Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

"It's a remake of 3, but is it worth it?"

~Review~
It's been nearly 3 years since the launch of the GBA, and we have had quite a bit of ports come in. All of the 2D mario's besides the first, A Link to the Past, Etc, but it has taken some time to get to SMB3.

Saying that, quite a bit has changed since the NES and SNES days. We have growned acustomed to superior graphics, sound, etc. SMA4: SMB3 though, is quite a change from the mainstream. It uses a unique style that very few ports follow. Basicly, the game mostly uses the same sprites, with touch-ups, but also added backrounds, to make it feel more like a SNES game. Along with that, the music is the same, for the most part.

Before I go off ranting about the game, let me say that SMB3 is one of the best games in my childhood. I have been looking forward to this day for some time, and seeing the end result has deeply impressed me.

~Graphics~
Like I said earlier, the game itself is little changed from the mainstream of ports, which is quite rare. Ultimatly, the sprites (Mario, enemies, blocks, etc) are mostly the same, but they have been touched up to make them look like a SNES game.

The biggest change, though, is the backround. The original was good in it's own right, but lacked the backround that SMB had. The backround itself looks very impressive, up to SNES standards. Thus, Nintendo has done a good job of not only perking up the graphics, but also keeping the things that made this game great.

~Sound~
Not much to say here. The sound itself is the same as the graphics: Touched up, but not completely edited. The most noticable change is the voice bits from previous GBA Mario games.

~Extra's~
As far as extra's are concerned, the game itself is a marketing tool for the E-Reader. Nintendo was both smart and stupid in this area. Not only did they add stuff to the game, they made it out to where you needed the E-Cards (You get 2 free with the game), another GBA or GBA player, a E-reader, and a Link Cable, which comes out to around $100.00 US if you havn't already bought any of the above.

Once you have that, you must be wondering ''What exactly has been added?'' Mostly Demo's on how levels are to be played, power-up's to help you get past levels easier, extra levels, and items that are from other mario games. There is also a save feature (Thank god..), although not the best, it still helps you play the game right.

The question is: Is the game worth getting if I already have the NES version and a all the equipment to play the extra's? Yes. The game itself has barely changed from it's NES older brother, but the game itself is still fun and enjoyable. There are many things I forgot about the first game that I remembered in the GBA version, which is only 1/2 the fun.

~Final~
Ultimatly, the game itself has changed very little, but has grown up somewhat since it's NES days. It is still worth a look, but it may be hard to like the game if you have beten the original numerous times.

Final Scores
-Graphics: 8/10
-Sound: 9/10
-Control: 6/10
-Extra's: 7/10
-Fun Factor: 10/10

FINAL: 9.1 OUT OF 10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/20/03