Super Mario World

Super Mario World (originally known in Japan as Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4) was the first Mario game and launch title released for the Super Famicom on November 21, 1990. The game was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, featuring music composed by Koji Kondo, and graphics designed by Shigefumi Hino. An updated version has been released on the Game Boy Advance. The original version was also re-released on the Wii and later Wii U Virtual Console. This is the Mario game in which Yoshi, Wigglers, Monty Moles, Swoopers, and Magikoopas made their debuts, and a save feature has been added.

The game was followed in 1995 by the prequel, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, which is set many years before the events in Super Mario World. Yoshi's Island spawned its own series of sequels.

Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that ever since they finished Super Mario Bros., the design staff wanted to have Mario ride a dinosaur. It was believed to be impossible technically until the Super NES was developed. 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 as Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4 or Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros., but it was later shortened to Super Mario World. Miyamoto has stated that this is his favorite Mario game.

In addition to the game itself, there is a cartoon series that is based on the game which debuted on September 14, 1991, one month after the American release. The series takes place in Dome City, and is produced by DiC Entertainment and Nintendo.

General
After the events of Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario and Princess Toadstool go on a vacation to Dinosaur Land by hot air balloon. When Mario and the Princess arrived, Luigi was there waiting for them with a Cape. Luigi gave Mario a Feather and Mario turned into Cape Mario. Mario and Luigi flew around Dinosaur Land with their capes.

Meanwhile, Bowser and his Koopalings trapped Yoshi's friends in eggs and kidnapped Princess Toadstool. When Mario and Luigi returned they found the princess missing. Mario and Luigi set out to save the princess with the help of the Yoshis and Dolphins.

Mario and Luigi start their mission to save Princess Toadstool in Yoshi's Island. The brothers travel to the Yellow Switch Palace to activate all yellow ! Blocks. Here they rescue many trapped Yoshis, fight the first Koopaling, Iggy Koopa, and get the first Baby Yoshi. The Mario Brothers next go to Donut Plains, a place where there's a giant lake in the center. The Green Switch Palace was here. The brothers also defeated Morton Koopa Jr. here.

The brothers then went to the cave, Vanilla Dome, a cave full of Swoopers, Buzzy Beetles and many more dangerous enemies. Lava was all around this cave and the Red Switch Palace is located here. The brothers also defeated Lemmy Koopa. Later in the Twin Bridges, the Mario brothers crossed a bridge (the other bridge was optional) and defeated Ludwig von Koopa. The bridges were above Soda Lake.

The Forest of Illusion was very challenging and the brothers had to find the secret exits to get to Roy Koopa and his castle. The Blue Switch Palace was located here. In Chocolate Island, the brothers went through mountains and a land of chocolate. They got to Wendy O. Koopa's castle, later went to the Sunken Ghost Ship, which turned out to be a crashed Airship, and went on to the final level.

They finally got to Valley of Bowser, a very dark place. The Mario Brothers reached Larry Koopa and his castle and beat Larry who was a guard at Bowser's Castle. They fought Bowser and his Koopa Clown Car and saved Princess Toadstool. With the seven Yoshi Eggs, Mario, Yoshi, the Princess and Luigi returned to Yoshi's House where the other Yoshis (Red, Blue and Yellow) waited for them. Everyone watched the Baby Yoshis hatch out of their eggs. After that, Mario, Luigi and the Princess had a wonderful vacation in Dinosaur Land.

Also, Mario and Luigi went to the Star World and Special World. These two worlds were additional, bonus zones, and were optional. The player did not actually need to complete these areas to beat the game and were added as a special challenge for players. The Star World however is very helpful for traveling around Dinosaur Land, and can also act as a shortcut to Bowser's Castle when the top left star is accessible. After beating the Special World some things in Dinosaur Land change, enemies and the overworld map get a different, fall themed, look and some other elements in the levels change (this doesn't happen in the GBA version, but this bonus can be unlocked in another way, by getting all of the 96 goals.)

From the instruction booklet
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. Suddendly 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.

Gameplay
The object of the game is to get to the goal tape to advance to the next level. While on Mario's way to the goal, he must encounter many enemies and collect power-ups and use items to help solve puzzles and destroy enemies.

Controls

 * Spin jump
 * Jump
 * /: Dash/Interact/Special ability
 * Scroll camera left
 * Scroll camera right
 * Pause
 * Use item/Return to map (When paused)

Worlds

 * Yoshi's Island (Iggy Koopa)
 * Donut Plains (Morton Koopa Jr.)
 * Vanilla Dome (Lemmy Koopa)
 * Twin Bridges (Ludwig von Koopa)
 * Forest of Illusion (Roy Koopa)
 * Chocolate Island (Wendy O. Koopa)
 * Valley of Bowser (Larry Koopa and Bowser)

Bonus worlds

 * Star World
 * Special World

If Mario and/or Luigi accumulate 100 stars by touching the flag at the finish, they play a bonus game where they hit blocks. Eight random blocks travel around a block that already has a determined power-up. Power-ups include Super Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, and Stars. Mario/Luigi can only hit blocks while they are at the bottom, and hit blocks continue to travel around the center (while retaining the hit power-up). Once the last block is hit, the blocks stop traveling and 1-ups are awarded. The number of 3-in-a-row matches determines the number of 1-Ups the player will receive (up to a maximum of 8).

Characters
Mario (and, in 2-Player mode, Luigi) are the main playable characters. If Mario loses a life or completes a level in 2-Player mode, Luigi comes into play until he does the same. The two may also share Extra Lives on the world map. Unlike in some other Mario games, both of the plumbers possess the same strengths and weaknesses.

