Super Mario World

Super Mario World, also known as Super Mario Bros. 4 in Japan, is a 2D Super Mario game and a launch title released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, developed by Nintendo EAD. Being a sequel to Super Mario Bros. 3, the game retains many of the elements that debuted in Super Mario Bros. 3, such as the world map and Koopaling boss fights, while introducing a large variety of new gameplay mechanics, such as an expanded and less linear world map and the ability to save the game. Introduced in Super Mario World is Mario's sidekick, Yoshi (and his species that shares his name), who serves as a playable mount for the Mario Bros. with his own unique abilities and gameplay style.

The game was released to best-selling status on the SNES, received large amounts of critical acclaim, and is commonly seen on Nintendo's best games of all time on various critic listings. Much of the game's introduced characters, game mechanics, and artistic themes influenced later titles in the Mario series, where the character Yoshi was popular enough to receive a series starring him. The game was followed in 1995 by a prequel, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which is set many years before the events in Super Mario World. The game has spawned various non-game media such as a cartoon series that is based on the game, which debuted on September 14, 1991, one month after the American release. Various manga adaptions of the game have sprung up, one notable series being Super Mario-kun, which has its first volumes based on Super Mario World released in 1991 and is still ongoing today.

Super Mario World is included in the Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World compilation title released in December 1994. An enhanced port of Super Mario World was later released on the Game Boy Advance as part of the Super Mario Advance series, titled Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2. The original version was also rereleased on the Wii's Virtual Console in 2006, the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2013, and the New Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console in 2016. Super Mario World is one of the included titles in the SNES Classic Edition and Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online, the latter of which also includes a version titled Super Mario World: Give the world a whole new look!, which was released on March 31, 2022, and begins in Fall with 99 lives and a Cape Feather in the Item Storage.

Story
After Bowser's previous defeat, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool decide to recuperate in Dinosaur Land. Meanwhile in Dinosaur Land, the Koopa King and his Koopalings trap Yoshi and his friends in enchanted eggs, eliminating the opposition as they secretly rebuild their forces. Shortly upon their arrival, the Mario Bros. realize that Princess Toadstool is missing. While searching, they find the Koopa Troop army. Upon the Mario Bros. freeing the friendly Yoshi, he exclaims that the Koopas have invaded, confirming that Toadstool's persistent captor has indeed returned and taken the opportunity to claim the princess.

As Mario and his friends travel through Dinosaur Land, they uncover the Valley of Bowser, where Bowser is fought on his castle roof in his Koopa Clown Car, holding Princess Toadstool hostage. Upon his defeat, he gently drops the princess and retreats. Princess Toadstool rewards Mario or Luigi with a kiss as fireworks celebrate freedom, signifying that their vacation can resume with their new good friends. The reunited team returns to Yoshi's House, where they and three other Yoshis watch the eggs hatch into babies, removing the spell. After saving the Mushroom Kingdom from Bowser and the rest of the Koopas in Super Mario 3, Mario and Luigi needed to recuperate from their adventures. Together they agreed that the best place to vacation was a magical place called Dinosaur Land. But while Mario and Luigi reclined on the beach for a relaxing nap, Princess Toadstool disappeared, apparently seized by evil forces. After searching for hours for their missing friend, Mario and Luigi came upon an enormous egg in the forest. Suddenly the egg hatched, and out popped a young dinosaur named Yoshi, who proceeded to tell Mario and Luigi a sad tale of how his dinosaur pals were sealed in similar eggs by a group of monstrous turtles. "Monstrous turtles!" exclaimed Luigi. "Bowser and his bunch have returned!" Mario slowly nodded his head in agreement and, along with Luigi and Yoshi, set off across Dinosaur Land to find the Princess and to free Yoshi's friends. As they began their journey, Yoshi handed Mario a beautiful cape. "This may help you," Yoshi said. "Some say it has magical powers." With a little luck (and help from a magic cape), our hearty crew can defeat the seven worlds of Bowser's Krazy Koopa Kritters. Many locations are well-hidden so explore everywhere and try everything. Not all locations have to be explored to rescue the dinosaurs and save Princess Toadstool, but there are many "starry" treasures to be found in far-reaching places. You'll need to search all areas to find what kinds of treasures are there...in Super Mario World.
 * From the instruction booklet

Gameplay
As the game is a 2D platformer, the object is to get to the Giant Gate to advance to the next level before the timer runs out. Mario (or Luigi) can jump over and on top of various platforms and obstacles and stomp on various enemies to defeat them. In addition to these basic moves, Mario can spin-jump to destroy certain types of blocks and enemies, whereas or  lets Mario dash if held down. When the player presses either of those buttons when Mario is next to some items, he can pick them up and carry them through the level as the buttons are held. Mario can now hold objects underwater; when he does, he can swim quickly using only without pressing the jump button. When Mario hits the Giant Gate at the end of the level, if he touches the vertically moving bar between the gate, he gets awarded Bonus Stars depending on how high the bar was when he touched it. If he collects 100 Bonus Stars, Mario can play a bonus game that helps him earn extra lives. Some levels contain a Midway Gate, which not only powers Mario up to Super Mario when touched but also serves as a checkpoint for Mario to respawn near if he gets defeated in the level.

