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Super Mario Bros. 3 review

Game: Super Mario Bros. 3
Platform: NES
Genre: Action (Platformer)
Developer: Nintendo

Reader review by japanaman

April 04, 2011

Super Mario Bros. 3 was such a bit hit in 1990, that is had it was showcased in a movie. In fact, Super Mario Bros. 3 was so sought after, it was featured in a movie, before it was even released to the public. Truth be told, the main if not only reason anyone went to see the movie, the Wizard (the movie SMB3 was featured in) was to see Super Mario Bros. 3 gameplay. (Remember, there was no video on the internet back then, and demos didn’t exist)

Nintendo’s strategy of promoting their newest Mario title in a theatrical release was absolutely brilliant… as no one would have gone to see the film in theatres…. Except for me. (Although I didn’t actually see it until the VHS tape release which was after I received the game as a gift)

It wasn’t the fact that Mario was in a movie, fans wanted to play the game. It was because it was the first true sequel to Super Mario Bros. 1 to be released. The game features the same Mario esque platform that we all know and love. Mario (& Luigi) run thorugh levels, collect power-ups, kill enemies, break bricks, collect coins, and hit something at the end of the level.

Super Mario Bros. 3 expanded on that formula with a map screen for each world that allowed players to pick a decent amount of levels to visit, 1 or more dungeons in each world, air ships with unqiue Koopa bosses, mini-games to earn items or extra lives, and unique jazzy music for each world.

The graphics are far more detailed than the original Super Mario Bros. with a much higher color count and larger enemy sprites. There are new enemies you can hop on and ride, giant shoes to ride in (Seriously!), fire snakes, and an angry Sun. Each world has a theme, such as water, giant, ice, and sky with some enemies being unique to each world and some unique to a level.

Mario also gets new power-ups, including the Raccoon suit (granting him the ability to fly), Tanooki Suit (flying ability and indestructibility), Hammer Bros. suit (hammer throwing ability and invulnerable to flames), and Frog Suit (excellent for swimming at full speed). These new power ups help in a lot of situations such as reaching secret warp pipes, defeating enemies who normally can’t be hurt, etc. Even the original Fireflower gets a boost as it has the ability to melt ice blocks.

The game starts out at an easy pace and constantly gets harder with each new world. Like its predecessors, it too contains ways to warp through worlds, but you have to earn an item to do so, the Warp Whistle. Blow it and you’ll be on your way.

Control wise, the game feels very much the same as the original, except when wearing the Frog Suit on land as it will not let you run. Instead, you must hop through levels. One bright side is the fact that hops using the Frog Suit are made bigger, so it is easier to combo jump enemies for higher scores and possible 1-Ups.

I cannot recommend this game enough to Mario fans or any fan of plat forming games. If you haven’t played it yet, you simply must, and can find a copy for the following consoles: NES, SNES (Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario All-Stars/Super Mario World) Virtual Console, Wii (Super Mario All-Stars), GBA (Super Mario Advance 4).

Rating: 10/10

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