A LOOK AT SUPER MARIO WORLD: SUPER MARIO ADVANCE 2

Given the name it truly deserves, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 is a bit disappointing in a few areas while very impressing in others. For one, its pretty much an exact copy of the original. Very few changes were made in the port over. I'll try to explain everything I can think of through here.

SMA2 comes packed with the huge adventure of Super Mario World, first released on the Super NES. It also comes packaged with another version of Mario Bros. Classic. Sadly, this version is the EXACT SAME as the one from the first SMA. Same sprites, same music, same multiplayer, etc. It even keeps the SMB2 elements that were added from SMA instead of being ORIGINAL and adding SMW elements (like verticle tossing of shells or something). This is a bit of a disappointment.

The graphics didn't take much of a drastic change but Shigeru Miyamoto made sure the game was bright; SMA's palette is VERY bright. It makes things much easier to see which is really needed with such a smaller screen. The controls work great with the game. B is your basic attack/run command, A is your jump command, R is your spin jump command, and L is used to scroll the camera left or right when standing still (in some areas). The music didn't make it over to the GBA as well as before, but its still as catchy as ever.

There are still voices but, luckily, they are placed only when needed and aren't nearly as excessive as they used to be in SMA. SMA2 features a rather interesting cut-scene at the start that shows exactly how Peach got kidnapped this time around. You may also notice a bit more of an emphasis on Luigi this time around. That's one of the new additions: playable Luigi at any time. Luigi has his own sprites and capabilities. He jumps high and has bad traction like in SMB2. His fireballs also have a different flight path. You can switch between Mario or Luigi on the map. You also get a results screen from the map that shows who cleared each course and how many Yoshi Coins you found in each stage.

Its just like Nintendo to make the game a bit easier this time around. Like they did to SMB3, getting hit with Cape or Fire powers will take you to Super (big) powers instead of shrinking you. Plus, since you have the item box at the top, that means you have four hits before you will die (once with Cape/Flower, once after getting item in box, once after being super, once more as small to die). They also added the option to save anywhere.

Some of the easier elements are welcome, however. For example, once you unlock certain colors of Yoshies, you'll get a random colored Yoshi when you find an egg. This makes getting the Yoshies of the rainbow much easier and much more satisfactory. Yoshi has also been altered slightly. Now, when he gulps enemies up, he holds them in his mouth for a second or two so he can spit them out if he wants. Castles/forts/haunted houses also have been changed slightly. There are now Yoshi Coins and mid-way goals in them.

Like SMA, you get a reward from collecting every single Yoshi Coin and clearing all of the goals, but just like in SMA, its not really worth it. The Special World is still in the game, but I'm still at a loss at how you get to it (and whether the alternate enemy sprites secret still exists). But, all-in-all, SMA2 looks like a great title and any true fan of it should definitely pick it up.

A LOOK AT SUPER MARIO ADVANCE 3
There is currently no information about this title yet except that it will be a remake of Super Mario Bros. 3, a million-seller Mario title. Expect another lazy remake of Mario Bros. Classic.