Super Mario Bros.

"You mean I came through 4 levels to rescue TOAD!? AGAIN!?"

Is this the original game? Is it? It's been remade so many times... I have no idea WHAT is the original. But, after much searching, I think I've gotten it. This is it? Really? Good. Okay, now I can start. Ahem:

Super Mario Bros. is the game that started it all. Yeah, you've heard that line before, and you've also probably heard "you've heard that line before" before, too. But it's essential to any review for this game.

If you didn't know by now, Mario is the game that- LITERALLY, single-handedly, brought the video game industry back from the dead with a single hop. And this is no exaggeration. If you were able to travel back to the 80's... you'd know the true feeling. Not that I was alive in the 80's... but I've heard enough eyewitness accounts to know. Heck... my parents actually know about this game, along with Pac Man, and that's saying a whole lot.

The thing that makes Mario Bros. so great is its simple-to-grasp, easy to get good at, and hard-to-master gameplay. Plus, it's dang fun. Really, it's made on, like, a system with nowhere NEAR the amount of bits our today systems have, yet many, many people would gladly trade in an average game from today for this classic game from yesterday. That's also saying something.

Graphics: 10/10

Obviously, I'm rating the graphics as they would be rated for that time. And they're beautiful. Okay, gamers who just started gaming around the next-gen systems (or at least the last-gen) will NOT understand how these were EVER considered beautiful, and I can understand. But take my word on this- they were. Just look at the backgrounds. Pretty advanced stuff back then, yes it was! Mario was very detailed, or at least as detailed as you can get for that time. And the colors added a whole new level of beauty to the game. Plus, there are a few graphical touches that will astonish you if you ever manage to look close enough to catch them, like impact sparks (NOT very realistic, but still amazing) and... lights that actually shine? Or maybe it was just reflection off of my TV.

Story: 7/10

Average for the day. Bowzer kidnaps Princess Peach of Mushroom kingdom and does more bad stuff, and Mario must search his castles, one by one, to find him and kill him, saving Peach. Hey, people didn't want extremely advanced plots back then! Or maybe they did, but they didn't get much.

Gameplay: 10/10

The truly classic Mario gameplay.

Mario is one of the pioneers- maybe THE pioneer- of the platformer. Why? Because his game revolves around JUMPING. Just think- how many games have characters that jump 3 times their height? A whole lot. This all started from Mario. This seems ultra-simple- and it is- but it is used in SO MANY WAYS, that when you realize just HOW DEEP jumping can be, it will take your breath away.

How do you kill enemies? Jump on them. How do you clear obstacles? Jump over them. How do you get items? Jump on their blocks. How do you do anything useful? Jump, jump, jump! Trust me, you'll spend more time in the air than on the ground.

But there are many more classic parts of the gameplay besides the jumping. Remember the Koopa Troopas? Of course you do! Jump on them once to send them in their shells, then kick them into something! But don't let them bounce back! SMB. also basically invented the secret areas- and the TRUE secret areas! You know, hidden block that lets you climb a vine, smash blocks in a pattern to get to the ceiling, and the coolest, secret levels that you actually have to SEARCH FOR.

And the level system is the base for most conventional level systems in games today! 8 worlds, 4 levels in each world, with the end world being sort of a "boss level", where you try to save Peach. Yet you ALWAYS seem to pick the castle where Peach ISN'T in! Try the next castle, which happens to be harder!

Overall... just perfect gameplay!

Sound: 10/10

Da da da, da dah, da! DA!

You've heard that tune before. The sound of Mario is all bleeps and bloops, but... it doesn't matter. These songs and/or sound effects are some of the most easily recognized in all of gaming, and chances are, you've heard ONE of them before. Plus, they're all fun to listen to!

Buy or Rent?

Okay, the only copy of this game you'll get is a remake, I can assure you, unless you go to one of those used games stores. But this is also one of the most EASY remakes to get! Come on, it made you able to play the games you're playing today, because it guided the game industry from out of the dark, so buy it already!

Unless you're a Wario fan.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/04