SMB3 VS. SMW

[Fawful Fan]

Both Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World are often referred to as Mario's best in 2D platforming, and rightfully so.  Both games are huge leaps in the genre.  But which one is your favorite?

Notice I did not say which one do you think is "better."  I think that comparing the two now, Super Mario World's gameplay, with its expansive map and branching pathways, make it a clear winner.  Despite this, however, I find that I still favor Super Mario Bros. 3.  Why?  I think it has to do with a combination of many elements.  There is simply something about Super Mario Bros. 3, it's setting, atmosphere, and overall mood, that just puts a bigger smile on my face.  Consider the story.  We had to rescue the kings and restore peace to the entire Mushroom World!  The princess wasn't even captured until later as a plot twist!  I thought this was a very epic story for a Mario game, especially for an NES Mario game!  Super Mario World's story wasn't quite as hooking for me.

Which is probably why I favor Super Mario Bros. 3.  To me, the game just has more magical moments.  Who could forget discovering the White Toad Houses, turning the Hammer Bros. into treasure ships, consistently finding new powerups like the Hammer Bros. suit and the Takooni Suit, and encountering Kuribo's Shoe, among other things?  At least for me, Super Mario World's list does not go on as long.  And who could forget the Chain Chomps, Boos, and Thwomps?  Believe it or not, at one time these were all INTRODUCED into the Mario series, and now they've become nearly as classic as Goombas and Koopa Troopas.

The battle between Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World kind of resembles the battle between Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3.  While Donkey Kong Country 3 wins in the gameplay department, Donkey Kong Country 2's story and atmosphere makes it much more memorable.  Donkey Kong Country 2 features a pirate-themed adventure where the heroes invade enemy territory to rescue Donkey Kong.  Donkey Kong Country 3 felt more like "let's take a nature walk!"  Not as memorable.  Well, at this point I'm just rambling.  So, what do you say?

[Tv_Themes]

I like the former more. It has much more unique Power-ups. In SMW, those were thrown onto Yoshi, but none of them were permanent (at least until an enemy got you). I give both games props, though, for having the Koopalings as bosses. Proving they are far superior to Mini-Me Bowser introduced in the Mario Party games (and so help me God if ANYONE says Baby Bowser isn't Bowser Jr...)

[Toad]

I can't vote. I love them both.

I give kudos to SMB3 for giving us Mario's first form of flight, and I love SMW for.. well, not perfecting it neccesarily (I still have trouble controlling the cape), but taking out the P-Meter was a smart move. It seems to me too that it takes less room in SMW to take flight, but I just can't be sure.

Both have great levels to explore. I didn't like how nearly every area in SMW was named after a food though, but it doesn't really detract much from the gameplay.

I don't have many points to bring up, but both are very fun!

[Weegee]

I prefer SMW for its more-fluid controls, comparitavely reasonable difficulty level, and the fact that it doesn't have Toad to ruin it. >:D

[Ultima Shadow]

Super Mario World was just more fun to play, for me; SMB3 didn't appeal to me for some reason.

[Turtlekid1]

I'm leaning more towards SMW.  It had Cape Feathers, the best overworld map I've seen in a Mario title yet, clever level design, and... Yoshi!

[jdaster64]

SMW, if only because more casual gamers that enjoy the game are willing to play with me, because they know there'll definitely be enough 1-up Mushrooms to go around.  But likely not just that, as I love breaking that game in every way I can, like beat levels while continuously ducking, or not using platforms or Cape flight in long stretches with no ground.

However, SMB3 is always nice for a change, and I wager I know it every bit as well as SMW, I just prefer SMW's gameplay.  SMW also seemed a bit more steady on difficulty level (unlike SMB3's World 8), ultrafluid controls, and the physics of the Cape vs. the Raccoon Suit.

[ShadowBrain]

SMB3 was definitely a defining moment for the series, and I won't deny its quality, but I'd have to go with SMW--better graphics, more levels, and Yoshi all the way.

I didn't like how nearly every area in SMW was named after a food though, but it doesn't really detract much from the gameplay.

My guess is that that's somehow tied into how (as I understand it) a few of the main Mario characters have food-based names.

[Fawful Fan]

the fact that it doesn't have Toad to ruin it. >:D

Heh, you don't like Toad?

But you're right Toad (the forum member), both games really are incredible and are great contributions to the Mario series.

[Chupperson Weird]

SMB3 is definitely my favorite of the two. SMW just seems less polished.
Tv_Themes, that "koopa kid" thing in Mario Party is not Bowser Jr.

[CrossEyed7]

Note the differences. Admittedly, Baby Bowser in PiT looked exactly like Bowser Jr., but other than that, there's no excuse.

[Trainman]

Hey, Chupperson, could you elaborate on why you think SMW is "less polished" for me? Not to shoot you down about it or anything. I'm just wanting to understand your reasoning behind it.

[Chupperson Weird]

Not really sure. To me, the graphics seem a bit rougher for SNES than SMB3 was for NES, and the controls just feel more loose, and I just prefer the controls from SMB3, I guess. Stuff in general feels more loosely put together in SMW.

[Trainman]

I can agree with the graphics being a bit rougher. Cramming tons of bright colors (like Mario's sprite, for example) kinda made it seem jumbled. Since SMB3 had less colors to work with I guess it made everything look simpler/cleaner/smoother.

[Reading]

They're both great, but I like SMB3 a bit better because it offers more of a challenge for me and I like a lot of the hidden secrets and overall gimmicks they put in there. The levels can be short sometimes, but they all have pretty unique themes, and when overall themes are reused, there's always something new they throw in there, like the maze in 6-5 and the hologram platforms in 7-6.

I posted my thoughts on SMW a while ago on Super Mario World Central (go figure), so I guess I'll just copy and paste...

Super Mario World isn't a bad game, but as I've said before, it's my least favorite of the "Main Series" Mario games. The design just isn't all that great if you ask me, and I didn't like a few of the changes they made like Koopas sliding out of shells, the Reserve Item, and fireballed enemies turning into coins. I abhor time limits as well, but I won't complain about that since SMB, Lost Levels, and SMB3 also used those. Not to mention the game-breaking Cape Feather. And I really don't like Yoshi.

There are a lot of things SMW did well, though, like the mazes and puzzles in Ghost Houses (not the best, but they were good for a start), secret exits and the complexity of the overworld, hidden areas like the Star World, and so on. It's good enough for some quick entertainment with Super Mario Advance 2 on my DS.

You know, I noticed something a while ago. I was repeatedly testing some custom music I was composing on a clean SMW ROM on Yoshi's Island 1, so I was playing around in that level a lot. And I noticed something: Doesn't it seem like, with Yoshi's Island 1, Nintendo was trying to shove every new SNES innovation in your face before getting to the stuff from previous Mario games? At the beginning, we see a slope, yeah, those were in SMB3. But enemies sliding down slopes? Then a humongous Banzai Bill, bigger than any sprite the NES could produce. And then a flying ? Block. Never seen that before! Finally, a diagonal pipe before we've seen any regular ones and some dinosaur enemies that take two hits to kill. Oh, and a jumping Piranha Plant. And then we see some normal pipes...but they're multicolored.