The Super Mario series has seen many different iterations that cover a variety of gameplay styles. When it comes to the mainline games in the series there are 3D and side-scrolling games. The 3D games started off with Super Mario 64, with the most recent entry to follow that formula being Super Mario Odyssey. The classic side-scrolling style started off with Super Mario on the Nintendo Entertainment with the latest entry being New Super Mario Bros. U.
When it comes to the classic side-scrolling Super Mario games, the debate about which one is the best among them is usually split between Super Mario 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System or Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo. To help end the debate, here are 5 points about each that will help settle the score once and for all.
10 Super Mario World - Yoshi
While Yoshi seems like he has been part of the Mario universe since its inception, the green dino made his first appearance in Super Mario World. Like all of Mario’s power-ups, Yoshi can be brought to any level and will allow Mario to take an extra hit before dying.
There are a few different types of Yoshis in the game, there is the classic green Yoshi who has no special abilities, the yellow Yoshi who can stomp the ground while landing to take out enemies around Mario, the red Yoshi who can shoot fireballs, and the blue Yoshi who can fly.
9 Super Mario 3 - Super Leaf Suit
The super leaf suit, which made its first appearance in Super Mario 3, allows Mario to hover and spin around, taking enemies out with his tail in the process. The power gauge on the game’s HUD will fill if Mario runs without interruption, this will let Mario fly for a short period of time.
Though western audiences believe that the suit is based on a raccoon, it is actually based on a tanuki which is a Japanese raccoon dog. The super leaf has made an appearance in a few other games including Super Mario 3D Land, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and Super Mario Maker.
8 Super Mario World - Secret Exits
Throughout Super Mario World’s overworld, there are levels that are colored either red or yellow. The yellow levels have a single exit, while the red levels have one or more exits. When a level has more than one exit, it is typically hidden and will take a certain power-up or Mario will need to perform a certain action in order to reach it.
There are a total of 96 exits throughout the Super Mario World, some of which will lead to entirely new levels and others will lead to short cuts that can be used to quickly traverse the overworld.
7 Super Mario 3 - P-Wing
After Mario has beaten a castle, Princess Peach will send him a letter, in this letter she mentions a jewel she sent along with the letter, that jewel being the p-wing. The p-wing will cause Mario’s power gauge to remain entirely filled, which in turn will allow him to fly until the current level is completed on or until he is hit by an enemy.
The p-wing is the perfect solution for those really tough levels that are giving Mario a lot of trouble, however, they are finite and should be saved for when they are truly needed.
6 Super Mario World - Cape
Though the cape has many of the same properties as the super leaf suit, it comes with a few added benefits. Like the super leaf suit, when Mario runs for a certain amount of time uninterrupted, he will be able to fly for a short period of time, however, the cape will also allow Mario to pull up and down on his cape causing him to change altitude.
If Mario performs this action perfectly, he can retain flight for a much longer period of time, allowing him to completely bypass some levels.
5 Super Mario 3 - Provides a Challenge
While Super Mario World is a phenomenal game in just about every respect, there is one thing it is lacking, a challenge. Thanks to the save feature, the almost perfect control, Yoshi, and some other quality of life additions that were added to the game, Super Mario World is overall a rather easy game.
Super Mario 3 provides much more of a challenge, offering much more difficult levels that will take some time to master and complete. The game becomes especially difficult in the later levels and will require some quick reflexes and patience.
4 Super Mario World - Star Road
When finding the secret exits in Super Mario World, Mario will come across a very colorful secret world. This is star road, covered in stars with a moon in the distance. Star world has more difficult levels than those found in other worlds and the levels in star world have no relevant theme, unlike other worlds in the game, all taking place in different themes found throughout the game.
After beating each level, Mario will unlock different short cuts which will help him easily navigate the overworld and will even allow him to take on Bowser much earlier than intended.
3 Super Mario 3 - Mini-Games
While going through Super Mario 3 Mario will find some mushroom houses peppered throughout the overworld. These mushroom houses are inhabited by everyone’s favorite fungus, Toad!
Toad will allow Mario to play either a match the card game where he must flip cards over to match ions or a casino like ‘match the picture’ game where fragmented pictures rotate and must be realigned properly. If won, Mario will be awarded extra lives to use in his adventure. These and other mini-games were later added in future games like New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
2 Super Mario World - Dragon Coins
On top of finding all of the 96 exits, beating numerous levels, unlocking and completing the star world, and defeating Bowser, Mario is also tasked with finding all of the dragon coins that are hidden throughout each level.
Dragon coins are much larger than the typical coins found throughout the game and also have a picture of Yoshi on them. There are 5 or more hidden in each level, once Mario has collected 5 he will gain an extra life, and every additional dragon coin found after that grants him another life.
1 Super Mario 3 - Numerous Power-Ups
On top of the previously mentioned p-wing and super leaf suit, there are many other power-ups in Super Mario 3, some of which were exclusive to the game.
There is the hammer suit which allows Mario to shoot hammers, the frog suit which allows Mario to swim faster, the classic fire flower that allows Mario to shoot fire, the tanooki suit which allows Mario to turn into a statue and become invincible, and more. Many of these made their first appearance in Super Mario 3 and also appeared in other games through the series.
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