Introduction

This is a post I've been wanting to make for a really long time, but always felt it would be too much of an undertaking, so I've procrastinated on it.

When it comes to the best games on the 16-bit SNES, two games are always present in the discussion: Super Mario World and Mega Man X. Truthfully, Super Mario World usually takes the cake, and is widely considered to be one of the very best games ever made. Mega Man X has its fans and loyal followers - yours truly being one of them - so I went into this with the mentality of defending Mega Man X, but I'm also open to the idea of our Italian plumber going out on top. I intend to stay objective.

I recently finished Super Mario World and Mega Man X on the SNES, back to back, in preparation for this so I have a fresh perspective on both games. I also wanted to find something else to do than to watch the crypto massacre that is going on.

Today, we are here to find out which game truly is the better 16-bit platformer.

Let's not depress about the markets, and instead talk about something that actually matters, which is video games, shall we?

Both of these games have a special place in my childhood, so I try to handle them with care.

I remember getting the SNES for Christmas back in the early 90s, and it came bundled with Super Mario Allstars, which included 16-bit remakes of the first three Mario games from the NES, as well as the original Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, now titled Lost Levels.

On top of this, my parents got me Super Mario World, which was the SNES exclusive Mario game.

I had a great time with the Allstars package, and I do consider Super Mario Bros. 3 to be the best Mario game overall, but I was most excited about getting to play Mario's actual jump to the 16-bit generation, Super Mario World.

Even though I enjoy Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World was still a fantastic game and remains as such to this day.

It was a while later when I first got Mega Man X, and actually didn't own it for a long time, and instead rented it regularly for a weekend. Remember when renting games was a thing? Those were the good ole days.

I've talked in the past about Mega Man X hitting all the high notes just right, and how it is my favorite game of all time, so I don't want to repeat myself too much. For my more in-depth thoughts of Mega Man X, you can read my full review. But suffice to say I fell in love with it instantly, obsessed over it, came up with new ways to beat it every time I played, and never stopped having fun with it.

But since the consensus is that Super Mario World is the best 16-bit video game, let's see if there's something I'm missing.

Gameplay

The two games are similar in the sense that they were jumps to the 16-bit generation by franchises that had a rich history in the 8-bit generation that came before.

So both games had a lot to prove, and a need to take advantage of the new hardware available.

Both games also share a lot of similarities with the previous games in the series, so in both cases it was like visiting an old, but changed friend; you immediately felt at home, but things were different enough to make the experience fresh.

Super Mario World takes a lot from Super Mario Bros. 3, in the sense that you have an overworld map that allows you to freely choose how to proceed and which levels to complete in what order.

But unlike in Super Mario Bros. 3, in Super Mario World, levels can be revisited - and this is actually necessary in order to "100% the game.

Being able to freely choose the order in which to beat the levels in a game was something that was first introduced in the original Mega Man series like I've pointed out in my Mega Man series.

Mega Man X naturally followed this tradition, as well.

Both games have a lot of secrets to find, but since Super Mario World has a lot more levels to choose from, it also has more secrets to discover.

In terms of versatility, overall, Super Mario World is the winner between the two. Mega Man X has fantastic level design and diverse, distinct stages to play through but loses in the sheer amount of levels to try.

Quality can be more important than quantity, however, and it's fair to say that some levels in Super Mario World can be considered filler. Filler that never fails to be entertaining, though, mind you.

But still. Mega Man X is a tighter package when it comes to the levels.

So, it's a quality vs. quantity thing, which comes down to personal taste.

Super Mario World does have more to do in each stage, however, due to its more multifaceted gameplay mechanics.

Mega Man X is a run and shoot platformer where you mostly, well, run and shoot. You sprint through the levels and wreck stuff that gets in your way.

Super Mario World offers a number of ways to proceed through the levels; while it did drop the myriad of upgrades Mario could collect during Mario 3, it retained the flying ability introduced in the previous game, now in the form of a feather that would grant Mario a cape.

Unlike the Tanooki suit in Mario 3, the cape in Super Mario World would actually allow infinite flying if handled correctly. It can be tricky to do, though, so it's not exactly game breaking.

