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So you’ve heard of a game called Super Mario World, right? Was a launch title for the Super Nintendo, sold well, is considered one of the best games in the Mario series if not of all time. I’ve tried it myself and I can agree with that. Though if you asked me, I’ve always found the GBA port to be the best way to play it… officially that is. Forgot to mention that the game has a huge hacking scene with many people taking the game apart and making something new. Stuff like simple level hacks, to porting all the additions from the GBA port, etc. Why do I mention this?
I’ve heard talk that there seemed to be some secret level that was apparently lore-changing.
Supposedly it was a secret that players were all meant to find but never did. It’s been claimed that there was this level that’d unlock a secret ending to the game. So bear with me, apparently the Sunken Ship would have its normal exit blocked off by a blind version of the Boo enemy. Usually they’d follow Mario when his back is turned but because this variant was well… blind. It wouldn’t move and there didn’t seem to be a way for it to be taken out outside of cheating or damage boosting.
However there’d seem to be another addition. A key and its keyhole. Those basically spell out that these are a secret exit and given that the regular exit’s been blocked off, you’d basically unlock a new level. Now this sounds like something made up on the playground already but the next part gets even better.
Upon entering the secret exit, you’d open up a new path and get this, the Bowser rock formation would cry tears of blood as the path opens up to a new level signified by a whirlpool as Mario’s face turns to fear. The level itself being called, and I quote, “OH GOD NO”
You can’t make this shit up.
The level itself seemed designed to mess with the player, putting them in a space where only Mario’s small form could run through. As you went on you’d be greeted by more of the blind Boos until you’re met with a version of an enemy known as the Banzai Bill, except its eyes were bleeding and it was inescapable unless you cheated to have yourself be made invincible the whole time.
If you managed to get past the Banzai Bill, you’d get a message probably written in blood saying “I HATE YOU!” and then you’d pass by some Big Boos who’d chase you with an even angrier look than before as another message is seen saying “WHY WON’T YOU DIE?!” afterwards, you’d enter a pipe to an underwater section.
Said section had bloody variants of the Thwomp enemies, basically living stones who’d crush Mario from below. Well I did mention them being bloody as they and the ground they guarded were covered in blood and they repeatedly stomped on the ground implying they were damn good at their jobs. A little too good if you ask me. Also the blood had ice physics. Just wanted to mention that.
After that section, you’d swim between a spiked ceiling and floor and if it wasn’t ridiculous enough, you’d find a bunch of dead Mario’s impaled on the spikes that would then chase you before you’d reach a pipe that’d take you to a hallway with a door to a bossfight and a Mushroom power-up that looked freaky. The guy who apparently first discovered it didn’t even want to touch it and I’ve heard from others claiming to play this level that it just killed you.
All of this sounds just ridiculous, but just when you think it couldn’t get any more ridiculous, entering that boss door will prove you wrong.
Upon entering the door, Mario would find nobody there and would stare at some figure in the background for a while. Then Luigi walks in and it gets even more unbelievable than it already was.
The guy looked angry and Mario seemed to recoil back in shock at seeing his brother here. Then, Luigi said five words.
“YOU THOUGHT KOOPA WORKED ALONE?”
So it turns out that Luigi was secretly working for Bowser this whole time. Such a revelation wasn’t one that Mario handled well as he could only weep in betrayal as a scripted cutscene played where Luigi repeatedly jumped on his brother until he stopped to look at him in hatred. The bridge started to collapse as it seemed Mario would die. Then he got up and overpowered his brother, sending him into the lava as Green Mario screamed, “OH GO NO!”. After sinking, Mario would cry at everything that transpired.
Afterwards, you’d no longer be able to access the level and upon completing the game, you’d be treated to the sight of an altered end screen with Peach crying, Luigi having survived the lava with several scars, and Mario looking at his brother with hatred. Though it looked like Mario was more mildly annoyed at Luigi for ruining a photoshoot and making Peach pants-shittingly scared.
The guy who first discovered it assumed that this was some planned part of the Mario mythos, that Luigi would appear in future games as a regular enemy. I myself think it was some rogue developer inserting something for shits and giggles. I mean, the level isn’t even needed for 100% completion, there have been no references to it outside the figure in the final room reappearing in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the inappropriate content that somehow didn’t bump this game’s age rating up when it was rereleased even after being discovered which didn’t happen to GTA San Andreas with its Hot Coffee debacle, and the idea of Luigi betraying Mario. I would’ve thought that the guy who discovered it had downloaded a hacked rom given that it was found when he played it on an old emulator. However, the most shocking part of it all…
Is that this level really does exist.
Boy, I really hope someone got fired for that blunder.
