Super Mario World is a 1990 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, in North America in 1991 and PAL territories in 1992. The player controls Mario on his quest to save Princess Peach and Dinosaur Land from the series' antagonist Bowser and the Koopalings. The gameplay is similar to that of earlier Super Mario games; players control Mario through a series of levels in which the goal is to reach the goalpost at the end. Super Mario World introduces Yoshi, a rideable dinosaur who can eat enemies and spit some of them out as projectiles.

Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development developed the game, led by director Takashi Tezuka and producer and series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. It is the first Mario game for the SNES and was designed to make the most of the console's technical features. The development team had more freedom compared to the series installments for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Yoshi was conceptualised during the development of the NES games, but was not used until Super Mario World due to hardware limitations.

Super Mario World is often considered one of the best games in the series and is cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. It sold more than twenty million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling SNES game. It also led to an animated television series and a 1995 prequel, Yoshi's Island. The game has been re-released on multiple occasions: it was part of the 1994 compilation Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World for the SNES and was re-released for the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 in 2001, on the Virtual Console for the Wii, Wii U, and New Nintendo 3DS consoles, and as part of the Super NES Classic Edition. Both the SNES and GBA versions were rereleased for Nintendo Switch as part of the Nintendo Classics service.

Gameplay

thumb|left|[[Mario riding Yoshi during the second course. From left to right, the HUD displays the number of lives, how many Yoshi Coins the player has collected, the player's number of Bonus Stars, the item box storing a power-up, the time remaining in the level, the player's number of coins, and the total score.|alt=This screenshot shows Mario riding Yoshi during the first level of the game. The scenery shows a jungle environment with floating blocks scattered in the air. The interface displayed around the corners shows the number of lives the player has, the Yoshi Coins collected, the player's stored power-up, the level's remaining time, the player's number of coins, and the total score of the player.]]

Super Mario World is a 2D side-scrolling platform game in which the player controls Mario or Luigi. The gameplay is similar to earlier games in the Super Mario but introduces new elements. As well as dashing and jumping, the player can also fly or float with the aid of the Cape Feather and P-Balloon and can execute the new Spin Jump move,

The player navigates via two screens: an overworld map and a side-scrolling course (some of which scroll automatically). The overworld map displays an overhead representation of the current world and has several paths leading from the world's entrance to a castle. Paths connect to action panels, fortresses, ghost houses, castles, and other map icons, allowing players to take different routes to reach the world's goal. Moving the on-screen character to an action panel or castle grants access to that course. The majority of the game takes place in 2D linear levels, populated with obstacles and enemies, which involves the player traversing the stage by dashing, jumping, and dodging or defeating enemies. Super Mario World was the first Mario series game developed for the then-upcoming Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). As such, the team anticipated some difficulty in working with new and more advanced hardware. According to Tezuka, the software tools were not yet fully developed, and the team had to "go along with starting something new". Miyamoto acknowledged the team no longer had restrictions on certain mechanics such as scrolling and the number of colours they could implement. As a hardware experiment, the team ported Super Mario Bros.3 to the SNES. However, it felt like the same game to them, despite the improved colours and sprites. After that, Miyamoto realised the team's goal would be to use the new hardware to create something "totally new". Seeing the potential of the new capabilities present on the SNES, development of a fourth Super Mario installment began in October 1988, shortly after the release of Super Mario Bros. 3. About a month later, the team began to implement and test ideas that were impossible for the third installment due to hardware limitations.

Miyamoto had wanted Mario to have a dinosaur companion since Super Mario Bros., but engineers could not add such a character due to the limitations of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The inspiration for Yoshi can be traced back even further; Miyamoto designed a green dragon for the 1984 game Devil World which shared many similarities with Yoshi. During the development of Super Mario Bros.3, Miyamoto had a number of sketches around his desk, including an image of Mario riding a horse. As development of Super Mario World progressed, the team opted to use a "dinosaur land" setting, so Tezuka asked designer Shigefumi Hino to draw a reptile-like creature based on Miyamoto's sketches. Hino originally produced a design that Tezuka deemed too reptilian, and "didn't really fit into the Mario world", so he encouraged the designer to create a "cuter" character. As development progressed, Kondo grew concerned over how people would react to his unusual combinations of instruments as he noted the use of more traditional square waves and triangle waves had "gained acceptance" with consumers. For the sound effects, Kondo decided to use a variety of musical instruments, as opposed to square waves, to emphasise that the game used traditional technology with a hybrid of new materials. Nintendo was forced to delay the release to late 1990 since the team struggled with the new console and its software tools – which were still under development at the time, refine their planned concepts so their controls would be more player-friendly, and the global chip shortage slowing down the Super Famicom's production schedule. Super Mario World was exhibited again in the second Shoshinkai event between August 28–29, 1990. The demonstration garnered positive results by the public in terms of gameplay.

Super Mario World was produced during the console warsa result of the rivalry between Nintendo's SNES and Sega's two-year-old Mega Drive systemwhich outsold the console and led to intense competition between the two, being the first time since December 1985 Nintendo did not lead the market though it eventually overtook Sega. Sega's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, was seen by many as a faster and "cooler" alternative to Mario.

