Super Mario World

Super Mario World title screen (American SNES version)

Super Mario World is the first game made for the Super Famicom for its Japanese release, and the Super Nintendo for its release in North America and Europe. The game has also been released for Gameboy Advance under Super Mario Advance 2.

The game was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and the music was composed by Koji Kondo.

SMW featured the first appearance of Mario's Dinosaur Friend Yoshi. The plot of the game involves Mario and Luigi trying to to save Princess Toadstool and Yoshi's friends from King Bowser Koopa and his Koopalings, who have returned despite their defeat in Super Mario Bros 3.

The gameplay action is sidescrolling as in previous Mario games, but adds some two-dimensional scrolling and takes advantage of the Super Nintendo's 16-bit graphics and stereo audio. The game consists of a journey through levels in seven worlds: Yoshi's Island, Donut Plains, Vanilla Dome, Cookie Mountain, Forest of Illusion, Chocolate Island, and the Valley of Bowser. There are also two secret worlds, the Star Road and Special Zone which can be accessed by completing secondary goals in specific levels.

Perhaps the most noteworthy feature of Super Mario World is its lasting appeal. Even though it has been out for over 10 years it is more fun to play than most of today's new games. Its simple, creative gameplay and subtle messages about our own society hold up remarkably well against the test of time.

The game has often been compared to Super Mario Brothers, in the sense that both games "set the bar" for all subsequent games released on their respective systems. SMW introduced many now common concepts to action gaming, such as giving the player the ability to re-visit levels to find overlooked secrets. It is still considered by many to be the greatest game of all time.

A copy of Super Mario World came with each Super Nintendo upon the system's release in America, although this package deal was later dropped. Due to this promotion, SMW remains one of the best-selling video games of all time.

SMW was included in a special version of Super Mario All-Stars, released in 1998.

In an only slightly related note, this game features differently colored Yoshis, not just the "standard" green ones. Some believe that this may be a way for the developers to express their feelings about racism; every Yoshi has a unique ability, but every Yoshi is just as good as the next.

See also : List of SNES games