Super Mario World
Super Mario World | |
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![]() North American SNES boxart | |
Developer(s) | Nintendo EAD |
Publisher(s) | |
Director(s) | Takashi Tezuka |
Producer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto |
Programmer(s) | |
Artist(s) | Shigefumi Hino |
Composer(s) | Koji Kondo |
Series | Super Mario |
Platform(s) | SNES, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console (Wii and Wii U) |
Release | November 21, 1990
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Genre(s) | Platforming |
Mode(s) | Single-player, sidescroller, multiplayer |
Super Mario World (スーパーマリオワールド, Sūpā Mario Wārudo), subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 (スーパーマリオブラザーズ4, Sūpā Mario Burazāzu fō) for its original Japanese release,[1] is a 1990 platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. Development was handled by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto, who directed the game along with Takashi Tezuka.
The game centers on the quest of Mario and Luigi to save Dinosaur Land from Bowser, the series' antagonist. The two brothers must travel across seven worlds to restore order to Dinosaur Land. It built on the gameplay of previous Mario games, introducing new power-ups that augment character abilities, and established conventions that were carried over to future games in the series. Super Mario World marks the first appearance of Yoshi, Mario's dinosaur sidekick and riding mount.
Super Mario World was an overwhelming critical and commercial success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide, and is considered by many Nintendo fans to be one of the best games ever made. It has been re-released four times, first as part of a combo with Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES in 1994. Secondly, it was released on the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 2 (スーパーマリオアドバンス2, Sūpā Mario Adobansu Tsū) in 2001 and outside of Japan as Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 in 2002 with modified gameplay. The third re-release was for the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan in 2006 and in North America and PAL regions in 2007; there were no changes from the original SNES version. It was also released for the Wii U's Virtual Console which integrated Off-TV Play and Miiverse features to the game.
Plot
After saving the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Bros. 3, brothers Mario and Luigi agree to take a vacation to a place called Dinosaur Land, where there are many types of dinosaurs. However, while resting on the beach, Princess Toadstool disappears. When Mario and Luigi wake up they try to find her and, after hours of searching, come across a giant egg in the forest. It suddenly hatches and out of it comes a young dinosaur named Yoshi, who then tells them that his dinosaur friends have also been imprisoned in eggs by evil Koopas. Mario and Luigi soon realize that it must be the evil King Bowser and his Koopalings.[2]
Mario, Luigi and Yoshi set out to save Princess Toadstool and Yoshi's dinosaur friends, exploring Dinosaur Land for Bowser and his Koopalings. To aid him, Yoshi gives Mario a cape as they begin their journey. Mario and Luigi continue to follow Bowser, defeating the Koopalings in the process, and save all of Yoshi's dinosaur friends. They eventually make it to Bowser's castle, where they fight him in a final battle. They defeat Bowser and save the Princess, restoring peace to Dinosaur Land.[3]
Gameplay
Super Mario World is a two-dimensional platform game in which the player controls the on-screen protagonist (either Mario or Luigi) from a third-person perspective. The game shares similar gameplay mechanics with previous titles in the series—Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Bros. 3—but introduces several new elements. In addition to the running and jumping moves found in past games, the player can float with the aid of special items and execute new types of jumps such as the spin jump.[4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f4/Supermarioworld.jpg/220px-Supermarioworld.jpg)
The player navigates through the game via two game screens: an overworld map and a sidescrolling playfield. The overworld map displays an overhead representation of the current world and has several paths leading from the world's entrance to a castle. Paths connect to action panels, fortresses, ghost houses and other map icons, and allow players to take different routes to reach the world's goal. Moving the on-screen character to an action panel or fortress will allow access to that level's playfield. The majority of the game takes place in these levels, populated with obstacles and enemies, with the player traversing the stage by running, jumping, and dodging or defeating enemies. Each world features a final stage with a boss to defeat; each of the seven worlds feature fortresses controlled by one of the Koopalings, and the player also battles Bowser in his castle in the seventh world. In addition to special items from previous games like the "Super Mushroom" and "Fire Flower", new power-ups are introduced that provide the player with new gameplay options. In addition, the "Spin Attack" jump is initiated with the "A" button. The spin attack allows Mario or Luigi to break blocks beneath him.
