Very rarely does a video game “best of” list get created that lacks Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo. This praise is completely warranted, and anyone with a concept of fun will wholeheartedly agree. Every level is pure, unrepenting fun.
Because of the simplistic gameplay, a lot of details tend to go unnoticed or tossed to the wayside. Everybody knows they’re saving the princess from Bowser, but the massive dinosaur motif is often missed.
The actual story of Super Mario World is that Mario, Luigi, and Peach go on vacation in Dinosaur Land. As is the norm in the Mario realm, Peach is quickly kidnapped by Bowser. Mario, being the heroic boyfriend he is, takes it upon himself to cut his vacation short and traverse Dinosaur Land to save her. I’ll be the first to admit that this is a simple and tired plot, but when you add a dinosaur-centric world into the mix it becomes fresh and new. Just go down the list of your favorite games, and imagine them in the world of dinosaurs. Silent Hill with dinosaurs? I’m in.
According to the Super Mario lore, Dinosaur Land isn’t in the Mushroom World at all. Instead, it’s a place in the pacific ocean. Being that I’ve been on the hunt for a new vacation spot, I am particularly excited about this news. If you’d like a postcard, please let me know in a comment!