He has a cape and is flying on a lizard….FUCK YES.

This game kept some of the same power-ups and random shit that SMB3 had but it also had a few new things, such as his badass little dinosaur/dragon/stretchy tongued lizard thing Yoshi. Enough about the repetitive storyline and random characters, lets get to the game review itself. I remember the first time playing this when I was just 4 years old on a Sears game demo machine, and being in love with it right away. I grew up on Nintendo until 1990-91 when I had received a Sega for my birthday, so seeing one of the most beloved characters of my early childhood in a brand new game blew my mind. When I saw it I automatically asked for a SNES but obviously that was not going to happen, so I had to wait several years until I had a few friends that owned a SNES before I could really sink my teeth into how amazing this game really is. First off lets talk about the graphics. This game is pretty…and I mean very pretty. It is crazy how a game that was released that early on in the systems life can actually come close to being the best looking game on the system, to me the only games prettier are maybe Donkey Kong Country, F-Zero, and Killer Instinct. Each environment that you get to play in has the perfect feel to the world that it is located in. Mind you there are a total of seven worlds that you must go through before you get to Bowser, but if you are good at this game then you will not have a problem getting to him pretty quickly. Difficulty is a strong point in this game only if you have not had the opportunity to play this game over and over again. If you are not used to a Mario game then this one will kick your ass constantly, but if you are a veteran of the series or just a veteran of this game then you will be the one to give it the good old fashioned curb stomping. Another thing about the difficulity is the fact that a decent amount of the stages when beat by finishing the level in a regular fashion, does absolutely nothing. In the Forest of Illusion you have to beat 4 out of 7 levels in a different non conventional fashion just to get out of that world. Even the “Ghost Houses” have to be beat by puzzle solving even if it is quite simplistic, it will fuck your mind the first couple of times. The bosses are not hard but the castles they are located in can be very difficult if you have no idea what you need to do. Last but not least Bowser’s castle is broken into two sets of rooms labeled 1-4 and then 5-8, I suggest rooms 2, and then 6 because they seem to be the easiest. When you get past that and you finally get to Bowser, he throws random “Mechabowsers” at you while he rides in his clown-face death-ship. You hit him with the toys twice, he leaves to throw flames at you, he will then throw cannonballs, and more toys. Hit him again twice he just abuses the shit out of his death-ship by slamming it into the platform you are on, hit him two more times and there you go…you beat the game. Obviously you know the music for this game had to be nothing short of golden, and you would be right, every song in the game is basically a different version of the main theme to this game just with different time scales, and different styles such as a Waltz for the Ghost Houses. Mind you this whole game soundtrack was composed by Koji Kondo, all by electronic keyboard and nothing else.

Just look how happy and sinister that clown-face death-ship is, you are scared shitless right now.

I remember last year living in college when I went to the community room and there was a SNES with this game in it. I played it and beat it in about 3 hours and 5 minutes or something like that, while ending the game with 42 lives, due to the amount that you can rack up during certain levels in the game. I decided to play the game and beat it before I did this review and I beat the game in 1 hour and 40 minutes, while having 56 lives left (I had 61 at one point). This is in no way a record due to the fact that a lot of people that do speed runs go through the short cuts and go through star road (the bonus secret set of levels) to go straight to Bowser. I beat all the stages that you have to to get to him, so I ran through the 7 worlds and beat the stages. I am not trying to brag honestly I just figured I would add this in here to prove the point that if you play this game enough or have enough experience with the older games of the series this one will not really produce too hard of a challenge.

Welcome to Dinosaur World…this is just an overview there are confusing levels in that forest of grimacing trees, and a levels in those blue doors. Either way Mario can still kick its ass.

To me this is the definitive title on the SNES, I do not care what anyone says. I understand that Chrono Trigger was a great game, and you could name as many games as you want to me but I will still say that Super Mario World is the definitive title. If you somehow have not played this game yet you need to get the rom and have a good old dose of Super NEStalgia right fucking now.

Bowser family photo (Not Pictured: That cocktease/whore Peach who had to have mothered these children and I mean willingly as well.)

What a wonderful staple of my childhood. The first time I ever had the chance to play SMW was at a Big Bear. Yeah, remember that grocery store chain that bit the dust years ago? They had a SNES in a little section for parents to drop their kids off when they drove them crazy (I fell fittingly into this category). Being a Sega child, I only had a couple friends who owned a Super Nintendo so I clung to that SNES at Big Bear. Kids wanting their turn got the silent treatment because there was no way I was letting go. Normally, I wasn’t that kid… but this was Super Fuckin’ Mario Fuckin’ World. 

Christmas united me with this classic thanks to the glory of the Virtual Console. I purchased this and Donkey Kong Country 2 (which Chad should probably review before I get to it first… duh duh DUUUUUUUH!).

Where to begin… SMW was the pinnacle  of the 2D Mario experience on the old school console. Yoshi came onto the scene, control over flight became amiable with the cape, not to mention you get to rehash the joy of decimating the Koopa Kids. Fuck those little bastards… literally, they’re bastards. Where’s the mother? Bowser would be a horrible father and an even worse single father. The only logical explanation is that Bowser got that Peach punanny on 8 occasions. What a whore.

See, total whore.

How do you think she can pull all of those turnips out of her dress? You guessed right, she’s got a gaping vagine… it looks like a pink hot tub…

Getting sidetracked…

SMW excelled at making cool looking environments

Welcome to Dinosaur Island. Those numbers you see are the rubble of castles guarded by a Koopa Kid. Your mission is to save the stolen Yoshis from these castles. Technically, you can beat the game without doing all that but then you’d be a pussy. Either that or you’re going for a speed run, then I guess I can understand that… IF you beat the world record.

For those who like a little spook every once in awhile in their adventure, there are also Ghost Houses along the way.

Home of the Boo in varied forms:

If you’ve never had to deal with a Boo, it’s quite simple. Just look at them and they quit moving. Either out of fear or shyness… the irony is palpable. Sometimes this tactic doesn’t work, hope you’re good at dodging.

Super Mario World is a KEY game for any avid gamer. It’s a classic that I still hear talk of to this day. I have never heard an ill word said in regard to it and probably never will. I’d assume the only people who don’t have good things to say about it didn’t make it through. Which is sad because the boss battle with Bowser is one of the most entertaining battles I’ve been a part of. It’s just fun, and you get to crack Bowser on the head with Mechakoopas! How does that not spell out fun!?

All of the boss battles are fun, not that I think about it.

If you haven’t played it. If you have, play it again and smile constantly.

SNES – Super Mario World