Play Super Mario World - Bowsers Valley Online

Super Mario World - Bowser’s Valley is one of those fan-made hacks that actually gets it right. It feels like stumbling onto a lost SNES cartridge—same crisp controls, same Yoshi-riding joy, but with levels you’ve never seen before. The first time I played, I got smacked by a fireball in some lava canyon and laughed because it hurt, but in that good Mario way where you immediately want to try again.

Some of the new power-ups are sneaky fun (there’s one that made me stop and go, “Wait, that wasn’t in the original, was it?”), and the Koopaling fights twist just enough to feel fresh. It’s not brutally hard, but you’ll definitely sweat a little in the later levels. If you’ve ever finished the original and wished there was more, this is basically that wish granted.