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Super Mario World
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo, Mattel (Australia 1992–1994)
Designer(s)	Takashi Tezuka (director)
Composer(s)	Kōji Kondō
Series	Mario
Platform(s)	Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	November 21, 1990 SNES JP November 21, 1990 NA August 13, 1991 EU June 4, 1992 Game Boy Advance JP December 14, 2001 NA February 9, 2002 PAL April 12, 2002 Virtual Console JP December 2, 2006 NA February 5, 2007 PAL February 9, 2007
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player, two-player
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: E (re-release) PEGI: 3+ OFLC: G
Media	4-megabit cartridge (SNES) 32-megabit cartridge (GBA)

Super Mario World (スーパーマリオワールド^?) is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, released initially on November 21, 1990 in Japan. Similarly to other games in the Mario series, the plot involves Mario and Luigi traversing different lands on a quest to rescue Princess Toadstool who has been kidnapped by Bowser.

In Japan, Super Mario World was also known as Super Mario Bros. 4 and was one of the launch games for the Japanese Super Famicom, along with F-Zero.

The game was a critical and commercial success, gaining a legacy and selling over 20 million copies worldwide. It has been re-released three times, first as part of a combo with Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES in 1994. Secondly, it was released on the Game Boy Advance with modified gameplay, as the second part of the Super Mario Advance series. The third re-release was for the Wii's Virtual Console in North America in 2007; there were no changes from the original SNES version.

[edit] Overview

Opening location on the world map, showing Yoshi's Island.

Super Mario World is a side-scrolling platformer. Like most games in the main Mario series, the player assumes control of Mario (or Luigi by switching at the world map, though this does not affect the gameplay). Levels are accessed through a world map; there are nine worlds, each containing several levels. The player moves through each level to reach its exit (some levels have secret exits) which unlocks a path to new levels. To complete levels, Mario must run, jump, swim, use warp pipes, collect coins (collecting 100 earns him an extra life), defeat enemies, navigate platforms, open doors, and avoid abyss, lava, and other hazards. Each world contains one main castle, in which Mario fights the "Koopalings", who are the children of Bowser and serve as the boss for that world. The secret exits in some levels lead to one of five portals to "Star Road", an otherwise secret world; its levels are more difficult than those found in the rest of the game, but completing it is not necessary to complete the game. However completing the last level in the Star World will give the player access to 8 difficult bonus levels of known as the Special Zone. After completion of the Special Zone, Mario will enter a parallel dimension that mirrors the regular game, with several exceptions (all Koopa Troopa's now wear Mario masks, piranha plants are jack-o-lanterns, etc.)

Mario riding a green Yoshi at Yoshi's Island 2, one of the game's early levels.

Using power-ups found in the series' trademark ? boxes, Mario can become larger, throw small fireballs, become invincible for a short time, and fly. The game introduces Yoshi, a dinosaur companion who Mario can ride and who can eat enemies.^[1] He appears in many of the levels, generally colored green but sometimes red, blue, or yellow. Each colored Yoshi displays a different ability after eating a Koopa shell. Red will breathe fire, blue will sprout wings and fly, yellow will stomp the ground as he lands.

The story of the game begins with Mario and Luigi taking Princess Toadstool for a vacation. Like previous games in the series, she is suddenly kidnapped by Bowser and it becomes the goal of Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi to rescue her. However, unlike previous Mario games, which take place in the Mushroom Kingdom, Super Mario World takes place in a new land called "Dinosaur Land". During the course of the game, Mario and Luigi travel through the eight worlds, defeating the Koopaling in each one. After defeating Bowser, the final boss, at the end of the eighth world, Princess Toadstool is saved along with the credits.

[edit] Development

This section requires expansion with: more details about the game development itself.

The game was directed by Takashi Tezuka and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto with Shigefumi Hino as the graphics designer. It took three years to develop the game with a team of sixteen people.^[2] However Miyamoto stated that he felt that the game was incomplete and that development was rushed towards the end of the project.^[3]

About Yoshi, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that they wanted Mario to have a dinosaur companion ever since Super Mario Bros., however it was not possible because of the limitations of the NES. He said that "we were finally able to get Yoshi off the drawing boards with the SNES".^[2]

[edit] Music

Kōji Kondō composed all of the music used in Super Mario World, using only an electronic keyboard. Most of the music used in the game, with the exception of the music played in the title screen, the credits, the overworld map, and fighting Bowser, is a variation on the same melody. The music is played normally on the overworld levels. It is then slowed down and made to echo in caverns, moves in a slow, wave-like fashion (in 3/4 or waltz time) in Underwater levels, and in the athletic theme it is played fast and lively to suit the level taking place in the air. When riding on Yoshi, the soundtrack of any level is accompanied by bongo drums.^[4]

The Castle Theme and Ghost House theme have remnants of the basic SMW theme, but played in a minor key to evoke feelings of anxiety.

