Super Mario World (Famicom)

Super Mario World
Publisher	J.Y. Company
Developer	Hummer Team
Cart ID(s)	JY-028 (028)
Console	Famicom
Date	1995
Retail price	600 [TWD]
Engine	Super Mario World engine
Sound engine	Hummer Sound Engine
Alternate names/hacks	45-in-1 version

Super Mario World (超级马里奥世界) is a bootleg port of the SNES launch title of the same name (Super Mario World) developed by Hummer Team and released in 1995. This is one of the more well-known examples of bootleg ports to the Famicom, as it comparatively manages to retain most of the original SNES game's elements.

Overview

The SNES-to-Famicom conversion manages to retain many elements of the original, including the fire and cape powerups, the map screen, and even Yoshi. Many of the more subtle details were also ported successfully, such as the more powerful spin jump and throwing items upwards.

2 player mode is also present, with player 2 controlling Luigi on the same controller as player 1. Strangely, Luigi always begins at the first level no matter where Mario starts. Both brothers start with 15 lives, and can earn more by visiting Yoshi houses or finding 1-up Mushrooms in courses.

The gameplay mechanics are similar to the SNES version. The physics for Mario are similar to those of Somari in that if he jumps from full speed he will suddenly slow down to a walking pace, which makes him somewhat awkward to control. This is a common trait across many of Hummer Team's platform games. In addition, slope physics are reversed, in that Mario picks up speed while going up a slope but it is dramatically slower to run downwards. There's also the addition of performing a short hop by holding Down and pressing A. The spin jump is still intact and can be done by pressing Up and A, since there are only two 'action' buttons on the NES gamepad. Yoshi is the same as in the SNES version, being able to eat enemies and spit them out, and the cape powerup allows Mario to fly by running until his arms spread out, jumping, then pressing left-right in an alternating rhythm, just like in the original.

The game can glitch up and either crash or reset if there's too many sprites on the screen. In an attempt to avoid this problem, the Banzai Bills were replaced with three horizontal Podoboos to decrease the sprite amount.

The music and graphics are mostly from the SNES version, redrawn and downgraded to 8-bit. Some graphics such as the bridge tiles in Morton Koopa Jr's and Roy Koopa's room and the lava were reused and edited from Kart Fighter. The game has fewer and lower-quality music tracks. There are also slight palette issues similar to that of other Hummer Team games; Hummer Team generally colored specific tiles instead of using the traditional overlapping method many Famicom games used. Also due to the sprite palette amount, certain enemies sport some odd and different palettes; examples including Red Paratroopas appearing to have green shells, Urchins appear as a mix of green and yellow with red spikes and Bowser appears pink and yellow as he shares his palette with the Princess.

The blocks act considerably differently to any other Mario game. Most of the '?' blocks contain nothing, and apart from in minigames, coins cannot be obtained from them. The few blocks that contain powerups have obvious black outlines around them, so players can tell which blocks contain items and which don't. The spinning blocks also act as solid ones, neither spinning when hit from below or breaking when hit from above (although the spinning tiles do exist in the ROM, they do not appear in game).

The amount of missing content and unfinished features (such as the differences shown below), as well as the fact that an earlier build with half the final's levels was released before, suggest that this game was hastily released by JY company before development was finished.

