When I was a young lad in 2008, those far-flung years long since past, I was just discovering Touhou for the very first time ever. I had seen a few nice pieces of art and looked them up to find something called Touhou Project, and from there I was finding a couple links to game downloads.
I proceeded to get two at once. One was MariAri, and the other... was this!
![[Image: WSD3dY2.png]](https://i.imgur.com/WSD3dY2.png)
Super Marisa World is one of the oldest Touhou fangames out there, dating back to 2007 - before things had even really got big in Touhou fangaming, as I recall. The only (and boy is that tragic) game created by Double Cluster, the entire thing is one absolutely massive love letter to the Mario series. Not just the basics, though - it isn't just the Super Mario Bros and World games in there, but all sorts of other choices - Super Mario Land, Super Mario Sunshine, Wrecking Crew, and Dr. Mario all show up, just as examples. Bosses, enemies, stage designs, all of them contain all sorts of references.
![[Image: RskCJdT.png]](https://i.imgur.com/RskCJdT.png)
While the layout of the game and the sheer amount of Mario references it makes are fantastic, the controls... not so much. Marisa is incredibly slippery, to the point where she apparently thought greasing her shoes was a good idea. When combined with plenty of precision platforming, this can make for plenty of deaths that feel less like bad skill and more like bad luck. The powerups in the game can take a while to get used to as well - Marisa can get the miko orb (which is a combination of the Fire Flower and Hammer Suit), and the broom (which allows her to hover, break blocks, and fly - basically a Cape Feather). The broom in particular has some very precise controls, and plenty of broom hovering sequences can easily end in disaster if you don't manage to press Z with pixel-perfect timing
![[Image: 9mMhP31.png]](https://i.imgur.com/9mMhP31.png)
In terms of stuff to do, each level presents a very difficult challenge; the 100SS score. The Special Score requires collecting all 100 stars in a stage while keeping all 5 of Marisa's lives (she enters a stage with 5 lives and can't gain them back), requiring basically perfect gameplay. While this isn't impossible (I've cleared two of the worlds myself), it is ridiculously hard just for how many things have to go right - whether with a boss fight or platforming. At least it's something to strive for if you've already cleared all the levels - and trust me, that alone is enough of a challenge!
![[Image: qvQBkTh.png]](https://i.imgur.com/qvQBkTh.png)
The goal in each level is just to either find Koakuma or defeat the boss, and one of the best parts of the game is in how unique each of the levels is. No two levels are very alike, whether or not they're in the same world - one world may have an enormous maze, a challenge to outrun a million ghosts, and a fight against a knockoff Angry Sun, all in the same world. Even the world layout is unique - different levels in the starting World 0 unlock Worlds 1, 2, and 3, which then unlock 4, 5, and 6 respectively, all leading to World 7. So you could just go through Worlds 0, 1, 4, and 7 to beat the game... but where's the fun in that?
![[Image: pDOGqET.png]](https://i.imgur.com/pDOGqET.png)
Having played Marisa World on and off for years, there's still plenty I haven't been able to accomplish, lacking the skill at the game to handle it. But this is one of those games where that feels encouraging rather than discouraging to me - I've just gotta keep trying, and I'll make it someday!
THE VERDICT
Super Marisa World has plenty of good points for such an incredibly difficult game - the level layouts are unique and exciting (and you can make your own with the MarisawaPaint program), the bosses are all excellent references to the depth of the Mario series, and it's clear from playing the game how much the devs adore Mario and wanted to make a giant love letter to it. My biggest sticking point is the nature of some of the difficulty; while I don't mind simple requiring of excellent platforming skill, Marisa's slippery controls can be a disaster, and feel like fake difficulty rather than the real difficulty of most of the game. Ultimately, though, I think this is a solid if hard Touhou fangame, and I'm glad it's one of the ones that introduced me to the franchise.
I give it four Reimus out of five.
I proceeded to get two at once. One was MariAri, and the other... was this!
Super Marisa World is one of the oldest Touhou fangames out there, dating back to 2007 - before things had even really got big in Touhou fangaming, as I recall. The only (and boy is that tragic) game created by Double Cluster, the entire thing is one absolutely massive love letter to the Mario series. Not just the basics, though - it isn't just the Super Mario Bros and World games in there, but all sorts of other choices - Super Mario Land, Super Mario Sunshine, Wrecking Crew, and Dr. Mario all show up, just as examples. Bosses, enemies, stage designs, all of them contain all sorts of references.
While the layout of the game and the sheer amount of Mario references it makes are fantastic, the controls... not so much. Marisa is incredibly slippery, to the point where she apparently thought greasing her shoes was a good idea. When combined with plenty of precision platforming, this can make for plenty of deaths that feel less like bad skill and more like bad luck. The powerups in the game can take a while to get used to as well - Marisa can get the miko orb (which is a combination of the Fire Flower and Hammer Suit), and the broom (which allows her to hover, break blocks, and fly - basically a Cape Feather). The broom in particular has some very precise controls, and plenty of broom hovering sequences can easily end in disaster if you don't manage to press Z with pixel-perfect timing
In terms of stuff to do, each level presents a very difficult challenge; the 100SS score. The Special Score requires collecting all 100 stars in a stage while keeping all 5 of Marisa's lives (she enters a stage with 5 lives and can't gain them back), requiring basically perfect gameplay. While this isn't impossible (I've cleared two of the worlds myself), it is ridiculously hard just for how many things have to go right - whether with a boss fight or platforming. At least it's something to strive for if you've already cleared all the levels - and trust me, that alone is enough of a challenge!
The goal in each level is just to either find Koakuma or defeat the boss, and one of the best parts of the game is in how unique each of the levels is. No two levels are very alike, whether or not they're in the same world - one world may have an enormous maze, a challenge to outrun a million ghosts, and a fight against a knockoff Angry Sun, all in the same world. Even the world layout is unique - different levels in the starting World 0 unlock Worlds 1, 2, and 3, which then unlock 4, 5, and 6 respectively, all leading to World 7. So you could just go through Worlds 0, 1, 4, and 7 to beat the game... but where's the fun in that?
Having played Marisa World on and off for years, there's still plenty I haven't been able to accomplish, lacking the skill at the game to handle it. But this is one of those games where that feels encouraging rather than discouraging to me - I've just gotta keep trying, and I'll make it someday!
THE VERDICT
Super Marisa World has plenty of good points for such an incredibly difficult game - the level layouts are unique and exciting (and you can make your own with the MarisawaPaint program), the bosses are all excellent references to the depth of the Mario series, and it's clear from playing the game how much the devs adore Mario and wanted to make a giant love letter to it. My biggest sticking point is the nature of some of the difficulty; while I don't mind simple requiring of excellent platforming skill, Marisa's slippery controls can be a disaster, and feel like fake difficulty rather than the real difficulty of most of the game. Ultimately, though, I think this is a solid if hard Touhou fangame, and I'm glad it's one of the ones that introduced me to the franchise.
I give it four Reimus out of five.
![[Image: s2n7oi.png]](https://files.catbox.moe/s2n7oi.png)
![[Image: NZRK1uk.gif]](https://i.imgur.com/NZRK1uk.gif)
