Super Mario World

Super Mario World (スーパーマリオワールド Sūpā Mario Wārudo, commonly abbreviated SMW) is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo Co., Ltd. as a pack-in launch title for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It has gone on to become a tremendous critical and commercial success, becoming the best seller for the platform, with 20 million copies sold worldwide.

In Japan, Super Mario World is also known as Super Mario Bros. 4 and it was one of the launch games for the system, along with Pilotwings and F-Zero.

Super Mario rides a Yoshi in one of the first levels of World 1.

The game has been re-released twice, first in a Game Boy Advance version with modified gameplay, as part of the Super Mario Advance series. The second re-release was for the Wii's Virtual Console in North America in 2007; there were no changes from the original SNES version.

Game description

This is a side-scroller as in previous Mario games, and it takes advantage of the Super Nintendo's 16-bit graphics and stereo sound. The game consists of a journey through levels in seven worlds: Yoshi's Island, Donut Plains, Vanilla Dome, Twin Bridges Area (including the Cheese & Butter Bridges and Soda Lake) terminating in Cookie Mountain, Forest of Illusion, Chocolate Island, and the Valley of Bowser. There are also two secret worlds - Star Road and Special Zone (accessed via the Star World) - which can be found by finding a key and a key hole in certain levels. Experienced players can utilise the Star Road to reach the end of the game in only 12 levels.

Screenshot of the first world map. The Yoshi's Island world is shown here.

Super Mario World contains a "world map" screen, which provides a passive overview of all the game's levels; each level is accessed individually from the world map. The concept was previously seen in Super Mario Bros. 3, and World's execution is similar but more elaborate. The game features 72 courses laid out across the seven worlds, and 96 exits (some levels have more than one exit; these levels are usually marked red). Secret exits open up new routes on the overworld map, often leading to secret levels. When a player reaches the completion of the 96 "goals," the beginning screen will display a star next to the number "96" beside the file the goals were completed on. Something to consider, however, is the fact that the game cover states that it contains "96 levels," implying that the number of stages and exits are equal when in reality there are only 72 true levels.

The Yoshis appear in four different colours (green, yellow, red, and blue), each with different abilities. Upon eating a shell of any colour, blue Yoshis can fly, red Yoshis can spit fire, and yellow Yoshis stomp the ground, hurting nearby enemies. A yellow shell that has been entered by a Koopa becomes multicoloured, allowing Yoshis of any colour to fly, stomp, and spit fire all in one. There are also Baby Yoshis in the Star World levels which can be picked up by Mario. After eating five enemies, three berries, or any power-up, they will become a fully grown Yoshi of the same colour.

Changes

Numerous changes were made to the graphics, sound and presentation, as expected when a series moves to a more advanced console with 16-bit gameplay. For example Princess Toadstool (later known as Peach) for the first time is depicted with blonde hair and white gloves, in line with her official character design. Mario is capable of a variety of new moves, including a "spin jump". Mario can pick up and throw items, but is now also able to throw them upwards or set them down gently. In addition to the classic Fire Flower ability to project fireballs, the Cape Feather allows Mario to fly with a cape. He can also use the cape to glide down slowly and thus traverse wide distances while airborne. Conveniently, Mario can receive cape and fire power-ups even when he is regular Mario, eliminating the need to "power-up" to Super Mario first. Mario can also spin jump in this game allowing him to ricochet off of hazardous surfaces, break through blocks (only when "Super"), and destroy enemies he would normally bounce off of; a caped spin jump will cause the cape to hit enemies adjacent to Mario, while a fire spin jump will launch one fireball each to Mario's left and right. Mario can also look straight up, although this ability is not useful in-game, other than controlling "direction coins," coins that move up, down, etc., from blocks. Finally, Super Mario World introduced Yoshi, a dinosaur Mario can ride.

Blocks are almost always a big part of a Mario game. In Super Mario World, one of the new blocks is the yellow block, which spins on its horizontal axis when hit, rendering it temporarily passable, then reverts to its solid state after a few seconds. (To destroy these blocks permanently, Mario must get a Super Mushroom and then spin jump on top of them. Blocks that are not destroyed using this method have items or a vine in them.) There are also blocks which Mario can pick up and throw, but disappear after a few seconds. New red triangular blocks grant Mario the ability to walk on vertical surfaces such as walls or pipes, or can be used as a trampoline when riding on Yoshi.

Enemies hit by fireballs from Fire Mario will turn into coins which can be collected, rather than getting knocked off the screen; the same is true if Yoshi spits out a red Koopa shell (which becomes a trio of fireballs). Koopa Troopas jump out of their shells after being stomped on. Goombas can be picked up and thrown at other enemies like Koopa shells. Paratroopas become regular Koopa Troopas if stomped on. Stomping on the shell-less Koopa will completely defeat it. Once they are completely defeated, they will not reappear if the player returns to that area unless the player exits and then re-enters the level. Additionally, for the first time Bowser does not breathe fire in the game, and uses a machine to attack Mario.

