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| It's Super Mario's World, we just live in it |
“It's a bit more exciting! A bit more challenging! A bit more perfect! A bit more colorful! A bit more realistic! A bit more levels! A bit more secrets! A bit more enemies! A bit more friends! A bit more sound! A bit hotter! A bit cooler! A bit weirder! A bit more revolutionary! A bit more Mario! A bit more of what you want! It's 16-Bit, and it's yours only if you get Super Nintendo!”
- Super Mario World TV commercial
The Facts
Release Date: November 21, 1990 (Japan) August 18, 1991 (North America)
Original Platform: Super Famicom (Japan), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (USA)
Director: Takashi Tezuka
Producer: Shigeru Miyamoto
Also Playable On: Nintendo Super System, Game Boy Advance (remake), Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U, New 3DS), Super NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Switch Online
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| It's...Monty Mole's Flying Circus! |
What's the Deal
Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool need a vacation after saving the
entire Mushroom World in Super Mario Bros. 3,
so they decide to go to Dinosaur Land. However, shortly upon
arriving, Princess Toadstool goes missing.
While looking for her
on an area of Dinosaur Land known as “Yoshi's Island”, the Mario
Bros. find a large egg. From it hatches a captive dinosaur named
Yoshi. He explains that several of his friends were captured by
Bowser and his minions, and trapped in similar eggs. Luigi deduces
that Bowser must've taken the Princess as well again, and the three
of them go off to explore Dinosaur Land, defeat Bowser, rescue
Yoshi's friends as well as Princess Toadstool.
Background/Development
As an experiment, the developers ported Super Mario Bros. 3 to the Super Famicom, and wanting to do something new and fresh, they decided to make a brand-new Super Mario game, the very first one for the Super Famicom/SNES.
Miyamoto had said that, ever since the original Super Mario Bros., the staff had wanted Mario to ride a horse, but didn't feel like it was possible on Famicom/NES. But with the move to 16-bits, it became feasible.
Due to the setting of Dinosaur Land, designer Shigefumi Hino was asked to redesign the mount as being a dinosaur instead of a horse, and many designs were considered.
The name “Yoshi”, is a portmanteau of the nickname of staff member Mie Yoshimura, and “Nessie”, a nickname for the Loch Ness Monster, according to artist Yoichi Kotabe.
Yoshi's design might've been inspired by Tamagon, a green dinosaur serving as the
protagonist of the NES game, Devil World.
The original design of Dinosaur Land (as seen in Japanese magazines) included an island shaped like a Super Mushroom, dotted with SMB3-style Fortresses and what appears to be a Toad House.
The original idea for the flight power-up was the return of the Super Leaf and Raccoon Mario, from SMB3. This eventually became the Cape Feather, which originally included a helmet.
Mario having wings on his back was also considered.
Blarggs were originally designed as sharks, and Bowser's Koopa Clown Car underwent several designs.
Early graphics for Mario and giant Buzzy Beetles hint that a more 3D look for the game was considered.
A few map screen objects were developed, such as a Lakitu and Blue Jay which would follow Mario around, or a Koopaling that would jump out and pull him into a level, like the Hand Traps in SMB3.
The game was released in Japan as Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4, but while it appeared in a lot of prerelease materials as such elsewhere, the rest of the world got it as simply Super Mario World.
It was discovered a few years back that Luigi had an entire unique set of graphics during the game's development, but the final version has him as a palette swap of Mario again...
Aside from the 1994 release of Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (bundled with the “Super NES Mario Set”), which gives Luigi his own unique design and animations. For some reason, though, this version of the compilation has never been rereleased.
My History With It
Oh, boy.
So...this is the one.
The very first video game I ever remember playing (either that, or the SNES version of Monopoly, but it was more likely Super Mario World). I must've been three years old, since I remember seeing advertisements for the live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, and wanting to see it in theaters, because I loved this game so much.
I didn't get to see it in theaters, but I did eventually catch it on VHS.
I can remember being three or four years old, sitting in my parents' living room, playing Super Mario World by myself. Specifically, I can recall being on Yoshi's Island 2, on that hill where the Koopa Troopas are lined up, and...screwing up so badly that the Troopas were surrounding Mario and I lost a life...but not from the Troopas. From running out of time.
Thirty years later, and I still have NO clue how I did that.
