"Super Mario Bros." - NES/Famicom

Well, boys and girls, we actually made it here. It's taken awhile but we've arrived, and the NES library can only get better from here on out (and also worse, in many ways). That's right, time for Super Mario Bros., the loving spiritual sequel (or maybe just regular sequel) to Mario Bros. This'n' is the one that basically put Nintendo on the map, or at least secured their spot on the map.

In late 1985, the Famicom Disk System was well underway and rapidly approaching, and masterminds Shigeru Miyamoto (heard of him?) and Takashi Tezuka knew they needed to do something special to mark the end of the life of the cartridge, since it would soon be replaced by the disk. Summoning up all their design prowess, they decided to make this: Super Mario Bros. They got Koji Kondo, the now legendary composer, to do the now legendary soundtrack, and now you and your grandparents all know the game and can hum the main theme by heart if you think about it for a second.

Super Mario Bros. presents one of the early examples of specialization in game making, or the splitting of a development team into responsibilities that those people handle (graphics, design, programming, music). It also marks one of the first gaming tutorials, with World 1-1 having been custom designed to teach the player how to play the game before unleashing them on the game at large.

Super Mario Bros. also presented the first horizontally "side-scrolling" game on the Famicom and contributed to the popularization of that genre that we'll see in the coming years. And I mean make no mistake, we will see a lot of games on the Famicom that were out to get a piece of the Mario pie, for a long time, trying to capitalize on the formula this game presented.

But anyway, that's all ancient history. Let's ask the real question: is it actually still fun to play?

He doesn't look so super to me.

----- Playthrough -----

So bear with me here, or just don't read this article at all because it's about Super Mario Bros. and you've already passed the part where I might tell you anything you didn't already know.

In Super Mario Bros. you play as the titular Mario on his quest to save Princess Toadstool from the jerkwad Bowser, King of the Koopa, who has kidnapped her. And you know-- I really don't know what horse Mario has in this race or why he's chosen to undertake this task; the manual isn't very clear and just says that he set out to do it when he heard about it. I guess he's just a nice guy.

I suppose he looks nice enough.

Mario has a few abilities at his disposal: he can walk (d-pad), run (d-pad and holding B), jump (A) and by default, that's it. Those are your abilities you're going to use to stop the big baddie. If it sounds hopeless, fear not, because Mario has a few other tricks up his sleeve. When he consumes a magic mushroom, he turns into Super Mario (for reasons unknown) and when he consumes a fire flower, he turns into Super Mario Who Can Also Shoot Fireballs Out of His Hands Mario... Super.

He seems like he's enjoying it just a little too much.

The game is divided into 8 worlds with 4 subworlds a piece. That's a pretty astonishing amount of levels compared to anything we've played on the Famicom so far I'm sure you'll agree, and they're all surprisingly diverse. You'll have to contend with various types of enemies in interesting arrangements and in set up in places just to trick you or catch you off guard, as well as underwater levels and sky levels with floating platforms and bridges.

That's the flimsiest railing I've ever seen.

At the end of every world, you'll reach that world's castle, and after getting through it, have a go at King Koopa himself. He stands on a drawbridge and chucks crap at you (fire blasts... hammers...) and your goal is to knock him into the lava and do away with him. Eventually, you'll chase him out of every castle he has to his name and finally track down Princess Toadstool.

Wait-- you were in on this? What do you mean "we"!?

That being said and done, you'll have the option to come back for a round two if that's your thing. Enemies are upgraded throughout the game in the second round, and move much faster, or are replaced with other enemies (goombas are pretty much all replaced with fire-ball impervious buzzy beetles), but other than that not much changes. It's a decent way to challenge yourself if you want a little something extra.

----- Impressions -----

How long did I play?

An hour and a half,

How much did I beat?
I beat the game and played a bit of the second round.

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Intuitive Design: 

How easy is it to intuitively understand the game?

As mentioned above, Super Mario Bros. is one the first game on the Famicom to present an intentional tutorial level (as far as I know or have seen). Sure, most games usually have a difficulty ramp, and the first level gives you freedom to dick around and figure things out-- but Miyamoto and Tezuka took it a little farther. The level is intentionally designed to present you with one enemy type and one obstacle at a time as well as the item blocks, to let you explore them and learn what you need to play the game before setting you loose on the rest of it.

It doesn't prepare you for this crap, though.

This works pretty well, and aside from secrets you can only learn from repeated play (hidden 1UP blocks, 1UPs from Koopa shell combos), you should pretty much exit World 1-1 with all the knowledge you need.

Gameplay: 

How rewarding does playing the game feel? Too difficult?

Super Mario Bros. has a pretty rewarding loop-- the main goal of the game is always to make forward progress to the right, and of course, you can't even go back the direction that you came from so your progress is permanent for that life. You'll be presented with plenty of jumping challenges, and because Mario controls pretty responsively, these are fun to complete.

I would say that Mario is almost a little too difficult now, but not for the era. I might get attacked for saying this, but towards the end of the game the difficulty ramps up pretty steeply, and without making good use of hidden 1UPs and getting as many coins as possible, you'll definitely be in trouble-- and you'll definitely have to start over a few times anyway just to get through World 8 the first time. That's probably fine, however in the modern day having to replay the whole game (or at least enough to warp back, if you wish) can get frustrating.

Pictured: plumber man comes back with a vengeance (but still dies).

Super Mario does a good job of rewarding experimentation and curiosity though, and that also alleviates some of the pressure. Like J.J. & Jeff, running around hitting stuff constantly often yields rewards. It's in your best interest to try every pipe and block you can reach, and even jump where you think hidden blocks might be, if you want 1UPs and coins (you do).

Depth: 

How deep/long is the game?

If you were coming at this completely fresh I'd say it'd come out to a few hours at least. For the reasons mentioned above, you'll likely be starting over a lot.

Super Mario Bros. doesn't have an astounding amount of depth but it's not that type of experience anyway. You're not going to get lost in your vast amount of options, you're just going to have fun and feel the push to tackle each successive level by using the options you have masterfully.

Presentation: 

How's the sound? How are the graphics?

It goes without saying that Koji Kondo's soundtracks are some of the finest works on the Famicom, and Super Mario Bros. is basically the beginning of that legacy. Again, it feels almost silly to even post a link, but the overworld theme is iconic and is one of the all time greats-- though all the music in the game is quite catchy and good. I personally really like the invincibility theme and could listen to it for awhile despite its repetition.

As far as presentation, Super Mario Bros. may be simple, but it's simple in an attractive way. This is probably one of the best looking NES games we've had so far-- for once we actually get a real background (with clouds!?), detailed levels designs, and detailed enemy designs that we can actually distinguish from one another. It's pretty hard to complain about what's on offer here.

Personal Chord: 

Does the game have that undefinable "something" for me?

This is one of the first games I remember playing as a child, so I'm gonna have to say yes. Even then, Super Mario Bros. is one of the games that helped saved the industry and make it what it is today. The game's iconic, and there's really not much excuse for not having played it if you're a game enthusiast. So I might be a little biased.

Should You Play: 

Is there a reason to even bother with this one?

Sorry, was I not clear in the previous paragraph? Yes, of course!

Super Mario Bros. is pretty difficult, but its simple formula caught the attention of everyone at the time, and is still just as fun and interesting today. It's a game worth playing and replaying. One of the all-time greats.

It may lack the charm of some of its sequels (of which there are too many to count, and some coming on this very system), but it's where it all started, both the Mario series (not counting Mario Bros. I guess) and very nearly all of gaming's rebirth and current success as a whole since the '80s.

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