In addition to the cape, the classic fireflower is also there, of course.

But the most significant change introduced in Super Mario World was the introduction of his dinosaur buddy, Yoshi.

Yoshi is one of my favorite Nintendo characters of all time, and I have a lot of fond memories of it, so there's nostalgia involved here.

If found, Mario could ride Yoshi, which would serve as one more upgrade for Mario, and grant him invincibility as long as Yoshi was being ridden. Yoshi would get scared and run away upon a hit by an enemy, though. Mario could then attempt to catch him again if he was quick enough.

The game featured several Yoshis with the green one being the standard one, but also a blue, red and yellow Yoshi, all of which would have their own unique abilities.

The inclusion of Yoshi would give the player more ways of completing levels, keeping the game interesting, even if some of the levels would be repetitive filler from time to time.

Mega Man X would also offer collectibles and upgrades, in the form of armor parts and special weapons. But these improvements wouldn't truly shine until later on in the series.

Whereas Mega Man X would offer eight initial stages to choose from, followed by a set of final stages, Super Mario World would feature several different worlds to travel through, just like its predecessor.

Mega Man X scores a blow in one essential aspect, however: the overall controls.

Super Mario games have always been outstanding in terms of their controls, but there is something about how the SNES Mega Man X games were designed that just makes them stand head and shoulders above any game in existence.

Mega Man X does exactly what you want, when you want. Nothing more, nothing less. Mario is always just a tad bit sloppy and slippery. It takes a slight amount of skill and getting used to to have Mario land the way you want him to land. The aforementioned isn't a design flaw, per se, but instead a conscious design choice, but I do prefer the tight controls that Mega Man X offers, personally.

Mega Man X manages to be perfect in the sense that it's easy to pick up, but hard to master. Super Mario World is always a bit more challenging to pick up after a long layoff. You always need to get used to the mechanics all over again. Playing through Mega Man X causes less frustration due to unfairness, and that's a big victory for the 16-bit blue bomber.

Super Mario World is the longer game by a country mile. More levels to beat, more secrets to find out and more worlds to discover. I can finish Mega Man X is just under an hour these days, Super Mario World took me a few days. This was also caused by the fact that I'm simply better at Mega Man X, and kept dying in Super Mario World.

So, who's the winner in the gameplay department? I'd like to split this into a few categories.

• Level Design: Super Mario World
• Diversity: Super Mario World
• Length: Super Mario World
• Controls: Mega Man X

It looks like Super Mario World is the superior game in three out of these four categories, but why do I still feel the need to give the overall edge to Mega Man X?

It probably comes down to the fact that Mega Man X simply frustrates me less. That's not to say Super Mario World is not a tremendous game, it is, and it's not to say that Mega Man X is just easier, because it sure does take a lot to master it, but the tightness of the controls in Mega Man X, as well as the lack of sidescrolling levels pitfalls, does make me consider Mega Man X to be the more fun game.

It's a close call, both games have their strengths here, but if you put a gun in my head and told me to choose a game out of these two to replay right now, I'd pick Mega Man X.

Overall winner: Mega Man X

Graphics

Super Mario Bros. 3 was an absolutely impressive outing on the 8-bit NES.

When you compare Super Mario Bros. 3 to the classic Mega Man series, there's zero doubt that Mario was the better-designed game. Not in terms of gameplay, but in terms of taking advantage of the hardware.

It's a common argument among retro gamers that Super Mario World could have been made for the NES since it didn't take full advantage of the 16-bit SNES, but this is simply not factual.

I'm saying this as someone who has spent a significant portion of his life rom hacking a lot of games from this era, including games for both the NES and the SNES, and I understand the technology involved well enough to be able to say that Super Mario World could not have been made for the NES.

Super Mario World takes advantage of the improved color palette that the SNES was able to offer, as well as place more sprites on screen at once than the NES could have been able to handle.

Even the classic Mega Man games struggled with screen flickering with fewer sprites on screen than Mario 3 had. There were actually a lot of gum fixes involved in the early Mega Man games.

