The 10s: Super Mario World

Looks Like Bowser is at it again!

Nintendo was the unquestioned king of the home console video game world in the 80's, but by the time the 90's rolled around they found their castle was under siege.

This siege, led by a super-fast, super hip hedgehog and his edgy compatriots, was going quite well for the Big N's latest rival. Their biggest weapon in all of this was a new, sleek, 16-bit gaming machine that has the aging NES on the ropes. Between the marketing blitz and blast processing and top-of-the-line graphics, Nintendo had their hands full. The NES had some great games, like Super Mario Bros. 3, but it just couldn't compete with the Genesis from a technical standpoint. However, Nintendo wasn't about to hand over the crown just yet. They were ready with some brand-new firepower of their own, kicking off the 90's with the new Super NES. Now they had their own 16-bit machine, a new console to help them defend their figurative crown. But a console alone wasn't enough. The world's most powerful cannon can't do a damn thing if it isn't loaded. But remember, this is Nintendo we're talking about. They knew exactly what they were doing and even though the console launched with only two games in Japan, those games were outstanding. When the SNES finally made it stateside in 1991, it arrived with five titles, all of which had something to offer. F-Zero was a great futuristic racer, Gradius III was a well-regarded shoot 'em up, SimCity was a port of an insanely popular PC game and Pilotwings...has never been my cup of tea but it has its fans. But it was the last game that truly provided Nintendo with the ammunition they needed to start fighting back against Sega.

Everyone and their mother knew there was going to be a new Mario game to accompany the new Nintendo Console. Let's be honest, we knew it was going to be at least decent. This was more a question of how far they would push the standard. Super Mario Bros. 1&2 were both great, and SMB 3 took the series to heights even it hadn't reached before. No one was worried about Super Mario World being a bad game, but would it reach the lofty heights set by its predecessors? No, it exceeded them. SMB3 added a new level of depth to the series with its overworld maps and secret items. But SMW tripled down, offering the biggest, deepest, most substantial Mario journey yet. It's crammed with secret exits, hidden levels, alternate paths and unique powerups, more than any other previous entry in the series by far. However, it also retained the outstanding level design and near-perfect pacing that the series had become known for. You looked at all the content available and were like "oh wow, look at all the stuff to do!" and not "ugh, this is going to take me forever." I'm not sure I've ever played a 2D action game that has made me want to explore every corner of its world like this one did.

SMW is almost perfect from a technical standpoint, the controls we all know and love from the previous Mario titles are back here, and they are as responsive as ever. If anything, I think jumping is more precise here than it had ever been up until that point. The graphics are bright, colorful and detailed and made full use of the new capabilities of the SNES. This is yet another case of a launch title being one of the better-looking games in a console's library and that's saying quite a bit on the SNES. Sound is also awesome, there are tons of iconic, upbeat tunes that fit the atmosphere perfectly. This was a huge generational jump and I think comparing SMB3 to SMW really demonstrates that in the auditory and visual departments. One thing that was fortunately carried over from the former was the varied and interesting environments. The latter offers some great looking areas with detailed backgrounds, populated by the series' most creative enemies. Everything here is just so well designed and you rarely, if ever, are forced to contend with cheap BS masquerading as challenge. It's a bit of an apples-to-apples comparison, but SMW is right up there with Street Fighter II Turbo as one of the most objectively well-made games of all time.

Part of that stems from the level design, which might be the game's strongest point. There's a good mix of straightforward and obtuse, vertical and horizontal, unique and familiar and everything in between. Some of the levels use enemies to provide challenge, while others rely on platforming, but it never feels like too much of either. You can even skip some levels if they are too difficult. The ghost houses task you with solving puzzles, which are fun to take on even if some of them are a bit ridiculous. Each world ends with a Koopa castle, which ramp up the challenge and do a great job of testing the player's skills. The boss fights at the end of these castles are okay, but at least they are all different unlike in SMB3. But the one thing I always felt set SMW apart was the level of exploration it offered. Trying to go down different pipes, flying with the cape, using the newly created blocks turned on through switch palaces, all of these things will open up opportunities for new items and in some cases, alternate exits. These alternate exits will open hidden levels, ghost houses and the aforementioned switch palaces. Some will even let you skip spots on the map.

But it doesn't just stop there. Most of these secret levels have secrets of their own, allowing you to dig deeper and deeper into the game's world. Dig deep enough and you might find the Star Road, a collection of super-secret levels that will further challenge players and allow for new connections throughout the world map. But it goes even deeper still. All of these secret levels have, you guessed it, secret exits players can search for. Find them all and you will be transported to an even more super-secret world, featuring some of the game's most challenging levels. These levels, all of which have ridiculous names like Gnarly! Tubular! and Radical! offer even more challenge, whether it be in the form of complex platforming or puzzle solving. There is so much depth here, 2D platformers of the era just didn't have this level of stuff to do.

I almost forgot, SMW saw the debut of one of the series' most iconic characters: Yoshi. It's difficult to imagine the series without Mario's favorite dinosaur companion, but he was yet another aspect that made SMW stand out. In addition to being a major part of the story and just generally awesome, Yoshi offers a variety of new ways to play the game. He gives Mario a ranged attack and also allows him to collect powerups from long distances. He gives Mario an extra hit, as well as an extra jump in a pinch. It really is amazing how the small changes Yoshi brought to the series changed the way you were able to play the game. As a whole, it would have been nice to see more new power ups, the cape is technically new, but it basically behaves the same way as the raccoon tail from SMB3, but Yoshi more than makes up for this. I also like how you can store a power up, which you will have an opportunity to grab if you are hit. There may not be too many new gameplay mechanics, but there is something to be said for perfecting a tried-and-true formula rather than trying to innovate for innovation's sake.

Super Mario World is one of those games that you can attack a variety of different ways and play differently each time you start up a new save. To me, the best part of SMW is the depth and ability to explore, combing each level for the secrets on top of secrets. But I've heard a lot of people also say this is one of their favorite games to speed run, if you know exactly where to look you can very quickly skip to the final levels of Bowser's castle. I never really understood the appeal of speed running, but the fact that two different types of people with very different outlooks on gaming enjoy the same title this much is a testament to its quality. There's no wrong way to play SMW and its probably one of the least linear games of its time. It's certainly one of the least linear 2D platformers of its time, not quite on the level of something like Metroid but still very open.

It's really hard to put into words just how excellent Super Mario World is, because it's just so well made and designed. It's almost like a blueprint for how 2D platformers could, and should, be created, even to this day. It's also not like people don't know it's a great game. Even amongst my 10's games, there are a lot of polarizing tiles. But I don't think I've ever heard a single person hate on SMW, even if they prefer other games in the series. This is one of the few games ever that seems to be above reproach in almost every way, and there's a good reason for that. It's a classic Mario title, yet it also offers a level of depth that the rest of the series doesn't always provide. Part of what makes it great is that SMW is a rare title that appears to all gamers, from the completely causal to the hardcore. It offers something for everyone, whether you just want to hop around some platforms or you're trying a no hit, no miss speed run. It's not hard to track down and even the original cart is relatively inexpensive, so it's definitely something you should play any way you can.