Super Mario World Review and Retrospective SNES

[Music] in the summer of 1991 the anticipation was mounting Nintendo was primed to launch the successor to the wildly popular Nintendo Entertainment System the Super Nintendo and bundled with it Super Mario World with charming characters unforgettable level design perfect platforming controls and a soundtrack that exudes pure joy Super Mario World is a platforming masterpiece but in the summer of 1991 nothing was guaranteed developers at Nintendo had been tasked with creating a game that would not only propel the Mario franchise forward but also show the world the power of the Super Nintendo everything was riding on it in this review and retrospective I'll explore the history of Super Mario world's development and examine every delightful aspect of the game reminding you of moments you've forgotten and unearthing secrets you've never known in 1985 Nintendo released Super Mario Brothers on the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System designed by then 33 year old Shigeru Miyamoto in 25 year old Takashi Tezuka super mario brothers assured in a new era for video games making platforming power-ups hidden secrets and bite-sized levels gaming standards with over 40 million copies in circulation it almost single-handedly revitalized the wavering video game market and made Mario a household name after the success of the original title kids were clamoring for a sequel in Japan Nintendo released Super Mario Brothers 2 but it was brutally difficult and looked much like the first game Nintendo of America decided not to localize it and request it instead that famicom title you Mako Joe Doki Doki Panic be retooled with the characters items sounds and abilities from Super Mario Brothers on October 9th 1988 the American version of Super Mario Brothers 2 was released due to its unique origins it looked and felt very different than the first game but kids didn't care it was colorful full of secrets had clever gameplay new enemies and with the choice of four unique playable characters kids appetite for Mario was temporarily satisfied but as time went by fans were eager for more with powerful marketing and pre-release gameplay introduced in the feature film The Wizard hype for Mario 3 reached rockstar levels on February 12th 1990 Super Mario Brothers 3 was unleashed with an expansive overworld map thematic worlds a whole slew of new power-ups and dynamic new moves like sliding down slopes and the ability to fly it didn't disappoint the fever pitch excitement for anything related to Mario cannot be overstated Super Mario Brothers one two and three all ranked in the top four best-selling NES games of all time and the only non Mario game couldn't have done it without him Mario had invaded games television movies and merchandise and more importantly he had invaded our imaginations so when rumors began to swirl about a new 16-bit Nintendo console featuring an all-new Super Mario game the anticipation was palpable Super Mario World was developed by Nintendo's famous entertainment analysis and development division produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and directed by Takashi Tezuka the team behind the original Super Mario Brothers with Koji Kondo handling the music it was the dream team but still the task of creating the flagship game for new hardware was daunting before starting Super Mario World we ported Mario 3 to the Super Famicom is a hardware experiment and even though the colors and sprites were more detailed it was the same game again we had to create something new as these images reveal even early builds borrowed a lot from Mario 3 so to set it apart and advance the franchise the team focused on incorporating fresh concepts power-ups and play styles the idea for Yoshi was an early one for Miyamoto he kept this sketch at his desk since the days of the original Super Mario Brothers and Yoshi's appearance is strikingly similar to the protagonist in Miyamoto's devil world artist shaggy Fiumicino originally drew him much more realistically lizard-like but after input and multiple revisions arrived at the cute happy-go-lucky companion we know today with orange arms that's right he has orange arms and Link has pink hair to further set super mario world apart from its predecessors the team unapologetically worked in all the stunning new effects made possible with the Super Nintendo Hardware mode 7 rotation and scaling enormous on-screen enemies large numbers of up to 128 simultaneously moving objects transparency mosaic pixelation multiple scrolling backgrounds background and foreground layering and the use of 256 unique simultaneous colors from a palette of over 32,000 choices they were poised to impress while most of the team focused on the look and feel of the game composer koji kondo had challenges of his own with the Super Famicom you have to create the sound samples themselves so compared with the Famicom it was a hundred times more difficult for Super Mario World I decided I would try and use sounds that the normal Instruments who here in the real world so after three years of creative collaboration and long nights in the office the team's efforts were about to be revealed to the world and for Mario fans life was about to get 16 bits better news in August 1991 the much awaited Super Nintendo Entertainment System launched in stores and as the launch title and packing game Super Mario World had to be more than just a great game it had to be a statement this new system was in fact super the moment kids saw the cartridge they knew super mario world would be special there against a bright blue background they were greeted by a joyful mario wearing a cape and riding a dinosaur simple as it was that image promised heroism and adventure only the