As mentioned before, I used to watch the Mario All Stars block on USA Network around this time, which included episodes of the Super Mario World cartoon, introducing me to various concepts that I hadn't actually seen in the game.
Also when I was about four years old, I watched my aunt's (now ex) husband playing the game, and saw the final boss as well as the ending for the first time. I cried when it was over.
I was a weird kid.
When my SNES was pulled out of the closet in '97(?), and I got into video games again, I became obsessed with Super Mario World (and also Donkey Kong Country).
I went full in on this, digging out my VHSs of the Super Show! and 1993 movie, and watching them repeatedly. Also talked off the ear of my then-best friend whose only Super Mario experience was Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3 on NES.
In '98, my cousin got an SNES, and this was one of the games he got. It was how I got to see the instruction manual for the first time, which was a bigger deal for me back then than it is now.
I wanna say I was about eight or nine years old when I first beat the game myself. It was a huge achievement for me, since I'd never beaten ANY game before.
Getting internet access in 1999 led to me discovering the existence of the Special Zone, which I was able to get to shortly afterwards.
About twenty years ago, I downloaded an SNES emulator onto my family's computer, and this was one of the games we tested it out with.
I didn't get the GBA remake until later, but I remember watching my best friend play it in high school, and feeling my thumbs twitch from reflex.
I got my own SNES from eBay in 2006, and bought a copy of Mario Mania, which was both the Player's Guide for this game, and a history of Mario up to that point. I think it was around this point where I realized that this is my favorite game.
Like, ever.
In '06, I believe I finally got all 96 exits and 100%ed the game for the first time.
When listening to the Opening and Ending Medley for this game in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I got overwhelmed with all this game means to me, and I cried.
I’m a weird adult.
In 2019, I and two friends and played the game on Nintendo Switch Online. I was Mario, playing through the game normally, and they took turns as Luigi, finding the Star Road and Special Zone.
In 2021, this was the first video game I ever played while drunk.
Playthrough
Played On: SNES
I let the title screen demo loop a few times just because I love the song, and because I don't normally watch it for very long.
For the record, the level in that demo is Groovy, the fifth course of the Special Zone.
I often wonder why Dinosaur Land never showed up again in the Super Mario series? Yoshi does, as does Yoshi's Island itself, but Dinosaur Land doesn't appear again.
Yoshi's House is an interesting area. It has absolutely no gameplay relevance, there's nothing to do there aside from read the message Yoshi left behind. No powerups, no collectables or anything. Just...a note, and some birds hopping around on top. If anything, it pairs with the opening messgage to establish the story. That's it. I like that, though. Not everything has to be necessary to the gameplay. It's nice to have something to just establish the world of the game and Yoshi's character a bit.
In my research, I've learned a few things, though. One, that the white line on the ground is also present in the SNES Test Cartirdge, implying that this area was one of the first made for the game.
I also learned that hitting the Message Block while riding Yoshi displays a different message, one hinting at the Yellow Switch Palace on Kappa Mountain.
Also, pressing L and R rapidly can cause the smoke from the chimney to glitch out.
You mean to tell me, not ONCE in thirty years of playing this game, that I ever hit this block while riding Yoshi?!
Kinda funny to think about the fact that the first Koopa Troopa I ever saw had no shell, the first Bullet Bill I ever saw was a giant Banzai Bill, and I saw Rexes before I ever saw a Goomba.
As a kid, the Yellow Switch Palace set my expectations for what a Switch Palace should be, which caused a big shock when I discovered that there’s enemies in the other Switch Palaces. Just felt wrong.
This was my phone's lock screen for the longest time. Yoshi’s Island 2 feels very comforting to me, for some reason. I know it like the back of my hand, and it feels more like an actual location than any other level in the game. Maybe the thick forest background contributes to that feeling in a weird way.
I dunno, man. The human mind is odd.
My favorite Koopaling is Iggy Koopa. I feel like that’s because he’s the first boss in this game, and is thus the first video game boss I ever defeated.
His wild personality in later games kinda cemented him as my favorite.
Mario destroys Castle #1 by blowing it up with a dynamite plunger.
Time for Donut Plains!
He floats through the air, with the greatest of ease, that ol' Mario on the flying capey... I know I’ve always claimed that Fire Mario is my favorite powered-up form, but...there’s something just plain AWESOME about Caped Mario.
The nearly unlimited flight ability, the fast melee attack, the fact it makes Mario and Luigi look like superheroes...it’s like everything the Raccoon Leaf did in the previous game, but even better.
