SNES Game Review: Super Mario World

Well here it is, the most popular game in the Super Nintendo history.  Yes, it's Super Mario World.  The game that probably made Super Nintendo is a game that I have.  And yes, prior to me writing this review I had beaten it a few times prior to my most recent time.  However, I'm writing the review and I don't mind saying that.  The most recent time I beat it, I wanted to compare it with how it does on other versions, most notably the Game Boy Advance.  Well the SNES one is still better.  And after it sold about a quadrillion copies worldwide in it's SNES days (okay, actual amount is about 20,610,000 copies, but that's still about twice more than the next nearest game.  Can we please just get the SNES back in shelves and not just the SNES classic please?) I decided at long last to just make the review for this game and have some fun with it.

Pros:

1. Level Creativity: Okay you want to talk about all the various ways a level can go, Super Mario World probably is a good start.  The various worlds and obstacles are interesting enough, but the different levels in the world have an array of possibilities.  Some have real-time sliding so you have to think quick, some have an obstacle like an enemy right away that makes you think.  Some levels have moving obstacles that make you think a lot, lot more. Some are easy so they lull you to sleep before the next level.  Factor in water levels from time to time, and you have a game.
2. Various power-ups: This probably is a staple in all Mario games it seems but this definitely will tell you to succeed.  You get various power ups through the game, and you get blocks that help you power up.  Either way, Mario games are not without it and this is a home run.
3. Yoshi: Everyone's favorite Dinosaur's major debut is here.  They made a sequel, so to speak, with him as the main character in the future years of SNES by the way.  But the innovation of the cast to include Yoshi and bring with it another cult hero is huge for the SNES. 
4. Multiple Yoshi's: Not only was this a start to Yoshi, everyone's favorite Green Dinosaur, but Yoshi in different colors.  Yes this is a play to where they were going with the sequel, but each Yoshi had it's own different ability when discovered with the help of Mario.  And with that, all the powers do go to the Green Yoshi.  So you had a blue, red and yellow, pink and gray go to with green.  
5. Speed of the game overall, especially on speed levels was important.  It wasn't too fast or too slow.  On the still levels (where the screen doesn't move to start) you can go slow or at your pace.  But on the moving screen levels, you have to really think quick.  And that's something I enjoyed playing this game over and over again. 
6. Graphics: The graphics are quite good.  This was really the birth of the Super Nintendo being great at graphics (along with Legend of Zelda) but they did well to incorporate the background with the main level that you are playing on.  This actually gets the game a much higher grade over all.

Cons:

1. The only major con is on the last level.  Maybe the grind of it is the most satisfactory part of the game, but the last level depending on what rooms you choose can actually be super easy.  Same with the final boss which is none other than our favorite Mario nemesis Bowser (yeah it's probably a spoiler but outside of Super Mario RPG, you probably knew who it was right?)

My impressions of the game are overtly positive for the way the game goes.  From the power-ups, graphics and to the levels themselves, I can see why this game was the staple of the SNES franchise and easily the highest selling game.

Grade: 9.7/10.  Not quite as high as Chrono Trigger obviously being as that is #1.  Many people rank Super Mario World as one of the top 10 games for the SNES, and I am no exception.  For the popularity it got, the top 10 is well deserved.  For the gameplay though, it deserves a top 10 spot.  Personally, having played so many terrific games throughout the SNES brand (some of which I own) I would put Super Mario World #5 on the list of best SNES games of all time.  So you know my #1 is Chrono Trigger, and my #5 is Super Mario World.  I will say of the top five, I own four of my top five SNES games.  One of them I don't but would like to add to my collection one day.