Super Mario World: 1HN Super Fun

Twenty years ago (on November 20, 1990 to be exact), Super Mario World was released to the... uh, world along with the Super Nintendo videogame console. Rivaling the Sega Genesis, the Super Nintendo delivered 16-bit graphics AND sound, but none of this would have made an impact without the capabilities of the Super Nintendo displayed fully through the play of Super Mario World. I first played Super Mario World in 1992 when I visited a friend of mine. At the time, I had grown weary of side-scrolling platformers and was gravitating more toward sports games like NES Play-Action Football and Kings of the Beach. Anyway, I played Super Mario World and was somewhat impressed by the graphics and gameplay. However, because I wasn't a fan of such side-scrollers, I quickly gave up playing and asked if my friend and I could play Street Fighter 2.

Fast-forward 20 years: it was Christmas 2010 and my wife and I gave our two young sons Super Mario World along with three other cartridges as part of their Christmas booty... er, presents. Upon inserting Super Mario World into our Retro Duo, we (my wife included) were astonished (even in 2010) by the graphics, the sounds, and the gameplay of this classic. The first couple of areas in Level 1 are great for our two boys, but areas after that increased in difficulty as one progressed. Even though areas became more difficult and frustrating for all of us, the "cute" sprites and bright colors made the drudgery of overcoming stubborn obstacles over and over again tolerable. I even found (and sometimes find) myself humming the background music. There was just something undeniably catchy about the game.

Just to mention one aspect of Super Mario World, we all enjoyed that element that was added to Super Mario gameplay with this game: riding Yoshi, a friendly dinosaur who can eat foes, spit fireballs, and lay (!) 1-UP eggs. Of course, Yoshi often proved to be more of a tainted temptation than a helper: whenever Mario or Luigi is hit by a foe whilst riding Yoshi, Yoshi scurries away at high speed. When playing, this led all of us to pursue Yoshi because he was THAT fun to have in the game, but pursuing the wayward Yoshi almost always led to death by contact with a foe or falling down a hole. My wife and I sagely concluded that if one is hit while riding Yoshi, just let him run away...

In short, Super Mario World is a pleasant way to wile away an hour or two with the family. You can play cooperatively on the same map or individually with everyone taking turns. Plus, you can save games at certain key points and go back to them later; nowadays, this is no big deal but for an old-time gamer like me this is huge. Back in the day, it was more the exception than the rule that one could save a gave, so one either had to play all day until one finished the game or just quit and try from the beginning later. In any case, this classic can be acquired as a cartridge through eBay or through the Wii's Virtual Console; either way, you won't be disappointed with this 20-year-old game.