Super Mario Bros. 3

"Simply the best Super Mario on the NES...period!"

As one of the final Super Mario Brothers games to be released to the Nintendo Entertainment System, it merely gave way to the future of what the Super Mario franchise was going to become. Placing you in an extremely large world with new boss characters, new stages and new powers, there are hardly other side scrolling action games that can defeat the pure scope and accomplishment that this title has to offer! Back in control of Mario, you must travel through eight different worlds in an attempt to rescue the Princess from the clutches of the Evil Bowser. Although the story line for this game is extremely old, you’ll find that it is a definite pace change and return to the original format of run and bop action, but throwing in enough variation on the different powers available to Mario through the use of caps. Innovations and ideas abound throughout Super Mario Brothers 3, you’ll find that if you’re a Mario fan, a Nintendo buff or even a gamer who just likes some quality gaming, then you’ll find that all of the available boss characters, stages and even the intricate mini-games that are featured throughout, really show the pinnacle of Super Mario on the NES!

The game play Super Mario Brothers 3 is just what you would expect from a Super Mario game. The game play in Super Mario Brothers is side scrolling action, in which you control either Mario {1 player game} or Luigi {2 player game} through several worlds of enemy bumping madness. The simplicity of the game at this time did not require you to do anything more than bash monsters, collect power up items and make it from one end of the stage to the other before the timer ran out! Through your adventures in these stages, you’ll find different power ups that will help you to attain your goal of defeating Bowser and rescuing the Princess from his clutches. But, instead of just chasing around mushrooms and fire flowers as your power ups, you’re introduced to the Suit system that allows you to transform Mario into one of several different forms, all of which with their own special powers. This only makes the game much more challenging in order to complete, because with some of these suits, you need them to get through a couple of the different worlds, as they make life easier on you! In addition to this, you have the ability to keep power ups in a sliding bar that can be used before you actually enter into one of the many different stages, which will give you the upper hand when used correctly. To make matters better than this, you’ll find that there are several different mini-games that you can compete in to win different suits that can be stored before you move onto other stages, which effectively gives you hours upon hours of game play time! Boss characters are found at the ends of every stage, and you’ll find that unlike the previous Super Mario games, you’re now introduced to the children of the evil Bowser, all of which take a certain strategy to defeat so that you can continue on to the next world.

Control in Super Mario is something that needs to be practiced in later stages. While not the most difficult game that you’ll even play, there are instances where you need to have precision timing and patience to get through some of the more intricate jumping places! One of the most difficult areas in the game, and the point where you will see just how the control reacts, is in the fourth world, where there are small platforms that you absolutely must hit, or you’ll fall to your doom. In these places, you’ll find that the NES control doesn’t make much use of the directional pad, and timing is everything. The first instances of Ghost Control in NES games can be found in this point, in which the controller just isn’t as responsive as you may need it to be later on in the game! On top of all of this, you’ll have to learn how to use the different suit effects, because they all do something a little different and require you to learn a slightly different control set than what you’re used to. With the P meter, you’ll find that flying is nothing more than building it up, and then flying through the air, which is actually a shadowed shade of Super Mario World!

Detail upon detail is what you’ll receive here in Super Mario Brothers 3, and you’ll find it around just about every single corner. From the sandy deserts to the oversized worlds that you’ll encounter, there is always something flashy to look at, and the game is presented with the top visual quality in mind! Never once did I run into any sort of visual break-up and everything from the character designs, to the different bosses that you face off against all seem to have a personality and style all their own. You’ll find that each world is a little different in some cases, while remaining extremely unique in others, truly showing off what a visually improved game can be! You’ll also find that in later stages, the movement that you need to keep up with in order to continue on is rival to what you’ll find in Super Mario World for the SNES, again, more of the fore-shadowing of what was to come in the future.

Audio wise, the game features some of the most impressive music found in a Super Mario game, but you’ll find that nothing beats out the overall production of Super Mario 2 in this respect. Each world has it’s own theme and pace that really keeps you going along with the action, and it’s refreshing as well as comforting to know that there is nothing extremely different to the game! The sound effects haven’t been changed too much, save for adding a couple of different sound effects that come in with the different suits and enemies. Other than that, you’ll find that there is plenty here that is both new and yet it stays familiar at the same time, keeping the theme of the overall game to a light and airy tone. I haven’t found a spot in the game yet where you have to hit the mute button, and that is a rather good point in my book when it comes to older NES games that really have never featured the greatest music.

Super Mario Brothers 3 marks the end of a series and the beginning of something so much larger on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. While keeping true to form and not adding a ton of useless features, Super Mario Brothers 3 keeps the light and airy theme while giving gamers of all ages a game that is well worth playing, even years later! With decent control, new concepts and several expansive stages as well as the induction of mini-games to add to the fun, there is literally hours upon hours of game play that can be found throughout. If you add into this that the game features a save system, you'll also find that the comfort of being able to play at your own leisure is back and with a game that has plenty to offer. Worthy of anyone’s NES game collection, there is very little here that can be griped about and this game is truly worthy of the perfect rating.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/02, Updated 01/04/02