GENRE
	Nintendo
	DEVELOPER
	Nintendo
	PUBLISHER
	1-4
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	no
	CONNECTIVITY
	no
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Super Mario World is often regarded as one of the best Mario games ever made. The levels were longer than any of the prequels, the characters were more developed, and the game still plays true to its roots. While Super Mario Advance 2 doesn’t really add many things to the now classic game, it still preserves what made the original just so good.

The story in SMWA is pretty simple. After Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool travel to Dinosaur Land for a little R & R. However, Princess Toadstool is kidnapped once again by Bowser, and it’s up to the Mario Bros. to rescue her. Along the way you are aided by Yoshi, a dinosaur who is notorious for eating anything and everything, and by some power-ups; including a feather for flight and a flower that allows you to shoot fireballs.

visuals

While the visuals in this game are far from spectacular, when measured up against the same type of games that were released in 1990, they are excellent looking. Colors are varied and bright (which is a blessing, since the GBA really needs a backlight) and there are many interesting enemies. Another thing you might notice is that enemies usually don’t appear in multiple worlds, aside from old classics like Bullet Bills, Spikeys, and Koopas.

There is only one thing that suffered in the port over from the SNES: the frames per second suffered noticeably. It isn’t bad enough to worry over, but it definitely is noticeable, especially when Mario or Luigi run through a crowded area or when you climb up a beanstalk slowly. Try playing it side by side with your SNES and you’ll see a difference. Despite this little flaw, there really isn’t much to gripe about.

audio

The music in this game is pretty good. While it won’t win any awards, it still is different than most games released back in the early 90s, with a selection of more jazzy tunes over traditional adventure melodies. Nintendo did an excellent job recapturing it; the soundtrack sounds almost as good on the GBA as it did on the SNES, though on some levels you will notice a slight difference in the quality.

The sound effects are also really nice. Just like in Super Mario Advance, Mario and Luigi have voices now, which is always a nice touch. Thankfully, they only say a few choice phrases after something happens. Granted, additional voice clips would have been nice, but I’m glad Nintendo didn’t overdo it as in Super Mario Advance, where every time a character picked up an item or jumped, s/he yelled out something or other.

gameplay

If you never played Super Mario World, you really missed out. It is a classic sidescroller in which you must travel from level to level over 7 worlds, trying to find a goal at the end of each level to progress to the next. You are supposed to make your way to the boss’ castle at the end of each world in order to move on to the next world, but you can also take a few shortcuts to get to different worlds or new places.

There are a few really neat additions to this sidescroller over the previous installments. While there aren’t nearly as many power-ups in SMW as there were in SMB3, there is the addition of gliding. If he picks up a feather, Mario can take off and fly into the air, gliding along until he either hits an obstacle or dives into a pit. While gliding in the air, it's possible to slowly ascend, slowly descend and land, or slam into the ground, killing and/or stunning a multitude of enemies. Another classic addition is Yoshi, a dinosaur Mario and Luigi ride that can eat almost every enemy in the game. Finally, there is the addition of the Spin Jump, a move our heroes can do after they acquire a Super Mushroom, which enables them to jump and spin to break open bricks or harm enemies.

There are a few differences between Super Mario World and Super Mario World Advance. While I won’t give away some of the secrets or the less important changes, I’ll explain some of the more obvious ones. In SMWA, you can play as either Mario or Luigi by switching to the corresponding character on the map. While Mario plays pretty much the same as in the original, Luigi is a little slower, his fireballs bounce higher, he can jump a little higher (doing the same jump he does in SMB2/SMA), and he also rides Yoshi differently. Instead of just swallowing most of the animals directly after eating them, Yoshi will keep them in his mouth for a few seconds and then swallow them, which is a very neat addition to the game since you can spit them out at other enemies. Dragon Coins are also now in every level, including fortresses and Boss Castles. Also, the game is a little easier in the sense that if you are powered-up and get hit, you’ll revert back to Super Mario/Luigi instead of shrinking all the back to normal.

multiplayer

The multiplayer in this game is the same as in SMA-- a revamped version of the original Mario Bros. that was released in the Arcades and on the NES. Basically, characters run across a set of raised platforms and kill creatures by hitting blocks underneath them as they travel overhead. This flips the enemy over so it can be kicked off the screen. This mode can also be played competitively with linked GBAs. While the multiplayer adds to the nostalgia of SMA2, it really isn’t that fun to play unless there are other people to play against.

overall

This is a must have for every GBA owner. Even if you have never even played SMW, it’s still fun to go out and play one of the games that truly defined the Mario franchise. This is a great game, even with the numerous titles that have been released since its debut.

Platformer/10