Fight! Mario Bros 3 vs. Super Mario World
Wednesday, November 12th, 2008 at 3:36pm by Blake
Something’s been on my mind lately. I can’t decide which old school Mario game I like better: the innovative Super Mario Bros. 3 for NES or the more refined and graphically-delicious Super Mario World for SNES. Help me, Infendo. You’re my only hope.
Which is better?
November 12th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
SMB3 all the way
go tanooki mario
November 12th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
People be honest and vote unbiased, truthful, and real.
Super Mario Bros. 3 for me.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Super Mario Bros 3. No contest. All about the tanooki (although the hammer suit was pretty freakin’ cool, too). As sweet as the eye-candy of Super Mario World was (beautiful today as it was then), it wouldn’t have even existed without the genius and innovations of Mario 3. Without a doubt Super Mario Bros. 3 is the greatest 8-bit game ever made, and to this day remains an unshakable pillar and benchmark of game design. Super Mario World actually over-complicated many of the pure and refined simplicities of Mario 3, creating an, albeit rather beautiful looking, but very convoluted platformer.
Besides, how can you compete with what was probably the largest and greatest marketing campaign in the history of video games?
November 12th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Whenever I talk to people about the old Mario games, it seems like they favor SMB3, but I really think SMW is the superior game. SMW didn’t have the same quirkyness of some parts of 3, but the mechanics were greatly refined and the entire game was a more even, enjoyable experience.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
And one more thing……..
I hate Yoshi.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
smb3 all the way
November 12th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
i liked world since you could stop playing it at any point and save. whereas 3 you had to play all the way through, or leave your system on.
Super mario world
November 12th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
SMW
November 12th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
They’re both GBA or WiiWare games for me, since I never played either one back in the day (being an Amiga and PC gamer by the time they came out.) SMW is a lot prettier and just feels better to me, but I think SMB3 might still have the edge for variety.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
SMB3 is more innovative, but SMW hold more secrets to uncover… and I love secrets. They are different games, both wonderful and worth playing. If forced to choose, SMW gets my vote.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
This is just asking for trouble…
Anyways I voted mario 3
November 12th, 2008 at 5:32 pm
3 is a great game. In fact I’m pretty sure most Mario fans love both games. But SMW has the perfect Mario “feel” for me. It’s exactly how I envision a Mario game. The music is catchy and upbeat, and that helps. It also brings back many fond memories (though so does SMB3).
November 12th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Super Mario Bros. 3 had the cool factor. Kids wet their pants at the mere thought of buying, renting, borrowing, or even sort-of-kinda knowing someone who owned a copy of Mario 3 when it came out. The hype was so great and the game delivered. Even today, the box art commands great respect and admiration.
Mario World is just as great, if not better, in terms of gameplay and innovations. Being built for a 16-bit system gives it a natural advantage in some regards. But, it also show just how great an accomplishment Mario 3 was on an 8-bit system.
Edge: Super Mario Bros. 3
November 12th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I still think SMW is more fun.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Anyone who says Mario 3 in un-American.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Super Mario World. I played it on my cousin’s Super Nintendo and was the best thing. I own Super Mario Bros. 3 for NES, and Super Mario Advance 2 and 4 for the GBA, and SMA4(SMB3 remake) looks way better than NES version and you can save, so i like it a little more.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
smb3. for sure.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
LET’S GO SMB3.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
My vote goes to Super Mario Bros. 3 here. I mean, it may not have been long as Super Mario World, but the game delivered in a way where can you get 3 new Power-Ups such as the Frog Suit, Tanooki Suit & my personal fav., the Hammer Suit. Plus that one level in World 5 where you can use that Kuribi Shoe. Besides SMB 3 opened up new ideas and possibilites for further Mario games to come like Super Mario World and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island, and many othe Mario games. Go Mario 3!
November 12th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I would hate to see the Mario community divided on this topic but my favourite is definitely Super Mario World.
While I wouldn’t exactly call it graphically “delicious” (lest we forget that Sonic the Hedgehog was released the same year, on a less powerful system. Now -there- is a game that is graphically “delicious”) it featured a vast, vibrant overworld that you could explore at any time, replayable levels, classic characters such as Yoshi, Banzai Bill, Monty Mole, and others. The game also had an enormous amount of levels, secrets, and tricks at your disposal.
I voted SMW.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Super Mario World gets my vote, but it’s pretty much one of my top games of all time, anyway. And it’s currently ahead! Woo hoo!
November 12th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Super Mario World, by far. I’d explain why, but most of the comments [where they voted for SMW] echo my sentiments.
November 12th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
What? You guys put Super Mario World ahead of Super Mario Bros. 3? That’s just not right. Super Mario World is wonderful, but Super Mario Bros. 3 is pure genius.
November 12th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
You know, I remember the hype leading up to SM3. All the kids were buzzing about it, and when you finally got a copy. You played it until you were forced to stop.
But when SMW came out, I was too blown away (and still am) by everything that it is.