When any powered-up form of Mario gets hit by an enemy, he will revert back to Regular Mario. However, when Super Mario receives another power-up, his previous item is transferred to a "reserve box" at the top of the screen. When he is hit, the item drops down and he can catch it. For example, Fire Mario can interchange with Caped Mario at any time as long as the reserved item is held. However a Super Mushroom will never change Fire or Caped Mario, as he is already "super". Getting hit to the point to Regular Mario or pressing SELECT releases the item in the box.

Super Mario World was the first Mario game to provide the option of exiting a level without losing a life or completing it. This capability is only activated after the player has finished the level at least once. When replaying a level, players can exit to the map screen by pressing the START button to pause the game, then pressing SELECT. It was also the first Mario game to use a visible halfway point marker in levels; if the player is able to activate the marker, and dies or exits the level before reaching the end, they will arrive at the marker's location when re-entering the level. The marker will stay "set" even if the player does not immediately re-enter the level, and will not be reset until that level is completed. The marker will even turn Regular Mario into Super Mario.

Star World and Special Zone

The secret exits in some levels lead to one of five portals to Star Road, an otherwise secret realm. Each portal gives the player access to a level in the Star World. The levels here all have a baby Yoshi of a particular colour (blue, red, or yellow), which must be fed five enemies or coins or eat a star (if available) for Mario to be able to ride it. Feeding a coloured Yoshi a power-up results in it growing up immediately. Yoshis have special abilities when holding Koopa shells in their mouths, based on both their own colour and the colour of the shell. Blue colour allows the Yoshi to fly, red spits fireballs instead of releasing the shell, and yellow stomps the ground to stun or kill all nearby enemies (green has no special ability, but is the only one that turns enemies into coins once swallowed). For example, a blue Yoshi who holds a red shell in its mouth can fly, and then will spit the shell out as fireballs, and a red Yoshi who eats a yellow shell can stomp, then shoot fireballs.

Each level in Star World has two exits. The normal exit simply counts toward the total number of exits found; to properly complete it, however, the player must find the key and the keyhole (i.e. the secret exit) in each level to complete the circuit around the Star World and advance to Special Zone by finding the secret exit in Star World 5.

In Special Zone, there is a Super Famicom logo in the top-left corner of the screen. This logo is also part of the European SNES logo. In the Special Zone, there are eight additional levels which are often said to be of particular difficulty. Some have unique characteristics not seen in any other part of the game. In the American translation, the levels are named with expressions from surfer slang (in the following order: Gnarly, Tubular, Way Cool, Awesome, Groovy, Mondo, Outrageous and Funky) whereas the Japanese version has other names describing the approximate difficulty of the courses (each two levels would refer to itself as the same course). Save points are provided after every other level.

Completing the Special Zone results in a drastic change in graphics on whichever file the levels were completed on. Piranha Plants become pumpkins, Koopa Troopas now wear Mario masks and their colours have been switched so blue and yellow shells are now more common, and Bullet Bills become Pidgits. The world map takes on a different colour scheme, using more of an Autumn palette - however, the levels themselves do not change colour. In the Game Boy Advance port, however, this change does not take effect until all 96 exits are found.

In the English SNES version, the redone enemies have new names, but in the Japanese version and Super Mario Advance 2, the enemies share the same name since they are basically the same enemy. In Super Mario Advance 2, two additional enemies receive a facelift: Pokey and Goomba (the latter of which is thought to have been considered for it in the SNES version since it has two identical copies in the game data, one of which is used after Dinosaur Land changes).

Using Star Road also allows more experienced players to complete the game in only 12 stages. However, the stages are more difficult as the switch palaces have been skipped.

At the end of the game, after defeating Bowser and saving the Princess, Mario, Princess, and Yoshi return to Yoshi's home where Yoshi babies of different colours hatch. After they all cheer and thank you, the credits roll. During the credits, photos of the various character and villains appear with their designated name given. This is similar to the ending of SNES's Donkey Kong Country.

Development

The game was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, the music was composed by Koji Kondo, and the graphics were designed by Shigefumi Hino.

hyperventilation

In medicine, hyperventilation (or overbreathing) is the state of breathing faster and/or deeper than necessary, thereby reducing the carbon dioxide concentration of the blood below normal.

This is in contrast to hyperpnea, where the increased breathing is required to meet demand, as during and following exercise or when the body lacks oxygen (hypoxia), for instance in high altitude or as a result of anaemia. Hyperpnea may also occur as a result of sepsis, and is usually a sign of the beginning of refractory sepsis.

