Many gamers have always wondered what comes next after beating a game. For years, players have taken it upon themselves to reinvent their favorite titles and have come up with new playstyles and rules to experience them in a whole new way. Randomizers and Pokemon Nuzlockes are some famous examples, but some Super Mario World fans may have started the latest trend by recreating the game from memory.
Super Mario World is one of Mario's most memorable adventures for many reasons, such as it being the plumber's first adventure on the SNES and the first game to feature Yoshi, and it serves as one of the many games fans constantly try to reinvent in order to experience what it was like to play it for the first time all over again.
A group of talented fans on SMWCentral took it upon themselves to re-create the game's levels and maps with only their memory as reference. The team used the in-game sprites, but also used the SoundFont of the game to recreate the music. The result is described as "thoroughly unsettling" in the description, while also declaring it to be a "testament to the fallibility of human memory."
Those who have tried this version of SMW out have agreed that it truly is unsettling, as some levels are similar beyond just one or two details, whereas others are made harder by faulty, confusing level design. Some levels are made easier, while others borrow from late-game levels far too early, creating a rather interesting difficulty curve. The music is also off by only slight differences, but there are cases like with the Athletics theme where suddenly the music is in the completely wrong key.
Overall, as unsettling and close to the "uncanny valley" as this version of the game is said to be, many fans have seemed to enjoy it, saying that it should be given to people such as speedrunners without knowing what it is to see how it affects their playthroughs. Other fans have said that this should be the next big thing after randomizing titles, with one suggesting that The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past would be absolutely chaotic if rebuilt with this method.
The efforts by these fans also most definitely serve as a message when it comes to video game nostalgia, as well. While some players have found the game recreated from memory fun and hilarious, others have stopped entire runs from how the level design differs in almost painful ways. With how Super Mario World is seen as a classic by many, the fact that even the most loyal players remember it in unexpected ways almost says something prominent in itself.
Super Mario World is available through Nintendo Switch Online.
Source: SMWCentral.net