The new suit in the game is the cape feather, which gives Mario a cape and allows him to fly. This suit is also similar to the Tanooki Suit from Super Mario Bros. 3 in terms of gameplay mechanics but with a few alterations: you can now hold the B button to fly when Mario is able to do so, and can glide using the cape as a sail. Unlike Raccoon Mario in Super Mario Bros. 3 when powered up with the cape, Mario may fly across the level indefinitely.
The powerups from Super Mario Bros. 3 did not return: Super Leaf, Tanooki Suit, Frog Suit, and Hammer Suit. The game introduces Yoshi, a dinosaur companion whom Mario can ride and who is able to eat most enemies.[4] Yoshis takes a long time to eat Koopas whole because the Koopas' shells are barely digestible. However, this is an advantage, as Yoshi will gain certain abilities based on the color of the shell in his mouth. The default Yoshi is green, and will sprout wings (which allow him to fly when the user repeatedly presses "A") if in its mouth there is a blue shell. It will stomp to the ground after jumping, creating dust clouds if there is a yellow shell in its mouth, and will launch three fireballs forward once he spits a red shell out. Green shells grant no special abilities to green Yoshi. However, in Star World, one can find Yoshi eggs that are colored blue, red, or yellow. Upon coming into contact with these eggs, they hatch and the player can then carry the baby Yoshi around. It will eat enemies it comes into contact with until it matures into a full-size blue, red, or yellow Yoshi. The special Yoshis will gain the abilities that Green Yoshi normally gains with a Koopa of the corresponding color when ANY Koopa shell is in its mouth—for example, blue Yoshi will fly even if it holds a green, yellow, or red shell in its mouth, AND will gain the ability of the shell in its mouth too. As another example, red Yoshi will be able to fly when it holds a blue shell, and then will spit fire when it releases that shell. Even green shells give abilities to special Yoshis, despite the fact that green Yoshi gains no abilities with green.
Super Mario World includes a multiplayer option which allows two players to play the game by alternating turns at navigating the overworld map and accessing stage levels; the first player controls Mario, while the other controls Luigi. Although Mario and Luigi must generally navigate through seven worlds to reach the end of the game, the player can beat the game much faster by using the Star Road routes. In addition, there are a number of levels that have hidden exits, and as a result there exist several ways for Mario to navigate to Bowser's castle. Furthermore, the exploration of these secret stages lead to stages which while not necessary to the main plot, provide the gamer with more playing experience, such as Special World. Completion of Special World permanently alters some sprites and the overworld map's colour scheme.
Development
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Shigeru_Miyamoto_cropped.jpg/220px-Shigeru_Miyamoto_cropped.jpg)
The game was directed by Takashi Tezuka and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario and The Legend of Zelda, with Shigefumi Hino as the graphics designer. Development was handled by Nintendo EAD, headed by Miyamoto. It took three years to develop the game with a team of sixteen people. However, Miyamoto stated that he felt that the game was incomplete and that development was rushed toward the end, voicing hope that with time the games for the system would allow for more emotion and story.[5]
Miyamoto stated that he had wanted Mario to have a dinosaur companion ever since Super Mario Bros.; however, Nintendo engineers could not fit the companion into the limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System. He said that "we were finally able to get Yoshi off the drawing boards with the SNES".[5] Yoshi came in one size and four colours, with different powers and huge appetites.[5] Super Mario World arrived in 1991 alongside the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America.[5]
Re-releases
After the success of Super Mario World, the game was packaged in a special version of Super Mario All-Stars titled Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, which was released in 1994 in the United States and in Europe as the pack-in game for the SNES "Super Mario Set" bundle.[6] In this version, Luigi has his own sprite (in the original, Luigi's sprite was simply a palette swap of the Mario sprite), while the rest remained the same. In 1995, two companies known as Hummer Team and JY Company ported the Super Famicom version of Super Mario World to the Famicom in China with no license. Super Mario World was one of the first games to be announced for the Wii's Virtual Console. It was released in Japan on December 2, 2006, in the United States on February 5, 2007, and in the Europe on February 9, 2007.[7] A short timed demo of the game is one of the unlockable "Masterpieces" in the 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was also released for the Wii U in North America and Japan on April 26, 2013 and in Europe on April 27, 2013 along with the full launch of the Virtual Console for that console.
