Super Mario World

Super Mario World

Platformer

Nintendo, 1991

After their heroic escapades in the Mushroom Kingdom in their previous games, Mario and Luigi take a holiday in 'Dinosaur Land'. While napping, Princess Toadstool went missing (typical...). While searching for her, they came across a giant egg in the forest. The egg hatched, with a strange dinosaur - Yoshi - emerging. He told the plumbers of the sad fate of all the other yoshis: sealed up in eggs across the land. The duo set off to rescue Princess Toadstool and the yoshis from incarceration at the hands of Bowser and his minions. Mario world was a launch game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1991, under the watchful eye of its creator - the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto.

Notable Archetypes

The Hero - Mario

Mario is a force for freedom in Dinosaur Land. He is the embodiment of its inhabitants' will, acting on their behalf.

The Herald - Yoshi

Yoshi is the first inhabitant of Dinosaur Land that Mario meets, and fills him in on the details of Bowser's evil.

The Shadow - Bowser

Bowser is a dictator-like figure, residing in a huge castle in his own dark, twisted area. The spiritual differences between him and Mario - good / evil, agility / brute strength, quick wit / cunning, are shown visually through character design and size, through narrative by Mario's long and exciting journey to reach the static and powerful tyrant king, and through ludological elements such as character speed and strength.

The Dragon Forces - The Koopa Family

Headed by Bowser, the suitably reptilian family are in control of Dinosaur Land (the game world), with each major area being controlled by a family member, secure in a perilous castle. Smaller ‘fortresses’ watch over smaller areas.

The Departure

The Call to Adventure - 10

"Monsterous turtles!," exclaimed Luigi. "Bowser and his bunch have returned!" Mario slowly nodded his head in agreement and, along with Luigi and Yoshi, set off across Dinosaur Land to find the Princess and to free Yoshi's friends. As they began their journey, Yoshi handed Mario a beautiful cape. "This may help you," Yoshi said. "Some say it has magical powers."

Excerpt from the Super Mario World manual.

Refusal of the Call - 0

Supernatural Aid - 0

The above excerpt reveals a narrative device not employed in the game - Yoshi as Supernatural Aid. For gameplay reasons, the cape was not given to Mario until much later in the game, to drip-feed more and more powerful items to the player as his journey's difficulty increased. If the game had followed this narrative device, it would have a very strong Supernatural Aid stage. Alas, gameplay was prioritised.

The Crossing of the First Threshold - 8

After defeating the boss of the relatively easy and small first ‘world’, and symbolically destroying his castle, Mario leaves for the large and dangerous ‘Donut Plains’. More important than moving away from the starting Island (which is dangerous in its own right) is the vanquishing of one of the Koopa family, a bastion of Bowser’s power. This defeat of one of Bowser’s tendrils of control frees the first game area from his tyranny.

The Belly of the Whale - 7

A secret area, the Star World, serves as a shortcut between areas. Once found, the Star Road's seven levels are beaten one by one until a complete star-shaped circuit is created. Each point of this star is a warp point to another area. Character growth is hard to display in a platformer, but once this simplistic Belly of the Whale is finished, Mario has access to more of the game world. The player gains from the character's journey through the belly.

Initiation

The Road of Trials - 8

The Star Road doubles as The Road of Trials, with each of the five levels acting as a trial, and the completion of each leading to a new 'Star Road', a portal to one of the game areas, saving the player lots of walking.

The Meeting with the Goddess - 0

Woman as the Temptress - 0

Atonement with the Father - 3

Although not a father figure, Mario atones when his duties are completed, and the weight of Bowser is lifted from Dinosaur Land, and he is reunited with the princess.

Apotheosis (Out of sequence) - 5

The transformation of the game world's colour palette and enemy sprites indicates, to the player, Mario's Apotheosis in the simplest terms possible. Showing the game in a less serious light (some enemies wearing Mario masks, for example) accentuates Mario's mastery of Dinosaur Land.

The Ultimate Boon - N/A

Return

Refusal of the Return N/A

The magic Flight - 3

Upon defeating Bowser, Mario and the yoshis are shown walking across (small parts of) previously completed levels on their way back to Yoshi's house. The weakness of this section is due to the total lack of danger, since Bowser and his Koopa cohorts have already been defeated.

Rescue from Without - N/A

The Crossing of the Return Threshold

Mario and the rescued yoshis return to the game's starting location upon completion of the game. This is a very typical and strong implementation of the Hero's Journey.

Master of the Two Worlds

With Dinosaur Land safe, and its enemies vanquished, their castles ruined, Mario is free to wander the world; a hero to the yoshis, and master of his enemies. The game shows this to the player by its modified colour palette and enemy sprites after completion of the Star World. The player is rewarded for his skill, shown the game as it's not seen to lesser players. The new, modified world becomes the 'second' world, after the first is mastered.

Freedom to Live

Or in this case, the Freedom to Find All 96 Exits. After the game is won in a narrative sense, the player (as master of the world) has to find and complete all of the game's levels to truly beat it.

Conclusion

A platform game is harder to design as a Hero's Journey than a more character-based game, such as an RPG or adventure. However, the journey stages still exist, represented in pragmatic rather than purely narrative terms. The Hero's spiritual growth from the Belly of the Whale becomes the Hero's increased ease of travel. The Freedom to Live simply gives the player the freedom to explore at his leisure.

An interesting example of the game's narrative taking a backseat to ludology is Bowser's demise. Or total lack of it. After the evil king is defeated and the credits have rolled, returning to his castle will reveal that he is still there, no explanation provided. Allowing the player to repeatedly beat Bowser, for the purposes of pure fun, would be much rarer in a modern game, with the emphasis ever-shifting from ludology to narrative.