Price: $1.99 Score: 9/10 Category: Games
With its silly, generic title and so-derivative-it’s-practically-theft game design, it would be easy to write off Super World Adventure by Triniti Interactive as nothing more than a Super Mario ripoff.
Let’s be honest, this game takes a large amount of the signature traits of the Mario games and practically carbon copies them. Instead of Mario the plumber, Ritchie the woodcutter breaks blocks with his head, bounces on enemies to destroy them, collects coins to gain extra lives, and even slides on a pole at the end of the level.
The thing is, even though Super World Adventure is rather blatant in its “influences”, it’s also a darn good game. The level design is clever, with hidden paths and items aplenty, and the game contains far better presentation than most Mario clones. In all, if you’re looking for a competent platformer for the iPhone, look no further.
The one aspect of Super World Adventure not lifted from Mario is the plot; what little plot there is. There’s no princess to rescue here. Instead, Ritchie’s simply trying to get his lunch back after it was stolen by a wild boar. Ritchie must be hungry, because in order to get his grub back he’s going to have to travel great distances, jumping over spikes and chasms, and defeat swarms of enemies by either jumping on them or pelting them with acorns.
Generally, the touch-screen interface on the iPhone doesn’t work well with action games. It’s simply not accurate or responsive enough to pull of complex jumps or button combinations. However, while still not perfect, the virtual buttons in Super World Adventure are more than adequate. You’ll often miss a jump or run into an enemy, but for the most part the controls are competent enough to get you through your journey.
As mentioned earlier, Super World Adventure is a beautiful game and well above the standard set by other Mario clones. The levels are colorful, with unique and, dare I say it, original enemies. Rather than just placing pixels haphazardly, hoping to get by on its Mario similarity, the levels feel well thought-out. And because we’ll never see a Mario game on the iPhone, it’s this polish that really helps the game rank up there among the best action/platform games on the App Store, along with games like Chop Chop Caveman and Kami Retro.
Bottom Line: Yes, it’s Mario with a woodcutter. But Super World Adventures stands on its own as a solid and enjoyable game, well worth your time.
Super World Adventures is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later.