In order to obtain most power-ups, Mario has to hit various blocks, which may contain items. The basic Super Mushroom, which turns Mario into Super Mario, causes Mario to grow bigger and allows him to sustain an extra hit. When Super Mario hits a block, usually a more powerful item spawns in the Super Mushroom's place, such as a Fire Flower or the newly introduced Cape Feather. Introduced in Super Mario World is the Item Storage system, where Mario can hold on to extra items should he find them while in powered-up forms; players can manually drop their reserve item by pressing. If Mario gets damaged and turns into regular Mario, the reserve item automatically deploys. A newly introduced character and power-up in Super Mario World, Yoshi, appears when Mario hits certain blocks. Mario can ride Yoshi when he jumps on him, and he helps Mario with his own unique traits and abilities.

If Mario gets touched by an enemy or a damaging obstacle while he is in his normal form, he loses a life. If he gets damaged by an enemy while in a power-up form, he reverts to his normal form. If Mario loses all of his lives, the player receives a Game Over and is prompted to continue from their last save with five more lives. Some obstacles defeat Mario instantly regardless of what power-up he has, such as falling into pits or lava, getting crushed, or not making it to the goal in time. Every time Mario gets defeated, he gets sent back to the world map.

Super Mario World retains the world map system from Super Mario Bros. 3 with more expanded features. Rather than having levels and worlds segmented, all worlds and levels are seamlessly connected to each other, with a heavier focus on multiple paths per level clearance, and thus creating a less linear map, with a few exceptions. Typically, prior to entering new areas, Mario has to defeat a castle boss, usually one of Bowser's seven children, the Koopalings. Once they are defeated, the castles they reside in are destroyed and cannot be replayed, though in international versions of the game, they can be replayed if players hold and  on the castles' remains.

Two-player mode returns, where players take turns playing through the game; Player 1 controls Mario, while Player 2 controls Luigi. Players can opt to use the same controller or two controllers to play the mode. If one player fails to clear a course, the other player takes a turn, and if Midway Gates are touched, the other player starts at the Midway Gate. Players can also hand each other lives on the map screen if they press or.

After the player beats every special level in the Special Zone, a game aesthetic change called Fall occurs, where the world map obtains a different palette and some enemies get their sprites changed. Once Fall is activated, these changes cannot be reversed unless the save file is deleted and a new game is started.

Worlds and levels
Super Mario World takes place on Dinosaur Land, an archipelago of themed areas, and players navigate on this world map, which visualizes traveling through the island. Unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3, the levels on the world map are marked directly on Dinosaur Land, creating a seamless, organic appearance between worlds and levels. Players first start out on Yoshi's Island at Yoshi's House, where the path immediately branches off into two levels. The order of the world themes is unique to this title: Players first start in grassy plain-like worlds while eventually venturing into a cave, onto twin bridges, into a forest, onto a rocky island, and finally into the Valley of Bowser, which takes on a subterranean wasteland appearance. Haunted Ghost Houses are introduced in Super Mario World and populate Dinosaur Land; unlike traditional level layouts, they tend to contain puzzles and traps designed to confuse the player. Cave levels and levels that primarily take place underwater or where water is prevalent are additionally marked such on the map, with most cave levels outside the Vanilla Dome and the Valley of Bowser featuring rocks around them, while Mario gets submerged in water for the water levels.

Super Mario World contains nine worlds and 73 (74 if the Back Door and Front Door are counted as separate levels, and 76 if the Top Secret Area and Yoshi's House are counted as levels) levels in total, 24 of which have secret exits for a total of 96 exits. Almost all worlds contain four regular levels and at least one secret level. Levels marked in yellow contain one exit, while levels marked in red contain an alternative, secret exit. Other points of interest include the Switch Palaces, Warp Pipes, and the star-shaped portals to Star World that are unlocked only when players find the associated secret exit. Switch Palaces activate respectively colored permeable Dotted Line Blocks and turn them into solid ! Blocks that can be stood on or hit from below. Once Switch Palace levels have been completed, they cannot be visited again. Warp Pipes warp players to different areas of the map, usually to different worlds altogether. Finally, Yoshis cannot be taken into castles, fortresses, or Ghost Houses, though Yoshi remains outside for the player if they exit the level. In castles, players have to defeat the Koopalings, while in fortresses, players need to defeat Reznors.

Star World and the Special Zone are bonus worlds that are accessed when players find secret exits throughout Dinosaur Land, and are represented by glowing stars, where the player can warp into. The Star World levels require the player to find a key and keyhole secret exit to progress through it, while the Special Zone is a linear area that is unlocked when players complete all of Star World's secret exits. The Special Zone levels are much more difficult relative to the levels in this game; none of the levels contain Midway Gates, and some can be long while others use level gimmicks.

Playable characters
Mario and Luigi are the main playable characters. In two-player mode, Mario is controlled by Player 1 and Luigi is controlled by Player 2. If Mario loses a life or completes a level in two-player mode, Luigi comes into play until he does the same. The two may also share extra lives on the world map. The two have identical mechanics.

Yoshis
In addition to Mario and Luigi, Yoshis of four different colors appear in the game, and they may be controlled once acquired and help the Mario Bros. in many levels of the game. Green Yoshis hatch out of eggs, usually found in various blocks throughout the game. If an egg is found but the player already has a Yoshi, the egg instead provides a 1-Up Mushroom. If a Yoshi gets hurt, it runs off, requiring the Mario Bros. to chase it down if they want to ride it again. Yoshis can additionally provide an extra jump boost to Mario and Luigi if they jump off the Yoshi. Some levels contain berries, and Yoshis can eat them and produce eggs from them if enough are eaten. Yoshis can eat most enemies, though they cannot immediately swallow most shells, requiring them to spit the shells out before they eventually swallow them.

