Super Mario Bros. 3

The Good
The original Super Mario Bros. came out in 1985 and it was a flagship title for the NES. Its huge success meant that a sequel appeared three years later. The Western release of the game was very different from its Japanese counterpart (which was released in 1986), due to Nintendo of America’s objections that the true sequel to SMB was harder and that NoA should frame the game around Yume Kōjō: Dokidoki Panic. Although the game was successful as well, this didn’t stop Nintendo going back to their roots.

It has been some time since Mario defeated Bowser. He infiltrated eight of his castles looking for Princess Toadstool, and he was disappointed that seven of them only contained an impostor. He was more disappointed when Toad told him that the “princess is in another castle”. Eventually, Mario managed to find the real Bowser and the princess, and peace was finally returned to the Mushroom Kingdom. Three years on, and Bowser is not happy that his adversary tossed him into a pool of lava, so he sends his seven offspring to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom, stealing each of the wands belonging to the kings of the seven kingdoms and transforming them into animals. SMB3 expands upon the original game in a number of ways.

SMB3 includes eight world maps complete with dancing vegetation and other scenery, and you can do many things beside entering levels. You can, for example, run across a Spade Panel, a memory game in which you are awarded an extra life or bonus points if you play your cards right. There are also fortresses in which you need to find and defeat the Koopaling inside to get further into the map.

The levels behave the same as the first game, and the heads-up display is similar to the first game, with score, time, lives, etc. but a “power meter” has been added. This only applies to certain power-ups such as Raccoon Mario and Tanooki Mario; with these activated, you can run through the level until your power meter is full, pressing B to fly upwards onto any platforms in the air. Other power-ups include the Super Leaf, Magic Wing, Frog Suit, and Hammer Suit. Also, there is no checkpoint at the end of the level, rather a black area where you need to get a card to advance. You can get some extra lives if you collect more than one of the same card, and a spectacular display if you manage to get all three of the same.

Once you have conquered all ten levels on a map, you can proceed to the castle where you find out what animal the kings have turned into, and board an airship before it flies off without you. The airships contain only cannonballs and flame-jets which have to be avoided before you reach the only pipe on the airship. You go down and defeat the Koopaling inside to get the wand. You see the King transformed (you don’t get to see the transformation taking place), and get a letter from the Princess.

SMB3 excels in both graphics and sound. Both the maps and levels are colorful. I like the appearance of Ice World and how everything is enlarged in Giant World. The music is excellent, with tunes ranging from happy melodies to sinister ones. I like how the later levels also pose quite a challenge. One of the last few levels of the game has you walking across nipper plants while putting several Starman power-ups to good use. Another one has you negotiating a level containing nothing but pipes and the few odd enemies, and you have to stand on special lifts that will hoist you up, making sure not to bump into anything.

The Bad
Similar to SMB, Nintendo expects you to complete the game in one sitting.

The Bottom Line
It's easy to see why most reviewers here list Super Mario Bros. 3 as their favorite Mario game. It features the same gameplay as the original game that came out in '85, while adding new elements such as world maps, mini-games, and character transformations. Anyone who has played the original game should get their hands on a copy of SMB3. It just shows how amazing games on the NES were capable of being.

The Good
It was in 2004, when I played this. I couldn't believe this game! It was amazing, I loved the graphics, the music, the sounds, gameplay, and everything about it puts it as my favorite NES game ever. So I will give a score of: 96/100

The Bad
No comment on any problems, at all.

The Bottom Line
Play this if you've beaten SMB and SMB 2, and I promise, you will not regret it.

The Good
The level design is very good and original, this is the game's strongest point and for a good reason. Whenever you think you have seen everything there is something new which shows how much the NES is actually capable off. I also liked how the world all had themes like desert or water, it's an old retro tradition I understand, but it never fails to be charming. If I have to name a downside it's that the levels always end in a black background which is weird considering everything else is very colorful, but that is nothing too bad.

Compared to the first Super Mario Bros. game, this one looks like it's on a completely new console, like this game was meant for the Super Nintendo, but somehow ended up fitting on a NES-cartridge. The graphics are much better (understatement there) and the colors are much brighter and enjoyable.

The new map which allows you to take multiple paths to reach the same goal is very interesting and adds more depth to the multi-player. The map is filled with obstacles and moving bonuses that the players can collect which make it feel like a part of your adventure rather than just a fancy menu where you select the level you want to play. My cousin and I have a strategy where I get all as many puzzles as I can while he does some of the harder parts of the level, but sometimes we just want to be competitive and steal the bonuses away from each other or die on purpose.

I like the many different bonuses the game has, the original Mario only had the flowers and mushrooms, but now you also have a leaf (that allows you to fly), a frog-suit that makes swimming easier and a whistle that works like a warp-zone. It's also nice that you can store power-ups and use them before you start a level, this way you don't have to find one while playing and risk losing a lot of lives in the process. You can now also find items by doing mini-games which can also result in finding more lives.

There is some pretty nice music in this game and while nothing tops the old Mario theme, it's still very refreshing after hearing that tune over and over again.There is still not a lot of variety, but enough to keep make sure you don't get bored of them too soon.

The Bad
My biggest and foremost complaint is that this game contains no save-feature whatsoever, if you decide to stop playing for a while, all your progress is lost. This is not just a short, but hard game like the original Super Mario Bros., this game takes quite a long time, especially without the whistle. I never made it past the third world, simply because I don't want to play that much Mario in just one sitting, I want to take a break and play something else. I understand this was before saving became a standard part of every video game, but this one deserved to be an exception.

The Bottom Line
I hate reviewing NES games and especially platformers because they are just so simple and so many of them look the same that it's hard to come up with proper criticism. Even praising is hard because they all work and look the same. However Super Mario Bros. 3 is probably the best in the entire NES library, it looks great and it plays great, but above all it's designed amazingly well. The only flaw I noticed was that there is no save-feature, but that was common at the time and most people won't have any problem with it.

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a nice game for kids and maybe even their parents, some teenagers may also enjoy playing it, but they might consider it a bit childish. If you want to play this for nostalgia's sake, rest assured that it's still as great as it ever was.