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Between 2001 and 2002, Super Mario World was ported by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development to the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2.[8][9] Some levels were minimally changed, but the most noticeable alteration was making the game for one player only instead of two. However, Luigi was still usable, but this time as an alternate character; he could jump higher than Mario, but he ran slightly slower. Mario or Luigi could be selected by pressing the GBA shoulder buttons on the map screen. They were also given voices, which were done by Charles Martinet. Luigi's sprites were changed once again with his appearance closer to the original Super Mario Advance game, which was based on Super Mario Bros. 2.[10]
Music
Super Mario World has one of the more memorable soundtracks within the Super Mario Bros. franchise. Its overworld as well as castle levels were used in the animated series as well as reproduced in later Super Mario games.
Koji Kondo composed the music used in Super Mario World, using only an electronic keyboard. The entirety of the music heard in the game, with the exception of the music played in the title screen, credits, maps, and fighting Bowser, is a variation on the same melody. The melody, played in F major is heard normally on the standard overworld levels. It is slowed down and made to echo in caverns, whereas it moves in a slow, wave-like fashion, a slow (in 3/4 or waltz time) in underwater levels (a recurring musical tradition in underwater levels played in Super Mario games); in the athletic theme, it is played quickly and energetically to suit the more risky and lively nature of a level taking place in the air. The castle theme is a symphonic variation of the melody in F minor, then C minor, giving the song an overall ominous tone.
The Super Mario Bros. theme can be heard in the Special Zone if the player leaves the overworld screen open for a few minutes. When riding on Yoshi, the soundtrack of any level is accompanied by bongo drums,[11] a sound design element that was carried over into Super Mario Sunshine, as well as New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2 some 18 years later. [citation needed]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
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GameRankings | 94.44%[13] |
Publication | Score |
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AllGame | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Famitsu | GBA 34/40[12] |
IGN | GBA 9.3/10[9] VC 8.5/10 [14] |
Super Mario World was met with widespread critical acclaim upon release. The game has continued to receive highly favorable reviews for many years. It is ranked as the seventeenth-highest rated videogame of all time on GameRankings, where the game received very positive scores, with a 94.44% average score.[13][15] Allgame gave the game five stars out of five, praising the graphics, sound, and replay value.[4] It was ranked as the eighth best game for a Nintendo console in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list.[16] Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the game seventh in its "100 greatest Nintendo games of all time".[17] Famitsu readers ranked it 61st in the magazine's list of the top 100 video games.[18] In 2009, a poll conducted by British film magazine Empire voted it "the greatest game of all time."[19] In the Virtual Console review of the game, IGN said that the game should be downloaded by people who did not own the Game Boy Advance version of the game and gave it an 8.5 out of 10, a Great score.[14] Super Mario World won Nintendo Power's game of the year award for 1991. The game has also appeared on several "best video games of all time" lists such as those from Edge Magazine and Retrogamer. GameSpot consider the game to be one of the greatest games of all time.[20] Game Informer reviewed this game with a 10/10 in a classic review. In its final issue, Nintendo Power named Super Mario World the fifth greatest game of all time.