You see, I got a ROM of Super Mario World through “very legal means” checked and saw that it really was included in there. This level is actually real. Granted, the fact it only could be played via hacking makes me assume that it was found and maybe there wasn’t much time left to remove it so the level was left in and left inaccessible. I even found out it was in the version that was part of the Super Mario Allstars + Super Mario World release. It was however left out of the Super Mario Advance 2 release for the GBA. With it being real and all, it made me wonder. What would happen if I played as Luigi?
Super Mario World, like Super Mario Bros 3 and the original Super Mario Bros, had a two-player mode that had players alternate between Mario and Luigi. The fella who discovered it might have forgotten to take into account the 2-Player mode that lets you play as the traitor. I don’t blame him for not trying though since it could only be played once.
So out of curiosity, I used a Hex Editor to have these levels unlocked on both versions, and went to player two mode to have the levels played as Luigi. Initially, I thought that you wouldn’t be able to play the level as Luigi as this whole plot revolves around him being a traitor. But the level started. I then thought, “I guess we get to an ending where Luigi kills Mario. Maybe an alternate end screen showing Luigi reveling in his successful murder with Mario being horribly burnt.” but what I got was more interesting.
I do want to inform you all that the experience was the same on both versions. Though I noticed that level was renamed to “Impasta” on the All-Stars version which also got rid of the bleeding Banzai Bills and angrier Big Boos.
Back to the topic at hand, Luigi entered the boss room and, like his brother, stared at the figure in the background until… another Luigi stepped in. The other Luigi was shocked. “What the? Are you some sort of imposter?” he said. “This can’t be. I’m the real Luigi!” as he then accidentally fell into the lava to our Luigi’s real shock.
I wanna note that Luigi’s sprites are different in both versions so the imposter in the All-Stars version used the original recolor sprites.
Then, the other Luigi jumped out, skin burnt badly like in that end card as he yelled “THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!”
His belief that he was the real Luigi only to jump out of the lava compared to how it’d just kill the Mario Bros normally. It hit me.
This was never an inside job.
The Luigi that claimed to have been working with Bowser the whole time… Was an impostor the whole time. Why would Luigi work for Bowser? What was in it for him? Mario always beat Bowser so it would’ve just ruined his life. Luigi had nothing to gain from working for the King. So he wouldn't. But that doesn't explain the imposter though. Right? Not really.
Bowser used magic before, what with him turning the people of the Mushroom Kingdom into blocks in the original Super Mario Bros. Who’s to say that Bowser could’ve made a fake Luigi to consistently make it easy to kidnap Peach and drive a wedge between the Mario Brothers?
After coming to that realization, I kept playing as an actual boss fight against the imposter occurred. Nothing too difficult, he just ran around the bridge, jumped, and shot fire-balls at Luigi, the sprite was the same in both versions as well. You just had to jump on his head five times as upon the last hit, the faker would be knocked into the lava as he screamed, “OH GOD NO!” again with the real Luigi doing his victory pose with overwhelming rage, the original even had him flipping the bird as well. It then panned over to Mario and Yoshi looking at what happened with shock, the latter having watched the imposter drowning in lava. All of this while the Boss Clear jingle played.
With that, it left me with a discomforting realization. If you played as Mario, the impostor had killed Luigi off-screen. Bowser's deception went unnoticed. He successfully broke the brother's bond. Luigi had died with his name besmirched posthumously. I'd end it here but...
I did wonder what would happen if you died during the fight. Given the changes to the ending if you played this level as Mario, would there be anything different if I got a game over? Using a trusty rewind feature, I ended up having to lose all my lives as the Game Over screen was changed. No longer would the words "Game Over" slide into place. A cutscene would play of Mario entering to meet Luigi like in the original, who would then utter the words, "YOU THOUGHT KOOPA WORKED ALONE?" revealing to us, the audience that it was the impostor.
Damn, I guess the imposter got enough time to repair his face.
Anyways, after the imposter said those words, the screen turned black and it cut to another edited version of the end screen of Peach in tears as both Mario and Luigi had their faces burnt off. As the text says, "Game Over". Well that was a downer. Time to rewind again and see the fight complete again.
After beating the fight once more, I couldn’t access the whirlpool again and went and completed the game. Funny thing was that during the fight against Bowser, whether you played as Mario or Luigi, their expression outside of their small form was of anger. I wouldn’t blame them at all. When I beat them, the end screen was the same as when you beat the game normally, Mario, Luigi, and Peach all happy.
All was good. But there was one more question I had.
HOW THE FUCK DID ALL OF THIS NOT AFFECT THE GAME’S AGE RATING FOR THE VIRTUAL CONSOLE RELEASE!?