Super Mario Bros.

"Episode 1: The Stamped-On Menaces"

It all started with a horny monkey.

Way back in the distant past (the early Eighties to be exact) a giant ape saw a fair maiden, and fell in love. It was a love that defied all the laws of nature - a love strong enough to pass the void between species. However, the heartless hag just wouldn't repay the affection that the hairy one bestowed upon. Torn apart by angst, our simian Heathcliffe did the only thing he could think of to ensure that the two of them would be together. In a fit of passionate rage, he abducted her, and stalked off in to the night. The good lady's better half, going by the super-hero alter-ego Jump Man, set off to reclaim his bint, and he eventual cornered the amorous ape in a towering mass of steel girders. Monkey-boy tried to fight back by crushing his love rival under a veritable tirade of wooden barrels, but to no avail. Our human heartthrob overthrew his pre-evolved foe, and settled down with his bird. History would come to know that pissed-off primate as Donkey Kong, and Jump Man by the less-ridiculous name Mario. And a legend was born. Now these two are friends, and are two of the most recognisable and iconic faces in the games industry. While DK would fall out of the limelight somewhat until the 16-bit era, Mario's career took off straight away. After being set upon by DK's son (admittedly due to the fact that he had abducted Kong Snr. - probably just to rub salt into the wound still left open from their previous encounter), Maz met up with his brother Luigi for some single screen rivalry, before finally hitting it big in a game that would revolutionise the world of video games as the primitive inhabitants of Earth circa 1985 understood it. The place was the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game? Super Mario Bros. And the rest, as they say, is history.....

The plot for Super Mario Bros. is charmingly simple, and manages to almost mirror that of Mario's very first appearance in Donkey Kong - Bowser, the King of the turtle-like Koopa race, has kidnapped Toadstool, the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, and he and his forces have overrun the peaceful surroundings, capturing the kingdom's eight castles. Somehow, Mario - a Brooklyn plumber by trade - winds up in the Mushroom Kingdom, and sets off to rescue Princess Toadstool, and save the Kingdom one castle at a time. That was all there was to it, and in a way it was all the better for it - the closest thing that this game gets to a plot twist is the revelation that the Princess is being held in another castle when you conquer each of the first seven castles. But even this simple moment (that is exactly the same every world you beat) has become infamous. And that is the beauty of this game in a nutshell - it's ever so simplistic by today's standards, but every single stage, every boss fight, every moment stands up to the test of time, and remains utterly, helplessly memorable.

And even though it may seem simplistic now, this game was the mutt's nuts back at the time of it's release. Simply put, when this game was released, it was the most complete gaming experience yet. Platform games existed back then, of course ('Jump Man' first took to the screens to defeat Donkey Kong in one, after all...), but they were basic single-screen level affairs. There's not really anything wrong with that, of course, and many of those crumbly titles are still looked back upon fondly now, but it was getting stale. The public's interest was waning. The hardcore gamers needed a saviour, and Mario came to the rescue, and redefined the platform genre.

Super Mario Bros.' most obvious appeal was the superb level design. No longer confined to a sequence of static screens, the Mushroom Kingdom was presented in a glorious set of levels that actually scrolled with the player's character. This was big enough back then, but here, nearly twenty years later, we expect more. Thankfully this game still remains as fresh and entertaining as it was back then. Every level is superbly and lovingly crafted - barely an inch of the screen is wasted here. From impressively tight jumps to make over bottomless pits, to row after row of blocks that can be used as platforms or as hiding places for all manner of treats, navigating this game is always a busy experience. There are hidden areas filled with coins (the collection of which is just one of many platform staples to first appear here) and shortcuts of varying length to be discovered - either by descending the pipes that clutter the surface world, or unearthing a beanstalk to the heavens. And what's more, there is a great deal of variety to be had in the level settings. From obvious things such as setting some levels in the subterranean tunnels that lie just below the surface of the Mushroom Kingdom, or sending you beneath the waves for some sub-aquatic adventuring, and of course placing you in each of the eight castles, which are filled with lava and fiery pits, to the more subtle changes such as simply placing some of the more traditional outside stages in a night-time environment (although all that changes here is the colour of the sky, the imposing darkness of the new background makes for quite an oppressive atmosphere), everything feels individual - the levels from World One feel different to those from World Two, for example.