Super Mario World has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time.[21] As a pack-in title for the SNES, Super Mario World helped popularize the console,[4] which has sold 49.10 million units worldwide, including 23.35 million in the Americas and 17.17 million in Japan.[22] In a poll conducted in 2008, Yoshi was voted as the third-favorite video game character in Japan, with Cloud Strife and Mario placing second and first, respectively.[23]
Legacy, television series, alternate versions, and influence
Yoshi became one of the most important characters in the Mario franchise, re-appearing in later Super Mario games and in nearly all Mario sports and spin-off games. Yoshi appears as the main playable character in Super Mario World's 1995 sequel Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which helped lead to multiple video games focused on the character. A Super Mario World clone, entitled Super Mario's Wacky Worlds, was in development for the Philips CD-i device by NovaLogic from 1992 to 1993, but was cancelled due to console's commercial failure.[24]
DIC Entertainment produced a Super Mario World animated series based on the game, which consisted of thirteen episodes and ran on NBC from September to December 1991.
A number of Super Mario World ROM hacks have been made by fans, notably Kaizo Mario World.
References
- ^ Nintendo. Super Mario World (Super Famicom) (in Japanese). Level/area: Front packaging.
- ^ http://www.mariomayhem.com/downloads/mario_instruction_booklets/super_mario_world-snes.pdf
- ^ Nintendo R&D1. Super Mario World instruction manual. Nintendo.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e Miller, Skyler. "Super Mario World". Review. Allgame. Archived from the original on February 16, 2010. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
- ^ a b c d McLaughlin, Rus (2007-11-08). "IGN Presents The History of Super Mario Bros". Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ^ "Super Mario All-Stars / Super Mario World Release Information for SNES". GameFAQs. GameSpot. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
- ^ "Virtual Console". Nintendo Power. 213: 40. March 2007.
- ^ "Joining Nintendo After Super Mario". Iwata Asks: Super Mario Bros. 25th Anniversary. Nintendo. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ a b Harris, Craig (2002-02-11). "Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World". IGN. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
- ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (2002-02-12). "Super Mario Advance 2 Review". GameSpot UK. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ^ Nintendo EAD (1990-11-21). Super Mario World (SNES) (in Japanese and English) (1 ed.). Nintendo.
- ^ ゲームボーイアドバンス - スーパーマリオアドバンス2. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.116. 30 June 2006.
- ^ a b "Super Mario World for SNES". GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- ^ a b Thomas, Lucas (2007-02-05). "Super Mario World VC Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
- ^ "All-Time Best". GameRankings. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
- ^ "NP Top 200". Nintendo Power. 200: 58–66. February 2006.
- ^ East, Tom (2009-03-02). "100 Best Nintendo Games — Part Six". Official Nintendo Magazine. Future plc. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ "Japan Votes on All Time Top 100 Video Games". Edge. 2006-03-03. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
- ^ "The 100 Greatest Games Of All Time". Empire. Bauer Consumer Media. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
- ^ Alex Navarro. "The Greates Games Of All Time". Retrieved 2012-03-20.
- ^ "The Nintendo Years: 1990". Next-Gen.biz. 2007-06-25. p. 2. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
- ^ "Consolidated Sales Transition by Region". Nintendo. 2010-01-27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2008-08-12). "And Japan's Favorite Video Game Characters Are...?". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
- ^ "Super Mario's Wacky Worlds". IGN. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
External links
- Official Nintendo Japan Super Mario World site
- The Mushroom Kingdom
- Super Mario World at Super Mario Wiki
- Template:StrategyWiki
- 1990 video games
- 1991 video games
- 2001 video games
- Game Boy Advance games
- Pack-in video games
- Dinosaurs in video games
- Mario platform games
- Mario Universe games
- Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development games
- Side-scrolling platform games
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System games
- Video games developed in Japan
- Virtual Console games
- Virtual Console games for Wii U
- Video games composed by Koji Kondo
- Video games produced by Shigeru Miyamoto
- Multiplayer and single-player video games