincible. If you get hit while riding him, he'll throw you off and make a runner. But you can jump back onto him so long as he doesn't run too far off or fall down a hole. Other than this, Yoshi has a series of abilities such as being able to launch out his very large red tongue at any time, if it hits an enemy or edible object, (for example an apple) Yoshi will eat it. Simple.
Items like apples are automatically swallowed and you receive points, however for enemies a new element is opened up. If you eat a Koopa with a shell, the colour of the shell decides your ability, for example snap up a red shell and you can shoot fire! Other colours allow you to fly for a short period of time and even shoot the shell back out to smash other enemies.
But there's more! Yoshi can jump on stronger enemies and damage them, even on the ones Mario can't handle!
Yoshi is so valuable that he acts like a saviour on top of the usual 'get hit as Super Mario become normal Mario' type health system. But other than Yoshi, there are small, minor things that make the game work better. Such as being able to take control of the camera and making it scroll left or right. So if you miss something, or feel like looking for goodies, it's far easier now. More little things like being able to jump off Yoshi is mid-air, gives you more control over the character.
As for the graphics, they're what you'd expect. Nice and simple, colourful with nothing too distracting .The animation all runs nice and smoothly, and even if it seems like Super Mario World was designed for kids, you'll love this game no matter what age you are.
The whole feel of the game is affected by the graphics, which means it all feels very relaxed; it's definitely a pick up and play game. Of course you can get nice and involved. For example finding all the exits on the map will take a fair bit of skill, time and effort, but otherwise it's just a nice laid-back game, which can be slipped in and out of with ease, in the knowledge that you'll enjoy every moment of it when you do.
As you're aware, Super Mario World is set on an overworld map. Everytime you complete a level you get to move onto the next one , until you've uncovered the path to get all the way over to Bowser's castle. Of course it isn't quite that simple. Many of the levels have 'secret exits' which require you to do various things in the level to discover. For example Ghost houses often hide a secret exit somewhere inside that just needs to be found like a normal, but other levels may require you to find a key then an exit. This adds another layer to the game, finding all the exits in the game it's quite a tough little challenge, one that you will be rewarded for as well…
Super Mario World really is one of the greatest Mario games out there, you'll have a blast playing this and building a strong bond between you and Yoshi. And yes, it really does live up to the likes of Super Mario Bros.3.
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