Mario Bros.

"Let's-ah go! Awwww mamma mia!"

An early Mario game would be good for its year, but to me, Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are better games considering they were released before Mario Bros. This game is rather fun, but the lack of levels and variety make it rather dull and repetitive too.

Mario Bros., a product of Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto, was released on arcades and the Atari 2600 both in 1983, and later came to the NES in 1986. The game also marked Mario's first game as a plumber, and his brother Luigi made his debut in the game too. It's also part of Super Mario Advance and SMA2 but with new modes. However this is the old-school Mario Bros., probably not as great as its new re-releases, but the original is still fun to play.

Being the gamer that I am I recently found Mario Bros. at a market and bought it, because I had played the game previously and it was pretty fun. Playing it by myself wasn't too bad, and having a friend to play with me made it more fun for both of us. But what was the problem? Few enemies, the same level throughout the never-ending game, to name a couple.

Gameplay - 6/10
---------------

Ok, so yes, there is only one level (or phase) which builds up in difficulty as you progress through the game. However controls are yet so simple and easy to learn, one can get used to without having too much of a problem. You do have a good challenge for yourself by trying to get to the highest phase possible, so yeah, not too bad.

Story - 7/10
------------

Mario and Luigi find creatures roaming through the pipes beneath their plumbing shop, so they decide to clean the sewers out - only you can't actually clear the sewers out, seeing as the game never ends, you can only 'tidy it up a little'. However the story doesn't let our average little game down does it?

Audio/Video - 7/10
------------------

Neat graphics for the NES and arcade versions, rather rubbish graphics for the Atari version. As an early NES game the graphics are pretty good-looking. As for sounds, there's not too many soundtracks in Mario Bros., but what we do have is fine, plain, simple sound.

Buy or Rent? - BUY
------------------

If you have a GBA you should get Super Mario Advance or SMA2 so you have a great classic game, and this to go along with it. You won't be able to find a copy of the NES game very easily, but if you just about do, no more than £2 or $4.

Good Things about this Game
---------------------------

It's a Mario game.
Addictive.
Challenge.
Two player mode is kinda fun.

Bad Things about this Game
--------------------------

Repetitive.
Few enemies.
You're doing the same thing throughout the whole game.

Overall - 6/10
--------------

So, could we call Mario Bros. a classic? Not really. Can we say the game is fun? Possibly. Can we say overall that it's a good game? Certainly. Mario Bros. may not be the best of Mario games, but playing it will remind you of old-school Mario, and it's not really that bad. A good game for Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto in their early years.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/28/02, Updated 06/19/03