![]() -Save feature (save points at set spots - pretty frequent (you can only access one by beating a ghost house after beating the game and looking for the last exits though - beating the game doesn't save your progress)) Longer levels than in SMB3 overall (often with midway checkpoints) Yoshi specific bonus levels (grab the flapping wings) The world changes from summer to an autumn theme (some enemies also change appearance) once you beat the special world (can't be reverted though and the enemies look a bit out of place since the levels themselves don't change) Some good puzzles (in ghost houses and via the hidden exits) Can look around in the hub world (press start and scroll with the d-pad - doesn't work in the very first area since it's a zoomed in separate view) Water themed levels and levels with a hidden exit are differentiated from other levels in the hub world Replay beaten levels (less need to manage your resources, even easier to rack up extra lives, pretty much necessary considering the focus on finding hidden levels to fully beat the game) and castles (press l+r in the hub world) ![]() Fleshes out the mario universe a bit further (Yoshi's home featured as a location on the world map, seamless hub world on the other hand there are no kings in different kingdoms to rescue, no letters from the princess and the world is a bit less diverse) Can scroll the camera a bit to the left or right with the shoulder buttons - need to release the d-pad to do it though and it pauses the game while moving the camera) More advanced item carrying mechanics (throw items upwards, drop items without kicking or throwing them) Very good variation and fast pace overall (loses a bit of variation after the forest though, if you use the cape well it's a better flowing game than Sonic 1 overall in that you can be almost constantly moving forward in a level while S1 has various obstacles to wait for and slow moving platforms you have to ride (some of which can be skipped but only after learning shortcuts)) ![]() The cape - basically an improved raccoon/tanooki suit (kills undead koopas, spin to fall faster, getting hit while flying only cancels the flight - you don't take damage, better spin attack range and it blocks some projectiles, trickier to use but more powerful flight ability, no need to mash the button to fly or float - makes it much easier to spin while floating, can spin attack underwater)) Unlock alternate paths on the hub world by finding hidden exits and unlocking them with keys found in the levels Various gameplay innovations (spin jump (destroy blocks from above and bounce on most of the otherwise lethal enemies, run up walls using the pink corner stones, the switch palaces - find large "!" blocks and stomp on them to activate special blocks in levels (these bridge gaps between platforms or fill in pits, double jump via Yoshi, twin layered gameplay (the fences), new block types, carry P-blocks and springs, minor stealth (the sleeping fish), controllable coin trail power up (a growing 'snake' of coins), the off/on switches connected to platform trails, baby Yoshi rescue and feeding (grows into a full Yoshi with some minor special ability), get shot out of pipes like they're cannons, ride on dolphins (Vanilla secret path), ride Lakitu clouds (pretty useless but still) D inosaur mount (Yoshi eats, carries, spits, flies and stomps enemies) Phew! what a load of pointless rules, oh well lets get on to the games.Super Mario World (SNES, 1990) - Hop 'n Bop Platformer/Semi-Platform Adventure My criteria are as follows - must have multi-directional firing, must have a higher emphasis on shooting than platforming, must have an element of powering up and improving weapons, must have a fairly linear level structure with no backtracking, there can be a very small element of puzzle solving but it must be non-intrusive and must not disrupt the flow of the game. Strangely enough after I set out to make this feature I found it difficult to pin down a clear definition of the genre anywhere, everyone seems to disagree on what does and doesn't constitute a Run N' Gun, so after a while I realised that I was going to have to try to work out a clear criteria myself based on what's generally agreed on. ![]() Run N' Gun games, some of the most intense, exciting, and just plain difficult games out there, masses of enemies, explosions, big guns and even bigger giant robot/monster boss battles are the order of the day here.
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