Super Mario World

Platform: Super Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Release: 21/11/1990

We open our hallowed halls with the first game I ever owned, and possibly one of the first games I had ever played, in Super Mario World. People will always hold their first game in high regard, due largely to nostalgia, but my favouritism towards this game is grounded in much more than that: this is one of the finest examples of a 2D platforming game of all time; a master class in level design and imaginative ways to play.

People will usually point to this game's predecessor, Super Mario Bros. 3, as the pinnacle of the series, and it's easy to see why: it was a revolutionary game that took all of the elements of the original title and retooled it until it was near to perfection. In fairness, when SMW launched at the beginning of the 90's, it wasn't breaking new ground as much as 3 had. SMW was very much like what the SNES became known as: all of your favourite things, done better. And for that, it holds a place in history.

A new palette of colours and shades, and wild pixel stretching capabilities that allowed things to grow and shrink before your very eyes made this game a sight to behold, and the very scope of its potential was truly encapsulated within its title: Super Mario World. Because this was a world presented before us: with hundreds of hidden pathways, obscure nooks and crannies we may have never found without assistance, and challenges that stretched us to the limits of gaming.

There has arguably never been a package as complete as SMW, as it brought so much to the table without ever feeling bloated. No element was superfluous or tedious, and the core gameplay innovations became hallmarks of the franchise: the spin jump, which at last allowed us to destroy blocks from above (a move that has since evolved into the ground pound), and Yoshi, a steed who truly captured the spirit of the 90s, and deserves special mention.

The introduction of the companion dinosaur/dragon hybrid not only allowed for a whole new range of abilities, but was a marketing boon for Nintendo at the time. Kids loved Yoshi, couldn't get enough of him, and no doubt many players can attest to the frantic races they held in Super Mario Kart... the race to select Yoshi first.

Gaming these days could be seen as overly linear: you play the game from A to B, then from B to C, etc. Sometimes, there are extra paths that become available, but they are truly only A1 and A2, they will lead you back to B eventually. Such was not the case in Super Mario World. Unlocking a secret path didn't just diverge you from the path set in stone, it sometimes allowed you to bypass it entirely. How many gamers focussed solely on progressing through Star Road, thereby gaining access directly to the back door of Bowser's Castle? How many others found a warp pipe that took them to an area they had seen on the map hours ago, and had been clamouring to access? Previous entries in the series had allowed us to warp ahead in the game by skipping several stages, but with SMW's singular, intertwined world map, it felt less like cheating, more like pioneering. We didn't 'jump ahead'. We merely blazed our own trail.

Each Mario title had its own trademark item (most typically, one associated with flight), and let's not forget to mention the cape, arguably one of Mario's most powerful abilities of all time. What made the cape so useful was its potential to be used for unlimited periods of time, and some might say this was a drawback. On platform-heavy levels with a lot of jumping from place to place, if you found enough ground to get a running start, you could take to the sky and literally soar over the entire stage. Unless the level was enclosed or there was a pipe jutting out to block your progress, the cape did allow for some people to cheat the game. But hey, that's their loss, because all of the fun was happening right below them.

Mario games are typically synonymous with Nintendo consoles, and this is particularly the case with Super Mario World. The SNES evolved radically over its six year shelf life, and in a technical sense, SMW was left in the dust. By the time it's pseudo-sequel, Yoshi's Island, hit the scene, you could almost surmise that there had been some kind of expansion attachment placed onto the console. However, the gameplay held strong. When it was rereleased for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, we were reminded of exactly how good it was. It was like crossing paths with a retired wrestler; it may have aged a bit, but damned if it didn't grab you in a headlock the moment you doubted it.

On a personal level, of course, Mario brought me into gaming. His appeal as a mascot is a whole other article worth delving into, and his friendly, familiar visage is practically a stamp of quality unto itself. I've grown up with Mario, with all of the quirks and wonders of the Mushroom Kingdom, and for me, Super Mario World was the first chapter. It holds a very dear place in my heart, and I look forward to my own kids giving it a whirl someday. By then, it may be through use of some kind of mentally linked USB device, where all actions are made through a series of blinks and twitches, but hey, you take what you can get. If I know this game as well as I think I do, it'll be magical in any medium.