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Before Super Mario World 2: YI...

M

Mallrat83

Banned
This is something I've always been curious about. I remember way back in the day that Miyamoto mentioned work was already deep into a proper sequel to Super Mario World before it was all scrapped and development started from scratch on the game that would become Yoshi's Island.

What I'm wondering is whether any screens or details had ever been released on what Super Mario World 2 was originally going to be like?
 
Even though I'm glad at what we got, it would've been fun to play what Miyamoto originally wanted. Wasn't it basically like SMW?
 
Ecrofirt said:
Why did they scrap it?
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It was around that time Miyamoto started saying he was sick of Mario, Zelda, et al. and started doing different things with his characters.

Course, that doesn't explain why he was disappointed with Super Mario 64 for not capturing the flavor of the old, 2D Mario platformers.
 
I am positive that he was NOT talking about Wacky Worlds. That game was never announced officially and I highly doubt it would ever have made it to retail.

Nintendo-of-old very rarely released screens of anything that wasn't close to done. No screens of the prototypical SMW sequel ever surfaced.

And for the record, I don't remember and have never come across any such interview with Miyamoto. I remember him saying in Steve Kent's book that Yoshi's Island originally had a graphic style similar to Super Mario World's. But that's it.
 
The mind reels at the possibilities of what Nintendo keeps locked away, never to be seen by the public. I hope to god Nintendo backs it old code up unlike Capcom(with their GBA anniversarry fiasco), so one day they can be "cool" about it and let us see what they deemed un-publishable.

Same goes for Konami
 
I've often heard that it was mostly the graphical style that was reworked. With the rather massive delay that must have incurred I assume they added a bucket of new gameplay ideas as well, but I'd bet that the engine and level design work that went into the SMW2 prototype was carried over to Yoshi's Island.
 
Slightly off-topic, just wanted to say that I've been playing Yoshi's Island for the 1st time recently and um, HOLY CRAP! What the hell was I doing when this dropped? Was it Playstation launch at that point? Can't believe I slept on this game for that long. I will say that I prefer SMW's soundtrack better so far (I'm only up to 1-8 in YI), but other than that, this game is platforming bliss. Oh yeah, Baby Mario's "Wah! Wah!" may very well be the most annoying thing since I heard the Link yelp in the GBA re-release of LTTP, but it's not really fazing me so far.
 
Mama Smurf said:
It's meant to be annoying, unlike most annoying videogame sounds.
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Yeah, I figured it was--probably to force you to come to grips with Yoshi's control quickly; i.e. "I better not ever screw up or I'll hear lil fucker bawl again!". It makes you inherently more careful, this fear of annoying wee Mario piercing the calm with his whines, much like real parenthood (trust me on this).
 
bob_arctor said:
Slightly off-topic, just wanted to say that I've been playing Yoshi's Island for the 1st time recently and um, HOLY CRAP! What the hell was I doing when this dropped? Was it Playstation launch at that point? Can't believe I slept on this game for that long. I will say that I prefer SMW's soundtrack better so far (I'm only up to 1-8 in YI), but other than that, this game is platforming bliss. Oh yeah, Baby Mario's "Wah! Wah!" may very well be the most annoying thing since I heard the Link yelp in the GBA re-release of LTTP, but it's not really fazing me so far.
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I was in your shoes not too long ago. I totally passed this game over when it came out, deciding that it looked dumb in Nintendo Power (I was around 14 at the time). A couple years ago, I finally tried it out at my friend's place, and found myself saying something along the lines of "Holy fucking shit, what have I been missing?"
 
Ristamar said:
QFT
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Whatever. YI, SMB3 and even SMB2 are all superior to SMW. If you can't see it that way, then you're WRONG.

I don't get all the SMW love. The level design is nowhere near as creative and imaginative as SMB3, and even the gameplay seems like a step backwards. The cape was only good at cheating your way through stages, and Yoshi was a useless sunnavabtich.
 
Zeo said:
SMW > Yoshi's Island > SMB3 > SMB1 > SMB2

imo~
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Nope:

Yoshi's Island > SMB3 > SMW > SMB1 > SMB2

Even then though, just because I ranked SMB 2 last, that means diddly shit as far as what I think of the game. I love that game to death, which goes to show how incredibly awesome the other 4 games in the series are.
 
