Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES review)

Developer: Nintendo R&D4
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1990

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a platformer that was later ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

Your mission is to recover the magic wands from Bowser's seven children, and restore order to the Mushroom World. This adventure sees a return to the gameplay style of the original Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES) rather than the series' sequel, but brings lots of new abilities, such as being able to turn into a Frog (makes swimming easier) and a Raccoon (gives you flight). These provide tons of diversity and it's great how the power-ups you earn from Bonus Levels (e.g. Mushrooms) can be stored and used strategically prior to tricky levels. Whereas the original felt barren in its landscape, SMB3 feels like a living, breathing world with a huge range of enemies, locations, and gameplay challenges. What makes it so enjoyable is the sense of wonderment it creates within its level design; from throwing a turtle shell to reveal a hidden block that warps you to a coin-filled sky area, to flying above the ceiling to find warp whistles, you'll constantly want to explore, and the multiple paths and secrets help to keep you engaged. There's so much variety in each World, including the maze-like Pipe World and the imaginative Giant World where impressively scaled enemies await you. This carries through to the levels of each World, as one minute you'll be jumping on beetles in auto-scrolling pit stages, dodging environmental hazards in a Fortress, booting enemies as you slide down an icy slope, and running away from a raging sun! There's even diagonally scrolling levels which is impressive for the NES! It isn't linear either, as the awesome overworld hub allows some freedom in tackling levels. The controls respond to your every movement with ultra precision, and the catchy music perfectly encapsulates the level design.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is full of elaborate Worlds that really push the series (and the humble NES console) forward in new and exciting ways. Simply put, it's a masterpiece from start to finish and it's no coincidence that it set the standard for all future 2D Mario platformers.

Random trivia: Bowser's seven children are all based on famous musicians (e.g. Ludwig van Koopa is named after Ludwig van Beethoven).

Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES review)

Developer: Nintendo R&D4
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1988

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform game that's basically a reskin of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (Famicom Disk System, 1987).

The setting isn't very Mario-like but it does feature the first appearance of familiar characters such as Bob-ombs and Shy Guy. Before each level you can play as either Mario (all-rounder), Luigi (highest jumper), Toad (fastest) or Princess Toadstool (can temporarily float). This gives added replay value and it's fun learning which one to use depending on the situation. You can't kill enemies by jumping on them and instead you need to pick up objects such as vegetables to throw at them; it's fun, especially as you can take out several bad guys in a row if you're skilled! Although there's still lots of platforming you'll be riding magic carpets, blowing up walls and stacking up blocks to reach higher platforms. There's even some areas where you need to use vines to cross gaps which reminds me of Donkey Kong Jr.! (1982, Arcades). The mix of horizontal and vertically scrolling levels keeps things interesting but I would have liked more variety in the world design; there are some ice and sky levels but generally you'll be navigating through underground caverns and deserts. The checkpoints are fair so each time you die you never have to repeat large sections. At the end of the first two acts in each world you face Birdo who throws eggs that you need to catch and throw back to defeat it; although these battles are frequent they never become stale as its attack patterns change to include deadly fireballs and rapid fire egg tosses. The bosses are good and you'll actually have to learn their patterns unlike Bowser in the original. The music is catchy and I love that when you pause the game the tracks continue with bass only!

Super Mario Bros. 2 is seen as the black sheep of the series yet if you take it at face value it's seriously enjoyable with tons of gameplay variety and just the right level of challenge. Everything it sets out to achieve is well executed and it's definitely worth picking up on either the NES or on Super Mario All-Stars (1993, SNES).

Random trivia: Japan received a very different version of Super Mario Bros. 2; it played like the original but with greatly increased difficulty. Watch this video for more info.

Super Mario Bros. (NES review)

Developer: Nintendo R&D4
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1985

Super Mario Bros. is a side-scrolling platform game that took the world by storm when it was released in 1985.

The game features eight levels with four stages in each; this might sound like a lot but in reality most stages can be completed in under a minute if you’re comfortable with platform games. For a 1985 title though it has tons of variety including a mixture of outdoor platforming, underground areas, swimming stages, as well as end of level sections in Bowser’s castle. On a few occasions the latter features maze-like areas where you must navigate through a particular route in order to advance; I’m not sure this gameplay element has been seen in any Mario game since and it strikes me as having more in common with the Zelda series than anything else. Although you’ll probably breeze through the first few levels the difficulty really ramps up once you reach level 7 due to the amount of Bullet Bills and Hammer Bros that get in your way! There are lots of cool secrets in the game including the end of level fireworks (done by hitting the flagpole with a certain amount of time remaining) and the hidden warp pipes that advance you to a later level of your choosing. The music is top notch and the fact that Nintendo still use the tracks in modern Mario titles shows you how memorable they are. The SFX are another highlight and the sound of Mario shooting a fireball or collecting a coin is instantly recognisable, even to the most casual gaming fan. If I had to nitpick, the occasional flicker can cause some issues (especially when Bowser throws his hammers) and the controls aren’t quite as responsive as future Mario titles. These are very minor niggles though and they don’t detract from an otherwise superb experience.

Super Mario Bros. is a groundbreaking title that can still be enjoyed by gamers young and old. It’s influence on gaming history cannot be overstated and it certainly deserves all the praise it’s received over the years.

Random trivia: Believe it or not, there are still groups actively trying to find glitches in this game. The most well known is Minus World but more recently some people have found elaborate ways to get infinite 1-ups!