"Super Mario." by Tom Newby Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Friday, January 15, 2021

SMW - Yoshi

 Yoshi in Super Mario World

Intro on Super Mario World

So this post will be different from what I usually put my focus on. This time, I'll be going further from Super Mario Bros 1-3, and I'll be talking about Super Mario World. Super Mario World has a very different set-up, setting, and expands on new types of power-ups and enemies. One kind of power-up being more of a companion than it is a magical item. It's a Yoshi that goes by the name "Yoshi."

Context about Yoshi

Yoshi, traditionally being green, is a dinosaur that is first introduced in Super Mario World. You can obtain him sometimes by hitting a question block. A Yoshi egg comes out of the block and hatches a Yoshi. The egg itself is white with green spots mimicking it's green pigment. When you obtain Yoshi, you will be able to ride him across the level. They do come in different colors, but you won't find them until you head to the Star World. In there, you get a baby Yoshi instead of a grown dinosaur. Once you feed the baby Yoshi enough enemies/berries, it will turn to an adult Yoshi. Then you would be able to ride it.

What you can do with Yoshi?

When you obtain Yoshi, you can collect coins by feeding him berries. Each berry being worth one coin. If you feed him two pink berries in the same level. A cloud will appear and it hails coins. You can also eat enemies with Yoshi and spit them out. If Yoshi eats a koopa, he'll spit out it's shell. Some koopas give Yoshi powers. Koopas with red shells make Yoshi spit out fire. Koopas with yellow shells make Yoshi heavy enough to create sand clouds every time it jumps. And blue shells makes Yoshi have wings and you can fly him.

Conclusion about Yoshi

Yoshi can do a lot of things to make gameplay a breeze. I would recommend trying to find your Super Nintendo and play this game. If you don't have one, there are lot of people who have uploaded walkthroughs and speedruns of the game. Check out their experiences on the game. That's it for this week. I'll soon be making a video podcast of this post using PowToons. Until then, have a great weekend.

Friday, January 8, 2021

SMB 3 - New Power-Ups

New Powers-Ups in Super Mario Bros. 3

Power-Ups in Super Mario Bros. (What purpose they have)

Power-Up: Tanooki Suit

The Tanooki Suit is a power-up that you'd see a lot in modern Mario games. It's purpose in the game was to let you fly in the air with enough speed built up, and you can slow hover to the ground. This was very useful for finding secret areas, skipping chunks of levels, and to prepare your landings. Nowadays, you can't build up speed to fly in the air. You can still hover, but it's not the same as it's original abilities.

Power-Up: Super Leaf

The Super Leaf is pretty much the same thing as the Tanooki Suit, but with a little something extra. If you hold down, you'll be able to turn into a stone statue. The effect of this is that enemies won't recognize you, and would avoid you. This doesn't last for long, because after a few seconds, you'll revert back to your character. This power-up rarely made any appearances. One appearance it had was in Super Mario 3D Land in the Special Worlds. It also lost it's ability to make you fly.

Power-Up: P-Wing

The P-Wing is another power-up like the Tanooki Suit. The difference is that you can fly for a longer time, and without the need to build up speed. This power-up doesn't make anymore appearances. There's not much more to explain about this power-up, since it's pretty self-explanatory.

Power-Up: Frog Suit

The Frog Suit makes swimming a breeze. You'll be able to swim faster, and it's easier to navigate. The only downfall about the Frog Suit is the you're slower on land. Depending on what kind of level you use it on, the exchange could badly impact your experience, or benefit it. This power-up doesn't make anymore appearances.

Power-Up: Hammer Suit

The Hammer Suit lets you throw hammers like a Hammer Bro. You can also crouch into a shell to defend yourself. This power-up DOES make more appearances, one being in Super Mario 3D Land alongside the Super Leaf. It's a very effective power-up, being comparable to the fire flower. The difference between them both is how the fireball is thrown compared to the hammer. The fireball is thrown diagonally down, and it travels like bouncy ball across the ground for a bit. The hammer is a bigger projectile that is thrown in an arch shape. When it makes impact with the ground or an enemy it shatters.

Power-Up: Goomba's Shoe

The Goomba's Shoe comes from Goombas. It's only obtainable by Goombas in 5-3 of that game. It doesn't make any reappearances in other levels, and it doesn't make another appearance on other games. (With the exception of Super Mario Maker 1 & 2.) To obtain it, you must kill the Goomba inside the shoe. Either from throwing fireballs, throwing hammers, or hitting the block underneath it. It makes walking across spikes and Munchers a breeze. When you get hit, you loose the shoe.

Conclusion:

Super Mario Bros 3 has proved itself successful on introducing new power-ups to the series. Though some being basically the same as other power-ups, they are very memorable for their abilities and how they look on Mario. I recommend you play this game yourself or watch a gameplay on the internet where someone uses these power-ups. That's the end of my blog. I'll make a new post next week.