Colored Yoshis
In addition to Mario and Luigi, Yoshis of four different colors appear in the game, which may be controlled once acquired and help the Mario Bros. in many levels of the game:


 * Green Yoshi, the default Yoshi. Like the other Yoshis, it is able to eat many kinds of enemies and jump on spiked enemies without taking harm as well as walk across Munchers. They can also utilize Shells for special powers, but unlike the other Yoshis, the color of the Shell but not a specific Yoshi power to pair with it.
 * Red Yoshi, a Yoshi that spits out all Shells in the form of three fireballs. It loses any Shell Power by spitting the shell due to all shells being used for fireballs and thus being unable to be recaught.
 * Blue Yoshi, a Yoshi that flies as long as a Shell is in its mouth.
 * Yellow Yoshi, a Yoshi that can shake the ground by taking a Shell into its mouth, defeating enemies with its impact.
 * Yellow Yoshi, a Yoshi that can shake the ground by taking a Shell into its mouth, defeating enemies with its impact.

Green Yoshis hatch out of Yoshi Eggs, usually found in various blocks throughout the game. If a Yoshi Egg is found but the player already has a Yoshi, the Egg will instead provide an 1-Up Mushroom. Red, blue and yellow Yoshis are extremely rare in Super Mario World. They live only in the Star World, a mysterious place accessible by using the five Star Roads found throughout the game. When they are first encountered, they are Baby Yoshis, small and are unable to be rode, but through carrying them, the baby Yoshi's will eat the enemies they touch. When 5 enemies are eaten, they will transform into adult Yoshi's, and can now be used normally. Baby Yoshis of all colors hatch from the Yoshi Eggs rescued from the castles, during the ending credits of the game.

In the GBA remake, the color of the Yoshi that will hatch depends from the power up the player has:


 * Random for Small Mario or when the colored Yoshi corresponding to the current powerup isn't rescued yet.
 * Yellow for Super Mario.
 * Red for Fire Mario.
 * Blue for Cape Mario.

Bosses

 * Reznor
 * The Big Boo
 * Koopalings
 * Iggy Koopa
 * Morton Koopa
 * Lemmy Koopa
 * Ludwig Von Koopa
 * Roy Koopa
 * Wendy Koopa
 * Larry Koopa
 * Bowser

Changes after special level completion
After the player beats special levels in Super Mario World, the following changes occur:
 * World backgrounds change.
 * Koopas transform into Mask Koopas.
 * Piranha Plants will change into Pumpkin Plants.
 * Jumping Piranha Plants will turn into Jumping Pumpkin Plants.
 * Beanstalk heads will turn into pumpkins.
 * Bullet Bills are replaced with Pidgit Bills.
 * Goombas turn into a yellowish color and have sunglasses. (GBA version only)
 * Pokeys turn into sawblade-like creatures. (GBA version only)

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros. 2 - A few enemies from this game (Ninjis, Pidgits) appear, bringing them into the proper Mario Universe, as they were from a dream world in this game. Also, since Super Mario Bros. 2 was just a remake of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, this introduced them as proper Mario enemies as well.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3 - The Sunken Ghost Ship was once an airship from this game. Also all of the Koopalings return here.

References in later games

 * Mario Roulette - Many sounds 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 near identical in appearance in this game and many tracks in this game are based on levels here.
 * Mario's Time Machine - Many sounds and graphics from here 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 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.
 * 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 music from this game plays upon first meeting Gaz. Also, the overworld theme music 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.
 * Paper Mario - The underwater theme from the level "Donut Secret 1" is remixed and used as the theme for this game's title screen.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee - There is a Super Mario World themed level called Yoshi's Island. Banzai Bill also returns, and Mario can use his cape as his Side + B 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 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.
 * Super Mario Sunshine - When F.L.U.D.D. scans Mario, a video of Mario battling Iggy in this game can be seen.
 * Mario Party Advance - The results screen music after the player runs out of Mushrooms in this game is a remix 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 both remixed and played on the Delfino Plaza stage, as well as the Castle Theme on the Luigi's Mansion stage. Yoshi's Wings are also apart of Yoshi's Final Smash.
 * 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.
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2 - A remix of the background music from the Ghost House stages is used for Haunty Halls Galaxy and a remix of the athletic theme is used in Hightail Falls Galaxy. Sound effects from Super Mario World are re-used, 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, also having different colors (only with power-ups). Yoshi's House also returns in the Sky Station Galaxy.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2 - Reznors returns in this game, as well as the remix 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.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U - This game seems to be based off Super Mario World, with similar backgrounds and level styles. Baby Yoshis reappear as well. It also uses a single, continuous world map, similar to this game.

Critical reception
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 Times".

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

IGN rated the original version as 8.5/10 and the Game Boy Advance remake as 9.3/10. Allgame rated it 5 stars.

Trivia

 * None of the Koopalings' sprites are the correct color of their game artwork, except for Larry. All of their in-game colors are the colors of the Koopa Troopas of Super Mario World, with the colors going from yellow, to blue, to red, to green, from oldest Koopaling to youngest.
 * Some of the game's levels are featured on its larger area world map, this includes the levels of Worlds 2, 4 and 6 (Donut Plains, Twin Bridges and Chocolate Island, respectively) while others are featured on more specific world maps.
 * This is the first game where Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas stand on two legs instead of four, and wear shoes.