These levels are populated by a cast of enemies that have become almost as synonymous with the Mario franchise as the titular figure himself, scattered in surprisingly high proportion throughout the game. From the Goombas (little mushroomesque monsters that waddle relentlessly towards you) and the Koopa Troopas (basically just turtles with 'tude) down to the more unique enemies such as Latiku, a pain in the neck who flies above you on a cloud, shadowing your every move and showering you with spiked enemies, and the Hammer Bros., who as you'd expect throw hammers at you, there isn't an enemy in the game that doesn't immediately conjure up the image of the Mushroom Kingdom in all of it's 8-bit glory. Even the most casual of gamers could probably recognise the various opponents here as belonging in a Mario game. The enemies differ in more than just their appearance, too - while the Goombas simply fade away once you plant your fat plumber arse on their skull, , the Koopa Troopas for example will leave their shell behind, which you can then boot at other enemies to take several out in one go - just mind that the shell doesn't finish you off on it's rebound...... It's all still as enchanting now as it ever was, and you can't help but fall in love with the cast of creatures that you will then proceed to savagely dispatch.

To help you in this animal-killing spree, there are various power-ups on hand, and even these have become famous in their own right. Though you start off as just a wee little man, munching on a mushroom makes you a far more respectable size, and allows you to take an extra hit before you die. Devouring a flower, on the other hand, bestows upon you the ability to throw fireballs at your adversaries, finishing them off from afar. While later Mario games have thrown more power-ups into the mix, such as the different suits seen in Super Mario Bros. 3, or the cape from Super Mario World, these tend to appear in only one or two games before vanishing, while it is the two simple power-ups seen here that survived throughout Mario's 2D career. That simple fact speaks volumes - Nintendo quite simply got it right first time, and anything else that they throw into the mix in mere window dressing. That this game would go on to set the trend for all those years after says so much about just how well made it truly is.

What's more, Super Mario Bros. features a two-player option. While this follows the trend of many early multiplayer games by merely giving you and your friend alternating lives, and gave you two separate characters with which to play by casting the second player as Luigi. In all honesty, though, both characters play in exactly the same way (unlike later instalments), only really differing in the colour that they wear - and even then, when under the influence of a fireflower both characters look identical. Even so, two-player Super Mario Bros. is a wonderful experience, due mostly to the fact that the game is almost as captivating to watch as it is to play.

You would be forgiven for thinking that this game would be an easy ride - especially with videos available on the net that show the game being completed in ridiculously short amounts of time, but at first this game is really rather punishing. If you are not protected by a power-up, then one touch of an enemy will kill you. And as you progress, the enemies are coming on harder and faster - by the later stages you'll be navigating some wonderfully tight jumps, while trying to avoid a veritable army of foes. You'll need to be ever so precise in your movements - knowing just where to go and when to go there - and as such you'll need to learn all the ins and outs of every stage in the game. This ensures that when you finally defeat Bowser and rescue Princess Toadstool, you are greeted with a huge sense of satisfaction, the like of which is often absent in many more modern games.

Graphically this game naturally looks far more primitive than even those other NES Mario games that were to follow, although there are still many wonderfully accomplished touches, considering how new the technology at Nintendo's disposal was. While everything does have a rather jagged 'blocky' look about it, the characters are still quite well realised - Mario and Luigi are both rather detailed sprites when they are enhanced by a power-up, although they look a little too small to be truly impressive when they are in their standard guise. The enemies, too, look fantastic. Bowser especially is a very well realised sprite - his shell is festooned with spikes, and his facial features are very well defined (although what I assume should be a snarl looks more like a stoned grin.....). These sprites of course look primitive in comparison to later NES titles, but compared to everything that had come before it, this game was revolutionary.

The backgrounds, too, are rather basic, but what little there is is used to great effect. As well as the aforementioned night-time stages, several other tricks are pulled out of the developers magic hats. The tunnel stages are all afforded a very dull blue look (right down to the enemies that appear there), which creates quite a dank and shadowy atmosphere, while the bright grey walls of the castles give a very formal and neat look, which clashes with the lakes of fire that fill the pits in these stages, helping the feeling that this place has been invaded. They're simple, simple little touches, but even little things can produce good results when used in the right way.

The music doesn't really live up to the standard set by the graphics, but it is still far from being bad. The mostly jaunty tunes have all become legendary in their own way - especially the low pitched 'underground' theme (which sounds a little like something you'd find in a Forties suspense flick - I half expected a clash of strings to sound in at any moment), which underwent a remix to appear in Mario's third adventure among others, it's just that there isn't really the same sense of revolution with the music as there is with the gameplay and the graphics. Even so, it's still an extremely able soundtrack.

Super Mario Bros. really did change the gaming world back when it was first released, and it's easy to see why. Almost every little detail has stood the test of time, and when prompted as to their favourite 2D platform game, most gamers will instantly name one of this games' sequels - a legacy was born with this title, and gamers everywhere fell in love with it in much the same way as a huge ape once fell in love with a young girl. In 1985 Super Mario Bros. brought the future of gaming into our homes. And we love it for this still.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/04