Mario Marathon Part 5: Super Mario World

What a game this was! Many people say there is a battle between Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World for the title of best 2D Mario game. Well, after playing this game, I can say I have finally formed my opinion.

Super Mario World is the first Mario game to be released for the NES' successor, the SNES, which means the presentation goes above and beyond what the previous games did. The graphics are especially gorgeous, with a variety of environments at your disposal to explore.

The story is once again simple. Mario, Luigi, and Peach go on vacation to a place called Dinosaur Land. Once there, Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser, as per usual, and Mario has to go and save her with the help of a new friend, an egg laying, high jumping, enemy eating dinosaur named Yoshi.

Yoshi is considered by many to be the best part of this game, but to me, he was just annoying. He kept getting hit and running away at inopportune moments and trying to catch him again ended up just causing more trouble than it was worth so...yeah. Not a big fan of Yoshi.

My personal favorite addition to the game is the Cape Feather, which obviously gives Mario a cape. With this cape, he can glide through the sky and defeat almost every enemy with a spin attack, making the item one of the most fun yet broken items in the Mario series. I understand why it hasn't come back since this game, but still, I can have hope, despite knowing it will never happen.

The gameplay is pretty standard fare for Mario at this point, which is to say that the game is a 2D platformer with many levels to explore and secrets to find, such as keys to lead you out of a mysterious forest, for example. I liked the more long and expansive levels compared to the concise yet difficult ones of Super Mario Bros 3, and I think that the fact that most of this game is pretty easy, especially if not looking for all the secrets, means it is much more of a relaxed adventure. Honestly, I prefer that style myself, but to those who like harder games, well, there is the Special Zone with a group of absolutely brutal levels that can be beaten for the sole purpose of saying that you have done so.

Overall, Super Mario World is a great evolution of what came before and easily the best Mario game of the time. The gameplay is fun and engaging, the world is fun to explore, and the items are easily some of the best in the franchise to date. I definitely give this one a solid recommendation.

Next time, we journey back to the Game Boy for another bizarre adventure with Mario. Keep an eye open for Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins!

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