Super Mario World

Super Mario World (known as Super Mario Bros. 4 in Japan) is an SNES classic released in 1990 through 1992, depending on the region it was released in. The game has been hailed as one of the many various Mario classics and thus has been remade or re-released on various platforms including the Game Boy Advance and the Wii's Virtual Console.

Gameplay
The gameplay expands upon Super Mario Bros. 3s excellent execution of the ever popular genre, and became the most prominent game released during the console's launch window. Super Mario World is a sidescrolling platformer that takes heroes Mario and Luigi through various environments and obstacles. Perhaps Super Mario Worlds biggest bang was the introduction of Yoshi, who would later go on to star in his own series of video games. Yoshi was the Mario bros.' steed and was capable of eating nearly every enemy using his elongated tongue. He also gave them one extra bit of life and possessed special abilities that could only be triggered by eating specially colored Koopa Troopa shells.

Stages
The game takes place on Dinosaur Land, which features seven distinct areas and two secret locations. Each world features a variety of levels, many with multiple exits. In all there are 96 exits in the entire game, and finding all of them will reap a reward. The different locations include Yoshi's Island, Donut Plains, Vanilla Dome, Twin Bridges, Forest of illusion, Chocolate Island, Valley of Bowser, Star World and Special World, the latter two of which are the secret areas.

Normal stages take place above ground and, environmentally, aren't too drastic. They're most commonly found in the beginning of the game and will feature occasional underground segments that can be accessed via pipes. Slopes are scattered throughout the stages as are varying levels of platforms. Every once and awhile you'll find secret areas stationed far up in the sky, and in these places you'll find items such as 3-Up moons and Dragon Coins. Sometimes normal looking stages will start to scroll to the right automatically without stop. These levels will require the best of your abilities and will oftentimes feature copious obstacles that will halt your progress. These stages need your full attention and sometimes if you make one wrong move, it'll result in a lost life.

New to the Mario series are the now fan favorite Ghost Houses. These took place in haunted houses that were infested by various different types of Boo species. In order to get through the stages you'd sometimes have to go through certain doors in set orders and solve challenging puzzle all while trying to beat the time (which, albeit, wasn't too large). Yoshies cannot enter Ghost Houses. In the first Ghost House there is a secret location in the very beginning that'll require you to use your cape to access the very top while at the same time dodging the Boo creatures. The secret exit will take you to the Top Secret Area, in which you'll have an unlimited amount of power-ups, 1-ups, and Yoshies.

Other stages consists of water stages. Unlike the 3D titles, Mario and Luigi (as well as Yoshi) has an unlimited amount of breath and can swim quite fluidly. However, the underwater enemies will pose as a threat to them. The underground areas have ceilings, which some enemies such as the Buzzy Beetle will crawl on. The sky stages all take place in the sky, and one wrong move could send the character falling to their death. If this occurs, you may have to sacrifice Yoshi if you're riding upon one, as it'll give you an extra jump.

Finally are the castle stages. In the castle you'll find a multitude of obstacles and enemies exclusive to these types of stages. These are the only stages in which you'll be required to battle a boss at the end, which consists of Bowser's young and Renzor. Many castles are based around the theme of fire, and thus will have pits full of lava that will instantly kill Mario with just a single touch.

Mario's moves
With the introduction of the SNES controller you're given access to a plethora of new Mario abilities via the console's extra buttons. Mario can do his abilities from the previous games, which consists of running extra fast while pressing down on the B button, jumping with the A button, and ducking while pressing down on the control stick. As before, you'll be able to slide under tight spaces by getting a running start and then ducking, which will cause either of the bros. to slip under if they've been enlarged via a mushroom. Otherwise they can just walk under. As before you can also kick Koopa Troopa shells and use the many abilities that the items give you.

You can also pick up items and toss them, crawl on chains and kick enemies climbing on the other side, swim in the water, do a super spin jump that'll break special blocks and enemies (as well as launch the plumbers off their steed), and so forth.