I have practically no luck with the 1-Up Chambers in this playthrough. I can only get one 1-Up in each one, at the most.
In Donut Plains 2, I have a habit of Spin Jumping at the Buzzy Beetles as Caped Mario, glitching them into the ceiling where they get stuck. I’ve never been able to do it in any other stage.
They just kinda stay there, vibrating When I was about eight years old, a friend of my mom’s then-boyfriend was watching me play this game, and showed me how to get to the Top Secret Area in the Donut Ghost House, which blew my mind.
Same guy later loaned us his N64 so my brothers and I could play Super Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing.
The brown, round enemies in Donut Plains 4 really threw me for a loop when I learned from the game’s ending that they’re Goombas.
I was weirdly relieved when Super Mario 3D World renamed this variation of Goombas “Galoombas”.
This game does a number on a bunch of classic Super Mario enemies.
Koopa Troopas now walk upright and wear shoes.
Goombas have been replaced with Galoombas.
The only Bros. enemies are the “Amazing Flyin’ Hammer Brothers”.
Most Piranha Plants are the “Jumping Piranha Plant” variety (though a few traditional ones emerge from overhead pipes)
Cheep Cheeps are all yellow and move back and forth in pre-determined patterns.
I knew about the Donut Secret House as a kid, but I was sixteen years old when I learned from the Player’s Guide about the Big Boo boss battle.
It’s the only boss that’s found outside a Castle or Fortress, and doesn’t use any unique graphics. That was wild.
Morton’s defeated, and Mario takes out his Castle by dropkicking it then stomping on it.
Vanilla Dome might be my least favorite World in the game. “Underground” doesn’t do much for me as far as a theme.
The Skull Rafts are cool, though. I wonder why one of the skulls tends to vibrate when riding the raft, though.
The Player’s Guide states that Yoshi can eat Blarggs, but I’ve never been able to do it.
As a kid, I assumed that the Bubble ghosts were the same type of spirit as Onionhead/Slimer from Ghostbusters.
The Vanilla Fortress is neat, being underwater, and I like Vanilla Dome 4 for being outdoors at night, for some unexplained reason.
The Star Road in Vanilla Secret 1 was the first one I ever discovered and led to me finding the shortcut to Bowser’s Castle.
Super Mario World, I believe, is the only 2D game in the series to feature Magikoopas as regular enemies.
The Magikoopas firing geometric shapes from their wands was always an image that stuck with me, seeing it in the cartoon as well as on a box of Super Mario World-branded sneakers.
By the way, I can’t seem to find any evidence of those sneakers ever existing. Did I imagine seeing them in the mid-90s?
Fairly sure the shoebox had this image on it
Lemmy’s defeated, and Mario tears down the Castle with a hammer in a way reminding me of Donkey Kong.
The Twin Bridges and Cookie Mountain are next!
I only went across Cheese Bridge in this playthrough, not unlocking Butter Bridge or Soda Lake.
Cookie Mountain is fun. It’s a mostly straightforward level, but there’s some stuff hidden high up if you look. Also introduces the Sumo Bros.
Ludwig’s Castle has an interesting orange background with claustrophobic passageways at the start, before switching to a SMB3-like room with a lowering, spiked ceiling. Ludwig himself is a new type of boss fight, being located in a very large room that he travels all over.
Possibly my favorite cutscene in the game: Mario presses down on the plunger to detonate the castle, but instead, it launches into the air like a rocket, and crashes into a mountain in the background, which has a bandage on it for the rest of the game.
Not to brag, but I'm pretty good at this bonus game. Time for the Forest of Illusion, one of my favorite areas in the game!
It and Yoshi’s Island don’t follow the edible theme naming of the rest of the game’s Worlds, but I feel like the Forest gets a pass because the large trees kinda look like muffins.
However, in Japan, it’s known as “The Lost Woods”, which yes, is most likely a reference to the recurring area in The Legend of Zelda series.
I usually try not to bother the Wigglers by jumping on them and making them mad.
If I’m invincible, though, I’ll tear right through ‘em, though.
I also managed to pull off the Infinite 1-Up trick involving Wigglers on this playthrough. It made my thumbs hurt from holding down the buttons, but I did it to the point where the points/1-Up graphics got glitched.