Red, Blue, and Yellow Yoshis are uncommon in Super Mario World. They are first encountered in Star World, which is accessible by using the five Star Roads found throughout the game. Red, Blue, and Yellow Yoshis are found as Mini-Yoshis, small and unable to be ridden. However, through carrying them, the Mini-Yoshis eat the enemies and items they touch. When they eat either five enemies, shells, coins, or active Grab Blocks, or a single power-up, they transform into adult Yoshis and can be used normally. Mini-Yoshis of all colors hatch from the eggs rescued from the castles during the end credits of the game.

Enemies and obstacles
Super Mario World retains some of the enemies from Super Mario Bros. 3, such as the common Koopa Troopas and their varieties, Ghost House-dwelling Boos, Buzzy Beetles in a cave environment, and Cheep Cheeps underwater, while introducing more species that would regularly appear in later entries in the Super Mario series, such as Magikoopas, Fishbones, Swoopers, and Wigglers. Goombas are featured less prominently in this title and function differently than in prior Super Mario titles; they are later localized as Galoombas. Some of the new enemies introduced are variants of other species, such as the cape-wielding and flying Super Koopas, the large Banzai Bills that are encountered before regular Bullet Bills, the spike-donning Spike Tops, and the pipe-inhabiting Lakitus. Included with the introduced enemies are various new obstacles, most of which populate the castle and fortress levels in the game, and several of these obstacles would make later appearances in the Super Mario series, namely Grinders and Skewers.

When Fall is unlocked, some of these enemies have their graphics changed; however, they do not have their behaviors altered.

Bosses
The bosses of the game are comprised of Bowser's seven children, the Koopalings, all who guard a castle at the end of every world, and Reznors, the guardians of the fortresses. The Koopalings share the same boss patterns with another Koopaling pair, with the exception of Ludwig, though the later-encountered Koopaling of the shared boss fight has a more difficult variant of the fight. Reznor boss fights are all the same, regardless of which fortress is played on. Once the Koopalings are beaten, a small cutscene plays where Mario rescues a trapped Yoshi inside an egg and destroys the Koopalings' fortifications through various means, unique for each Koopaling. For example, Iggy's Castle crumbles in a typical fashion when Mario hits a TNT switch; Ludwig's Castle rockets off and crashes into a nearby hill, causing a bandage to appear where it impacted; while Roy's Castle causes an accidental explosion to Mario instead. The levels cannot be normally played again once cleared, though in international versions, they can be replayed if the player holds and  on the castle's remains. Bowser, the primary antagonist of the game, can be fought at both the Front Door and Back Door, though the Back Door is a far shorter level that provides almost direct access to the boss.

The Big Boo is the game's sole secret boss, encountered in the Donut Secret House, and the only boss not encountered in a castle or fortress. He can also be fought again in all versions of the game by accessing the level normally.

Items and objects
There is a total of six power-ups that provide transformations in the game, with one being exclusive to Yoshi. Most power-ups emerge from the blocks populated in levels, and players are able to carry an extra item in their reserve slot if they are already powered up. While the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Super Star return, Super Mario World introduces the Cape Feather, which gently floats down when it appears onscreen as well as being able to be spawned from defeating a Super Koopa with a flashing cape. The new Power Balloon is a rare item used in a few levels and serves as a temporary transformation for Mario and Luigi.

In addition to the power-up items, Mario and Luigi can encounter other level features that help them progress through the level, such as 1-Up Mushrooms granting them extra lives or keys and keyholes granting them access to secret levels.

Soundtrack
While composer Koji Kondo had created many different melodies for Super Mario Bros. 3, he decided to use the same melody in Super Mario World, albeit in an form, assuming that the player would be able to recognize the melody while being exposed to new variations of music throughout the game. The melody was believed to be inspired by "," a folk song recorded in the 1960s that was very popular in Japan. This being the first game developed for the SNES, Kondo felt "overjoyed" about being able to take advantage of the increased technological capability, which allowed eight instruments to be used at once. To express the technological novelty of the new console, he used samples of several different instruments (as named below), implementing them all, one after the other, in the game's title song. As development progressed, Kondo grew concerned over how people would react to his unusual combinations of instruments as he noted the use of the NES's traditional s and s had "gained acceptance" with consumers. For the game's sound effects, Kondo decided to use a variety of musical instruments to emphasize that the game used traditional technology with a hybrid of new materials; for example, Mario's jumping sound is a reappropriation of a pan flute sample. The music took around a year and a half for Kondo to compose.

A compilation soundtrack for Super Mario World was released in Japan on February 25, 1991, and it contains original jazz arrangements composed by musician Soichi Noriki and performed by the "Mario Club Band"; the album additionally contains music from Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3. The arrangements are recorded on the album's first disc, while the second disc contains the original compositions. The music was also included on Nintendo Super Famicom Game Music, another Japan-only album released in 1992 that contains music from various games released for the SNES. Super Mario Compact Disco, a compilation soundtrack released originally in Japan on August 1, 1993, contains pieces that remixes and rearranges music sampling sound effects from the game into a funk and hip-hop-oriented genre with lyrics. Super Mario World music has been featured in several of the Nintendo Sound Selection series, namely Nintendo Sound Selection Vol.2: Loud Music and Nintendo Sound Selection: Endings & Credits, and in several Mario anniversary soundtracks, such as Happy! Mario 20th - Super Mario Sound Collection and The 30th Anniversary Super Mario Bros. Music.

