this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2025
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I think I'd have to go with SMW

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[–] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 69 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Super Mario World all day long.

SMB3 was an absolute banger and revolutionised the platforming genre while making the hardware run things it had no business doing, so much so that even id Software took inspiration from it.

World just improved the formula in every single way though. Far from ragging on SMB3, World just took an amazing game and polished it up beyond what was expected.

[–] TachyonTele@piefed.social 14 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They made both games at the same time. In my opinion there isn't even a competition. Both games are showcases of the best of each console.

[–] caseyweederman@lemmy.ca 8 points 4 days ago

Sorry, that's not correct. SMB3 was released in 1988 in Japan. It was delayed in North America until 1990 and released in the same year as SMW, while Nintendo of America ironed out its Super Nintendo console launch.
Super Mario World, in fact, started development as a port of Super Mario Bros. 3.

[–] GraniteM@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago (4 children)

SMB3 has better powerups, though.

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[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

making the hardware run things it had no business doing,

Speaking of hardware limitations, Kirby's Adventure plays like a mid gen SNES game, I have no idea how they got it running on NES. I need to play through it again

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Kirby's Adventure is the largest NES game ever officially released in terms of ROM size, and has a frankly absurd amount of graphics tiles. Just consider all of those required for the copy abilities thumbnails alone and you'll see what I mean. It pulled basically every trick the MMC3 mapper is capable of, and was definitely a masterpiece of the system in the original sense, i.e. it displays astonishing mastery of the mechanics of the Famicom/NES.

What I find more amazing is that the MMC3 isn't one of the mappers that confers any additional sound channels and the American NES didn't support that capability anyway. So the entirety of the game's iconic soundtrack fits within the confines of the NES' two square waves, one triangle wave, one noise channel, and singular PCM channel.

I think ultimately it ran into memory constraints, even with the additional 8 KB provided by the mapper. If you sit back and look at them as a whole, its levels are all quite short. It's still my favorite NES game bar none, though.

[–] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 3 points 4 days ago

Programming all the copy abilities had to be a nightmare. Not only the graphics but the controls for things like the wheel & hi jump, the pallet swaps for the Freeze abilities, the environment interactions from the Hammer... it's a ridiculous amount of content by today's standards and it was made over 30 years ago.

Then add in cutscenes (all in-game engine, but still), between level overworld sections, mini-games... It's baffling!

Half of that game would be DLC/premium content if it was made today.

[–] namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev 8 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It's a very interesting question. In terms of which game I'd rather play, it's SMW. But in terms of technical achievement, SMB3 is unquestionably better (in my opinion of course).

SMB1 was a watershed moment for gaming - perhaps the biggest that there ever was. SMB3 was a revolutionary improvement on top of that. In light of that, SMW almost feels like a bland port. This isn't to say it's bad by any means, but in terms of the impact that it had on gaming as a whole, it's not very significant and just feels like an iterative improvement.

SMW is still a great game! And if I could only play one for the rest of my life, I would choose it over SMB3. But in terms of historical impact on gaming, I would say that SMB1, Mario64 and SMB3 were more revolutionary.

Yoshi's Island is my favorite however.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

Don't feel bad, Yoshi's Island was always the right answer. It was a trick question.

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 24 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

World has everything 3 introduced and more with better visuals. So SMW is the right answer.

Really it comes down to level design. And IMO, the secret star road levels are some of the best even counting later games. Tubular! Gnarly! Radical!

But if Yoshi's Island was an option...

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

SMBWorld had a much deeper realm of secrets and challenges, and a much sharper aesthetic, and was tied directly to the new, shining world of 16-bit gaming which it took full advantage of to make better visuals and audio. I would love to be able to relive those weeks of playing SMBWorld for the first time and the feelings of awe and amazement and discovery that went with them.

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[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 7 points 4 days ago
[–] Fluffy_Ruffs@lemmy.world 41 points 5 days ago (1 children)

SMW for me but that's not to downplay just how unbelievably good SMB3 was at the time.

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 10 points 4 days ago

As much as I love SMB3's powerups (hammer bro 4 life), I'd go with World because you can replay levels and even castles with L+R. Fuck Tubular, tho

[–] kadaverin0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Super Mario World. More gameplay with better graphics and sound. It was the first video game I ever beat.

