Retro Game Review- Super Mario World

Mega Sceptile | Heroic Unstoppable!
 
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So I'm back! and today I have brought with me a review of a little game from my childhood called Super Mario World! Let's see if it holds up through the years! You all know the drill from the last Quadra-Review, so let's kick this off with the story of this game!

Spoiler
After Mario slayed the koopa king for the 3rd time, Mario thought that it would be best for him and everyone else imoprtant to the monarchy to go take a vacation in Dinosaur Land, with no defenses besides the local dinosaurs. Guess what happens? Bowser manages to stuff all the Dinosaurs, known as Yoshi (Yoshis? Yoshii?) into tiny eggs half their size, and kidnaps Peach again... man, Bowser needs a hobby, pottery or something,) anyway, Bowser's back, he's on the other side of the 8 worlds, and you've got to go save the princess.

Now, the Gameplay itself, and the Mechanics that make the game a game.
Spoiler
Super Mario world's gameplay and mechanics are based on Mario 3, with a branching hub world and the same "get to the flagpole" style platforming. Notable new mechanics are the super cape, which, when used properly can circumvent whole levels, and our brand new pal, and soon to be staple of the franchise, Yoshi. He's a giant green dinosaur who has a hunger as large as Zeus' sex drive, he can consume active shells, enemies, and even the un-killable ones like the fuzzies. Yoshi also has the ability to fire off special projectiles depending on what he eats, for example, he fires off a triple shot if he eats a red shell, he can gain wings if he eats a blue shell, and he can fire green shells back out if you need a quick projectile on the fly. All in all yoshi is a formidable foe for bowser's minions, but sadly he can't be brought into fortress levels, as there's an arbitrary sign at the front that says no yoshis allowed. Mario, the good sport that he is, decided to follow the rules and not absolutely destroy the foretress with a yoshi.

The hammer bros suit and tanooki leaf/suit have disappeared this time for some reason, I guess they needed a vacation too? Anyway, all in all we have some really big gameplay changes with this game, giving it a good change up to the traditional Mario formula.

Now it's time for the enemies, because what would a mario game be without goombas to stomp?

Spoiler
Allright, in this game we have a gigantic cast of new enemies, so I'll just list them off.
We've got Amazing Flyin' Hammer Bros. Ball 'n' Chains, Banzai Bills, Beach Koopas, Beak Pillars, Big Blue Boos, Big Bubbles, Big Steelys, and Bill Blasters.

We've got Blarggs Blurps and Bob-ombs. We've got Boos, Boo Buddies, and Boo Buddy Swarms. There's so many enemies, but we've got even more!

We've got Bound Fire, Bullet Bills, Buzzy Beetles, and Chainsaws. We've got Chargin' Chuck, Cheep-Cheeps, Climbing Koopas, Dino Rhinos, Dino-Torches, and Dry Bones.

We've got Galoombas, fuzzies, Pirhana plants, Magikoopas, and Lakitu. We've got Mecha koopas, Torpedo Teds, and finally the goomba.


 All these enemies and so much more, but we also have bosses that I'm sure you're waiting for...
  We've first got Reznor, who is quite a cinch, just hit the tiny platforms that he and his friends reside on.
 Next up is The Big Boo, whom all you do is throw rocks at, but be aware, because he can only be attacked when visible.
 After that we have the 8 koopalings, all the same as they were in mario bros. 3.
 Finally the King Bowser, who throws mecha koopas at you, throw them back to end him, and avoid his giant metal balls.

All in all a gigantic improvement in enemy cast, but the bosses are lacklustre, with only a few in numbers, and some are a pain in the ass.

Now for the Graphics and Music categories, yes, I'm combining the two.
Spoiler
The graphics in this game are quite nice, with colourful sprites, and full use of the SNES' power.The background details in each level are quite nice as well, a change of pace compared to the blue and black skies of Mario 3. We've got actual clouds this time!

Next off is the music, which I could listen to for hours, In fact, I do when I'm driving down on a large road trip, I have the Mario World soundtrack on my phone. Namely the overworld, it's upbeat tune is just perfect for driving through the country side. The real downside to the Mario World soundrack is that there's only 30 minutes worth of music in it.

Overall score
Spoiler
a solid 9/10, this game is a perfect sequel to the already vast Mario Bros 3, It's cast of enemies along with the great gameplay give this game a wonderful 8/10  score, but the sound and graphics bring that score over the top to the next level, the mood that these tracks fit perfectly with the level you play, and the vibrant colours and the detail put into each sprite just add to that. if you can pick up a copy, I highly recommend doing so. The game can now be accessed by means of the virtual console on the Wii U, and that's really the only way, as SNES carts are pretty rare nowadays, and the Wii's WFC network is dead.


Professor E. Gadd | Newbie
 
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You do reviews here as well?
Cool!
Last Edit: October 01, 2014, 09:08:11 PM by Professor E. Gadd