The soundfont used for the Super Mario World soundtrack consists of the following instrument samples: the piano, pan flute, brass, and clarinet from the module; the fantasia synth, arco strings, bass marimba, and slap bass from the  synthesizer; the honky-tonk, steel drum, and oud from the ; and the dry kick, impact snare, reverb snare, closed hi-hat, and open low conga from the  drum machine. An orchestra hit sample from unknown equipment by is also present, and it was used to construct Yoshi's record-scratching voice effect. The cannon sound used for the thunder effects is of unknown origin, but is currently part of the Soundstorm Sound Effects Library; it is the first professional film sound effect to be sampled in a Nintendo game. The origins of the fretless bass used in the overworld theme and the heavy guitar used in the final boss theme are currently unknown.

Staff
23 people were listed in the credits of Super Mario World, including notable Nintendo composer Koji Kondo for the sound programming and Shigeru Miyamoto as the producer. Takashi Tezuka was the overall director of the game, listed as the "Total Director" in the original Japanese version of the credits.

Development
The game was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, featuring music composed by Koji Kondo and graphics designed by Shigefumi Hino, and it was the first game designed for the SNES. As an experiment, the team ported Super Mario Bros. 3 to the console, and it felt like the same game to them despite the enhanced graphics, so they wanted to create something new for the console. Miyamoto has stated that ever since they finished Super Mario Bros., the design staff wanted to have Mario ride a horse. It was believed to be impossible technically until the SNES was developed, and it was changed to a dinosaur due to the team working with a dinosaur land. They first came up with a crocodile, which the team felt did not fit in Mario's world, so the design was altered to eventually evolve into Yoshi. According to Miyamoto, sixteen people were involved in the creation of the game, and it took about three years to make.

At some point during the game's development, it was meant to be released in North America and Europe under the full Super Mario Bros. 4 title, but it was later shortened to simply Super Mario World. Miyamoto has stated that this is his favorite Mario game.

Pre-release and unused content
Dinosaur Land was drastically different from the final version, possessing an appearance similar to the various kingdoms of Super Mario Bros. 3. Specifically, it was to feature things such as Toad Houses (which could possibly mean that Toads were once considered to populate Dinosaur Land) and more Super Mario Bros. 3-style fortresses. In addition to this, the game originally had the subtitle "Super Mario Bros. 4" on the Title Screen.

Glitchy graphics from defeated enemies
The balls on Iggy's and Larry's platforms can be destroyed by the sliding attack, as can the Grinders (using a triangular block). This results in glitchy graphics, most likely because the developers did not intend for these enemies to be defeated. The same thing happens if Mario does a nosedive in the second level of the Bowser battle. The Big Steely is defeated as a red sprite of Princess Toadstool's head.

Miscolored Overworld
In order to do this glitch, the player must go to the end of Chocolate Island 3. Under the goal, the player must jump off Yoshi to the Giant Gate so that the screen does not scroll up. If this is done correctly, Mario is barely seen when he finishes the level, and because Mario is not present on the bottom of the screen, the screen begins to flicker in many colors as the stage begins to fade out. When he comes back to the overworld map, the entire world is glitchy and colored with red and blue. If Mario visits the Forest of Illusion or the Valley of Bowser and comes back to the main overworld, the entire world will be ivory-colored instead. The glitch ends if the player completes a level or visits Star Road.

Regional differences
A number of changes were made to Super Mario World when it was released internationally following its initial Japanese version. This included translating the Japanese names and words and tweaking various levels to make the game easier for international audiences.

Gameplay changes

 * Yoshis can eat the Dolphins as if they were regular enemies in the Japanese version of Super Mario World but not in the international versions of the game, likely due to them not being enemies. However, this change was later reversed in the reissue, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, allowing Yoshis to eat the Dolphins in the non-Japanese versions of the game as well.

Level design changes

 * Donut Plains 2 has an added ! Block after the three Prize Blocks near the beginning of the level. Similarly, Vanilla Dome 1 has an added Cape Feather in one of the Rotating Blocks in the structure found early in the level in the international version.
 * The secret exit to Chocolate Island 3 was made more conspicuous through the use of two additional arrow signs, rather than one sign found in the Japanese version.
 * In Donut Secret House, the walls at the end of the two main rooms were extended a bit to fill the whole screen.
 * In the Sunken Ghost Ship, the three 1-Up Mushrooms at the bottom of the Ghost Ship are absent in the Japanese version.
 * #3 Lemmy's Castle has a time limit of 400 seconds instead of 300 seconds. Funky also provided the players more time in the international versions of the game via the presence of nine green berries instead of the original three in the Japanese version; as having Yoshi eat green berries adds 20 seconds to the timer, this meant the international players could accumulate triple the extra time than in the Japanese version of the game.
 * In the Japanese version, the coins at the end of Funky spell out "YOU ARE SUPER PLAYER!!" while in international versions of the game, more coins were added to correctly say, "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!!"

Graphical changes

 * Both the file-selection and mode-selection title screens change between the different versions. On the file-selection screen, the Japanese text was changed to English for international releases, and in both cases, "1991" was added to the original's 1990 copyright date to reflect when the North American and PAL versions were released. The logo was also changed to make the shadowing of the letters less pronounced, and the "TM" was rewritten in the same lettering style as the title itself. In the Japanese version, the logo uses the same font as Super Mario Bros. 3. As shown in the comparison of the file-selection screens below, the PAL version differed from both the Japanese and North American releases in height. Each version also has its own marker to denote whether all 96 exits were found or not.


