I consider Super Mario World to be one of the best games of all time. I played it for the first time about four years ago on my 7 year old old Game Boy Advance and it blew my mind that something that was about 20 years old could still look so colorful and vibrant. World is just so fantastic, and playing it for the first time now would still be as mind-blowing and amazing as it was over 20 years ago. I am in no way a Nintendo fanboy, but I'd say that World is one of the most timeless games I've ever played, and in the long run, better than Super Mario 64 (though that is amazing and groundbreaking as well of course). Here are some of the reasons you should play this game if you haven't yet:
1: Still looks, and sounds great
Free...freefalling.
Most Mario games are great looking, and this one is no exception. It looked good on the NES and looked even crisper on the GBA port. From the colorful levels in world one do the dark and menacing caverns in world 8 there's plenty of variety from the graphics. The overworld map looks still looks great as well as all the sprites still look great, from the regular koopas, to the Bullet Bill's huge less famous brother Banzai Bill. The music and sound effects are still top notch, as well.
2: Plenty of Replayabilty
I don't think I can jump that high...*sigh*. Shut up, Yoshi.
Replayability is a word that I possibly just made up, but whatever you want to call it, Super Mario World has it in spades. From the Dragon Coins, to trying to find all the hidden levels, and the star roads, trying to get everything in World will take you a while. You get some rewards for this, though, like the different colored Yoshi's you get from successfully completing, or the really difficult secret world that you can get to from the Star Road. This is one of the few games I’ve gone out of my way to 100%, and there was never any point where I wasn’t having at least a little fun.
3: Good Variety
Someone is sleeping with the fishes…*crickets*… I’ll see myself out.
This one is pretty much a given, considering it’s a Mario game, but I’m saying it anyway, because you can’t stop me! From the levels with all those spiky phallic death things to the autoscrolling levels (ugh), to the underwater levels, and of course, the ghost houses, this game has some pretty great variety. The enemies are of course, very diversified, with goombas, magikoopas, Monty Moles, shy guys, and a lot more. The most creative in my opinion? The koopa on the cloud with the 1-Up mushroom on the fishing rod - he got me every time. I mean, come on, would you pass up a 1-up mushroom?
4- It’s Fun!
Yoshi is quietly plotting his abductors death….
This one may seem a little cheap, but I think it’s very important, so hear me out. Games are supposed to be fun, that’s the point. Most games today are focused on good story-telling, which I am 100% behind, because gaming is moving forward as a medium due to amazing, story-driven games like The Last of Us, or Bioshock Infinite. Sometimes, though, you just want a very simple game, like Super Mario World, but it’s still probably just as rewarding as the story-driven games we have today. Instead of elaborate plot twists and brilliant endings, Super Mario World is just Mario doing what he’s been doing for over 30 years, and that’s beating bad guys and saving the princess. One of the reasons Super Mario World, and the series as a whole, is so great is because they’re just fun and simple. It still controls really well, and it’s just a blast to play. So if you haven’t played it, you’re missing out on an amazing game. Thanks for reading!