Hobbies And Interests
Star World
Star World was a special set of levels, generally unlocked by finding a secret exit in a particular level and opening a path to a warp star. The five levels linked together to form a star shape, and each level also connected to a warp star that acted as a shortcut between the various worlds of Super Mario World. The Star World levels were also the only place to obtain the blue, red and yellow Yoshis and make use of their unique abilities. The only way to advance from one Star World stage to the next and create effective shortcut paths was to beat the Star World levels using the secret exits hidden in each level.
Special Stages
By successfully completing all of the Star World levels and beating them through both their secret exits and their regular exits, players unlocked a unique world known simply as "Special World." Special World constituted eight of the most difficult levels in the game, each given a unique name based on a colloquial expression for something impressive such as "Awesome" and "Groovy." These stages offered a diverse range of level types culled from other worlds in the game. They presented players with an extremely high difficulty level and often could be endlessly frustrating. Still, completing these stages was required to get 100 percent completion of the game. By making it through, players could unlock not only a warp star to Yoshi's Island, but also "Alternate World" mode.
Alternate World
Alternate World is the reward for completing the Special World. Instead of granting an additional world with new levels to conquer, Alternate World augments the already existing Dinosaur Land map with a completely fresh palette of colors. These changes even extended to areas like Vanilla Dome and the Forest of Illusion, although the levels themselves remained the same colors. Three enemies in the game also received changed sprites. These included the standard Koopa, the jumping Piranha Plant and Bullet Bills. Koopas gained a mask, while jumping Piranha Plants became jumping Pumpkins and the Bullet Bills became Pidgit Bills.
Top Secret Area
The Top Secret Area is unlocked in the Donut Plains by finding the secret exit in the Donut Ghost House. Unlike most standard levels, the Top Secret Area is something of a preparation area for other levels. It consists of only a single frame, with five item boxes. The two on the left contain Mushrooms or Fire Flowers, while the two on the right contain Mushrooms or Cape Feathers. The middle box contains a Yoshi. If the player entered the area while on a Yoshi, this box instead dispensed a 1-Up Green Mushroom. Players could use this area to prepare for difficult levels, and especially the levels in Star World and the Special World.
Switch Palaces
The Switch Palaces are a somewhat less secretive set of levels. These stages give players the ability to "switch on" various colorful blocks in the game world that otherwise were simple dotted outlines. These blocks allowed access to some new areas, while restricting access to some others. Judiciously timing your usage of a Switch Palace was key to attaining 100 percent completion, as the changes were permanent.
Miscellaneous Secrets
Each of the various worlds in "Super Mario World" played host to a number of secret levels and areas, often employing a secret exit from another standard level to access. Each of these secret levels was required to attain the coveted 100 percent completion and unlock the Alternate World mode.