When it comes to understanding the hardware and utilizing it fully, naturally the Mario games will shine, for obvious reasons.

As much as I do love Mega Man X, the battle of the graphics is easily won by Super Mario World.

More vibrant colors, better animations, more attention to details, more animated backgrounds, you name it. Very few SNES can beat Super Mario World in the graphics department.

Mega Man X's levels are more rigid and industrial, with quite a lot of grey, as well as darker colors overall. It doesn't push the SNES to its limits. In fairness, neither does Super Mario World, but with what it has to play with, it simply does a better job.

The sprites are also larger in Super Mario World.

Sure, it should be pointed out that the two games offer two vastly different worlds with Mega Man X being a more mature world that is almost post-apocalyptic, whereas the world in Super Mario is a more cartoony and childish one, so personal preferences do come into play here.

But with that said; still, I do have to name Super Mario World as the winner when it comes to the look of the game.

Winner: Super Mario World

Music

If Super Mario is the clear winner in how the game looks, Mega Man X is the clear winner in how the game sounds.

The two soundtracks are very different, and they attempt to accomplish different things. Just like with the graphics, Mario is more cartoony and upbeat; Mega Man X kicks your ass with its industrial heavy metal tunes.

I've gone on before about how Mega Man X's soundtrack always pumps me up and gets me ready to wreck some robots. Every tune of the soundtrack is perfect, every theme fits its stage perfectly, and I have nothing bad to say about the overall soundtrack of Mega Man X.

Super Mario World's soundtrack is also fantastic but in a different way. It doesn't pump you up, per se, but it just sets a fun mood for the stages. Again: they intend to accomplish different things.

Something to note, too, is that Super Mario World repeats a lot of the same themes across the stages; Mega Man X has a unique tune for each level, so it offers a lot more variety.

The level of quality of the first Mega Man X soundtrack would not be seen again in the Mega Man series, so it's a unique gem.

I can listen to the X soundtrack outside of playing any day, but the Super Mario soundtrack only works within the game itself.

I remember the soundtrack being a big reason why I asked for my mom to rent me Mega Man X for the gazillionth time back in the day. These were the days before YouTube and Apple Music, so the only way to listen to the soundtrack was to, well, play the game.

So, sorry, Mario, but when it comes to rocking those guitar riffs, Mega Man X has you beat easily.

Winner: Mega Man X

Overall

This is the tricky part, right here.

Having played through the games back to back, I'll try to compare my experiences in the most objective way possible.

To get it out of the way, yes, I had more fun with Mega Man X, but with X being my favorite game of all time anyway, which results in me better at it obviously, I'm biased.

It had, however, been a while since I had finished Super Mario World, so the experience was a lot more fresh than beating Mega Man X once more.

Super Mario World had a lot more going for it than I remembered, and it does feel like more of a grand adventure with the multiple worlds, more varied settings, secret areas, various exits within selected stages, et cetera, et cetera.

The inclusion of Yoshi is a great thing in Super Mario World, too, and adds to the multitude of ways the player can choose to approach the game.

Mega Man X is a fast-paced game; Super Mario World is more of a skill-based game. That said, the stages in Mega Man X are all so, so, so meticulously and skillfully crafted, the challenge is fair, and most importantly, it's always your fault if you die. No exceptions. Super Mario World can be more unfair to the player and not every death is your fault.

In the end, though, Super Mario World does give you more. It just has more of everything. From the number of levels to the secrets and power-ups, it's a bigger and more vast world. For more value for your dollar, Super Mario World is the clear winner.

For me, though, the expertise in the level design and the mastering of the controls in X put it above Super Mario World. Yes, the game is shorter and has less stuff in it, but what's there is so close to perfection that it almost doesn't matter.

Is Super Mario World overrated, then? Nah, I wouldn't say that. It's hard to overrate a game as good as that, but I do think that when discussing the best SNES game of all time, a lot of people tend to overlook Mega Man X, and that's a shame.

But, even though I will always have more fun with Mega Man X due to my never dying love for the game, I can understand why a lot of people may prefer Super Mario World.

It's a bigger, longer experience with more to explore.

Mega Man X is just the better game.