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[–] shutz@lemmy.ca 25 points 5 days ago (3 children)

SMB3 was a revolution. SMW was an evolution.

I personally prefer SMB3 because the controls feel tighter, where SMW sometimes feels "floaty". But it's a subtle difference. SMW gives you way more content, but not all of it is as good or as well-designed as the levels from SMB3 (though again, the difference is subtle.)

They are both all-time top games, as is Mario 64.

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[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 days ago

SMW, easily. Being able to freely use the map to play levels at will and unlock secrets still hasn't been matched by any other 2D Mario game.

Graphics and music-wise, it's fair to use the SNES version as a comparison, so that's mostly a wash.

[–] roscoe@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 3 days ago

I played and beat world with my dad on a rented Super Famicom before Super Nintendo came out.

We didn't have an instruction booklet and all the tutorial stuff that came up was in Japanese so we went the entire game without knowing you could throw shells upwards. So when we got to Bowser at the end we thought you had to be able to fly so you could dive-bomb the motherfucker. Took us so many tries getting there with a cape and a backup before we eventually each got it. Man, did I feel dumb when SNES came out and I learned the truth, but also a perverse pride, like being one of the few people to beat something before it gets nerfed.

Not really related but this made me think of that for the first time in years.

[–] MeowerMisfit817@lemmy.world 10 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I can't see SMB3 without remembering that once I was playing it with my brother and my dad comes in, saying he hates that game.

Later, we ask him why does he hate the game, he says he's really got no reasons, but still hates the game.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

My dad would routinely come in and see anything we had going on the TV, from cartoons to video games, and express how much he hated that thing, or how he didn't understand how we could enjoy it.

Parents out there... don't do this. Stop feeling envious or resentful of children for being able to be happy.

[–] kadaverin0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

One of my father's girlfriends did this to my younger brother and I as kids. She legitimately hated it when we experienced any kind of joy or contentment and would immediately try to cut us down or cause a problem to ruin it. She is one of the few people I've met in life that I consider a truly bad person.

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[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 3 points 4 days ago

I would get this kind of weird "what the heck are you watching/playing" criticism and I think it was mainly a weird play to get to the TV so he could watch football or screaming heads cable news. . .

I felt really self conscious about anything I chose to watch myself in full view for a long time. Namely anime. Anime always knew when a parental figure lurked nearby and would choose that moment to get really weird.

[–] ZC3rr0r@lemmy.ca 5 points 4 days ago

I have played and beaten both games too often to count, and while they're both excellent the way Mario controls in SMW always throws me off for the first couple of minutes. I can't quite put my finger on it, but SMB3 just feels better, more weighty I guess.

Super Mario world is obviythe better game because that's the one I have more nostalgia for.

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The choice is obvious.

3 has Tanukis.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] MeowerMisfit817@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

i swear i never saw a kuribo shoe on this and played the game for five months now

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

play harder

edit: damn now i have the song in my head

"i am roy, the sailor boy. my life here is a joy"

[–] stupidcasey@lemmy.world 12 points 5 days ago (2 children)

B. For the simple reason the color palette doesn't look like shit.

also it is full of more variety,Yoshi, better secrets, better audio, Yoshi, better physics, you can go backwards and Yoshi,

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[–] BurgerBaron@piefed.social 13 points 5 days ago

SMB3 easy choice for me. I like the NES soundchip over muddy SNES just in general and the physics in SMB3.

[–] Snowpix@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 days ago

SMW was my very first video game, so that's my choice. I've played both, but definitely prefer SMW because of its better controls, level design and graphics/sound. 3's levels are a bit too short for my liking, which is probably due to being crammed on an NES cart.

[–] imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

3 is extremely cool and all, epecially for what NES can output. But SMW has an insane mechanics with higher skill ceiling. Speaking as a player who haven't played any of these two but watched some pros/speedrunners play them.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

There's people alive who haven't played these??

TIL

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[–] Stalinwolf@lemmy.ca 8 points 5 days ago

3 is my favorite of the two, but World was objectively better in terms of mechanics and overall design. Still, I'll always play 3 if given the choice between them.

[–] theedqueen@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

They should’ve made a sequel to the Wizard that featured SMW

[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 9 points 5 days ago

SMW. Peak Mario on SNES.

[–] danc4498@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago

Apples and oranges they’re both the best game ever.

[–] Skkorm@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

World and is not close

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