LogFAQs > #980872944

#4. Super Mario World (1990)
Total Points: 87
List Appearances: 32
First Place Votes: 5
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Write-up provided by ctesjbuvf
To best share how much I love this game, I will do a mix of gaming analysis and personal anecdotes, but mostly the latter. I don't think there exists any video game that has defined my gaming career to the same degree as Super Mario World. My earliest memories are playing Mario games on my dad's consoles. I sometimes wonder if I have preferred video games over movies and books due to my inability to sit completely still or if I I have developed an ability to sit still due to growing up with a controller in hand.

Super Mario World holds a special place in this regard. I started playing this at the age of 2 years old and first beat the game at the age of 3. This sounds crazy to me now, but a kid as I was years ahead in intelligence and ability in general although the world caught up to me at some point. Anyway, this achievement made my then 29-year-old dad a good mix of proud and annoyed because he could not beat it. Platformers were never really his thing, but still, that really made me proud. I was meant to play Mario.

I always preferred this above the other Mario games, and I have played them all countless times. I think World is the best of them and I always have. I get the arguments for 3, which is also a top 20 maybe 10 game for me to this day, and they're often compared, but to me World tops it. I think both Yoshi and cape are great additions that really allow you to to get creative with how to progress levels. Yes, you can also basically skip many levels using them, but it doesn't hold the game down a bit for me, it's very easy to not do and that anyone can get through most non-castles/ghost houses by flying over everything takes nothing from my joy of playing through them regularly.

I actually really appreciate Nintendo giving this option for easy progress rather than being in your face about lowering difficulty if you slip a few times as the newer games do. The use of the colored blocks is another great way to achieve this. Getting them doesn't feel like you are making things too easy, but you can really challenge yourself if you ignore them. In general, the game knows when to be challenging and when not to. It really has the perfect balance of this that allows any player to have a good time, which is what gaming is all about.

There are no low points of the game as I see it. All worlds are quite equal in variety. I wish more Mario games would replicate this design. By not grouping all water levels (or later dessert, snow or whatever) together, gameplay doesn't ever take a dip for any duration of the game, the flow is perfect. I mean, thematically the worlds still differ but by keeping the core concept the same, they are all strong.

Finding secrets is also an excellent new mainstay, which also encourages you to not just jump to the end as fast as possible! Dragon Coins serve a similar purpose even if the game doesn't keep track of them. Levels feel less linear and some of the secrets are very difficult to find. The castles and ghost houses are peak gaming. They are probably the best levels from a challenge perspective, while ghost houses excel at both challenge and exploration. These is also when you can't get help from Yoshi. The design philosophy here is more about enemy placement and perfect jumping. The boss battles are more diverse than previously despite there being some repeats. The battle with Bowser is also way better than in 3.

There are secret worlds that combines the best aspects of the game. Sure, some of the levels there are gimmicky, but the atmosphere is fantastic. Most people can save the princess, but the greatest satisfaction isn't given from that. Rather it's hidden for those who put themselves to the test the most. Getting through the special world is the true climax that gives you a greater moment of satisfaction than Mario (or really Nintendo) had done up until that point. The simplicity of Nintendo telling you in coins that You Are a Superstar is a perfect way of telling you that you had achieved everything they had to offer and mastered their game.

I have probably played the game at least once a year since the age of 3. Sometimes it's just the fastest route to Bowser, mostly it's taking some hours off to get all 96 exits. I got the Game Boy Advance remake at some point and now then I would play it a ton on the go as well. I could now also easily beat it on the car drive to our family on the other side of the country. To this day, running through the aforementioned coins at the end still make me smile, every time. This game is comfort, it's a home I can walk into and it (along with the franchise in general) has defined the person I am. Nostalgia is obviously big for me here, but lots of things I'm as nostalgic about I basically never revisit, this holds up perfectly and is enjoyable every single time.

Speaking of nostalgia, as I kid I really wanted to be Mario, be the hero. I played Mario all the time and when I couldn't on consoles I played Mario at the playground instead. My grandmother cared to humor me and my kiddy ideas more than anyone else and so she was always Luigi, but all my family members were designated some character. My mother has embarrassing memories of me introducing myself to her friends and people we met as Mario because she did not want them to think she named her kid that. My grandmother would follow up by introducing herself as Luigi, she really let me be in my own Super Mario world. When I lost this grandmother only a couple of months ago, I was devastated because of how close we were as I grew up, even then my whole family remarked that I had lost my Luigi. It really speaks volumes about how much this universe was a part of me.

Countless pictures of me in a Mario costume exist. Even as a adult too actually, my current Facebook profile pic is exactly this, as I was part of an organizer team for welcoming new students some years back. When video games was chosen as the theme for the trip, I just had to be Mario, anything else wouldnt feel right. My GameFAQs account will turn into a ?-Block maybe right as you are reading this, maybe in a few days, either way its very fitting. I also can't ever vote against Mario in character battles despite better characters existing, it's a different parameter, and it's hard for me to compare Mario to anything else.

I sometimes wonder how good I could have gotten at Super Mario World if I stuck more to that instead of playing most games possible. I mean, I know it in and out, but I think I could compete for records if I dedicated myself, I have been close enough honestly. This is typical me though, I want to experience as much different stuff as possible. I'm generally good at whatever I do but because I want to do too many things, I'm also generally never the best at any of it. Standard jack-of-all-traits kind of guy. You know who else is typically depicted that way? Mario. It's really full circle, and I like to think about it that way whenever I'm frustrated I didn't spend more time on something.

I realize some of this personal stuff isn't fully linked to SMW but rather the franchise in general, but it was without a doubt this game that really cemented it and it's the game that pops up when I think of myself like that. Completing this game in particular is the earliest achievement I remember feeling, it's the one I played and enjoyed the most and it's the one I will play if I ever want to be Mario. It may or may not be the best game ever to me, that depends on the day. However, I seriously doubt that any game will mean more to me and influence my life more than the timeless classic that is Super Mario World.