Mallrat83 said:
Nope:

Yoshi's Island > SMB3 > SMW > SMB1 > SMB2

Even then though, just because I ranked SMB 2 last, that means diddly shit as far as what I think of the game. I love that game to death, which goes to show how incredibly awesome the other 4 games in the series are.
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That's my exact ranking as well.
 
bob_arctor said:
Yeah, I figured it was--probably to force you to come to grips with Yoshi's control quickly; i.e. "I better not ever screw up or I'll hear lil fucker bawl again!". It makes you inherently more careful, this fear of annoying wee Mario piercing the calm with his whines, much like real parenthood (trust me on this).
Click to expand...
When they were testing the game, players weren't afraid of losing Mario, they'd just let him float around until the last few seconds. The crying was done to make fucking SURE you'd grab him the second you lost the fucker.
 
SMB3 (the whole style of the game, the flow and depth is unparalleled)>
Yoshi's Island (As the last true 2D Mario game it introduces a helvulot of new things and the style and music is just incredible although there is too little of it, and the replayability proves limited)>
SMW (Although not as good as its predecessor, a giant game with tons of challenge and replayability. It does seem rushed and incoherent in places, which we later have learnt is also what Miyamoto thinks of it)>
SMB (the first sidescrolling Mario game and still surprisingly good fun in small doses)

SMB2 is like Sunshine not a real Mario game. but pretty good fun anyhow.
 
Sonic the Hedgehog > Yoshi's Island > Super Mario Bros. 3 > Super Mario Bros. > Super Mario World > Super Mario Bros. 2

*dodges a tomato*
 
LakeEarth said:
When they were testing the game, players weren't afraid of losing Mario, they'd just let him float around until the last few seconds. The crying was done to make fucking SURE you'd grab him the second you lost the fucker.
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Lake, off-topic to be sure, but I'm still swamped at work and haven't started that Hugo write-up. Soon, though, next day or so. I've been really good online with him lately--like 4 consecutive standing, straight-up 360's on one sorry fellow good. Word. Or maybe they were that bad. Either way, Hugo is just a synonym for FEAR.
 
SonicMegaDrive said:
Sonic the Hedgehog > Yoshi's Island > Super Mario Bros. 3 > Super Mario Bros. > Super Mario World > Super Mario Bros. 2

*dodges a tomato*
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I liked Sonic 3 & Knuckles (even Sonic 3 alone) more than any of the 2D Mario games myself. :]

As for why I love SMW so much.. I love SMB3 but SMW was MUCH more rewarding. The level design was on par with SMB3, but they now added tons of "hidden" exits to open up secret stages, and had two extra worlds which had some freaking hard stages.

I also loved the art style and think the music is the best out of the 2D Mario games (although Yoshi's Island comes incredibly close).

LakeEarth said:
When they were testing the game, players weren't afraid of losing Mario, they'd just let him float around until the last few seconds. The crying was done to make fucking SURE you'd grab him the second you lost the fucker.
Click to expand...

Yep.

And it fucking worked. Jesus.
 
bob_arctor said:
Slightly off-topic, just wanted to say that I've been playing Yoshi's Island for the 1st time recently and um, HOLY CRAP! What the hell was I doing when this dropped? Was it Playstation launch at that point? Can't believe I slept on this game for that long. I will say that I prefer SMW's soundtrack better so far (I'm only up to 1-8 in YI), but other than that, this game is platforming bliss. Oh yeah, Baby Mario's "Wah! Wah!" may very well be the most annoying thing since I heard the Link yelp in the GBA re-release of LTTP, but it's not really fazing me so far.
Click to expand...

I had similar circumstances, I bought the game used a few years ago, barely touched it, then last summer got in the mood for some Super, busted it out, and crapped my pants. Such an awesome game. I was really obsessed with it, I got 100% in everything. So many cool touches, here's a slight "spoiler" for you.
For every main world you complete (there are six) a new musical instrument is added to the music on the stage select screens, so by the time you finish the game, it sounds a lot richer
.

I thought that was a cool touch. Also, you may have noticed there's a row of stars on the title screen, I'm not sure if that's one for every main world you simply finish, or if you have to get 100% for it to show.
 
It's weird, SMW is considered pretty to some, but it seemed like the colors weren't as vivid and favored too many earth-tones for my taste.

Plus, Chargin' Chuck. I mean, c'mon.

Kobun Heat said:
And for the record, I don't remember and have never come across any such interview with Miyamoto. I remember him saying in Steve Kent's book that Yoshi's Island originally had a graphic style similar to Super Mario World's. But that's it.
Click to expand...

