Play Super Mario World - VIP and Wall Mix 2 Online

Super Mario World - VIP and Wall Mix 2 is one of those romhacks that makes you go, "Wait, was this always here?" at least five times per level. It takes everything cozy about the original—the bright colors, the bouncy music—and then quietly replaces half the bricks with trap doors and fake walls. I lost Yoshi to a "helpful" vine that turned out to be a one-way ticket to lava within the first 10 minutes.

The level designs are sneaky in the best way. You'll recognize the general vibe of the original worlds, but suddenly there's a P-switch that turns blocks into enemies, or a secret pipe that dumps you into a room full of angry Wigglers. The Wall Mix gimmick is especially cruel—what looks like solid ground sometimes crumbles, and invisible blocks show up exactly where your muscle memory says they shouldn't.

It's clearly made by someone who knows the original inside out, because every surprise feels intentional. Even the easier sections have little twists, like Lakitu throwing Spinies in formation just to mess with your jump timing. If you've played vanilla SMW enough to do it blindfolded, this version will keep you nervously poking at every wall like a paranoid plumber.