Super Mario Bros. 3
Nintendo Entertainment System
As much as I have grown to love Super Mario Bros. 2 I will admit to feeling an initial sense of disappointment when I first played the game as a kid. I thought the original Super Mario Bros. game was the greatest thing ever, and I was hoping that its sequel would be a bigger, better, more innovative twist on the classic Mario format. Instead, Mario 2 was nothing at all like the first Mario game.
Like I said, I did grow up to love the game. But it was nothing at all like what I had anticipated. Six year old Dan just could not shake that sense of disappointment that the game had given him. Two years after the release of that game, however, Super Mario Bros. 3 hit the shelves. And THIS was the game that that anxious little kid had been hoping for.
Mario 3 basically tossed aside everything that happened in the previous game and returned to what had made Mario famous to begin with. Goombas, turtles, fire flowers, stars, blocks, coins. Even the control scheme was fairly similar to that of the original title.
But instead of just being simply a clone of the first game, Mario 3 went above and beyond even the most imaginative young gamer's wildest expectations. This game was a fun, colorful, vibrant, secret filled, insanely addictive thrill ride that was basically a piece of video game nirvana to me. I instantly fell in love with this game, and even now - 27 years since the game first came out - I still think it is sensational.
A lot of people like the mention Super Mario Bros. 3 whenever the topic of "best NES game ever" comes up. And it is really hard to disagree with that choice. This game has it all.
Graphically, this is one of the better looking NES titles out there. It is bright and colorful. Each stage in the game has its own distinctive look and feel. The stages almost feel like characters in the game themselves. You never get the feeling like you are running around the same recycled environments over and over again.
You've got stages with lots of green grass. You've got castles, water stages, desert stages, snow stages, sky stages. You've got a stage where enemies and items are bigger than they normally are. Some stages throw classic enemies like goombas and turtles at you. Some introduce new enemies like chain chomps, boos, flying beetles, fire monsters, and those little green things that burp up black spiked balls and chuck them at you.
Like I said, no two areas of the game are alike. Each stage has something unique and iconic about it.
The game just oozes personality and charm. Everywhere I would turn, I'd see something that would bring back memories of playing this game as a kid. The sun that swoops down from the sky and attacks you? Ahhh! The green shoe that you can hop in and use to kill enemies and walk on spikes? Ahhh! Clearly, the makers of the game had a vision and put a lot of thought and effort into making that vision come true. They really made the world of Super Mario Bros. come to life.
If you have been living under a rock, or are just really young and not into retro gaming, let me explain how the game works. When you start the game, you will notice that you control Mario and can move him around on an overworld map. You must navigate Mario from the beginning of the map to the castle at the very end.
You must complete each numbered stage in order to move on. Occasionally, the path on the map will split and you can skip some stages, but being the completionist that I am I never do that. This game is super fun. Why would you want to play less of it?
Aside from the traditional numbered stages, you will encounter some other fun things on the map as well. Mushroom houses, where you can select from one of three treasure chests in order to add an item to your inventory. Yes, you can collect items in this game and use them while on the map screen to give Mario an added edge when you are having trouble. There are Hammer Brothers, who you must battle to get past. Beat them and in the process you will get another item for your inventory.
There are also a couple of different mini games you can play for bonuses. There is a card flipping game where you must match up pairs of items in order to win them and add them to your inventory. And another game where you must stop three fast moving picture fragments in the right order to make a complete picture. Do so, and you can win extra lives. I always sucked at these.
Sometimes you can use a hammer to destroy rocks that block your path. Most of these rocks lead to areas with hidden items or mini games. You will occasionally unlock things like bonus ships filled with gold coins. You can also find hidden warp whistles which you can use to skip ahead to later levels. Only losers do this though.
Once you reach the end of a stage, you come to a castle where its ruler has been transformed into an animal by Bowser. You must board one of Bowser's flying ships. Each ship stage ends in a boss battle with one of Bowser's children. Beat the kid and unlock a magic wand that you then use to restore the castle's ruler to his former glory. And on to the next world you go!
There are eight worlds in total. Make it all the way to Bowser's hideout and at the end of the game you square off against him to save the Princess.
What sets this game apart from the original Mario is not only its graphics and game play, but the fact that there is SO MUCH extra to do and see in this game. It is one of those rare sequels that demolishes the original game and improves on it in every way possible.
I already talked about the variety in stages and in enemies. I mentioned all the little mini games and hidden things you can find everywhere. But I haven't touched on Mario's outfits yet. In the first game, all you have was little Mario, Big Mario, star Mario, and fire Mario. In this game you have raccoon Mario, who can fly and use his tail to whack enemies. Frog suit Mario who can swim much, much better than he can without a suit (but is pretty much useless on land). Tanooki suit Mario who has all the advantages of raccoon Mario, but also the added ability to turn into a statue to avoid enemies. P-Wing Mario, whose powers of flight do not need charging. And the ultra rare Hammer Bros. suit (that I always end up wasting by getting hit right after I use it) that lets Mario throw little hammers and retreat into his fireproof shell.
Like I said, there is so much more substance to this title than to the other Mario games. Lots of hidden secrets too. I must have played this for months and months nonstop and each play through I would discover hidden secrets and little things I hadn't noticed before.
The game's difficulty level is a medium. It is challenging if you've never played it before, but fairly easy once you get the hang of it. My most recent play through I racked up 100 lives and only died a small handful of times. But I am kind of a pro at this game.
I consider Super Mario Bros. 3 to be the ultimate Mario game. Some say that Super Mario World for the SNES is better, but I never had a SNES as a kid. I have one now, and I own SMW, but I still don't think it is as good as 3. Perhaps it is because I didn't grow up playing it as a kid and it doesn't carry the same sentimental value for me that it does for other people. Who knows. Or maybe Mario 3 is just the better game?
Either way, you can't go wrong with this title. That is simply impossible. This isn't just a great game, it is an EPIC game. The best NES title of all time? There are so many to choose from. But I will say probably. It is about as flawless of a 2D platformer as you can get.
It is fun. There is variety everywhere you look. Variety in the stages, variety in the characters. Variety in all the mini games you can play. Variety in the items you collect and the outfits you can wear. You can pick this game up at any time and start playing and instantly have a good time. In fact, just thinking of the game makes me smile.
If this is not an instant classic, I don't know what is. Best Mario game ever? Probably. Best NES game ever? Probably. Best game ever? That is more debatable, but just the fact that it is almost thirty years old and still in that conversation says a lot about its merits.
If you don't like this game, you are not someone I want to associate with.
Overall:
A+
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