Key Stages in "Super Mario World" Quiz

As Mario commences his quest to save Princess Toadstool from Bowser (again), he'll be at Yoshi's House in the middle of Yoshi's Island, the first region of the game and the easiest to muster through. Enemies here will generally be familiar if you've encountered other Mario adventures, but Yoshi was new upon release of this game.

The only items of note at Yoshi's House are a tree full of fruits (which Yoshis can eat) and a note saying that Yoshi, too, has been captured. He can be found as early as the second level (Yoshi's Island 2), hidden in a dinosaur egg in one of the item blocks.

The first of several castles in the game, Iggy's Castle marks the conclusion of the Yoshi's Island stage and is a good primer for what to expect in these types of levels, chiefly lava pits, fiery enemies, and dead things. If Mario can cross his way through chainlink passages and dodge giant squashing pillars, he'll get to Iggy's battle room, a rocking platform that rises and falls in a pit of lava. To beat him, you need to jump on Iggy's head enough times-- and in the right direction-- to knock him off the platform and into the pit.

The second castle of the game and the final level in the Donut Plains, Morton's Castle is unique in that the majority of the level has you heading upwards on a vertical course (instead of the standard left-to-right platforming seen in most others). Mario not only needs to navigate through moving stage elements that threaten to crush him at all times, but past undead foes like Dry Bones which could reanimate if he's not careful. Morton's stage has the Koopaling climbing the walls, but jumping on his head three times (as per usual) will put an end to him.

The game's third castle, Lemmy's is at the end of the cavernous Vanilla Dome stage and it might be one of the tougher castles in terms of unique mechanics. While the first half of the level takes place in a water-logged chamber, the second brings Mario into a darker room with raising and lowering blocks and lava. The first half of the dungeon is the first instance in which he'll find Magikoopas, and using their powers to get around (while avoiding getting hit) is a necessity.

Lemmy, in the final chamber, emerges from pipes in the floor. If you can hit him three times he'll knock into the lava below, but you'll have to watch out for his decoys and other dangerous obstacles in the cramped space to survive.

Marking the halfway point of the game, Ludwig Von Koopa's castle, the fourth on the map route, is unlike all the others since it starts with a series of narrow left-to-right tunnels before culminating in a tower climb along chain link segments. Ludwig, as a boss, is also in a class of their own, appearing in a scrolling room that's too big for the screen.

In addition to leaping around and becoming a large shell, Ludwig shoots large fireballs at Mario across the ground. Like with the rest, it takes three jumps on the head to bring them down.

If Mario can navigate the secret route through the Forest of Illusion he'll emerge on the doorstep of Roy's Castle, the fifth Koopaling stronghold of the game, and to get to the sunglass-clad Roy Koopa at the end, he'll have to face an entirely new obstacle or two. The first half of the stage has Mario crossing a lake of lava on a constantly-moving platform, meaning that Mario must be rearranging himself as it takes its unsteady path through the level. The back half of the stage involves ducking and dodging around lava and Bowser statues as they shoot fireballs towards him.

Roy himself is pretty straightforward if you've already fought Morton since they have the same battle mechanic, the only difference being that the walls will close in on you the longer the battle progresses.

The penultimate Koopaling castle, Wendy's Castle is the sixth in the game and when you finally make it to her chamber, you'll end up in a battle that is distinctly similar to Lemmy's in castle three. You'll have to jump on her as she emerges from pipes, doing so three times while decoys also emerge and two Lava Bubbles circulate through the room.

The castle preceding is likely the toughest yet, with the first half being a skewer and saw-heavy corridor and the latter being a platform debacle with the game's first Lil Sparkies and Hotheads.

After Mario completes the seventh castle (Wendy's), the only way to go is into the circle of rocks jutting from the map's central bay, and this will prompt him to descend into the Sunken Ghost Ship. This unique ghost house level is almost entirely completed while swimming as Mario must make his way through Boos that phase in and out of their positions without the stability of terra firma.

The level culminates in a lengthy drop to an unconventional exit-- not a gate, but an orb that opens the route to the Valley of Bowser.

The final Koopaling castle of the game, Larry's requires a lot of dextrous skill and technique to navigate. The level starts off with a moving block platform like the one encountered in Roy's Castle, but the second half of the stage has Mario making his way through walls of blocks that will require him to be deft to control the magic shots of the Magikoopas or protective enough of his items to keep a cape handy.

The battle with Larry is not unlike the first boss battle against Iggy. You need to jump on him until he falls off a wobbling platform and into the lava.

The difference is in the obstacles; there's more of them in this fight.

Once Mario passes through Larry's Castle he'll be steps away from Bowser's Castle and the Front Door, a level that will have him choosing the path he wants to take by entering numbered rooms en route to Bowser's tower. And what will follow from there is a boss battle completed in three parts, all of which feature Bowser in his Koopa Clown Car. If Mario can hit Bowser with six Mechakoopas, Bowser will drop the Princess and fly off, ending the game.

Reasonably you might not even reach the Front Door; there's a Back Door entryway to Bowser's Castle as well!