Johnny's Game Trivia: Super Mario Bros.(Part 4: Super Mario World)

This page will cover some interesting trivia about the first Super NES game: Super Mario World.

Title Changes

When the game was in development, the game's title was Super Mario Bros. 4, and even some game magazines and toy catalogs would even refer the game to this title.

Old Japanese wood paintings have initially inspired the game's title. Eventually, both these ideas were scrapped, but the original title remained in the game's code.

Areal References

In the first stage (Yoshi's Island), on the western part of the island (and on the path to the Yellow Switch Palace), there's a mountain with a small pool of water on top. This is a reference to a "Yokai" (a type of Japanese Demon) called a "Kappa" which is a turtle-like creature that has a hole on top of its head, and it's full of water.

The 5th stage (The Forest of Illusion) is a reference to The Legend of Zelda. In the Japanese version, the Forest of Illusion is called "Mayoi No Mori" (The Lost Forest), which makes this stage almost like a "Super Mario" version of 'The Lost Woods." The path in this stage also has a loop, which references the Lost Woods because you go nowhere if you don't go a specific direction.

At the end of every Mini-Fortress stage in the game are 4 Triceratops-like creatures on a spinning machine with the title "Reznor." This is a reference to Trent Reznor, a remember of the 90s grunge band: 'Nine Inch Nails".

In the third bridge course (Soda Lake), you'll face an enemy unique to that course: "Torpedo Ted" it's an underwater "Bullet Bill" (a recurring enemy in the Super Mario Franchise). This may or may not be a reference to the "Bill & Ted" movie series (Starring Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves), or it could be that Torpedo and Ted begin with the Letter "T" as Bullet and Bill start with the letter "B."

Power-Ups that didn't make it

When this game was in development, they had the idea of bringing back the Racoon Leaf Power-Up due to its popularity in Super Mario Bros. 3. Racoon Mario was even used in BETA versions of the game to test Mario and Luigi's flying abilities in the 32-bit and Mode 7 graphics of the Super NES. But because the developers wanted to give players a new challenge for Mario's capabilities, they decided to drop the Racoon Leaf for a new (and unique) power-up: The Cape Feather.

Another Power-Up that was thought up but never used was a strange-looking power-up that would give Mario and Luigi 5 extra lives. This power-up was also scrapped. Both these power-ups are still in the game's code, and at least for the 5-Up power-up, it can be accessed by using a game enhancer.

Western Differences

Suppose you have ever found the second secret Vanilla Dome level. You'll find a Dolphin-like creature that Mario and Luigi (with Yoshi) can ride on. In the Japanese version, Yoshi can eat these creatures. This ability was taken out in Overseas versions due to either the Western views on Japan's reputation of overfishing and Whaling or to make the course easier to clear.

Gameplay Quirks

In the first original course in the Forest of Illusion, there is a way to get unlimited lives; there's an interchangeable power-up block not far from the mid-way point. Grab the power-up when it's a Starman and mow down the enemies; once you reach the 10,000 point mark while invincible, you'll start getting extra lives; this course also has the "Wiggler," which when hit, when you have the starman's power, will give you two extra lives. You can repeat this process once you clear this course. But in the Super NES version, you can only carry 99 lives at a time, as the game was re-released on Gameboy Advance, you can carry up to 999 lives.

After completing the extra challenging "Special" courses, the original world map will change color, and the enemies will either change in appearance or change altogether. When the game was re-released on Gameboy Advance, you must find all of the exits (original and secret) for this to happen.

Once you get to the end of the "Funky" special course, there's a word (in coins) that says "You Are A Super Player." In the Japanese version, it says You are Super Player"; this was fixed when the game was released overseas.

That is it for this page. You can check out the next page on Super Mario game trivia (click here). Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.