 * All instances of Japanese names occurring in-game were changed to English.
 * The sign at Yoshi's House was changed from katakana (Japanese script) to the English alphabet. Also, the sign has some shade in the international versions.
 * The enemy names were all translated as well, although rather than Japanese script, they were written in (English letters) in the Japanese version itself. This includes the credits, the writing on the Reznor wheel, and the sign on Bowser's Castle.

Textual changes

 * In addition to being translated, various other changes are made to the level names.
 * While block numbers are used in the original Japanese names, the numbers in the international version match the font style used in the lettering.
 * In the Japanese version, all level names are followed by 「コースｘ」, "Course X," but in the international version, the names are simply numbered (i.e., 「ヨースターとう　コース１」, "Yōsutā tō Cōsu 1," changes to "Yoshi's Island 1" instead of "Yoshi's Island Course 1").
 * Cheese Bridge Area's, Cookie Mountain's, Forest Secret Area's, and Chocolate Secret's Japanese names are all followed by 「コース１」, "Course 1," but as there are no additional levels sharing these names, the numerical designation is dropped for the international versions.
 * However, the Special Zone levels are not numbered. Gnarly and Tubular are both 「おたのしみ　コース」 (Fun Course), Way Cool and Awesome are both 「マリオスタッフもビックリ　コース」 (Even the Mario Staff is Shocked Course), Groovy and Mondo are both 「スペシャリストのための　コース」 (Specialists' Course), and Outrageous and Funky are 「チャンピオンシップの コース」 (Championship Course).
 * The flavor text after defeating a Koopaling and destroying their castle is a generic text for every Koopaling in the Japanese version. In international versions, each Koopaling is given their own flavor text.
 * While various enemies change designs after the game is changed to the Fall setting, in the credits, the replacements are given new monikers in the SNES version; in the Super Famicom and Game Boy Advance versions, their names remain the same.
 * Like the enemy names, the staff credits are also written in romaji in the Japanese version, but various small changes are still made:
 * The title of "Total Director" is changed to "Main Director," "Back Ground" is corrected to "Background," and all instances of "Programer" are changed to the "Programmer" spelling for the international release. "C.G. Designer" is elaborated upon as "Character Graphic Designer" outside Japan, and various other titles are tweaked, with "Course Director" becoming "Area Director," "Course Editor" changing to "Area Data Input," and "Player and System Programer" becoming "Mario and System Programmer."
 * The spacing of certain words is also tweaked, and a colon is added to "Special Thanks" in the international version.
 * Dayv Brooks is added to the "Special Thanks" list for his translation work on Super Mario World.

Graphical

 * Several graphical errors are present in the game. Of note is that the Magikoopas' unique palette has their colors ordered incorrectly, resulting in the area that should be occupied by the lightest shade of blue instead having the darkest. This is fixed in the Game Boy Advance version by giving them the normal blue palette.
 * The Koopa bosses are all depicted with three fingers on each hand. This is fixed in the GBA version. Most of the Koopalings' sprites are made to resemble their Super Mario Bros. 3 counterparts (likely to be more easy to recognize), even when the result would be off-model from their artwork, such as with Iggy having only one tooth and Wendy having a white bow with red spots.
 * Morton, Roy, and Ludwig are given green, blue, and yellow palettes, respectively, in gameplay. In the credits, they are given turquoise, gray, and pink palettes, respectively. However, in order to match up with their Super Mario Bros. 3 palettes, they should be given the gray, pink, and turquoise palettes, respectively. The credits also give Ludwig Morton's teeth.
 * Lemmy is depicted as being yellow and has large fangs and spikeless arm cuffs, likely owing to having the same body as Wendy to conserve graphic space.
 * Iggy is accidentally given Larry's hair, leaving Iggy's unused except for in the credits. This error remains in the GBA version. Iggy is also incorrectly blue.
 * Bowser is depicted as being primarily green. This is fixed in the GBA version to make him primarily orange. In addition, he lacks the spiked cuffs on his arms. This error is kept in the GBA version. Bowser's sprite was redesigned in the Super Mario World theme of Super Mario Maker.
 * Yoshi's arms are orange, as are those of the rest of his species.
 * Due to how Chargin' Chucks' graphics are assembled, their graphics have many errors. Most conspicuously, their heads come off for a frame when they are hit. Other errors include their facemasks going behind the rim of their plastrons in certain poses, and the facemasks also being visible in front of the clapping effect. They are also assigned a green palette in-game despite being colored with blue highlights in their artwork and being given a blue palette in the credits. However, when running, their shoulders have a blue palette very briefly. They also have a star in their artwork, which is absent in their sprites.
 * Despite Dry Bones being skeletal Koopa Troopas, they are depicted as being far larger than their living counterparts. They also have neck and arm bones in their sprites but not their artwork.
 * The two lower tiles on the back-facing climbing Koopas appear to be switched, as the lower part of the shell moves in the opposite direction as the upper part of it, and the limbs are not oriented as they are in the front-facing sprites.
 * Spike Tops are seemingly depicted with six legs in the game, despite seemingly having four in their artwork. This is retained in the Super Mario Maker games.
 * Despite being given green feet in their artwork, Goombas are assigned the yellow palette in-game, with the yellow only affecting their feet anyway.
 * Monty Moles have incompatible designs between their jumping and running sprites, with the former having a split lip and the latter having a smooth curve for a mouth. The GBA remake continues this with Mega Mole's unique defeat sprite seen by having Yoshi eat one while playing as Luigi.
 * Due to how Mechakoopas' tiles are assembled, the sprite of one getting up from being stunned appears to have half of an extra lower jaw under its full jaw and half of an extra foot over its full foot.
 * Big Boos have lower fangs and white eyes in their sprites, but they have the same faces as normal Boos in their artwork.
 * Bony Beetles have the same falling-apart animation as Dry Bones, with Dry Bones' heads being particularly conspicuous.

