Super Mario World SNES and GBA comparisons

The Manual:

-The GBA port of Super Mario World’s manual rewords the story found in the original manual. The original explicitly states that SMW takes places after SMB3.

-The original exposes the Mario bros as slackers. It states that they went to sleep when Peach disappeared. The GBA version omits that. In the original, Yoshi calls the turtles monstrous. This is omitted in GBA, I guess the Koopas weren’t so big after all. The next line of dialogue in the original is spoken by Luigi and Mario nods in agreement. The GBA version makes this sound like normal narration and never mentions Mario or Luigi’s response to Yoshi. The Koopalings are called the “Krazy Koopa Kritters” but the GBA calls them “henchmen”. The GBA version ends there, but the original goes on to have Yoshi first introduce the Cape to Mario and the narration explains some game details involving exploration. The map and enemy list isn’t in the GBA manual but rather a separate foldout paper and the descriptions are changed. Let’s move on to that.

Characters/ Denizens in/of Dinosaur Land The SNES original has this in the manual under “Characters in Dinosaur Land”, the GBA remake has it in a separate mini poster titled “Denizens of Dinosaur Land” which also has the map on the backside. Interestingly, the enemy descriptions are rewritten.

• Koopa: Called Koopa Troopa on GBA. The original refers to them making everything “bleak” when they appear, a curious descriptor. Both versions warn about invincible yellow shelled variants but only the GBA all mentions the colors that can be found.
• Super Koopa: The original is more wordy but otherwise they give similar descriptions.
• Jumpin’ Piranha plants: GBA version makes them more dangerous and is the only one that mentions “spitting seeds”. The SNES original warns of a tropical plant version of a “Volcano Plant”. (I presume the variants that spit the fireballs)
• Goomba: Both say the same thing. Jump on it once to flip it over and then they become throwable. The original is less wordy about it however and the GBA has Goomba as plural. In fact, that’s the case for all of the enemies listed in the GBA version.
• Monty Mole: The original is very brief and to the point. The GBA version makes it more wordy, mentions them “terrorizing the Mario Bros” and saying that the giant ones underground are a rumor, whereas the original just states it as a fact.
• Boo buddies and Big Boo: The original references SMB3 (though those were Boo Diddlys) and mentions that looking at them makes them “act shy and turn away”. It also calls them cute but dangerous. The GBA version omits that SMB3 reference and calls them “fierce” in one sentence and “cute” in another. It implies embarrassment instead of shyness being their issue.
• Eeries: This enemy is plural in both versions. They say mostly the same things but the original takes a dramatic approach (saying things like “ohhhh what a ghastly spook it is!”) while the remake stays more objective. Notably, the term “spook” is removed from the GBA’s description for reasons you can probably guess.
• Rip Van Fish: Both versions say most of the same things.
• Urchin: Both mention how they aren’t fast but only the GBA version mentions that they move in a pattern. Both also warn to not get hit.
• Dolphin: Completely different descriptions aside from both pointing out that they help Mario cross water. The original calls them “a useful shoal of dolphin look alikes” and the GBA “aquatic speedsters”.
• Rex: Completely different descriptions aside from mentioning that the have to be stomped twice. The original points out that this is the kind of enemy you’d expect on Dinosaur Land (which is not capitalized strangely) and notably speaks in first person regarding if they can fly or not. The GBA is far less wordy and jumps to the point on how to defeat them. Still though, it also doesn’t say with absolute certainly whether they can fly or not!
• Mini-Rhino/ Dino Rhino: Both are similar mentioning that they are found on Chocolate Island and that the mini ones breath fire. The GBA warns you to be careful.
• Bob-omb: Mostly the same but the GBA is more wordy about essentially the same info. They explode into damage dealing stars (so apparently the actual explosion isn't the issue, just the stars that come out) and that they may drop from parachutes.
• Thwomp: Completely different descriptions. The original calls them “nasty stone ghosts”, a description I’ve never seen before and mentions that “if you don’t pass him, you can’t go on” which seems a bit obvious. The GBA just calls them guardians that attempt to crush and trap Mario, nothing weird there.
• Wiggler: Both mention they are found in the forest but only the GBA version says the full name of the Forest of Illusion. They are “quiet” in the original and “docile” in the GBA. The original advises you to “treat Wiggler with respect” but the GBA “on their good side”.
• Magikoopa: Oddly very similar descriptions that even use some of the same phrases like them being “tough customers”.
• Sumo Brother: Similar regarding abilities though they are only “strange fellows” in the original. Both mention karate as well.
• Chargin’ Chuck: Both mention how they tend to be near goals (though that’s not always the case in the game). The original calls their attacks “bull-headed” and only the GBA mentions their “persistence” (aka, these guys actively follow you).
• The Koopalings and Bowser: The original gives us their pictures but has no descriptions for them. The GBA does however but there's nothing that isn’t obvious.

