NL:
Looking back now, I realise that growing up in Wakefield (West Yorkshire, England) was a blessing; there was a really great import scene, some fantastic arcades and me and my mates thought nothing of having the latest Japanese games. This was back in the days of huge delays between NTSC and PAL releases and when 60hz actually mattered. It made me the man I am today and fostered a love for fine Japanese cover art.
If all the world is a stage, then Mario is adept at playing all the roles – something Miyamoto was very keen to tell us.
3 had a good balance of difficulty before crybabies stepped in and cried about the difficulty of SMW, which is why the game was made easier before release. Would also explain why most other games have been easier except for special worlds etc.. or ones you unlock after you beat the main game.
Isn't the reason we got a Doki Doki Panic sprite swap because Lost Levels was originally deemed too difficult?
This is a lot of revisionist history. All games back then had to be difficult or else they would be over in less than an hour. Super Mario 3 was actually super approachable because you could use the map and warp whistles to go right to the boss. And as with Super Mario World, you could farm stages for more lives. The beautify of Super Mario 3 was the abundance of secret areas and tools like Hammer Bros. suits. You didn’t really want to rush it. The lost levels were a different beast. They were never marketed as a mainline Mario game.
I watched an interview with a developer (I think it was for Disney's Aladdin) from years ago and he said they were required to raise the difficulty because so many games were rented back then. They didn't want the game finished quickly so you had to rent it longer. it was the home-rental equivalent of pumping more quarters into an arcade machine.
The cry babies? It was Nintendo’s perception that yanks didnt like difficult games hence the easing of the difficulty.
This is an odd statement considering the history of Japanese games that had you press X on your way to victory. Seriously, games like Ninja Gaiden in the 00s was born of the developer’s belief that Japanese gamers had grown too soft.
Let’s discuss what made Super Mario World so good. This Nintendo classic is one of the best 2D games of its generation.
It was imaginative, great controls and fun. Definition of a great game. What else is there to say?
The end.
I love this game. Got the SNES bundle of Christmas of 1992 I think. I wanted the Genesis with Sonic 2 but this was just as good at the time. This was a huge jump from the nes Mario's and I didn't think it could get batter than Mario 3. The addition to Different Yoshi's added amazing gameplay.
It was magical. Coming from Super Mario 3, this game felt glorious with its graphics, colors and music. A masterpiece.
Jessica Mullane for SUPERJUMP: "a style of gameplay that is intentionally meant to be frustratingly difficult. Don't expect to master anything in a day or even a month"