Yoshi
Yoshi has about just as many abilities unique to him that Mario and Luigi do. This is partly due to the fact that in all there are four different colored Yoshies, and that each one has a unique special ability when in possession of a Koopa Troopa shell. Every Yoshi has the ability to engulf enemies by using their extended tongues. The berries they eat will oftentimes give them special items. Special Yoshi wings will give every Yoshi the ability to fly. Special abilities that are exclusive to specially colored Yoshies include:


 * Blue Yoshi: When a Blue Yoshi gets a standard Koopa Troopa shell, they'll be able to fly for quite some time. If any colored Yoshi gets a blue colored Koopa Troopa shell, they'll then be able to fly.
 * Red Yoshi: If a Red Yoshi gets a green shell, they'll be able to spew fire. If any colored Yoshi gets a red colored shell, they'll be able to blow fire.
 * Yellow Yoshi: When a Yellow Yoshi gets a green shell, its stomps will become extra powerful, killing off any enemies on the same platform. If any colored Yoshi gets a Yellow Colored shell, they'll be able to use this move.

In all there are three different types of berries that Yoshi can eat - red berries, pink berries, and green berries. Eating a certain amount of berries will reward the player via an egg that Yoshi will eject from his body, though the amount that you'll have to eat depends on the color of the berry. The rewards include:


 * Red berry: The red berries are the most common in the game. After Yoshi eats up 10 of them, a Super Mushroom will come out of Yoshi's egg.
 * Pink berry: After eating 2 pink berries, a cloud will spontaneously appear and drop plenty of coins. If you collect them all you'll be rewarded with a 1-up.
 * Green berry: Collect one green berry and 20 seconds will be added to the timer. These are the most rare off all the berries.

In the beginning of the game, you'll only have access to the green Yoshi, though eventually you'll find eggs containing the blue, yellow and red ones. Once they hatch, a baby will emerge. The baby Yoshies will only appear in the Star World levels. To make a Baby Yoshi grow into an adult, you'll have to feed it five enemies, five berries of any color, or one single power up.

Items
Items can consist of weapons or collectables or even buttons that will have some effect on the stage. Coins are the most common items in the game. They're scattered throughout every single stage, and finding 100 will reward the player with a 1-Up. 1-Up Mushrooms are in the shape of a mushroom and are colored green. They'll give the player one extra life. The 3-Up Moon will give the player three extra lives. They're hard to find, though are worth it.

Items that power up the player include Starmen, Power Balloons, Super Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, and Capes. Starmen will turn the player invincible for a short amount of time and will give them the ability to plow through enemies. Power Balloons will cause mario to puff up like a balloon and float in the air for a short time so that he can cross large gaps. Super Mushrooms will enlarge teh player and give them one extra bit of health. Fire Flowers will give the player the ability to shoot fire balls, and the cape will allow the player to fly.

Plot
The game begins with Mario, Luigi and the princess floating over the seemingly peaceful Yoshi's Island via a large yellow balloon. After landing, Mario and his brother go out exploring, only to find that Peach had been kidnapped upon their return. They immediately set off to find her, and come across Yoshi's House. Here they read a sign that says that Yoshi has set off to find his friends who were locked up in eggs via Bowser's magic.

They travel across many different lands thwarting Bowser's minor minions and malevolent children, who include Morton, Lemmy, Iggy, Ludwig, Roy, Wendy, and Larry, saving the various different Yoshies on their way. Finally they come across Bowser' Castle, defeat the villain and save the princess, the Yoshies, and the island.

Characters
The main characters in the game consist of Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, and the new addition to the series - Yoshi. At the end of each world you'll be required to fight one of Bowser's children, excluding the final area where you'll have to take on the beast himself.

The two paramount playable characters (Mairo and Luigi) don't have many differences other than a change of clothes. In the Game Boy Advance remake, however, Luigi is more floaty and will slide once he reaches the ground.

