"Classic Bop-the-enemy-from-beneath Action!"

Mario Bros. is the game where you control Mario. Mario has to clear all of the enemies out of a 1-screen room to complete the ''phase'', as it's called. He does this by hitting the enemy from below the floor it's walking on, then touching the enemy while it's down to do away with it. There are Shellcreepers (turtles), which crawl about slowly and take one hit from below to turn them over, Sidesteppers (crabs), which crawl faster than Shellcreepers, and get even faster when hit once from below; you need to hit it twice from below to turn it over, and Fighterflies, which hop about, making them harder to hit since they don't stay on the ground. Notice the last enemy in a stage speeds up. Also, you are timed, and that time limit gets shorter each phase. No, you don't die if you take too long, but a red fireball will appear. It bounces around the level slowly. Whatever you do, DON'T KILL IT! You'll get points, but another will immediately take its place, and go twice as fast! Kill the faster one, another takes its place and goes twice as fast again--4 times faster than the original red fireball you should've just left alone! Also, if you STILL take too long, green fireballs will start appearing (up to two on the screen at a time!). Green fireballs just bounce from one end of the screen to the other at your current height. Unlike the red ones, these suckers ALWAYS move fast. There's no punishment for killing a green fireball, though. Other enemies you don't need to kill are Slipice, who can randomly decide to make the ground he's walking on slippery for the rest of the level, and icecicles, which fall from the top platform and pipes. Also, a POW block at the bottom of the screen can be hit 3 times--each time you hit it, the enemies on the ground are turned over (or the Sidesteppers speed up, Slipice is killed, and any icecicles on the screen are destroyed). This POW block regenerates, however, after every bonus round (starting with the second bonus round, that is). Each enemy you kill nets Mario a bonus coin (which only gives you points... no ''extra life'' for getting a set number of coins in this game).

Of course, if you wish, you can get a second player to play as Luigi. With 2 players, you can choose to cooperate to get rid of the enemies, or compete against one another. Mario and Luigi will bump off one another if they touch, and they can also bump one another by hitting the platform they're on. It can be used to bump player into the enemies!

Graphics (8/10)--they look nice. You may want to note that there are 4 different styles of platforms used--one set for phases 1 & 2, another set for phases 4 & 5, another set for phases 6 & 7, and a fourth set for phase 3, and every phase starting at phase 8. The floor ''bounces'' up temporarily when you hit it from below. The POW block flashes yellow and blue, and it shrinks each time you use it (and totally disappears once hit thrice). The Shellcreepers look MUCH like Koopa Troopas from previous Mario games. Also, the Shellcreepers, when flipped over, will wiggle about, and eventually JUMP OUT OF THEIR SHELL (which is cool looking)! Course, when they do jump out their shell, they're about to get back in and on their feet again, only faster! Another interesting note--Shellcreepers and Sidesteppers change color as they speed up. Shellcreepers start green, then turn purple, then red. Sidesteppers start red, then turn blue, then purple. For some reason, the Fighterflies don't change color when they speed up... disappointing. The Sidesteppers look cute too, as well as Slipice.

Sound/Music (7/10)--The jingle at the beginning of each level is cool, and some sound effects sound good (like getting a coin). Most sound effects are just boring sounding though, and a few actually sound bad (like the sound of Slipice freezing a platform).

Control (6/10)--It's loose. VERY loose. If you've ever played a Mario game, you'll first notice here that Mario doesn't control the same as you're used to. He slips a bit more than other Mario titles, and it's harder to control his jumping (impossible to turn around in mid-jump, unlike later Mario games). It's not really BAD control, but it DOES take getting used to.

Fun (7/10)--It's a fun game to play (especially tormenting a second player ;oD), but it's probably not a game you'll play over and over and over again.

Overall (7/10)--If you see it in an arcade, it might be worth playing, especially if you have a friend to play with!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/01, Updated 07/08/01