I dig how getting the regular exits in the Forest leads to Mario just going in a circle. Gotta think outside the box.
The enemies/Super Mushrooms in bubbles are a neat concept.
Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)Make me warm all overWith a feeling that I'm gonnaLove you till the end of time
I love the cutscene after Roy’s Castle, too. Mario presses the plunger down, but nothing happens. He goes to investigate, and the Castle explodes in his face, leaving him singed like in a Tom and Jerry or Tex Avery cartoon.
I always assumed that Chocolate Island is named as such due to the brown coloring of the ground and how the boiling mud resembles hot chocolate. However, the text in the aforementioned cutscene refers to the Island as being “delicious”, so maybe it is actually made of chocolate?
Chocolate Island 2 is, without question, the weirdest level in the whole game.
The first area is filled with Dino-Rhinos and Dino-Torches. Nothing odd there.
The second segment has three variations depending on how many coins were collected in the first segment (0-8, 9-20, and 21+), with one variation being impossible to complete without a Cape.
The third segment has three variations dependent on how much time is left on the level’s clock upon finishing the second segment.
And the final segment’s two variations are determined by how many Dragon Coins have been collected in the level.
C! I! O! チョコレート
チョコレート
チョ!チョ!チョ! いいかな?
でもね ちょっと Weight
ちょっと最近 心配なんです
だけど チョコレート チョコレート
チョ!チョ!チョ! いいかな?
でもね ちょっと Wait
ちょっと待って
チョ! チョ! チョ!
The chocolate coloring goes a long way to making things like the Fortress and underground levels more memorable than their counterparts.
The skewers in Wendy’s Castle were shocking to me as a kid, since being crushed under one was an insta-kill, with a powered-up Mario losing a life during the shrinking animation.
Wendy herself, much like Lemmy, has some wonderfully cartoony facial expressions.
The cutscene for this one has Mario wiping away the castle with a mop.
Next is the Sunken Ghost Ship, which child me thought was the final area of the game until I discovered the Star Road leading to Bowser’s Castle.
According to the English instruction manual, the Sunken Ghost Ship is a crashed Koopaling Airship from Super Mario Bros. 3.
The fact that there’s one of Boom-Boom’s Magic Balls at the bottom of the huge plummeting section (which was a really neat setpiece) lends credence to the idea of this being an SMB3 Airship.
After going through the Sunken Ghost Ship, there’s this super-awesome animation of a giant stone Bowser face rising from the sea, opening the path to the Valley of Bowser.
Most of the Valley levels reuse themes from previous ones, particularly Donut Plains.
I do really like Valley of Bowser 3, though. The outdoor tileset of hills and stuff against an underground background, plus the gimmick of timed Count-Lifts make it stand out among the others.
Valley of Bowser 4 features Chargin’ Chucks with shovels called “Diggin’ Chucks”, which is neat.
Larry’s Castle doesn’t do anything new. Even the boss battle is a slightly harder version of Iggy’s.
The cutscene depicts Mario picking up the castle and punting it off-screen.
Always thought it was cool how Bowser’s Castle isn’t actually named that in this game. Instead, its two parts are named “Front Door” and “Back Door”.
First off, the fact that the interior of Bowser’s Castle is white instead of grey is really cool, I gotta say. Makes it feel more serious somehow.
As a kid, I’d always pick Doors 3 (Mechakoopa maze) and 8 (a crowd of Chargin’ Chucks), which are probably the worst possible choices (well, 6 is pretty bad, being underwater).
Though Door 3 did introduce me to Mechakoopas, which is important later.
This time around, I went with Doors 2 (climbing fences) and 7 (small Bowser Statues).
After that comes the Back Door, which is a darkened room containing Ninjis and Mechakoopas, and the only light source is a disco ball activated by hitting a block.
Why a disco ball? Why not?
Remember how I said that every final boss in this series is better than the last?
Oh yeah.
I used to play this whole battle with the TV muted as a kid, because the final boss music intimidated me so much No HUD at the top of the screen, a pitch-black background, and dramatic music playing as Bowser appears in a giant flying teacup with a clown face on it, preparing to fight Mario on the rooftop of his castle...that is AWESOME.
The battle itself is fairly simple: Bowser throws Mechakoopas out, and the player has to toss them back at him, while dodging things like massive iron balls or the angry Clown Car bouncing up and down on the rooftop, trying to crush Mario.
