Acid Rounds: Super Mario World SNES

Acid rounds is a semi regular, irregular spot on TGAM for games we have beasted from start to finish.

Cunzy: Theme to this week then is there?
Richie: Yeah, I am old and I have been getting some SMW nostalgic feelz recently. It happens every so often, this game is so heavily inscribed in my DNA.  Occasionally it works it way up through social responsibility, financial woes and my crippling suicidal depression, and I get prangs to play this chirpy early 90's platformer again. To my mind I have beaten this game at LEAST 5 times, and by beaten I mean doing every level getting the alternate colour "96"

Cunzy: It is a great game and to my mind Super Mario World really mixed it up. It's the technical Super Mario game as evidenced by the Super Mario Maker SMW levels I have no idea how to beat with spin, run and toss tech.
Richie: SMW itself touches only very lightly on tech the tech you mention and is more forgiving than its predecessors on heart breaking fuckery. Mario Maker should really be treated independently, as it's own beast and just expands on some of the AWFUL fuckery things they could have put in the original game. Keep in mind also the Mario Maker only has a fraction of the items and enemies seen in the original game too!
The most challenging tech in the original game can be found in Star road, where they stretch the awfulness such as P-Balloon floating (Sic Flappy Bird) and Yoshi time berries.

Super Mario World is odd, there is tech in there that when I was younger even through magazines was never ever properly made clear to me in it:

The Bonus Block
This block appears in only three levels stands out as its green with a star on it, What does it do?
Super Mario World introduced to us brand new "!" boxes which can give direct power ups with out the need for Mushrooms first, and the yellow rotating block the brick that spins around allowing you to pass through it but then stops and becomes solid again, and can only be destroyed by spin jumping. So what could this stand out green one with a star do? I mean its rare, its so different so it must be special, right?
Nope.
Sometimes it gives you a coin, sometimes it gives you a 1-up (depending on number of coins you have). I mean, that is WEAK. 1-ups are not exactly few and far between in Super Mario World, they are super farmable in Forest of Illusions and, I mean, 1-ups can just come out of normal blocks. Why does this exist?

Chocolate Island 2
Fuck this level man, some bullshit mechanic whereby you can only progress to certain areas using coins/Yoshi Coins and... Well nowadays you can just look up the exact requirements for exiting that level, but man back in the day... When you completed that level and then you exited the level and did a wee loop around and came back to the level entrance was akin to the same sort of middle-finger at you as the dog in duck hunt snickering away.

Cheese Bridge
Equally as infuriating! This bastard level involves a nasty mechanic of flying UNDER the final goalposts*. A trick which involves a timed cape divebomb and last minute pull up, just at the right point so you dont:
a) hit the post and complete the level
b) die

*Note you can also do this by getting to the end and then just "jump-abandon" Yoshi, however if you do this, I have to judge you as a human being. As maybe I don't need you in my life

Cunzy: Where does this rank in your all time list of best Mario series games (excluding Sports/Party etc.)?
Richie: Fuck, its hard to rank these I mean this one has to be my all time favourite (I havent played Galaxy or Odyssey, so reserving judgement for when I may be able to play them at some point.)

• Super Mario World
• Super Mario 64
• Super Mario Bros 2
• Super Mario Bros 3
• Mario Sunshine
• Super Mario Bros + Lost Levels.

Um, there is a plethora that should also arguably be in there with New Mario Bros and the RPG and Paper, even Mario is Missing. So I have just chosen a very debatable core of Mario games that are my faves.

Cunzy: I ponyed up for those stupidly expensive and limited use NES controllers for the Switch but, Science has proven that I'm better at NES games with NES controllers. There's a plethora of ways to play SMW, is it sacrilege not to play on SNES with a SNES controller?
Richie: Hmm... I'm gonna say yes. I have played it with this, and its pretty flawless, but I cant really imagine this on a 360 controller as the D-Pad is king... Plus well those feels with teh SNES controllers!

Cunzy: That music tho?
Richie: Oh Man that music! Such a great Soundtrack relentlessly chirpy with your normal over-world song! Excellently sinister for Castles and Fortresses! Atmospherically Echoed for the underground caverns! On Man so great...
Pro Tip! the music changes and gets more percussion beats and such when you get on Yoshi... Check it next time! just jump off an on him!


Love and Yellow Yoshi Stomp farts,
Richie X