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Super Mario World for the SNES sits at or near the top of most "best videogame" lists for a reason. At the time of its release it was a dramatic evolution of the side-scrolling Mario series of action-adventure games, incorporating every gameplay element that worked in the older titles while adding a seemingly endless supply of new tricks. This new feature-complete version for the Game Boy Advance proves just how timeless designer Shigeru Miyamoto's 1990 classic really is.

In true Miyamoto fashion, the game starts with simple running and jumping and gradually gets more complex. Soon you're swimming, flying, tossing fireballs, and riding one of several Yoshis--cute little dinosaurs--that appear throughout the game. The overall level design has yet to be exceeded in a 2-D platformer, with each colourful level packed with enough secrets to keep players busy for weeks. A lot of precision jumping is required, but the controls are so tight that directing Mario (or even Luigi, who wasn't playable in the original) becomes as natural as breathing within a few minutes of playing.

As if packing the entire original game onto the tiny cartridge wasn't enough, Nintendo have also included two multiplayer versions of the original Mario Bros, which are playable solo or with up to three other people using Game Link cables to connect all your Game Boy Advance systems. Both variants are a blast, but the single-player adventure is what kept us coming back for more. If you missed Super Mario World when it appeared for the SNES, don't make the same mistake twice. --T Byrl Baker