Differences from the SNES game

• Mario's Super/Fire/Cape sprites are just recolored rips from SMB3, even though Mario is Missing! and Mario's Time Machine used Mario and Luigi sprites that are closer to the real Super Mario World. Small Mario is a vague reproduction of the SNES version.
• Multiple Yoshi houses are present across the map, compared to only one in the original. Mario and Luigi also gain extra lives by entering/exiting them in the port. The Message Box is missing here (and all the others in the game).
• Map design is different and more linear, seen in Yoshi's Island and Forest of Illusion (these areas allow multiple paths in the SNES game). The Star World and the Special World are also both omitted.
  • Only the overworld map is present; interior areas from the original game, like Vanilla Dome and Valley of Bowser, are not present, or their levels are moved out into the overworld. Star World and Special World are not present at all.
    • The Valley of Bowser levels are placed on islands on the main world map,. The Bowser cave in the Famicom version serves as the final level.
  • Switch Palaces and bonus areas are not present. The obscure 3-up moon in the first level has its ledge intact, but there is no reward for flying up there.
    • Most secret exits have also been removed. One of them that stayed was the secret exit for the Donut Ghost House. However, exiting the level this way does not unlock the path to the Top Secret Area.
• Most of the level designs do not match up with the SNES version for technical reasons. For example, an area in Morton's Castle is all new because of the port lacks vertical scrolling that the SNES version has.
  • Many enemy layouts have been changed to make up for the removal of certain other enemies. Yoshi's Island 2 has some Goombas and Paragoombas to make up for the removal of Monty Moles and Ninjis even appear in other castle levels. (Originally, they only appeared in the back door of Bowser's Castle)
    • Red Koopas are the only color Koopas have in the game. The Paratroopas in-game appear green due to a palette issue but stomping on them reveals they're Red Koopas. This also means the only power Yoshi can use is the fire breath.
  • Bowser's Castle was notably cut down and became much linear; it only consists of the first three rooms you could choose in the original and the back door room before the fight with Bowser.
• Music is rearranged; the title theme plays during "athletic" levels, the Forest of Illusion map theme plays during forest levels, and the Vanilla Dome map theme plays on the Chocolate Island section of the map. The Valley of Bowser theme plays when selecting the last two levels, and is also oddly used as the Starman theme.
  • During boss battles, the music never changes.
  • The ending music is not from Super Mario World; it is a rearrangement of the title screen music from Sachen's Colorful Dragon. This is one of several games Hummer Cheng helped with while working at Sachen.
• There's no bonus or point system for finishing the course or touching the goal ribbon.
• Both the spin jump and Yoshi's jump don't allow you to bounce off enemies you can't stomp normally.
• Certain ways of defeating enemies were altered:
  • Chargin' Chucks and the Koopalings can't be killed with fireballs. However, Buzzy Beetles, who are usually resistant to fireballs, can be killed this way.
  • Goombas, Dino-Torches and Dino-Rhinos are unaffected by cape swings. Oddly enough, Dino-Torches do bounce back when getting hit by a cape but they will not die.
    • Touching a Goomba only knocks them around and they can't be knocked into other enemies.
  • While you still can't take damage from them with a Starman, Fuzzies, Jumping Piranha Plants and Volcano Lotus can't be defeated through this method.
  • Both Dry Bones and Bony Beetle can be killed with a spin jump whereas in the original, they would just fall apart.
• Turn Blocks and ? Blocks do not function properly; they do not have unique sprites for being "used" (with the exception of the 1-up bonus game), nor do Turn Blocks spin when Mario hits them. Unused turning sprites for the Turn Blocks exist, and can be seen in the incomplete version's unused levels, but they were still solid.
  • Mario can't destroy any blocks, making it impossible to enter certain bonus areas (like the first level).
  • Despite this mechanic existing in the 1-up bonus game, there are no ? Blocks outside of these areas that give out coins upon hitting.
• Pipes do not transport Mario anywhere or lead to other areas. The only pipes that work are the cannon pipes and the ones that transport Mario to the 1-up bonus game (hitting 3 ? blocks in the correct order to gain 1-ups).
• Mario cannot bang on climbable fences. This also means he can't flip around and go behind the fence despite the flip spots still existing.
• Cape Mario lacks unique sprites for diving/gliding while flying. Cape Mario also cannot slow down falls using the cape. Diving into the ground also doesn't cause a quake.
• Iggy Koopa and all of Larry Koopa's castle were removed from this port most likely because of the lack of Mode 7 in the Famicom. Ludwig Von Koopa was also removed possibly due to the fact he doesn't share his combat strategy with anyone else. Iggy's and Ludwig's castles remain in this port, but Reznor replaces both Koopalings.
  • In the Reznor battles, there's one less Reznor and the bridge never disappears. Mario can't stand on their platforms either.
• Mario cannot swim in water in non-underwater levels, similar to the first Super Mario Bros. Falling into one is the same as falling into a bottomless pit.
• Lava will not cause instant death on contact. Instead, it damages Mario, then the rest of the lava is treated as a bottomless pit.
• Bowser does not drop rolling balls after being hit the first time.
• Progress cannot be saved in the NES version.

Versions

• Incomplete ("Volume 1"): Majority of single cartridges of Super Mario World that circulated and well-known on the Internet are actually included an unfinished version of the game. It only goes up to the fourth castle, and the level select is only activated by pressing Select, Select, Select, Select, Select, B, B, Select while on the map. The pipes that lead to the 1-up bonus area can't be entered and Vanilla Dome Castle starts on the 2nd room. While the other levels are present, they are mostly broken and/or unfinished.
• Complete: The one described in the article, known to be found on a Super 45-in-1 multicart. A single cartridge is confirmed that it was released, but no further information is available so far. For some reason, level select is automatically activated once the start button is pushed.

Gallery

Main article: Super Mario World (Famicom)/gallery

Yoshi's Island 3.

Donut Plains 1.

JMB.jpg

Original cartridge

Trivia

• According to Hummer Cheng, this was the hardest game for Hummer Team to develop, and it took upwards of a year to make.
• There are unused tiles of Lakitu, Spiny, Fishbone, Bullet Bill, Muncher, Clapping Chargin' Chuck and Digging Chargin' Chuck. Fishbone and Diggin Chargin' Chuck are rather odd as none of the areas that would contain them are in the final game.
• Chargin' Chucks can be killed with 3 stomps on the head, but the behavior of them often glitch out a bit and end up making themselves immune to a stomp (This could range from an extra stomp, all the way to the point where you run out of time). This also causes them to not even be stunned when stomped on, often leading into you getting hit.
• Notably, Nintendo once stated that although they had wanted to give Mario a dinosaur companion since the first Super Mario Bros., but that this wasn't possible with the limited hardware of the Famicom. However, Hummer Team were able to do so in this port, and so did the official NES version of Mario is Missing!.
• The J.Y. Company logo Easter egg is accessible by pressing Up, Right, A, Down, Right, B, Up, Left while paused. The logo is garbled in the incomplete version because it uses an incorrect graphics bank.
  • The J.Y. Company logo itself can be found throughout certain levels in the sky. In the incomplete version specifically, the J.Y. Company logo can be found in the backgrounds of Yoshi's Island 3 and Donut Plains 1.
• Entering YUSUPLAZ (complete version) or YUXLALAZ (incomplete version) into a Game Genie will fix the jumping physics of the game, so that Mario does not lose speed after a jump.
• Entering GZUNZLZP + GXENZLZP into a Game Genie will fix the running physics of the game, so that Mario does not lose speed when running down slopes.
• Donkey Kong Country 4 has two leftover tracks from Super Mario World still in the ROM. However, both of these tracks go unused as they were not intended for it. These same tracks remain unused in other games that have used Donkey Kong Country 4's soundtrack as a base such as Earthworm Jim 3 and War.