I’ve gotten better folks! Today I
buckled down; I stared straight at Mario’s Italian mustache and told him “not
today”. Now I can proudly say I
made it past Cookie Mountain and all the way through the Forest of Illusion,
even its very own pesky Ghost House.
I conquered these levels and now my little Mario, with only two lives
left, stands before his fifth castle.
This day has completely changed my perspective on Super Mario World.
My
last entry declared I was on the verge of hating this Super Nintendo classic
and now I’ve found that something special. You see there’s a sense of timing within the gameplay I
didn’t realize until today. While
playing through the previous four areas I held that sprint button down, using
it as a way to power through the entire game. I have now realized how wrong my play style was.
In
a weird way playing Super Mario World, or any platformer, is almost like
playing a sport. You have to know
when to attack or play offense and then when to back off and switch to a
defensive stance. Mario is more
about finesse than brute force; it’s about knowing when an enemy will appear
and how to evade it. I was
literally trying the exact opposite and seriously paid the price for it. In my opinion it has just showcased how
games have changed over the years.
Most
modern day games have become fast paced shooters that require speed and
accuracy. This morning I was
playing the Battlefield One Beta and discovered I wasn’t fast enough, my aim
had to be quicker and sprinting away from a tank was a necessity. Sure I died plenty of times, but there
was never a penalty for doing so, in Mario there is a limit to those deaths and
thus each has a huge impact on your play style. The more lives you have the less careful you are, but as
those deplete so does that sense of carelessness. Like Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, I had to relearn that
fear of death. I had to respect
that speed wasn’t everything and through that I overcame what was holding me
back.
Now
I sit here writing aching to get back to Mushroom Kingdom. There is something special about this
game and I’m starting to understand what makes Super Mario World a classic.
