Mario's first adventure for the SNES is one of the best platforming games ever created
In terms of gameplay, Super Mario World feels a lot like the Super Mario Bros titles for the NES, except this time with a much more massive scope and lush visual design. Even by today's standards, the colorful graphics are stunning, and the soundtrack is also great - this was an excellent way to showcase the capabilities of the Super Nintendo, and even though this was one of the budding system's first releases, it still is one its best-looking titles. The levels are also quite massive, many with two or more exits, and there is definitely a lot more to this game than 'run, jump, repeat'. I'm not the biggest fan of 2D platformers, but I know quality when I see it; and this is one of the finest examples of this type of video game.
I do have a few gripes of my own, mainly linked to the difficulty, but it seems like I'm in a minority anyway. I think Super Mario World is a bit too difficult, and if it weren't for the infinitely many save slots on my emulator, I would undoubtedly have a tough time beating this game start to finish. I'm notoriously horrible at platforming games, though, so it's probably just me anyway.
That and a few small framerate issues aside, this is a virtually flawless SNES title. Over 20 years after its release and the game still holds up wonderfully, this is indeed a fine example of brilliant level design and high-quality platforming. I'm much more of an RPG guy when we're talking about the SNES, but there's really no denying that this is one the best games in its genre - it really is that damn good.