After the brisk sales of Super Mario Advance--a port of Super Mario Bros. 2, arguably the worst title in the series--the stage is set for Nintendo to bestow upon portable fanatics one of the best games in the series: Super Mario World. Entitled Super Mario Advance 2, the update of the SNES classic will surely perform just as well at retail. Although the Game Boy Advance has yet to receive a wholly original Mario adventure, few are likely to complain, simply because the ports are of such excellent quality. Then again, the fact that these games are still just as fun as they were all those years ago probably doesn't hurt either.

　　Super Mario World is fondly remembered by many a Nintendo fan not just because it features some of the finest gameplay the series has to offer, but also because it introduces Yoshi, the lovable dinosaur who has become a major part of the Mario universe. Armed with a cape that grants him the ability to fly, Mario sets out with his new pal to once again rescue Princess Toadstool from the clutches of the dastardly Bowser. Sure, the plotline isn't very original, but the game itself refines the series' familiar play mechanics to near perfection.

　　Mario can dismount Yoshi should the need arise, allowing him to navigate the stage on foot. However, riding Yoshi has the added benefit of providing the player with a ranged attack in the form of Yoshi's incredibly long tongue. With it, enemies and coins can be eaten. Yoshi can also consume turtle shells, and depending on the color of shell swallowed, he's able to spit fire, make a sand cloud, and even fly. If hit, the little dinosaur will run away, and Mario will have to catch up to him before he falls into a hole and is lost forever...or at least until you can replace him.

　　Standing between you and Bowser are seven worlds, each of which is ruled by one of the Koopalings--Bowser's children, who were made famous in Super Mario Bros. 3. Switch palaces are dotted around the landscape and convert previously insubstantial blocks into exclamation-point blocks, some of which contain power-ups that make getting through the various courses just that little bit easier.

　　Exact details pertaining to the GBA incarnation of the title are few and far between at this point, but a four-player mode akin to that found in Super Mario Advance will be present, along with the graphical upgrades and tweaks expected of such a venture. Utilizing some of the machine's more predominant abilities, such as Mode 7, Super Mario World presented SNES owners with a rich, beautiful universe--one that will doubtless be improved upon for its handheld debut.