Release

Super Mario World was first released in Japan on 21 November 1990 under the name of Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4. It was one of two launch games for the SNES in Japan, along with F-Zero. It was released in North America on 23 August 1991. Nintendo also issued a version for arcade cabinets so players could try the game before buying it.

Rereleases

thumb|right|[[Luigi (character)|Luigi riding Yoshi during one of the game's early stages in the GBA re-release Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2. This version of the game features unique sprites for Luigi.|alt=This screenshot shows Luigi riding Yoshi during one of the game's early stages in the Game Boy Advance version. The scenery shows a jungle environment with floating blocks scattered in the air. The interface displayed along the top of the image shows the number of lives, point multiplier, special item, time remaining, number of coins and total score.]]

Super Mario World was re-released in a special version of Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, as a pack-in game for the SNES in December 1994. In contrast to the other games in the collection, Super Mario World is largely identical to the original version, but Luigi's sprites were updated to make him a distinctive character rather than a palette swap of Mario.

Super Mario World was ported to the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 between 2001 and 2002. It features the same number of levels as the original, Luigi as a playable character in single player with his characteristic behaviour and appearance from Super Mario Bros. 2, Game Link Cable support for four players in the Mario Bros. Classic mode, and the ability to save anywhere, rather than just after beating Ghost houses or Castles. Difficulty is lowered as being hit by an enemy no longer makes him lose all current power ups. Additionally, the alternate overworld map and enemy sprites that was normally unlocked by beating the Special World is now instead unlocked by finding every exit in each level. It received positive reviews; critics enjoyed its new inclusions and retention of the SNES original's "feel".

The SNES version was released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on 2December 2006, in the United States on 5February 2007, and in Europe on 9February 2007. It was released for the Wii U in North America and Japan on 26 April 2013, and in Europe on 27 April 2013, along with the full launch of the Wii U Virtual Console. On March 3, 2016, it was released for the Virtual Console service of the New Nintendo 3DS. Super Mario World was also one of the 21 SNES games included in the Super NES Classic Edition released in September 2017. On 5September 2019, Nintendo released Super Mario World on their Nintendo Classics service as a launch game, followed by the Super Mario Advance 2 version on 25 May 2023.

Reception

Super Mario World has sold 20.61 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling SNES game. In the United States, Super Mario Advance2 for the Game Boy Advance sold 2.5 million copies and earned $74million in revenue by August 2006. During the period between January 2000 and August 2006, it became the second highest-selling portable game in the United States.

Super Mario World received critical acclaim. In December 2019, review aggregator GameRankings ranked Super Mario World as the 78th highest-rated game of all time, with an aggregate score of 94% based on nine reviews. In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine named it the seventh-best Nintendo game. In its final issue in October 2014, Official Nintendo Magazine ranked Super Mario World the third-greatest Nintendo game, behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) and Super Mario Galaxy (2007). Nintendo Power named it the eighth-greatest game in 2006 and the fifth-greatest in 2012. It has been named one of the great games by publications including Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, Retro Gamer and GameSpot. In 2007, Retro Gamer named it the best platform game, and USgamer listed it as the best Super Mario platform game in 2015. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked Super Mario World 3rd on their "The GamesMaster SNES Top 10" list. In 1995, Total! named it the 11th-best SNES game and said it was "a contender for the best game ever".

Legacy

As a pack-in game for the SNES, Super Mario World helped popularise the console, and became the best-selling game of its generation. Shigeru Miyamoto has said that Super Mario World is his favourite Mario game. In December 2025, IGN named Super Mario World the best Mario game.

Yoshi became one of the most important characters in the Mario franchise, appearing in later Super Mario games and in nearly all Mario sports and spin-off games. Yoshi appears as the main playable character in Super Mario Worlds 1995 prequel Super Mario World2: Yoshi's Island, which helped lead to multiple video games focused on the character. A Super Mario World clone, Super Mario's Wacky Worlds, was in development for the Philips CD-i device by NovaLogic from 1992 to 1993, but was cancelled because of the console's commercial failure. In a poll conducted in 2008, Yoshi was voted as the third-favourite video game character in Japan, with Cloud Strife and Mario placing second and first.

DIC Entertainment produced an animated series of the same name, consisting of thirteen episodes, which ran on NBC from September to December 1991. Super Mario World has a large ROM hacking scene, with fans using applications such as Lunar Magic to create levels and insert new graphics, music, and mechanics; Kaizo Mario World is notable for being featured in many Let's Play videos and popularizing the word Kaizo to signify hacks of extreme difficulty. In a similar way, Super Mario World is one of the four games whose assets are available in Super Mario Maker, a custom level creator released for the Wii U in 2015, in its port to Nintendo 3DS in 2016, and its 2019 sequel. The latter adds new snow and nighttime themes for Super Mario World levels accompanied by new music composed by Kondo.

A microgame containing three levels pulled directly from Super Mario World would later appear in WarioWare: Get It Together! as a boss microgame in the Nintendo Classics stage.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

  • The Story of Super Mario World (documentary)