Isn't that Super Mario World?

Well NSMB for the DS essentially was Super Mario Bros 4...or you could say Super Mario World was if you wanna get technical.

I was going to post this exact same thing

Agreed. I always thought it was the best, even when people tried to argue SMW. But recently, I bought a SNES and a copy of SMW to revist the game and I could NOT beleive how easy it was. And when I say easy, I mean...eSAY. It's probably the shortest 2D Mario after the original. Great game, but way too short/easy. 

SMB3 ftw.

It should be stressed that Super Mario World has considerably different ethics to the SMB games and it isn't really a 'traditional' SMB4 if you will.

That said, this is why I say that that the next 2D Mario game should be a 'New' Super Mario World. Nintendo somewhat tried to do this with NSMBU but it ended up just being a half-assed hybrid of the staple mechanics between SMB, NSMB, and SMW.

Tell me where to find the Soda Lake without looking it up.

What does that have to do with beating the game? I'm talking about picking it up, without cheats, and beating Bowser. It's the shortest Mario game after the original..easily. Good game, but WAY too easy and short. 

I think allowing people to go back into worlds they beat was a mistake. It made spamming for extra lives possible. You couldn't do this in SMB3. Without the flutes or cheats, you had to EARN your lives. Lose them, and you're done. No saves. 

SMW felt like it was more of an experiment with difficulty/time etc.

Because both games implore different ethics of difficulty? Having levels that weren't confined to 'themed' worlds made them all the more fun to find.. and somewhat more difficult to find. Trecking through desert land always felt loathesome and tedious to me. I can agree that the levels themselves in SMB3 were probably more difficult however.

Also, FYI, there are plenty of loopholes to farm for lives in SMB3.

I'm pretty sure I've played the sequel to Super Mario Bros 3 when I was 3 years old!

if they did it would be out in japan first and everywhere else a year or more later.