Hyperventilation can, but does not necessarily cause symptoms such as numbness or tingling in the hands, feet and lips, lightheadedness, dizziness, headache, chest pain, slurred speech and sometimes fainting, particularly when accompanied by the Valsalva manouevre. Sometimes hyperventilation is induced for these same effects. Hyperventilation can sometimes be self induced for moments of needed focus and adrenaline.

The related symptom tachypnea (or "tachypnoea") (Greek: "rapid breathing") is characterised by rapid breathing and is not identical with hyperventilation - tachypnea may be necessary for a sufficient gas-exchange of the body, for example after exercise, in which case it is not hyperventilation.

Causes

Stress or anxiety commonly are causes of hyperventilation; this is known as hyperventilation syndrome. Hyperventilation can also be brought about voluntarily, by taking many deep breaths. Hyperventilation can also occur as a consequence of various lung diseases, head injury, coffee abuse or stroke (central neurogenic hyperventilation, apneustic respirations, ataxic respiration, Cheyne-Stokes respirations or Biot's respiration). Lastly, in the case of metabolic acidosis, the body uses hyperventilation to counter the increased acidity of the blood; this is known as Kussmaul breathing.

Mechanism

In normal breathing, both the depth and frequency of breaths is varied by the neural system primarily in order to maintain normal amounts of carbon dioxide but also to supply appropriate levels of oxygen to the body's tissues. This is mainly done by measuring the carbon dioxide content of the blood; normally, a high carbon dioxide concentration signals a low oxygen concentration, as we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide at the same time, and the body's cells use oxygen to burn fuel molecules to carbon dioxide.

The gases in the alveoli of the lungs are nearly in equilibrium with the gases in the blood. Normally, less than 10% of the gas in the alveoli is replaced each breath. Deeper or quicker breaths exchange more of the alveolar gas with air and have the net effect of drawing more carbon dioxide out of the body, since the carbon dioxide concentration in normal air is very low.

The resulting low concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood is known as hypocapnia. Since carbon dioxide is held in the blood mostly in the form of carbonic acid, hypocapnia results in the blood becoming alkaline, i.e. the blood pH value rises. (In the normal person, this alkalosis would automatically be countered by reduced breathing, but for various reasons this doesn't happen when the neural control is not present.)

If carbon dioxide levels are high, the body assumes that oxygen levels are low, and accordingly the brain's blood vessels dilate, to assure sufficient blood flow and supply of oxygen. Conversely, low carbon dioxide levels (e.g. from hyperventilation) cause the brain's blood vessels to constrict, resulting in reduced blood flow to the brain and lightheadedness. Thus, though it seems counterintuitive, breathing too much can result in a decrease in the oxygen supply to the brain. Doctors sometimes artificially induce hyperventilation after head injury to reduce the pressure in the skull, though the treatment has potential risks.

The high pH value resulting from hyperventilation also reduces the level of available calcium (hypocalcemia), which affects the nerves and causes the numbness or tingling of the hands. This occurs because alkalinisation of the plasma proteins (mainly albumin) increases their calcium affinity.

Baraka

Baraka is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game series.

Baraka was introduced as a mean, unforgiving warrior in service of Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat II. The race he belongs to is that of the Tarkatan, a crossbreed between vile Netherealm creatures and denizens of Outworld. This race seems to be populating the vast deserts of Outworld. Baraka, and perhaps all of his race, has the ability to have long blades appear from his lower arms. Although he has had numerous incursions with the Earthrealm warriors, there appears to be no particular rivalry or hatred on Baraka's part towards Earth or its inhabitants. While fighting for his masters, he invariably also plots his own path to power. His nasty, deformed and brutish appearance has made him a fan favorite ever since he first appeared in Mortal kombat II.

In the events leading up to the second Mortal Kombat tournament, Baraka led the attack on the Shaolin Temple of Light, which eventually caused Liu Kang's quest for vengeance in Outworld, as Shao Kahn had planned. During this tournament, he also engaged in a partnership with Mileena. Whether they became lovers or not is another question, but it is certain that their plans to eventually overthrow their emperor themselves never came to fruition as Mileena was murdered and Baraka was sent away to quell an uprising in the lowlands of Outworld. Their second chance at obtaining power (Mileena was resurrected), during the events of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, equally failed.

Baraka as he appeared in MK: Deception

In Mortal Kombat: Deception, Baraka is working for Onaga with Mileena to destroy the Edenian forces. He leads his army against the Edenians (led by Mileena, impersonating Kitana), but they are routed. When he receives a request for a meeting from Mileena, whom he feels aided the Edenians, he sends a body double in his place. Mileena feeds the double to flesh-eating beetles, so Baraka tears her apart. He had sent what remained of his army after Sub-Zero, so Baraka's future is uncertain.