Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 GBA Review @ Gaming Target

Written by Ilan Mejer on February 20, 2002

Review: The timeless SNES classic is back with a vengence.

Super Mario World is arguably the greatest 2D platform game ever created. We have been blessed with a wonderful reinvention of the game for the venerable Gameboy Advance. A remade SMW requires a tweaked storyline, right? Well, this time Luigi joins Mario and Princess Toadstool (Peach) as they vacation on nearby Dinosaur Island. Upon arriving, Mario and Luigi encounter the abandoned home of the reptilian Yoshi. Apparently, the beloved green dino-pal has gone off to rescue his kin from the strange turtles that are overrunning the entire island. After turning back to report to the Princess they find her strangely missing and that the area has been overcome with what can only be the massing troops of an invading Bowser, King of the Koopas.

To some, Super Mario World represents the epitome of classic two-dimensional platform gaming. Mario gameplay is a well-established truth in the video game industry, so it is a given that the controls are tight. The only real deviation from the standard Mario control scheme is a development of the limited GBA viewing area. Combining the L button with the d-pad will shift the screen one or two increments in that direction, allowing you to view more of the screen. This feature was almost a necessity considering how small the screen is.

The most dramatic enhancement of the "port" is the inclusion of Luigi as a main character in the game. At any time on the world map, you may now simply press R to switch between Mario and his brother, Luigi. Unlike most versions of Super Mario games, Luigi was given the abilities that he enjoyed in Super Mario Bros. 2 (and Super Mario Advance). He is able to jump farther than his brother but his shoes apparently lack traction as he tends to slide more than Mario while running. Furthermore, Luigi seems to prompt Yoshi's latent ability to spit out his enemies. Not only does this feature a cool rotation animation but the bad guys can now be used as projectile weapons.

SMW veterans will rejoice in the newly gained ability to save anywhere by simply pressing Start. In addition, pressing Select on the world map will open up a new status screen. Now the game will actively keep track of your quest status. Each world has a screen that will list each of the 78 stages that show up in that particular world, as they become opened. This list will also show whether it has one or two gate exits and whether Mario or Luigi completed that stage. Finally, the Dragon Coins return to Super Mario World with five of them hidden in each stage. If you have gathered all five Dragon Coins and completed the stage successfully then the status screen will depict that information as well.

The gameplay has also been modified in two significant ways. The actual game was made somewhat easier in that a fully powered Mario and Luigi can now absorb one more hit than in the original. Fire or Caped Mario, when hit in the SNES incarnation, would not only lose his power, but also shrink to Small Mario. In SMA2 that same character will first revert to his Super incarnation and only shrink if hit once more. This makes it much easier to survive some of the trickier levels, where enemies are rampant and power ups are scarce. However, mounting Yoshi has been made more difficult than before with the addition of collision detection. To mount Yoshi, or remount him if he has been hurt, you will need to jump directly onto him. If you fail to land the jump correctly, Yoshi will simply be bumped into the opposite direction, sometimes even off ledges.

Graphically, the game retains the entire 2D splendor that the Super Nintendo version offered. This iteration of the game manages to remain clean and consistent regardless of how much is going on on-screen. All of the clever Mode-7 pseudo-3D tricks pioneered by the Super Nintendo are still intact. Actually, the GBA game features more sprite scaling and rotation than the original, especially when playing as Luigi. All of the colors and vibrant sprites have been wonderfully brightened and reformatted to suit the darker and smaller GBA screen. It still looks like a decades-old game and does not shatter the imagination like other GBA titles have, but by no means does it look dated.

SMW GBA even features a multiplayer mode, in the form of a total reinterpretation of the original Mario Bros. Arcade game. You may play Mario Bros. Classic solo or Mario Bros. Battle with 1-3 more friends, via game link cable. Fans of this classic game will rejoice at the inclusion of this feature. However, the majority of you will be disappointed that it is the exact same multiplayer expansion found in the first Super Mario Advance. While it is disconcerting that no new additions or modes have been included, it is at least somewhat satisfying to know that Super Mario Advance and Super Mario Advance 2 are fully compatible in multiplayer.