Quote Originally Posted by j_factor View Post
Pretty much a tie, in my eyes. As an aside, I think it's interesting that Super Mario World has a somewhat better critical reputation, but Sonic was much more influential. With games like Jazz Jackrabbit, Socket, Zool, Kid Chaos, Awesome Possum, etc. it seemed like everyone was ripping him off. You can see a lasting influence in games like Crash Bandicoot (and even the commercials for Crash Bandicoot).
That has me curious, though, when exactly did the rip-offs start springing up? How many came before Sonic 2? While the first Sonic was successful and well-liked, most Sonic fans seem to think that the series really took off with 2. Perhaps it was Sonic 2 that really cemented the idea in the industry that Sonic's style was the future, making everybody want a piece of that pie.

In terms of influence, it's not really a fair comparison, though. Super Mario World had no chance of having the same kind of impact since it was the 4th in the series and just building off of past ideas. Sonic was brand new and fresh. The real Mario influence stems from the first Super Mario Bros., and perhaps 3 as well. Sonic itself wouldn't exist without the first Mario. Basically all platformers owe a little to Mario considering the genre was mostly nonexistent before that, so its influence stretches farther than Sonic's, just it's not coming from World.