"A decent, if uninspiring, sequel that just feels hollow after the perfection that was SMB2"

After the brilliantly made Super Mario Bros. 2, I certainly had high hopes for its sequel, SMB3. Of course, when anyone plays a game with expectations of getting exactly what one got from the previous game, you will be disappointed (just compare the FF7 and FF6 reviews).

So, what does SMB3 do wrong? Pretty much everything, but luckily it doesn't do anything that wrong. The first thing that I didn't like was that you are back to only being either Mario or Luigi, unlike in SMB2 where you can be any of four characters. I really liked the variety of the characters in SMB2, it allowed you to play one level any of four different ways, which greatly increases the replayability of the game, and adds some strategy as to which character to play. In SMB3 you are either Mario or Luigi, and they're pretty much the same, no differences in the way they play.

The gameplay is a much better form that was introduced in the first Mario. The improvements are many here. First they added the ability to go up, or back to the left. Most of the gameplay is based on the first game, which I didn't feel was that great a game to start with. However, there are a great many improvements, such as an added ''Leaf'' item that allows you to fly, or other costumes, such as the Frog Suit. These add a lot to the game, but they just weren't as common as they leaf to make much of a difference to the overall game. For example, you mostly only get the Frog Suit in the Toad House, and if you get hit in a level, you lose it. So, they never really have time to add to the game.

The best part of the game is the 2 player element, combined with the Map Feature (they placed all the levels on a map, and you decide where you go). It allows some interesting decisions, as one player won't want to pass a certain level which would let the other player get to a Bonus, such as a Toad House.

Graphically this game is another small step up from the last game, but nothing spectacular.

Overall it's a fine game, but it just left me flat after the wonderful SMB2, returning to the ''classic'' gameplay that I was glad that they had left behind. Oh well.

This game gets a 6 because although it isn't a bad game, I wished it had been quite a bit different.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/07/00, Updated 04/07/00