I think I've seen _one_ picture of the old style, a fairly non-descript circle-cut shot on the... cover, I think, of a Nintendo Power. They talked about having an article inside the mag (or maybe next month, not sure which), but then it never happened. They must've pulled it when they were told the graphical style was going to be changed.
 
As far as Yoshi's Island's graphics goes, it DID undergo changes. It initially had typical backgrounds similar to SMW, but Miyamoto mentioned in an interview that the team wanted him to do a new graphical style, due to the popularity of Donkey Kong Country because of it.
 
TheTurtleTitan said:
As far as Yoshi's Island's graphics goes, it DID undergo changes. It initially had typical backgrounds similar to SMW, but Miyamoto mentioned in an interview that the team wanted him to do a new graphical style, due to the popularity of Donkey Kong Country because of it.
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But didn't Miyamoto also loathe DKC with a passion? I thought I remember hearing an interview somewhere mentioning his dislike of the game's direction.
 
TheDiave said:
But didn't Miyamoto also loathe DKC with a passion? I thought I remember hearing an interview somewhere mentioning his dislike of the game's direction.
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I read something here recently (:P) that he was kind of upset at how well DKC was selling compared to YI (comparing the games' graphics), and that was fuel for the fire that eventually cooked up SM64, I think.
 
Ancestor_of_Erdrick said:
I read something here recently (:P) that he was kind of upset at how well DKC was selling compared to YI (comparing the games' graphics), and that was fuel for the fire that eventually cooked up SM64, I think.
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Indeed. Miyamoto said that DKC's sales compared to YI's sales are proof that Americans will buy anything as long as the graphics are good, regardless of gameplay. IIRC, he said this in front of DKC's director.
 
jett said:
SMW is at the bottom barrel of the 2D Marios.
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Nope, that's the notstagically trumped up Super Mario Bros 3, with it's terse truncated level design and "costume gimmick" over "solid mechanic" focus. Out of all the Mario's, it's held up the worst by far... at least SMB1 still holds a solid sense of weight and SMB2 a freash approach. The most exciting thing about Mario 3 is a stupid "hidden" shoe you get to ride. :/
 
Zeo said:
SMW > Yoshi's Island > SMB3 > SMB1 > SMB2

imo~
Click to expand...

hammer%20and%20nail_web.JPG
 
LakeEarth said:
When they were testing the game, players weren't afraid of losing Mario, they'd just let him float around until the last few seconds. The crying was done to make fucking SURE you'd grab him the second you lost the fucker.
Click to expand...

One of the all-time great game design decisions in my book; very few feelings in gaming match the pure frantic 'OH SHIT!' of hearing Mario's anguished shrieks as you struggle desperately to retrieve him.

Did anybody else see Edge's April 2005 write-up about Yoshi's Island? Normally I'm not much of a fan of their writing style (so damn pompous), but in that article I think they really captured the allure and overall feel of the game. I couldn't wait to get my hands on the GBA re-release; one of my all-time faves!

Whatever SMW2 was going to be before Yoshi's Island, I'm more than happy with what we ended up getting; nothing has really matched it for pure gaming joy since, IMO. While it'd be nice to see what they would've come up with, I'm sure in a lot of ways it'd be a disappointment compared to what we got in the end.
 
jarrod said:
Nope, that's the notstagically trumped up Super Mario Bros 3, with it's terse truncated level design and "costume gimmick" over "solid mechanic" focus. Out of all the Mario's, it's held up the worst by far... at least SMB1 still holds a solid sense of weight and SMB2 a freash approach. The most exciting thing about Mario 3 is a stupid "hidden" shoe you get to ride. :/
Click to expand...

:lol I never agree with a single thing you say, so I'm not surprised by your assbackwards post.
 
whats with all the mario hate?

i havent played a single mario game (REAL mario game) that i havent liked. if anything, sunshine comes awfully close to that...
 
SMW was extremely fun and a brilliantly crafted game. I played and completed it a few times, always enchanted by the gameplay and world in which it took place. Back then. Now I'm not quite as impressed, but I still think it's a great game and holds up very well.

I didn't have as much fun with Yoshi's Island, but right now I'd take it over SMW in a heartbeat. It's the better game. The mechanics are more fun. The overworld is/was a giant disappointment, but the levels themselves are always excellent.

I'm never sure where I'd place SMB3/2/1. 3 above the other two, no doubt. Maybe even above SMW. The platforming is more interesting, but that's as objective as I can get. Everything else is shrouded by nostalgia.
 
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