Super Mario World

In 1990 Nintendo released their Super Famicom (SNES) and as a pack in title they included Super Mario World, one of the games that set the tone for the era that would follow, the Nintendo v Sega wars of the 1990's.

Super Mario World sees the player playing as the titular character in a 2D platform adventure game that not set the gold standard of Platforming for the following decade or so but actually set the standard for gaming as a whole.Not only did it build on the excellent Mario franchise but it added so much that it really just showed why Nintendo were at the forefront of video games.

The story, as with most Mario games sees the plucky plumber trying to defeat Bowser and save Princess Peach but the game it's self has so much more than just the simple story to offer. Firstly you have the excellent levels which are designed to be replayable, fun and yet also challenging. As well as the levels you have the charm of the Sonic universe, the power ups, the moves and new addition Yoshi, who you can ride about on during the game.

The graphics are charming through out and whilst they now don't look anything special they did their job
wonderfully well and are clear through out (something you do admittedly expect in a Mario game). Like wise the music in the game is equally as charming despite being very simple and limited (in fact much of it is the same tune just altered in terms of speed). This leaves the game feeling just as charm to look at and listen to as it is to actually play.

Whilst we do genuinely love the game it isn't beyond fault, most notable the complexities of some levels (though by some we are literally talking about a handful) which seem to expect the player to do things that just feel relatively out place. Other than this however the game is pretty much flawless, both as a 1 player game or as a 2-player game (where 1 player controls Luigi). With a story that will last you for a few weeks (even longer if you want to unlock all the secret content) and a game with so much charm it simple oozes brilliance, it's easy to over look the occasional flaw.

To sum this game up all I can say is that you've never played it, get it and lock yourself in a room until you've complete it.


97%

Details:

Console-Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release-1990
Developer-Nintendo EAD
Genre-2D Platformer
Players-1or 2

Trivia-
The game was the debut of Yoshi who would return in the sequel- "Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island" amongst many other games.

Mario's Picross

Puzzle games have become a somewhat forgotten genre in the current video game market which is filled with sports titles, FPS' and driving games. It's a shame that if you ask a teenage what puzzle games they can think of they often reply with "Tetris, that's the only one I can think of" (my own well educated gaming sister). With the original Game Boy however puzzle games were a norm, not only with Tetris but a host of others. One of the most interesting of those games was "Mario Picross", a game that brought Picross to the video game console and managed to make the Game Boy another time waster.

The idea of Mario Picross is rather similar in someways to Minesweeper in that the player is given onscreen clues and needs to select certain boxes that correspond to the clues. If the player uses the clues well and completes the puzzle they will have drawn a picture which will be shown to the player afterwards.

Although the concept seems rather simple and monotonous it's actually incredibly challenging (especially the later levels) and oddly addictive. Whilst the pictures may not be anything great the game is genuinely enjoyable and has the same sort of charm as Sudoku, in fact in many ways it feels like the love child of Minesweeper and Sudoku.

With well over 200 levels to complete (including a hidden Time Trial mode) the game has genuine longevity that will take even the most devout of puzzle gamers a long time. While the main game is huge the Time Trial adds even more replay value to the game which really gives it a huge lifespan.

Whilst the game is huge it does have it's issues, most notably some god awful music (seriously I decided to mute it pretty swiftly as it was that awful) and a lack of commercial success outside of Japan. Oddly, despite carrying the Mario name the games sales in the US and EU were disappointing (despite the game doing very well in Japan). The game is genuinely a really good puzzle game that sadly, it seems, only Japan ever really enjoyed. Despite this I loved it and think it's a great addition to anyone's Game Boy Library.

86%

Details:
Console-Game Boy
Release-1995
Developer-Jupiter
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1

Trivia:
A sequel was released (Picross 2) in Japan that featured puzzles which were much larger than the 15x15 tiled puzzles found in Mario Picross
Another sequel was released, again just in Japan, called Mario's Super Picross and was released for the Super Famicom

Dr Mario

While Nintendo had Tetris as their lead puzzle game you could have assume they would rely on their laurels, surprisingly however they actually complimented Tetris with a number of other top puzzle games including Dr. Mario. The game which has been released on the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and most recently the Virtual Console which has helped it to have an enduring fan base.

Like most puzzle games of the time the player needs to manipulate falling blocks, this time however the blocks act as "capsules" and are 2-toned. The capsules need to be used carefully to get rid of the virus' that are shown on screen. Like a number of games of the time this is done by matching the coloured segments of the capsules to the corresponding virus'. Each virus needs to be put in a line
with 3 matching capsule segments to get rid of it and the player needs to do this before the stage (a "capsule box" type of design) become full.

As the player progresses through the levels they will notice a growing number of virus' making the game more difficult and also the pills will fall quicker. It's not long before the game becomes incredibly challenging and the game starts to rush you causing your mind to panic and oddly, for such a simple game, it gets your blood pumping.

Whilst the game doesn't look amazing and the music won't blast you away (mainly due to it now sounding aged) you will find this is a solid puzzle game in it's own right. It's not got the magic feeling of Tetris or quite the same addictiveness but it's a solid and challenging game that you can burn time with and enjoy. Though perhaps the best part of the game is the excellent multiplayer mode which sees the two players competing with each other. Whilst it may seem like a little bonus the multiplayer really brings even more life into an excellent and deep puzzler.

86%

Details:
Console-SNES/NES/Game Boy/Game Boy Advance
Release-1990 (NES version)
Developer-Nintendo
Genre-Puzzle
Players-1 or 2

Trivia:
An N64 version was released on the obscure iQue in China in 2003
Dr Mario was a hidden character in Super Smash Bros. Melee on the Gamecube