After being beaned with his Mechakoopas twice, Bowser flies into the background, then into the foreground with sweet Mode 7 effects, before fire rains down, the Koopa Clown Car returns, and Princess Toadstool cries for help and throws Mario a Super Mushroom before the next round begins.
Hitting Bowser six times causes him to drop Princess Toadstool off, then fly away.
Toadstool kisses Mario, causing him to blush (which I always found adorable), and fireworks go off.
D'aww.
We get an ending credits sequence of Mario, Yoshi, Toadstool, and Yoshi’s seven friends (still in eggs) walking back to Yoshi’s House. The eggs hatch, everyone cheers, and we get a nifty curtain call of all the game’s enemies and bosses.
You're welcome.
...and we’re done, right?
Technically, yes. But there’s a bit more to see in Super Mario World.
I mentioned Star Road earlier, which will take Mario to Star World, each level containing a baby Yoshi of a certain color, and two exits. Going through all five keyhole exits results in another Star Road, this time taking Mario to the Special Zone!
The Special Zone is, in a word, difficult. But the levels are named for (mostly) 80s slang terms, which is fun.
Gnarly is mostly vertical, and I learned it’s possible to make it unbeatable accidentally.
Tubular, I feel, has a reputation for being the hardest level in the game. It’s got a unique gimmick, being that the player has to keep grabbing P-Balloons to stay alive and float to the end, dodging enemies and obstacles.
Also, do you think it’s called “Tubular” because the ground is composed of Warp Pipes?
Way Cool was easy enough for me, since I grabbed the Yoshi Wings and bypassed most of the level.
Awesome was one of the tougher ones, even though I liked the callback to Super Mario Bros. with the bridge and the Cheep Cheeps jumping at Mario.
The invincibility from the Star actually makes the end of the level unbeatable, since the player has to bounce of a Koopa Paratroopa to reach a block, but if invincible, Mario will just pass right through it.
Groovy is short, and designed after the earlier levels of the game. Of note is that this is the level being played on the title screen.
Mondo’s big gimmick is the level being flooded periodically from water rising and falling.
Outrageous is the one that gave me the most trouble, with the theme of dodging Bullet Bills and having to carry Springboards from one area to the next.
Funky (not to be confused with the Donkey Kong Country character), is a very long level with green berries that Yoshi can eat to increase the level timer.
For a good time, wait til the music speeds up after the “time’s almost up” jingle, eat a berry, and keep doing it to make the music go faster and faster.
At the end of Funky, a bunch of coins spell out “YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!!”.
That’s sweet.
Finish Special Zone, and the overworld map has changed colors to something more autumnal (like the muffin-trees in the Forest of Illusion being orange, or Chocolate Island becoming green mint chocolate).
Inside the game, some of the enemies have changed, too.
Piranha Plants are now jack-o-lanterns.
Bullet Bills are now Pidgits (from Super Mario Bros. 2)
And Koopa Troopa shells have been replaced with Mario masks.
In the GBA remake, these changes (plus Galoombas and Pokeys changing appearance) happen not after completing Special Zone, but after getting all 96 exits.
I didn’t 100% the game by getting all 96 exits, but I think I got most of what the game has to offer with this playthrough. Think I got about 80 or so exits.
Power-Ups
Returning:
Super Mushroom
Fire Flower
Super Star
New:
Yoshi
Mini-Yoshi
Cape Feather
P-Balloon
Yoshi's Wings
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| You better check yo self before you Rex yo self |
Milestones
First 16-bit Super Mario.
Debut appearance of Yoshi
Debut appearance of Yoshi's Island
First time bongos are added to the game's soundtrack when riding Yoshi
First game to feature a non-linear map screen
First one to make multiple exits in levels a major feature.
First game to reward 100% completion
First bipedal Koopa Troopas
First game to have an item reserve in the levels themselves
Star Road and Special World mark this as the first Super Mario game to feature a bonus world (unless you count the Warp Zone from SMB3, but...I don’t).
First Ghost Houses
Last appearance of the Koopalings in a mainline Super Mario game until New Super Mario Bros. Wii in 2009.
Debut appearance of the Koopa Clown Car
First sunken ship
Last time Luigi is playable in a mainline Super Mario game until New Super Mario Bros. in 2006.
Last time Luigi’s appearance is nothing more than a palette-swap of Mario.