Princess Peach is the damsel in distress, and either of the two brothers will be able to save her in the last battle. Yoshi, however, will not be able to enter the castle (or any other) for whatever reason.

World-Map



 * World 1- Yoshi's Island
 * World 2- Donut Land
 * World 3- Vanilla Dome
 * World 4- Twin Bridges
 * World 5- Forest of Illusion
 * World 6- Chocolate Island
 * World 7- Valley of Bowser

Other Worlds-


 * Star World - Resembles the Warp Zone in Super Mario Bros.
 * Special World - A world that will appear after you finish the game. The world has plenty of extra levels that are more challenging than the standard levels.

Changes in World Map
Once you find all 96 exits in the game, the world map, and some of the enemies will all change. The world map changes from a summer theme into fall theme. Plenty of the enemies change with the season as well. For example, the Koopa Troopas will have Mario and Luigi masks on, and the Piranha Plants will wear jack-o-lanterns. The following is a list of all the changes.

Enemy Changes:
 * Koopa Troopa - All the Koopa Troopa's will have masks of Mario and Luigi, as well as yellow and blue versions, depending on the Koopa Troopa's shell color. Note that the Koopa Troopa shells will also change into masks as well.
 * Goomba - All of the Goombas will wear sunglasses.
 * Piranha Plant - Each of the Piranha Plants will change, or wear jack-o-lanterns on their face, as well as the vines that spew up out of blocks.
 * Bullet Bill - All of the Bullet Bills will be replaced by black birds.
 * Pokey - All of the Pokeys will be replaced by blocks with spikes on them.

Development
It is unknown when development on the game started, though it can be asssumed that it occurred following the release of Super Mario Bros. 3. It was the console defining video game, as it was released with the SNES. Some changes were made to the game since it initially started. For example, early on there were signs that prevented Yoshies, or a specific color of Yoshi, from entering the said section. These were removed in the final installment, and gave Yoshi access to all stages and parts of stages excluding Ghost Houses and castles. Early on, Yoshi's English name was Kibi and his Japanese name was Lizardbuddy.

Originally the Raccoon Suit, made famous in Super Mario Bros. 3, was supposed to be in Super Mario World, though was eventually replaced by the cape.

Legacy
Super Mario World is best known for it's introduction of Yoshi. Yoshi went on to star in his own series as well as being a regular character in Mario video games. In the sequel to Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi was the star character and was required to save an infant Mario from the clutches of Baby Bowser and Kamek. Yoshi has been a character in all three Super Smash Bros. video games, which consists of Super Smash Bros., Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The Yoshi's Island stage from Super Smash Bros. Melee was based around Super Mario World, and even had sprites ripped from the game and an updated soundtrack. The ending theme was featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

A television show based on Super Mario World was released, and it was remade various times on various consoles, including the Game Boy Advance, the Wii's Virtual Console, and even on the SNES itself in Super Mario All-Stars. A Game Watch was created (note: not to be confused with Game & Watch) that was based on the game as well. A sequel was planned for the CD-i called Mario' s Wacky Worlds, though was never released.

It must be noted that the Virtual Console release was unusually late for SMW. It took almost three months from the VC launch date to release the game.

Currently Super Mario World is the fourth highest rated game of all time, according to GameRankings.com. Within the series it is only succeeded by Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii.

Sales Information
Overall, the game sold 20 million units. This can be attributed to the fact that it was a pack in game with the Super Nintendo when the SNES was launched. This makes it the 2nd best selling game in the Super Mario series. Of the four Super Mario Advance video games for the Game Boy Advance, the remake of Super Mario World was the best selling of all, selling an outstanding 4.079 million copies. Together the game has sold nearly 25 million copies, which does not include the sales of the Virtual Console re-release. Neither does include Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, which featured Super Mario World as well as various other titles from the NES era in one cartridge.