Return to Dinosaur Land
RAGB | 2006 | 59 Exits | Download Link
If you ever find yourself mindlessly looking up top ten lists or tier rankings of SMW hacks, chances are pretty high you’ll find Return to Dinosaur Land ranking among the best hacks of all time. This is interesting for multiple reasons: The hack is quite old (2006 is ancient history even in general internet terms, but especially so in the field of SMW romhacks, where level design sensibilities seem to change quite drastically even within a timespan of only a couple of years), and it does not feature any new songs, graphics, or even just custom level gimmicks. The hack is essentially a sort of reimagining of the original Super Mario World, using exactly the same level settings (grasslands, ghost houses, castles, forest levels, etc.) with exactly the same kind of level layouts. In that sense, the hack is ideal for someone who just finished playing Super Mario World and simply wants more of the same. The difficulty stays at an approachable level too, with plenty of powerups to go around and short to medium-length level sections. In that sense, I think the popularity of the hack can be explained largely by it being a good introduction to romhacks in general, to the point where even someone who doesn’t play a lot of platformers could have a good time with it.
The hack features mostly straightforward levels where oftentimes the goal is simple: Make your way to the right while dodging some enemies along the way. At the same time, there’s clearly a focus on enticing the player to explore and check the nooks and crannies of the level layout for potential secrets. These secret areas are generally well thought out as well, often featuring simple challenges to collect your reward in the form of a one-up or a moon. While the hack firmly stays within the boundaries of the original game, there’s still a decent variety of level themes, making it so the levels stay distinct from one another as you play your way through the game.
I have a few gripes with the hack as well though. For one thing, the overworld structure is extremely linear, especially going from world two forwards. Any secret exits you find are either going to lead to a switch palace or back to a previous level you’ve already beaten. This design seems quite dated, as most modern standard hacks try to include multiple paths through the hack using shortcuts, diverging paths, or a star world system. Speaking of secret exits, there were more than a few that were right at the end of the level, essentially forcing the player to replay large chunks of content they’ve already seen. While I’d say that the secrets were reasonably well hidden overall, I couldn’t help having a sense of deja-vu in certain moments, as some methods of hiding a secret were recycled throughout the hack (e.g. using lakitu's cloud to fly underneath the goal tape, or swimming above the ceiling at the end of a water level). Finally, while I stated above that the hack seems to try its best to follow in the footsteps of the original Super Mario World, it needs to be said that this is an insanely hard act to follow and I’m not sure it quite got there in the end. At the same time, this is not a knock against the author (after all, everyone hacking SMW is an amateur level designer almost by definition, and I would be surprised if measuring up the original game was in any way a stated goal during the creation of the hack).
All in all, I think I’d recommend this hack to anyone just starting out playing SMW romhacks, if they specifically want an experience close to what the original Super Mario World offered. On the other hand, if you already have some experience playing romhacks and are wondering if you should try this one, I’d say that maybe it’s actually fine to skip it despite its illustrious reputation. Then again, it is undeniably an important part of SMW hacking history, so maybe that’s being a bit too harsh. If you’re experienced at playing these hacks, it really shouldn’t take you longer than an afternoon to beat it after all, and there are definitely worse ways to spend your time.