Cool! The names aren't finalized, are they? I think some could be more creative or better-sounding. Here's what I imagine the worlds to be like:
World 1 - Yoshi's Island: A tropical island with long stretches of grasslands, lush green forests, and tall, rocky hills. The landscape is similar to that of SMW. After Mario defeats Larry Koopa, he finds an open manhole, which he jumps into to discover...
World 2 - Stinking Sewers: This dark, dank, underground network of tunnels connects various areas of the Mushroom World. There will be puzzles based on rising and falling water. Piranha Plants abound. Eventually, Mario defeats Roy Koopa. His quest will lead him out of the sewers and onto...
World 3 - Mini-Mega Mountains: Huge rocky peaks jut out of the sea, creating what is essentially another island. A variety of landscapes await on this strange land, including the Jungle of Giants and Micro Mountain Pass. The player must use Mini Mushrooms creatively to discover secrets. Enemies here vary greatly in size. Mario climbs his way to the peaks, defeating Iggy Koopa and finding a teleporter in the castle, which he uses to go to...
World 4 - Toy Kingdom: By far the strangest of the lands, this realm is made out of toys. Colorful blocks, LEGO-style platforms, ABC-lettered Thwomps... you name it. Of course, the wacky Lemmy Koopa took it over and is causing all kinds of chaos. After defeating Lemmy Koopa and his star-patterned circus balls, Mario learns from the colorful native Toads that he must next sail off to...
World 5 - Chill-Char Cove: Arriving by boat, Mario immediately sees the challenge this world imposes. This island looks snow-covered at first glance, but the ice-capped mountains are actually active volcanoes that erupt very often. The landscape ranges from freezing tundra to steamy hot springs to fiery caverns. (I imagine some sort of gimmick that allows the player to change the state of water, from water to ice, although I doubt that's possible. It's a cool thing to think about, though; imagine the puzzle possibilities!) Mario defeats Morton Koopa Jr., finding that the closest portal to Bowser's galactic base lies at...
World 6 - Starlight Heights: These cosmic-blue mountains blend in with the starry sky to create the game's most beautiful region. This sacred sanctuary serves as a place where people in the Mushroom World make pilgrimages to, to pray to the almighty Star Spirits. Once Mario reaches the pinnacle of this otherworldly landscape, he defeats Wendy O. Koopa and finds a path leading to...
World 7 - Death Canyon: Bowser's galactic base, Planet Koopa, is split into two areas. The first is a deserted wasteland, taken over by ghostly fiends such as Boos, Dry Bones, and Broozers. Mario must battle through ghastly haunts (I see the outside of the Ghost House levels being used for the overworld here) and challenging airship levels. He eventually finds his way to a downed airship that's been flooded and taken over by ghosts (cue ghost ship level). After defeating Ludwig von Koopa, Mario discovers a cannon inside the ship. He enters the cannon and gets blasted away, to the area where the final battle awaits...
World 8 - Bowser's NEW Keep: The center of all the mayhem, Bowser's mechanized fortress is broken up into several stages. I don't know how the game is planned to end, so I can't really say much here.
World 9 - Retro Road: I see the bonus world's overworld map being a 3-D rendition of the original 8-bit Mario sprite, like the one used in Super Mario Galaxy's Toy Time Galaxy.
I don't know how valid these ideas are, and since I don't know anything about the storyline, I couldn't make a more detailed summary. I don't even know if the Koopalings are in, either. Hopefully, though, my thoughts will prove to be useful or at least thought-provoking. If you had the patience to read all this, I give you a hearty thanks.