Miscellaneous

 * In the Japanese version, the message spelled out with coins in Funky reads "YOU ARE SUPER PLAYER!!" in a typical case of . The Western versions fix the grammar to "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!!" thus adding more coins to the level.
 * The English localization refers to the enemy known as Kuribon in Japan as "Goomba," either in an accidental mistranslation or a deliberate attempt to group the two creatures together, possibly to seem more familiar to players. This led to confusion in Western depictions as to whether or not the two creatures were the same thing until Super Mario 3D World retranslated them as "Galoombas," though Mario Party Advance seemingly made an earlier attempt with "Goombob."

Critical reception
Super Mario World received universal critical acclaim, and it is held as among Nintendo's best games with a strong legacy. The game ranks with an average of 94.44% aggregate score in GameRankings before it was merged with Metacritic. Although Metacritic does not have an official aggregate score on the game, due to it being released before Metacritic's inception, the user review is shown to be mostly positive. Much of the game's general praise is directed to the game's visuals, gameplay, level design, secrets, and music, while retrospective reviews often opine that the game is still very playable today and that new players should play it.

Alex Navarro of GameSpot scored the game an 8.5 out of 10 in his review for the Virtual Console version of the game on the Wii, recommended players to play the game if they have not already. He has praised the game as a "well-crafted adventure," stating that nothing in the game feels "superfluous," and that while he pointed out that it was rather short for modern game standards, the secrets are easy to overlook on a first playthrough of the game. He has praised the graphics, describing them as "colorful" and "cute" and stands out as one of the best-looking games of the system, saying that the visuals still hold to the modern era; he has praised that the game's music is some of the best the Mario series has ever seen, calling the tunes "supercatchy." The only bad listed in the review of the game is the distinct lack of Kuribo's Shoe. Lucas M. Thomas of IGN also scored the game an 8.5 out of 10 for the Virtual Console version of the game, noting the game's successful history and how the game still feels good to play today despite the age. However, Thomas felt that Super Mario World does feel lacking, and he pointed out how Miyamoto felt he could have done more to the game to distinguish it from being a graphically upgraded continuation of Super Mario Bros. 3 and that during the time, Nintendo's competitor, Sega, took advantage of it and introduced Sonic the Hedgehog.

Jamie O' Neill of Nintendo Life gave the game a 10/10, writing about the game's legacy and history when it was first released and that the game is still playable today; he has written that while many games can be considered "classics," only a few can be considered "masterpieces," which O' Neill has referred to them as. He has stated that the game is not the flashiest showcase of the SNES's graphical effects, but he has praised the game's bright and colorful aesthetics. He has praised Koji Kondo's efforts on the soundtrack, where the themes are diverse and they carry on various moods, such as the atmospheric Ghost Houses and the energized credits tune that settles into a "beautiful melancholy" when the characters reach Yoshi's House to conclude their adventure. He has called the game's controls "perfect" and said that the game's meticulous secrets lend it a long-lasting appeal. O' Neill has then mentioned that the game scored number 2 on Nintendo Life's 20 debut SNES games from the Nintendo Switch Online.

Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer gave the game a 10/10 on his brief overview of various Virtual Console games, stating that the column nearly missed its deadline because he "ended up losing the best part of an afternoon to rediscovering its impeccable design."

The game was placed 16th in the 100th issue of Nintendo Power's "100 best Nintendo games of all time" in 1997. The game placed 47th in the 200th issue of GameInformer's "Top 200 Games of All Time."

Sales
Super Mario World was bundled with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, making it the most sold game for the SNES, selling 20 million copies.

Nintendo Super System
The game was ported to the Nintendo Super System, an arcade machine, in 1991. It is the only Mario title released on this system. There are a few differences such as a message on the title screen letting the player know what version it is. Players can choose one of seven zones to start in. There is no way to save progress and a timer counts down on the bottom right corner when play begins, which reappears when time is almost up. Afterwards, a screen will appear asking if the player wants to continue by inserting coins.

Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World
The Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World version gives Luigi a more distinctive sprite where he is taller and thinner and animates differently, while in the original, he is simply a palette swap of Mario, and his moves are identical to Mario's.

Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Super Mario World was remade for the Game Boy Advance as the second installment in the Super Mario Advance series, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2. Some of the more notable changes include new sprites for Luigi, the maximum number of lives being 999 that can now be saved, and a list of levels showing whether the secret exit and the Dragon Coins have been found.

SNES Classic Edition
Super Mario World is one of the 21 titles included on the Super NES Classic Edition.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online
Super Mario World is one of the 20 launch titles for Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online, along with Super Mario Kart and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

4koma Manga Kingdom
The Japanese manga series 4koma Manga Kingdom has a series called Super Mario, in which its seven entries have stories and gags based off Super Mario World.

Super Mario 4koma Manga Theater
The Super Mario 4koma Manga Theater is another Japanese 4koma series that features many 4-panel visual gags based off Super Mario World. For example, one comic has Mario running out of time just as he was about to face Iggy Koopa, as Iggy Koopa dives into Mario: the momentum causes Iggy Koopa to fall into the lava and get defeated as well.