mushroom fire flower and star man the three original power-ups from mario 1 returned for super mario world but these new power-ups were refreshing innovative and thankfully they would be the heart of the game by grabbing a feather our humble plumber transforms into cape Mario much like the raccoon leaf both power-ups allow Mario to whip enemies glide down from a fall and fly but unlike racoon Mario Cape Mario could remain airborne with well time to back presses on the d-pad and by pressing forward he could dive bomb the ground sure the magic cape allows you to bypass certain levels but whether you play them on the ground or in the air you'll have fun doing it the most notable addition is Mario's bouncy new dinosaur friend with the bottomless stomach Yoshi whereas Nintendo's official character man you calls him T yoshisaur munchakoopas weird as a powerup companion Yoshi is extremely useful when Mario punches him in the head his frog like tongue lashes out grabbing anything in reach he can also stomp enemies into oblivion walk freely on dangerous objects and he provides you with a second mid-air jump essentially a double jump but with the cost that you must dismount midair often sacrificing him in the process when he tries to eat a Koopa shell which is understandably hard to swallow he'll hold it in his mouth and get a special ability - pending on the color of the shell yellow ones allow him to ground pound nearby enemies blue ones allow him to fly and with red ones he can spit a spread shot volley of fireballs when you get to the Star Road levels you'll find the rare yellow blue and red Yoshi these will manifest these same colored shell abilities but are based on Yoshi's color no matter what shell he has in his mouth with the super Nintendos additional buttons came a new ability the spin jump with it Mario can break rotating blocks access secrets leap off Yoshi and kill most enemies in a single hit players were also given a powerup Reserve box at the top of the screen when Mario would become small or by pressing select this reserved item would drop down as the development team often did this potential advantage also came with the potential cost if mario failed to grab the falling item it would be gone for good there are other odd additions like the power balloon that makes Mario puff up and drift through the sky moons worth three extra men green star bonus blocks that reward you with a 1up if you find at least 30 coins in a level powerup Brouilette blocks and a cloud that hatches from a Yoshi egg and throws happy coins the powerup system of super mario world took gameplay in a completely different direction than Super Mario Brothers 3 what it lost in quantity it gained in complexity the addition of the spin jump the cape and more revolutionarily Yoshi gave players new depths of control and gave Mario everything he needed to explore this Super Mario World [Music] Dinosaur Land is an odd place constructed with unique geometric shapes and populated with a quirky cast of characters in the NES days most characters pasted mindlessly but for the Super Nintendo developers took them to the next level giving them personalities and bringing the world to life in the most charming ways Koopas have been in the series from the beginning but this time around they felt much more alive walking on two legs crawling outside their shelves and often soaring through the skies as super Koopas big boos may haunt ghost houses but really they're afraid of you when you're not looking they float spookily towards you with menacing fangs but as soon as you face them these big boos cower as if hiding their eyes makes them invisible to you blogs are dragon like creatures that lurk mainly in the molten lava flows of vanilla dome their eyes peek above the surface scanning for danger and potential prey and at the right time they dip down and strike just as Mario school raft approaches wigglers exude personality trotting peacefully among the trees with four pairs of shoes and a flower sprouting from their head they seem like friendly caterpillars but after you jump on them they burn red with anger and aggressively pursue you the most bizarre character is the football kicking baseball throwing charging chuck with the shell on his back I suppose he's some sort of hammer brother variation but with an aptitude for sports whatever he is he's an odd addition to the world but considering its called Dinosaur Land there aren't many dinosaurs and while the lands are imaginatively named after deserts their names have little to do with their designs I guess donut Plains is kinda circular with a hole in the center and chocolate island is decidedly Brown but there's nothing especially vanilla about vanilla dome and cheese bridge is neither cheesy nor is there much bridge sure there are some themes such as forest of illusion being set in a forest but overall level variety isn't based on environment like previous games but rather on various level types within worlds like platforming levels levels obstacle levels ghost houses fortresses and castles these Ark types have unique gameplay mechanics and since they're scattered throughout the game they keep players guessing ghost houses for example not only feel different than traditional levels with spooky music wooden beams and boos ethereal e fading in and out but actually play different - with tricky puzzles and cleverly hidden exits when you find the levels exit a new path will be revealed often dynamically morphing the geography around it but 24 levels in the game have either a second exit gate or a secret key hole that opens up another path most ghost houses have a second exit as do all levels represented by a red dot on the map finding these hidden exits feels like the natural evolution of Mario style