Trivia
After hitting Select and dropping a power-up from the Item Stock in the Top Secret Area or Yoshi’s House, and not collecting it...it’ll come back around after eighteen minutes.
When staring at a regular Boo for a few seconds, it’ll make a funny face at Mario. If staring long enough at a Big Boo, it’ll peek out from under its hands to see if Mario’s still there.
Putting the "Boo" back in "Peek-a-Boo" The July 2020 Nintendo “Gigaleak” revealed that a LOT of stuff was changed during development, like the design of the Koopa Clown Car, or a level featuring a bizarre-looking giant bird character.
What is this, and why?
Staying on the Special Zone map screen for two minutes causes the music to become a new arrangement of the Super Mario Bros. Ground Theme.
- I discovered this as a kid by walking out of the room for some reason for a few minutes while on the map screen, and got my mind blown upon reentering the room to go back to playing the game.
- I discovered this as a kid by walking out of the room for some reason for a few minutes while on the map screen, and got my mind blown upon reentering the room to go back to playing the game.
In Soda Lake, there’s a Bullet Bill-esque enemy known as “Torpedo Ted”. I’m fairly certain this is a reference to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, one of my favorite movies, especially since the first sequel, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey was also released in 1991.
Like SMB1/2, and 3, this game also got an animated TV series, paired with Captain N: The Game Master as Captain N and the new Super Mario World.
The intro is really cool, and well-animated, but the show itself is neither. Aside from a few good episodes, such as the finale, “Mama Luigi” (which has been memed to death), it’s kind of a chore to watch.
Though while watching a compilation of commercial bumpers for this, I saw some featuring live-action teenagers, which unlocked a memory of me of these teens watching one of the Super Mario cartoons from DiC, but I always assumed it was the Super Show! Wow. Time to become obsessed with finding out more about this now.
There was also an interactive VHS cartoon released in Japan based on the game titled Super Mario World: Mario & Yoshi's Adventure Land. It’s designed to be used with a phone toy. It’s a kinda cute little novelty.
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| Note, by the way, that Mario's not punching Yoshi in the back of the head. That was considered by the developers, but they changed their minds because it'd be out of character. |
Conclusion
It’s hard for me to be objective about this, but I’m gonna try.
Super Mario World is my favorite video game. It’s the first one I ever played, and no other game has ever struck the same chord with me that this one has.
It’s also hard to not compare it to Super Mario Bros. 3, its direct predecessor.
SMB3’s greatest strength is how almost every level throws something new at the player, leading to a greatly diverse and varied playthrough.
SMW, on the other hand, is more refined. There’s less unique elements in the levels, but it makes up for it by those elements working beautifully, especially in how much more open-ended it is.
Dozens of levels have hidden exits, some leading to shortcuts or other areas of the map that can’t be accessed any other way, calling back to SMB3’s hidden Recorders or map areas hidden behind rocks or on islands, but taking it so much further.
The Cape power-up offers pretty much unlimited flight, allowing the player to explore even more of the levels to find secrets.
Yoshi offers different physics and offensive capabilities, giving the players yet another way to play through the game, with things like the abilities from differently colored shells/Yoshis bringing some depth to using them.
If you’re taking the direct path to Bowser’s Castle, you’re missing out on close to half the game.
I will say that, unlike SMB3, World feels a lot more unified in its aesthetic. I think this works both for and against it. It makes the levels feel like they’re actually connected to each other, and more like you’re exploring a real place...but it also leads to chunks of the game blending together, like the castles and fortresses being indistinguishable unless one’s already familiar with the layout.
This also applies to the music. Most level music is variations and arrangements of the same melody, which is cool most of the time, but does cause a lot of areas to have the same identity, musically.
Which kinda threw me off in the “Mushroom Kingdom” clip for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which had a snippet of the SMW theme in the score. I was happy to hear it, but also felt it didn’t quite fit, since that’s the leitmotif for Dinosaur Land, not the Mushroom Kingdom.
Even if it wasn’t for my deep love for this game, it’s still a masterpiece, and one everyone should play. The highest of recommendations.
“OK troopers, how much fun can you handle?
We'll cancel the scandal
'Cause this time around the action's quicker
Slicker
And much, much thicker
Bowser's returned with the Sumo Brothers
Charging Chucks, and others
Well all you gotta do is rescue the girl
So welcome to Super Mario World”
- Ambassadors of Funk, “Supermarioworld”
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