super mario world review
Test: Super Mario WorldIt was in 1990 that Super Mario Bros. 3, on NES, appears in Europe. For a few months now, the video game planet has only been talking about this console twice as powerful as its predecessor. The Super Nintendo was launched on the Japanese market in the second half of 1990, then in 1991 in the United States and only the following year in Europe. Like the NES, the SNES is delivered to us with its own Mario. Super Mario World is a revolution in the world of video games as was its big brother of the NES in 1985. SMW, third series of the name after Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Land, is a masterpiece that augurs the best for one that will be one of the most significant consoles in the history of video games.
According to tradition, Princess Toadstool was kidnapped by Bowser. Nothing new a priori! We find exactly the same scenario as in three of the four episodes of Super Mario Bros. The king of the Koopas, always eager for conquest, established his army and his little family in a place that was apparently peaceful: Dinosaur Land. Not content with requisitioning all the places in Dinosaur Land, Bowser also places his seven offspring (already seen in the third part of the NES trilogy) in seven castles guarding the different worlds of the game! All to prevent Brooklyn plumbers from reaching his own fortress. But Mario and Luigi will try everything to save the princess. However, unlike previous episodes, they will benefit from a significant ally ...
Super Mario Bros. 3 was the longest of all the Mario, but did not reach the longevity of the two Zelda of the console. To make the quest last longer, the worlds turn out to be more varied and more numerous. The game contains 72 evenly distributed levels, and the great news is that some of them have two exits, which gives us a total of 96 different exits! The universe to cover is therefore really very large and offers many paths different to go around, enough to reserve players countless surprises. The progression, for the first time in a Mario, is facilitated by the presence of a save function. As soon as you complete a ghost house, exit a fortress, or complete a world, the game is automatically saved. The same is true when you complete a "Switch Palace". This is represented in four copies in the game. By pressing the large switch it contains, this transforms the dotted blocks to solidify them. They will then contain options or will facilitate access to certain places. With all these new levels fairly distributed and this much less linear progression system, the life of the game is considerably extended, and any player, even experienced, will break his head for several hours to overcome the 96 outings to unearth.
Associated with this is an innovative gameplay that uses the controller designed for the Super Nintendo and equipped with four main buttons instead of two. As a result, Mario's abilities are much more numerous, but the game is sufficiently well thought out at this level that we never feel lost. In addition, help blocks scattered throughout the game provide you with valuable information on its handling and its overall progress. From an ergonomic point of view, Mario World does everything to satisfy the player and it is a real success that should be saluted at its fair value. However, despite the extensive game possibilities, the many outfits of Mario seen in the previous episode have largely disappeared. In return, we inherit a brand new cape. When Mario catches a feather, it can now fly away, as the raccoon costume already allowed in Super Mario Bros. 3. The difference is that here the duration of the flight can be unlimited if you master all the techniques for gliding. But if the number of combinations proposed in Super Mario World compared to its predecessor has been considerably reduced, it is probably thanks to the arrival of Yoshi.
Yoshi is the new ally of the Italian plumber. The little green dinosaur, which will quickly become the mascot of Mario and more or less one of the major icons of Nintendo over time, makes its debut in this episode. Captured by Bowser at the same time as the Princess, he was locked in an egg, like his companions, hidden in most of the levels. Although he has bizarre reactions and does not hesitate to unseat Mario at the slightest contact with an enemy, Yoshi has a lot of qualities for him. Depending on the color of the overlapped Yoshi (green, yellow, red or blue), it can throw sand, spit fire or even fly ... And above all, it is able to swallow 90% of Mario's enemies using its tongue, with the exception of some garbage such as turtle shells. This has the effect of avoiding an overflow of grotesque outfits while expanding its capabilities. That said, although he is terribly cute and endearing, the friend Yoshi still poses some problems. First, it cannot climb magic beans. However, there are still many in Super Mario World, and in some levels, you will have to abandon your favorite dinosaur to progress. Likewise, if you leave it somewhere in the level, it will stay there and you can come back to get it ... unless you have borrowed a pipe or a door! Finally, its presence is strictly prohibited inside the buildings. Thus, you will not be able to enter his company either in castles or in haunted houses. It remains a charming discovery that will instantly conquer fans and quickly establish itself as Mario's true friend, and be propelled into the limelight in other games thereafter.
Let us now come to the overall atmosphere, and first of all to the decor. The variety of landscapes is obvious. If the ice levels are only two in the game and the aquatic landscapes are reduced, the underground and aerial stages steal the show at the levels in open country. You will start on Yoshi Island to finish in the Bowser Valley, passing by the sublime Forest of Illusions and Chocolate Island. Without forgetting the two optional worlds, the Star Road and the Special Stage which increase the difficulty of a game which is after all neither too simple nor too difficult, but which nevertheless gets worse as soon as you try to complete it in its entirety . Because how can you resist the urge to quote the incredible "Tubular" in the Special Stage, still considered today as one of the most difficult platform stages ever conceived? Finally, on the musical side, we enjoy. For the first time, the echoes really get along in the caves, which accentuates the realism of the levels and reinforces the immersion of the player in the magical universe of Super Mario World. The themes, especially that of castles, have wild rhythms, worthy of a real concert of classical music ... It is not for nothing that several themes from Super Mario World will impose themselves as standards of the saga and will be repeated on several occasions thereafter!
The notes
Graphics 17/20
The Super NES reveals its full potential here through much more detailed graphics, much less flat and deeper universes, and a very wide palette of colors. It's still a bit limited compared to what we'll see later (in the Donkey Kong Country for example) but it's already very attractive ...
Gameplay 19/20
The game is the first of its kind to use so many buttons, but the grip is absolutely perfect, as each action has been well thought out. Everything is done without thinking, a real happiness!
Lifespan 16/20
The main adventure was relatively long for the time and not too assisted by the possibility of saving the game. We also appreciate the possibility of ending the game by several different routes by looking for the 96 outings imagined by the developers. Super Mario World is a game that we enjoy flipping around, even when we know it on our fingertips.
Soundtrack 18/20
The technical contribution of the SNES at this level makes it possible to benefit from more removed, more daring, and overall magnificent compositions. The melodies stay in the head and are easily associated with the different types of levels. The sound effects (addition of very rhythmic percussion as soon as you overlap Yoshi, or echoes in the underground passages) reinforce the musical universe of Super Mario World.
Scenario/
Unfortunately not very original, and we don't even find surprising twists like those like Super Mario Bros. 3 knew how to suggest us. We can still highlight the special effort made in the history of Yoshi, but it is still very light ...
Super Mario World is an exceptional game that will have launched the Super Nintendo career in the best possible way. Rightly considered as one of the absolute references in 2D platforms, this episode cannot leave anyone indifferent, and even if it does not innovate enormously, this very first Mario equipped with a backup system will give even more hard time for those who would like to finish it by finding the 96 hidden exits. Equipped with engaging graphics and a very high-quality soundtrack that will mark its time, this excellent game will be rightly re-released ten years later on Game Boy Advance as a nod to what was one of the most great games from the Super Nintendo and one of the best Mario of all time.
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