Maps: (click for bigger images)

Gameplay mechanics:

In General: You take one less hit compared to the SNES version. This is like the US version of Super Mario Bros 3 or any modern Mario platformer where you take one stage of damage by enemies. The original game and the All-Stars version take the Japanese SMB3 approach where any hit makes you 'small Mario' regardless of the power up you had. Having this extra hit certainly counts during certain sections of the game. It also has the unintentional benefit in that your reserve item will not be automatically deployed after a single hit, an annoyance in the original when you perhaps wanted to be small and then use an item later. You have a score page accessible via 'select button' to keep up with all the level exits you've found, dragon coins, and which bother you beat the level with. There are more dragon coins in this game.

Controls: The control scheme of the games differ so I’ll be brief. The GBA has less buttons so one shoulder button does the spin jump and the other scrolls the camera. Other than that the games don’t feel that different direct movement wise. The original calls it ‘Special Mario Controls’ but the GBA ‘Special Plumber Power’. Both have a chart of how power up affect Mario but only GBA shows how the damage works. This is a justified because in the original one hit turns you into small Mario regardless of what you had. The GBA is a little abridged in other areas, with no mention of Keyholes, Star road, or Switch Palaces, but it does cover additional items and blocks. Jumping board from SNES becomes Trampoline in GBA. Yoshi’s Wings make you ‘fly’ in SNES but ‘warp’ in GBA, which is more accurate actually. (These are referring to the yoshi wings that take you to a bonus area as opposed to the blue shell powerup kind). Switch blocks/ P-Switches are only mentioned turning blocks into coins in GBA whereas SNES mentions ‘objects’ which spoils the fact that silver variants transform enemies. Because Luigi has his own characteristics, the GBA version has a short ‘Luigi Lore’ part. He controls very floaty now, but also affects how Yoshi behaves, coin blocks, fireballs, etc. They went out of their way for it to be more than just a palette swap.

Multiplayer: The GBA version has the Mario Bros arcade battle minigame like the Mario Advance games has. The SNES version has a two player mode for the main game where the player cycles between Mario and Luigi. The GBA lacks this but you can swap Mario or Luigi on the map screen.

Saving the game: Gets its own section because it’s pretty big. The SNES has a battery backup which is great because without shortcuts this game can need it. In the original you save by beating a fortress or a ghost house or a switch palace. You can replay some of those to save again but you cannot save otherwise. The GBA is a portable game and revamps this like other games in the Mario Advance series. You can save anytime, even in the middle of a level though you’ll start outside the level. Very convenient.

Visuals and Sound: The sound takes a downgrade due to hardware restraints. There is now voice acting however for Mario and Luigi. The gamefaqs linked can go further with that. Because the original GBA does not have backlight, the colors are very bright. Of note Luigi's sprite differs but this distinction actually came from the All-Stars rerelease of SMW. With all of that said, the sprites are still a little different! See below..

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