Super Mario-kun
Super Mario-kun's first six volumes are all based on Super Mario World, kick-starting the series and being the game with the most arcs associated with it. While the first four arcs follow the games closely, with each arc having the characters travel through the game's locations, the fifth and sixth arcs have their own storylines that feature content from other Mario titles released at the time such as Yoshi and Super Mario Kart.

Super Mario Kodansha manga
Seven entries based on Super Mario World were released for the Super Mario manga series by Kazuki Motoyama.

Super Mario World television series
Super Mario World has an animated television series produced by DIC, being the last of the Mario cartoons DIC has produced. It has aired from September 14, 1991 to December 7, 1991, featuring 13 episodes, the least amount of the Mario cartoons. While it has faithful elements to the original series, the cartoon has a focus on common prehistoric stereotypes and themes such as the Mario characters living with cavepeople and relying on anachronistic themes to introduce to the cavepeople such as cars, television, and telephones.

Arcade games
The game's success led to five games being released for Japanese and North American arcades.
 * Mario Roulette: A Japanese gambling game made in 1991 by.
 * Būbū Mario: A Japanese video game-ride hybrid made in 1993 by.
 * Mario Undōkai: A Japanese marathon game with a dance pad made in 1993 by Banpresto.
 * Super Mario World (arcade): A vertical North American Skee-ball-styled game made in 1993 by.
 * Super Mario Attack: A Japanese side-scrolling gambling game made in 1996 by Banpresto.

Merchandise
Due to the game's overwhelming popularity and success, much merchandise has been released using the Super Mario World theme.

References to other games

 * Mario Bros. – Fire Luigi's color scheme is taken from Luigi's coloration in the NES version of this game.
 *  - The egg-hatching sound effect originated from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. – If the player waits on the Special Zone map for one minute and 57 seconds, a cover version of the overworld theme will start playing.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2 – Unaltered Ninjis reappear, and Bullet Bills resembling Pidgits appear in the Fall. Pokeys also return.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3 – The Sunken Ghost Ship was once an airship from this game. Also, all of the Koopalings return here. Bob-ombs reuse their keyless artillery graphics here. The intro of the final boss theme is an arrangement of the Dark Land music from this game.

