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Way Back When
If you had a massive hit franchise on your hands and all-new, more powerful hardware to showcase it on, what’s the best way to capitalize on it? Well, Nintendo answered that question in 1990 when they brought everyone’s favorite plumber, Mario, to their brand new SNES console, promptly blowing the minds of gamers everywhere who had been clamoring to see him in 16-bit glory. Leveraging the power of their new hardware, Nintendo gave the character’s new game an impressive visual upgrade over previous entries, fresh moves and power-ups, and the brand new Dinosaur Land for players to explore on their newest quest to rescue Princess Peach from the nefarious Bowser.
This exciting new release, Super Mario World, was everything Mario needed to lead a new generation. It marked the first appearance of some series staples, such as storing a single extra power-up during a stage, Mario’s twirl jump that let him break bricks below him, and the beloved dinosaur companion Yoshi. The game also featured an interesting new power-up called the Cape Feather, which gave Mario a cape that allowed him to temporarily fly, sail, and glide to reach new heights or assist with tough platforming sections. By combining all of these new mechanics with what worked best in previous NES releases, Super Mario World managed to become the series’ quintessential adventure and further cement Mario as a character for the ages.
As you might expect, Super Mario World was a critical and commercial success for Nintendo, selling 20.6 million copies and becoming the best-selling SNES game of all time. In addition, it has been heralded as one of the greatest games ever by critics and players alike, and even Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto has expressed that Super Mario World is his favorite entry in the series. And you needn’t look further than Yoshi going on to become a popular leading character in his own mainline series as a testament to the indelible legacy of this noteworthy release. But more importantly than the legacy it undoubtedly crafted, Super Mario World was simply a damn fun time when it released, and lucky you – it still is today.
Where You Can Play It Now
Considering the popularity of this classic Mario game, it’s pretty widely available on modern Nintendo hardware. It’s really dealer’s choice at this point.
Here’s the modern platforms on which you can access Super Mario World:
- Wii U (Virtual Console)
- New Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console)
- Nintendo Switch (via Nintendo Switch Online membership)
- SNES Classic Edition Console (pre-installed)
Don’t forget that the rest of Mario’s early collection is also available via most of these same systems, and if you’re looking to revisit some of the plumber’s most popular 3D adventures, make sure you check out Super Mario 3D All-Stars for the Switch.
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