Review falithes 5/5 · Jun 12, 2024
Bigger and better
It's hard to imagine Nintendo taking the 2-D Mario further past this point. Of course they have since with multiple 2.5D Mario games, including most recently Super Mario Wonder (which I haven't played but will at some point). This does feel like a satisfying capstone to the 2-D realm of gaming. I will be curious to play through the modern …
It's hard to imagine Nintendo taking the 2-D Mario further past this point. Of course they have since with multiple 2.5D Mario games, including most recently Super Mario Wonder (which I haven't played but will at some point). This does feel like a satisfying capstone to the 2-D realm of gaming. I will be curious to play through the modern 2-D Mario games and see if I think they hold up to the classic Nintendo Era.
This time around, the art style is further elevated, supported by more great music. Levels are more complex and the cape power up is awesome. Not to mention the iconic Yoshi finally making an appearance (previously excluded due to hardware limitations ostensibly, though there were NES games that featured a mount mechanic). What's also interesting is the introduction of the block switches which open up new areas in old levels. Encouraging replaying old content. I don't honestly love this mechanic because the levels don't really change. It typically just adds one new exit that opens up new levels (so that's good). Most of these levels are short so they don't really feel like a chore. But I don't love it either. I would have honestly preferred no block switch and just let you discover these hidden exits.
The bosses this time around feel more refined and varied. Including 4 different boss fights that are repeated twice each. One involves jumping repeatedly on a turtle until you knock him off a platform. Another involves jumping on the head of a Koopa while they pop up randomly among multiple pipes. Another is pretty much what it was in Super Mario 3. And the last is a bunch of Triceratops spitting fireballs at you on a rotating platform. Then the game ends with a satisfying fight against Bowser that is unique.
While I played this game as a kid, I only played it while at a friend's house because I never owned a Super Nintendo. I never beat this game as a result so this was a satisfying conquest. It wasn't as challenging as I remembered as a kid. Most "puzzles" and "secret" exits I was able to figure out, except for the blue block switch. This one involved you swimming past a wall that isn't clear you can pass by. The GBA version of the game actually gives you a strong hint by including a sleeping fish in the wall. Hinting that you can actually swim past it. But back then Nintendo intentionally included obtuse secrets to sell Nintendo Power Magazines. Fortunately now we have the internet!