References in later games

 * Mario Roulette – Most sounds, music, and graphics from here appear in this game.
 * Mario Paint – Many sounds and graphics from here appear in this game.
 * Super Mario Kart – Lakitu is nearly identical in appearance in this game, and many tracks in this game are based on levels here. The music that plays in the Ghost Valley and Bowser Castle courses are remixes of the music from the Ghost Houses and the final boss theme, respectively, from Super Mario World.
 * Būbū Mario – Yoshi returns, and Bowser kidnaps Peach in a similar way.
 * Mario Undōkai – The goal of the marathon is to race on Yoshis.
 * Super Mario World (arcade) – The game is named after and themed around Super Mario World.
 * Mario's Time Machine – Many sounds and graphics from Super Mario World appear in this game.
 * Mario is Missing! – Many sounds and graphics from here appear in this game.
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island – This game is a prequel to Super Mario World, though the stories are practically unrelated in sharing some settings, and it uses Yoshi as the main character, although there are nine Yoshis (or ten in the Game Boy Advance remake) for each stage for each zone. Also, Yoshi's sound effects from here were reused in this game.
 * Super Mario Attack – The game plays almost exactly like one of the early levels of the game.
 * Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars – The Star Road found here is destroyed by Exor, and it is revealed that Geno is from here. Yoshi's Island also returns as Yo'ster Isle, and a rendition of the overworld theme from this game plays upon first meeting Gaz. Also, the overworld theme can be heard while singing a character to sleep.
 * Super Mario 64 – The idea of Switch Palaces is, in a way, carried over into this game. Also, Yoshi references this game when he says, "It has been so long since our last adventure!" when speaking to Mario at the end of the game.
 * Super Mario Bros. Deluxe – The first part of the background music heard in the Special Zone was arranged as the "Mystery Room" theme. In addition, if the player beats World 8-4 as small Mario, Princess Toadstool will kneel down and kiss Mario in a similar manner to her actions in the ending of Super Mario World.
 * Super Smash Bros. – Mario's and Luigi's down specials, Mario Tornado and Luigi Cyclone, are similar to and could be based on the Spin Jump that first appeared in Super Mario World.
 * Paper Mario – The first few notes of the Super Mario World overworld theme can be heard in this game's title screen music. Also, one of the tracks played by the radio in Koopa Village is the ending theme of the same game. The switch theme from this game can be heard in the music during the battle with Bowser???
 * Luigi's Mansion – One of Melody Pianissima's musical quizzes names this game as an optional response.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee – There is a Super Mario World-themed level called Yoshi's Island. Banzai Bill also returns, and Mario uses his Cape as his side special move. Trophies of the Koopa Clown Car and Mario riding Yoshi are collectible.
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga – In a room in Woohoo Hooniversity, four question blocks from the previous games (the names of which are even stated in their descriptions) can be seen; one of them is the question block from Super Mario World. A cover of the overworld theme from Super Mario World is used for some of the minigames. The Koopalings are also fought in the same order as in Super Mario World.
 * Super Mario Sunshine – When F.L.U.D.D. scans Mario, a video of Mario battling Iggy in this game can be seen.
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – Riding Yoshi came from this game. Also, if Mario gets an email from the RDM, a tone that is a cover of the music that plays when Mario destroys a castle in this game plays. If Mario gets an email from Peach, the Title Screen music from this game plays.
 * Super Mario 64 DS - Winged Yoshi returns in the multiplayer mode of this game.
 * Mario Party Advance – The results-screen music after the player runs out of Mushrooms in this game is a cover of the overworld theme from Super Mario World. Goombas also appeared in the form they appeared in the game as well.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl – A short demo of Super Mario World is playable, and the Yoshi's Island stage returns. Mario's Cape move returns from Melee as well. Also, Bowser uses his Koopa Clown Car in The Subspace Emissary. Finally, the title theme and ending theme are covers and play on the Delfino Plaza stage, as well as the castle theme on the Luigi's Mansion stage. Yoshi's Final Smash, Super Dragon, is based on the powers he can obtain from a Koopa shell, specifically the powers from a Red Koopa Troopa and Blue Koopa Troopa. Hot Head makes an appearance as an item in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as well as a trophy. Blargg appears as a sticker in this game.
 * Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games — In the Wii version, an arrangement of the ending theme is used as the music for the third segment of the Mario World routine in Dream Figure Skating. In the Nintendo DS version, an arrangement of the Ground Theme is used as the first part of the Mario Medley in Ultimate Figure Skating.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Yoshi reappears in this game, behaving exactly as he did in Super Mario World. The Spin Jump also makes a return. Part of the music that plays in the castles/fortresses in this game is used for the castle levels in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2 – A cover of the music from the Ghost House levels is used for Haunty Halls Galaxy and Boo Moon Galaxy. A cover of the Athletic Theme is used for Hightail Falls Galaxy (and also the music that plays during the mission for Starshine Beach Galaxy, "Purple Coin Beach Dash"). Sound effects from Super Mario World are reused, such as the sound when Yoshi is mounted, when a door is opened, and when the P Switch time limit (the Teleporter time limit in this game) is about to run out. Yoshi reappears in the game. Yoshi's House also returns in the Sky Station Galaxy. The bonus game theme from this game is used as the music that plays when touching the notes in the Puzzle Plank Galaxy.
 * Mario Sports Mix – A remix of the athletic theme from this game is available as one of the songs in Harmony Hustle.
 * Super Mario 3D Land – The sound heard when Mario exits a level after beating it in Super Mario World is present in this game after Luigi's letter is seen. Certain note sets play the bonus game theme.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2 – Reznors return in this game, as well as the cover of the battle theme. Also, the chime that can be heard while the game loads sometimes plays a small part of the Super Mario World overworld theme, and in World 4, Super Mario World's snow level background is reused.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U – This game seems to be based on Super Mario World, with similar backgrounds and level styles. A Sumo Bro returns as the boss for the level Screwtop Tower. Baby Yoshis reappear as well. This game also uses a single, continuous world map, similar to Super Mario World.
 * Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games – A remix of the main theme appears as one of the selectable songs for Figure Skating Singles.
 * Super Mario 3D World – Along with having a similar name, this game features Chargin' Chucks and Goombas (renamed Galoombas), both of which have not been seen in a Super Mario platform game since Super Mario World. At the beginning of The Great Tower of Bowser Land is the Koopa Chase Lv2 that, upon hitting, occasionally causes Super Mario World sound effects to play. The artwork of Beach Koopa for this game is reused as a stamp.
 * Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury – The music that plays when Bowser emerges from the Fury Sun is an arrangement of Bowser's intro in the final battle in Super Mario World. Plessie Medals resemble Dragon Coins.
 * Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – Like in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a demo of Super Mario World can be found under Masterpieces. Two new songs based on ones from Super Mario World's music, namely "Fortress Boss" and "Super Mario World Medley" (Overworld Theme, portions of the bonus game theme, Star World, and Super Star) appear as the selectable songs in the "My Music" section. Yoshi's Island (Melee) returns as a playable stage in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
 * Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS / Super Mario Maker 2 – One of the level styles is Super Mario World, and part of the ending theme is used in the credits. A cover of the music that plays in the Donut Plains, Twin Bridges, and Chocolate Island parts of the world map can be heard on the map screen for 10 Mario Challenge (Super Mario Challenge in the 3DS port).
 * Mario Sports Superstars - The blue and yellow Koopa Troopas return as teammates in Baseball. The yellow Paratroopa also returns as a teammate.
 * Super Mario Odyssey – A piano remix of the overworld and underwater themes from Super Mario World can be heard on radios in New Donk City and the Wooded Kingdom. When controlled by Mario, Moe-Eyes sometimes hum the ending theme of Super Mario World while walking around with their sunglasses on. A clip of Mario’s fight with Bowser in this game is shown when Mario captures Bowser. The music that plays in the bonus areas and bonus game was remixed as the music that plays in some of the challenge areas in this game.
 * WarioWare Gold – This game contains a microgame that is based on Super Mario World, which involves Cape Mario collecting a certain number of coins.
 * Super Mario Party - Luigi's, Boo's, Koopa Troopa's, Monty Mole's, Dry Bones', Kamek's, Sumo Bro.'s, Chargin' Chuck's, Mario with Baby Yoshi, and Cape Mario's sprites appear in Puzzle Hustle.
 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – The Yoshi's Island stage returns in this game. Chargin' Chuck appears as a spirit using his artwork from Super Mario World.
 * Paper Mario: The Origami King - The fireball and spin jump sounds are reused.
 * Super Mario 3D All-Stars - Selecting any track in the main menu plays the coin sound effect.
 * Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. - Yoshis appear in the time counter using their Super Mario World sprites.
 * WarioWare: Get It Together! – A microgame based on Super Mario World appears in this game, which involves traversing to the end of a level.