secrets introduced in the original game but these require more exploration and since Mario often needs specific items to access them they require more skill as well developers also added lots of optional content with special levels that were much more challenging as well as many regular levels and secrets that could be bypassed completely in fact it's possible to defeat Bowser by finding only eleven of the game's 96 exits but there's great fun in finding everything super mario world has to offer the star world levels for example are very rewarding you feel like you're in a forbidden area you find new colorful Yoshi's and the stars are teleportation shortcuts across Dinosaur Land but after finding the keyhole in star world 5 you gain access to an even more forbidden area the special world I've never been crazy about the extreme 90s level names here like mondo and gnarly and tubular in Japan they have better names like specialists course championship course and best of all even the mario staff is shocked course yeah that's real these levels are some of the most difficult in the game and developers knew it too giving you an in-game congratulations as you completed them and permanently changing the overworld and koopa sprites as proof of your accomplishment weird just as in the original Super Mario Brothers each area ends with a castle beyond the usual fireballs and pools of lava these castles take on a more medieval tone with chain flails sharpened spike columns and enormous wooden smashers often you must ride a platform that snakes unpredictably between dangerous obstacles and over spikes and lava the challenge isn't just avoiding the hazards but doing so on an ever-changing platform with such little space to maneuver then at the end of each Castle behind an imposing red boss door you face one of Bowser's seven children the Koopalings Iggy and Larry throw things at you as a slab of Earth Bob's in the lava morton and roy walk along the walls and ceiling of a room attempting to smash you from above Lemmy and Wendy hide in pipes as fireballs bounce around the room and Ludwig spits fire and spins along the floor in his spiny shell these encounters aren't especially difficult but the variety keeps it fun and watching the playful way as mario destroys each castle is a perfect example of the delight sprinkled throughout Dinosaur Land koji kondo Super Mario World score highlights the vibrant art style with whimsical instrumentation drawing players in by creating moods that fit their environments and with the super Nintendos eight channels of high quality sound and 256 points of left/right separation he also highlights exactly what this new system could do to truly appreciate these enhancements I suggest you put on a pair of headphones for this next part oh wait the forest of illusion theme captures the playful yet mysterious sense of exploring the woods you you the underground level music echoes along methodically creating the perfect atmosphere for caves [Music] and as a special touch no matter what theme is playing drums come in whenever you're riding Yoshi but Kondo demonstrates his genius even further by using one primary melody throughout the game with mere alterations in tone pitch tempo and accompaniment this primary melody is retained and each level archetype is brought to life [Music] I often think back to that summer in 1991 when anticipation filled the air for Nintendo's new system Super Mario World was coming and we were so eager to play it but even now as the graphics and system effects have aged the game itself continues to shine with a perfect mixture of playfulness and nostalgia epic grandeur and seemingly insignificant details there's an undeniable magic to its design Nintendo's dream team had created a masterpiece they stepped out of the shadow of Super Mario Brothers 3 by returning to the roots of the original game with simple power-ups foreboding lava filled castles and early ideas that had gone unused and they stepped into the horizon fulfilling the promise of the Super Nintendo pushing the franchise forward in epic new directions directions that echo in the series to this day they gave the world its favorite little dinosaur and most importantly of all brought joy to generations Takashi Tezuka once said this was my approach to Mario I want to make games that no matter how many times you clear them you want to keep that game and hold on to it like a treasure and with Super Mario World he did [Music]

Channel: NESComplex

Views: 360,348

Rating: 4.930141 out of 5

Keywords: NESComplex, NES, Complex, Is it fun?, super mario world, super mario world review, super mario world retrospective, mario world review, mario world retrospective, super, mario, world, snes, snes games, snes reviews, super nintendo, super nintendo review, super nintendo reviews, snes review, history of super mario world, development of super mario world, shigeru miyamoto, takashi tezuka, koji kondo, generation gap gaming, pixel game squad, russ lyman, game dave mario, Mario SNES

Id: mgQUAbiIUuo

Length: 20min 6sec (1206 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 24 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Kittinator]

I loved these games growing up. My one true wish is a new Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

[u/anujsingh83]

This is a very well produced video; thank you for sharing! I've played through it a good number of times over the years but you still taught me lots of interesting tidbits.

I'm confused and annoyed with the downvotes you've received too...

[u/sixner]

Well that was a delightful little watch.

I never thought about it, but ya those football/baseball dudes were pretty out of place here.

[u/artate3]

I cant wait for the super mario odyssey HD remake 2 years from now