Waiting around on the Special World map screen for about two minutes (eight loops of the Special World theme, which is itself a variation of the Starman music) causes the map music to change to an updated steel drum version of the original Super Mario Bros. main theme. This resets to the original Special World music upon entering and exiting a level. A song comprising the title screen music and ending music is a musical option for the Isle Delfino stage in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The castle theme as well has become available for play in the same game.

[edit] Reception and legacy

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Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	96.70%[5]
Review scores
Publication	Score
Allgame	[1]

At the time, Nintendo was late to the 16-bit video game market, which was slowly being conquered by Sega and their Mega Drive/Genesis system.^[6] A new game, Sonic the Hedgehog, helped create numerous sales and increased popularity for Sega.^[6] Shigeru Miyamoto stated at the time that because of the very limited production time, Super Mario World was not quite as good as he had hoped and that with time the games for the system would allow for more emotion and story.^[3][6] Despite this, on GameRankings the game received very positive scores, with a 97% average score making it the fourth highest ranked game of all time and has also been ranked number 4 on the voting average list with the average vote of 9.2.^{[7] [8]}

Allgame gave the game five stars out of five, praising the graphics, sound, and replay value.^[1]

As a pack-in title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Mario World helped popularize the console, which has now sold over 20 million units in the United States.^[1] Super Mario World itself has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[9]

The game was ranked as the eighth best game for a Nintendo console in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list.^[10] Official Nintendo Magazine ranked the game seventh in its "100 greatest Nintendo games of all time".^[11] Famitsu readers ranked it 61st in the magazine's list of the top 100 video games.^[12] The game was ranked as the fourth best game in the series by ScrewAttack.^[13] In 2009, a poll conducted by British film magazine Empire voted it "the greatest game of all time."^[14]

[edit] Related products

[edit] Ports

Super Mario World was packaged in a special version of Super Mario All-Stars titled Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, which was released in 1994 in the United States and in Europe as the pack-in game for the SNES "Super Mario Set" bundle.^[15] This version is unique in that it contains an individual sprite for Luigi rather than simply swapping Mario's colors for Luigi's.

In 1995, JY Company/Hummer Team released an unlicensed version of Super Mario World for the Nintendo Entertainment System.^[16] It is one of the most well-known and critically-acclaimed "unofficial" video games (another being Kart Fighter) due to its elements and graphics being virtually unchanged from the source material. Two different versions of the game exist: an incomplete ("demo") version that ends after the fourth castle, and a "full" version with complete access to all levels stored within the game's data.

Super Mario World was ported by Nintendo R&D2 to the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 in 2002. Minor gameplay features are added, such as Luigi's motion capabilities differing from Mario's.^[17] This port has been re-released as a Player's Choice title, representing a sales total of one million.^{[citation needed]}

Super Mario World was one of the first games to be announced for the Wii's Virtual Console with a cost of 800 Wii Points. It was released in Japan on December 2, 2006; in the United States on February 5, 2007;^[18] and in Australia and Europe on February 9, 2007. A short demo of the game is one of the unlockable "Masterpieces" in the 2008 Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

[edit] Other media

Less than a month after the game's American release, DiC Entertainment produced a Super Mario World animated series based on the game, although some of the game's elements and names were renamed or changed. DiC Entertainment later released Super Mario All Stars, which was a compilation of previous Super Mario cartoons. While this compilation was technically the last Mario television series, Super Mario World is regarded as the last original television series related to the media franchise.

A direct sequel to Super Mario World was planned for the Philips CD-i, known as Super Mario's Wacky Worlds by NovaLogic, but was canceled during development.^[19]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikibooks has more on the topic of Super Mario World

• Super Mario World at Super Mario Wiki
• Super Mario World at SMWiki
• The Mushroom Kingdom
• Mario Mayhem