Super Mario Bros. is a fun, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo of Japan for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1988. It was released in the North American region in 1990. It is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time because of its timeless gameplay. This is the ulitmate reason to own a NES during the day.
In the Philippines during the early 1990s, you were pretty popular with the kids in the neighborhood if you had this game on your NES/Famicom.
The Story
Help Mario fight monsters and various mini-bosses, avoid the ghosts and the chasing sun. Make your way through various levels. Dodge those cannonballs and bullets and recover the King's Wand!
In Super Mario Bros. 3, there are more warps, more extra lives, and new special suits that give you various abilities.
Store up flowers and mushrooms for use later on. Play some bonus rounds! Pause for a snack or break, then continue where you last stopped!
The Graphics and Sound
This is one of the games that make other NES games mostly look so old, even the great, popular ones. It's overall design is simple, but not boring or unexciting.
Super Mario Bros. 3 set the standards for all future Mario games. Everything looks good, with fine attention to detail. There is a good variety of areas and sprites, all with a unique look and character. Mario will travel through 8 amazing worlds, ranging from grasslands, deserts, and water areas to worlds filled with big versions of normal enemies, flying battleships, and levels full of plodding tanks. Truly the best looking game on the NES.
The sound effects are great. The music is also fantastic and well done. With a good variety and it sounds so damn catchy. However, some themes, mostly the ones in the level selection map are quite small, having 10 to 20 second loops.
The Gameplay
The classic basic Mario controls are back in this game. The "B" button is for running, lifting and throwing. While the "A" button is for jumping.
You can also get a Raccoon suit, which gives you the ability to glide/float through air, and if you build up speed, to fly. There are other suits too, including one that lets you swim and turn into a frog! Controls are smooth and jumping is excellent. Mario's motion and movements are nothing to complain about. Everything is A-okay.
The bosses of each world you go through is one of the Koopa Kids. But they are not too challenging, but you must go through a hard level to face them, and they are enjoyable to beat.
Each level is fun, well-designed, and filled with secrets. Enemies are plentiful to dodge or destroy. The dangers range from traps to very wide leaps to tough enemies. My minor complaint is that some levels are kind of imbalanced, in that some are a chore to pass through than others. For example, you got through a hard one, and then go to an easy one.
Several minigames are available in the game, and the best one I think is the matching game. Jumping, running, and beating enemies in each level never gets boring because the levels are uniquely varied and fun.
The replay value is insanely high. With so many levels and secrets to unlock, it will be difficult not to get absorbed playing it. You will want to play it again always.
Challenge-wise, the game is not easy, even if you take level skip warps. Several levels are very difficult to beat which will just make you want to succeed, but the others are basically easy.
My Verdict
Super Mario Bros. 3 could arguably be the best game on the NES. It is the best reason to own one. You will remember it forever. It will leave retro gaming fans with a great reason to start up the NES one more time, no matter how video gaming progresses.
Play it on the NES, on other consoles where it got re-issued , or on emulators.