NES CLASSIC: Super Mario Bros. Game by Nintendo Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley Save: Battery/Scores Released: 2004 Works with: Game Boy Advance/Game Boy Advance SP/Game Boy Micro/Nintendo DS ESRB Rated: E Quick Opinion: Own **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: In 1985, Super Mario Bros. was packed in with the Nintendo Entertainment System and it changed the world. Then in 2004, Nintendo decided to port the game over to the Game Boy Advance. Here is the objective of the game as written in the original game manual. "One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin. The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King. Unfortunately, she is presently in the hands of the great Koopa turtle king. Mario, the hero of the story (maybe) hears about the Mushroom People's plight and sets out on a quest to free the Mushroom Princess from the evil Koopa and restore the fallen kingdom of the Mushroom People. You are Mario! It's up to you to save the Mushroom People from the black magic of the Koopa!" There is the plot of the game copied directly from the original manual with all of the incorrect capitalization and weirdness intact. Onward to the review! **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: Super Mario Bros. is easy to understand, you just choose 1 player or 2 player mode. If you choose 2 player, the second player will play as Luigi once the first player dies. You take turns, which is a nice feature. If you play the 1 Player mode, there is only Mario. The easiest way to explain how to play Super Mario Bros. is to walk you through the first level of the game. When you first start out, you can move to the right. You will come across bricks, question mark blocks, and your first enemy. You could stomp on that enemy to defeat them or you could avoid them. The blocks above you can be hit to reveal coins (collect 100 coins and you get an extra life) or power ups. The first power up you encounter is a Super Mushroom. The Super Mushroom makes you grow in size and become Super Mario. You can now break blocks above you. If you get hit by an enemy, or a spiked object, you will lose your Super Mario status. However, if you find a Flower while you are Super Mario, than you gain the ability to shoot fire balls at your enemies in hopes of defeating them. There are two types of enemies that you will run into in the first level. The first type are Goombas and they are portrayed as little mushroom creatures that you can flatten by jumping on. The other enemy is the Koopa Troopa. The Koopa Troopa is a turtle that goes into it's shell when you hop on it. When it is in it's shell, you can launch that shell at enemies by kicking it. The first level also introduces Pipes, Hidden Blocks, and the Invincibility Star. Going down a specific pipe or hitting areas that appear to be empty may net you an Extra Life Mushroom or lead you to a hidden area full of coins. You have a set number of lives and you lose a life if you fall into a pit, get hit by an enemy while normal (small), or run out of time in the level. Run out of lives and it is GAME OVER. There are four Levels in each World and there are eight Worlds. So, there are a total of 32 distinct side scrolling levels. You can find Warp Zones, Jump Springs, Water Levels where you swim, Boss enemies to overcome, and all sorts of interesting surprises. There are difficult jumps to conquer, enemies to avoid, and secrets to be found. Thankfully, the game never feels like it is a chore and the difficulty progression is very well balanced. This is an excellent game to just pick up and play in short bursts. The game also keeps track of your score so you can always set new high scores. The point of every level is to get to the end of that level and grab either a Flagpole or an Axe. The Flagpole also has an interesting secret. The higher you touch the flagpole when you get to it, the more points you get! So there is always a challenge to get to the top of that flagpole. Liked: Lots of hidden secrets and things to do. Lots of levels and a decent difficulty curve. This is a fun game to pick up and play. You can always get better at it. Hated: Sometimes it feels like the game is not as challenging as it once was after you have memorized all of the levels. Maybe if they threw in some sort of trick items or just ramped the difficulty up to absurd levels.... **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: The game looks almost exactly like it did on the NES, but -due to resolution restrictions- there are pixels missing. This makes Mario and friends look a little bit odd. If you look carefully, it appears that mario is missing his trademark mustache sometimes as he moves. So, the graphics are compressed a bit and off a few pixels. This means that it is harder to perform some of the pixel perfect moves like Wall Jumping. Other than that, this is a pretty decent looking game. Super Mario Bros. is a good looking first generation NES title that has easy to see enemies, interesting environments, and sparse backgrounds. The animation is only a few frames, but that does not hurt the game in any real capacity. The game has a unique and fun art style to it. Although some of the foreground and background objects are reused. A good example of reused assets would be that the clouds and bushes in the background are the same design, just a different color. Liked: Love the art style of 8-bit games and when this game came out, it was one of the best looking games of its time. Hated: Reuse of graphics elements. Honestly, they could do more to make the game even more fresh visually. The missing pixels cramp my wall jumping tricks. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: From the moment you start the game the music has your attention and refuses to let go. I would describe the music as quirky and addictive. There is a definite joy that goes into the music of this game. Koji Kondo is the gentleman who composed the music for this game and he has found a way to embed the music into your head from the moment you first get control of Mario. The sound effects are appropriate and the music is fantastic. The music in the castle dungeon areas or in the water areas are fantastic. You may find yourself humming the melody of the music in this game when you least expect it. The music in Super Mario Bros. set a high bar for the NES and there is nothing wrong with the sound emulation in this port. Liked: EVERYTHING. Personally, I think I like the water music the best. Hated: Nothing. Seriously, I have no complaints about the music in this game at all. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: The D-Pad moves you left, right, or down a pipe. The A button jumps and the B button allows you to gain speed. Gaining momentum in the game allows you to go further when you jump. The power-ups make sense from a gameplay perspective and there are a lot of different ways to get a higher score. The addition of warp zones, destructible areas, and many different hidden tricks are a great way to encourage people to play the game in their own way. That flexibility was unheard of before Super Mario Bros. and has become THE hallmark of a well designed platform side scrolling action title. The design does call back to the original Mario Bros. arcade game. The turtles from that game are back, the pipes are back, and the ability to hit creatures from below when they are on bricks. The fireball is back as both an item and an enemy. The game really is an extension of the original Mario Bros. arcade game in that it goes above and beyond that original title. The bizarre storyline, art style, and feel of the game is really unique. These are plumbers from Brooklyn jumping around on giant mushrooms avoiding enemies that look like angry muffins. The addition of sub-areas in each well designed level makes it possible for the game to feel fresh every time you play it. Liked: This is a pinnacle of game design, play control, and how to make each game experience unique. I have been playing it for years and it still seems fun and fresh. Hated: I am sure it is possible for the game to get old eventually. **************************************************************************** Improve: Honestly, more power-ups, levels, and variety. Yup! RIYL: Side Scrolling Platforming Games and the Super Mario Bros. franchise. **************************************************************************** Final Words: This is a great port of the NES title and I honestly feel that it is worth tracking down. Keep in mind that it may be a little expensive. However, it is worth owning for collection purposes. It is not a perfect port because of the different resolutions between the Game Boy Advance and your normal Television. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: **** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: ***** Play Control/Game Design: **** Value: **** Star Total: 63% Personal Opinion Merit: 25% Final Score: 88% Letter Grade: A ****************************************************************************