SMW for the win!
November 13th, 2008 at 12:57 am
It’s a huge toss-up, but I just have to go with Super Mario World on this one.
Yes, each game had their own share of secrets - but SMW went beyond expectations - even at the time I found the Special Stages - that was completely unexpected: a secret stage inside of a secret stage? Wow.
SMB3 was really awesome, yeah. Finding the hidden whistles and using them to warp to the last level was a pretty awesome thing as well - you can do a speed run in about 15 minutes if the trick is pulled off correctly.
Yoshi isn’t the deciding factor on my decision. It’s the secrets and level designs. Level designs were amazing - grab onto a fence, press a button and you rotate 180 degrees so you see Mario’s face, AND you can move up and down. Completely new for the SNES era back then.
Super Mario World is the winner in my humble opinion.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Super Mario World. They’re both great, but I just enjoyed World better. I also really didn’t much care for the washed out color palettes in SMB3. SMB and SMB2 were so bright and colorful. SMB3’s colors were really dull in comparison. There wasn’t much vibrancy…especially compared to Super Mario World.
Plus, SMW is still THE Mario game in my mind, even though I’ve been playing games since Mario was only in arcades. When I think of a Mario game, SMW is the game I see in my mind’s eye.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:07 am
If you take into account the fact that SMB3 is a NES game, it’s a lot more impressive to me, it plays so well and came so far from the original SMB and added so much! then again, SMW added all the secrets and refinements and even yoshi.
I’m still gonna go with SMB3, I’ve got so many hours of fun out of that game, although I think SMW is a superior game as far as games go, I’ve played SMB3 so much more and got so much more out of it.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Super Mario World because it took something great and made it awesome. But maybe I’m biased as I played SMB3 before it but SMW was the first game I ever owned (and the first time my dad actually played with me on a console.)
I just find the game overall to play better, the overworld with its multiple branches and hidden secrets that open non-obvious paths are great. Plus, you can’t beat the Special World and the “prize” you get once you beat it completely (Mario headed Koopa Troopas anyone?).
SMB3 I can still play a bit, but I DON’T get tired of playing SMW.
November 13th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Super Mario Bros 3, Frog Suit Mario!
November 13th, 2008 at 9:38 am
SMB3, without any doubt. This game sent videogames to a new level, in a way we’ll never see again. My favorite game of all time, in fact.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:47 am
i had all the mario games back then, but i grew up the most with super mario world. ftw.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:47 am
ooo- gotta agree with samfish’s color comment… but ifrstOne is more righter, smb3 took gaming ahead in a leap rarely seen.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I have to give the SMB3 folks credit, they seem a little more passionate about their fight.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Having played through both earlier this year on the DS GBA cart, I’d give 3 the slight edge for being ingeniously varied.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Without Mario World OUR World knows nothing of Yoshi, and that my friends, is a world not worth living in.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
it must have been on my mind too, yesterday i was curious to know which had more ‘fans’ on Facebook
SMB 3: 154,186
SMW: 25,481
i was suprised, i thought SMW would have more
November 13th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Mario Galaxy has 39,022 by the way. The Lost Vikings has only 49.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I’m sorry - is this some kind of lame joke?
SMW is so much better than SMB3 in every way it’s not even funny.
And Lord save us from the facebook crowd - what do these guys know about video games anyway?.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
“3″ is the first game I remember every having played in my entire life (I was very very very little), and it still remains fun to this day. Plus, it introduced Bowser’s 7 kids, the Koopalings (collectively some of my favorite Big N characters ever). Oh, and don’t forget the wonderful suit mechanic.
“World” doesn’t have the distinction of being my first, but it does share the fact that it’s still an absolute blast to play. And it’s also the only other Mario proper that features the 7 Koopalings, if I’m not mistaken (there were a few others that had them, but they weren’t in the proper of the series), so that’s a total bonus.
Ultimately, I choose “3,” not only for sentimental reasons but because I feel that it sets up a more interesting art style and it’s a fantastic game. But I love both of them.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
un-votable. both came out at perfect times in my life and i love both equally. don’t make us choose…
November 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I think the voting public has spoken. SMW all the way.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Oh, come ON! Both games are Nintendo gems, but SMB3 is the better game! Think about all the different worlds / types of levels. I know that SMW had its fair share of terrains, but the BIG world in “3″ was so awesome! And all of the suits… you can’t get that anywhere else!
It’s not as though SMW doesn’t come close - but if you HAVE to choose which is the overall better game (ESPECIALLY when you consider the time period for each), SMB3 wins single-handedly. It’s kind of like why Super Mario 64 gets a higher score than Galaxy — Galaxy perfects everything and does some innovating of its own, but 64 is the innovator. So, too, is SMB3, making it the better game!
November 13th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Plus- the box art of SMB3? It’s bliss.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
They are both so amazing, but I voted Super Mario World because you said NES SMB 3, Which looks like crap.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
So many comments for SMB 3, but why is SMW winning? boo.