Mario Retrospective

From thecrankyhermit

Super Mario Bros.

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What can be said about this game that even non-gamers don't already know? This game is legendary. Shortly after the infamous video game crash of 1983 (it should be noted that the crash was of the North American home console market, and that arcades and computer games were still going strong), this game was developed by Nintendo EAD (Nintendo's largest development studio), with Shigeru Miyamoto as lead designer. Finished and released in 1985, it didn't just succeed in a wasteland-like environment. It singlehandedly sold tens of millions of copies of Nintendo's NES console system, rejuvenated market interest, influenced the direction of home console games for years to come, gave a face to gaming, and may very well be the most widely played game of all time to this day.

This was not the first NES game - Nintendo R&D1 had previously released several NES ports of their 8-bit arcade games, including Mario's earlier titles Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros. Other early NES titles included Clu Clu Land, Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, Urban Champion, and Nintendo EAD's Devil World and Excitebike. These games were still designed around arcade sensibilities, with very basic controls, static level design, often consisting of a single "field" of play, and small amounts of hard content. Super Mario Bros., designed to show off what the system was capable of, went above and beyond these constraints, making every arcade style game before it seem downright primitive. The run and jump mechanics, once a simple matter of movement patterns, were now affected by momentum, friction, and gravity, adding dimensions of skill beyond basic timing. A variety of collectables, which were scattered across the worlds sporadically and gave you new powers and abilities, added layers of gameplay depth, and even strategy. A far greater variety of obstacles, such as moving platforms, spinning fire bars, and icy platforms, not only changed how the areas played, but continually rewarded persistent players with a sense of discovery and adventure that the earlier arcade games couldn't provide.


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The levels, which scrolled from left to right as you progressed through them, were far longer than the static screen stages of Donkey Kong, and filled with powerups, collectible coins, secret passages to hidden parts of the level, and all kinds of tricks, traps, and surreal enemies. And while Donkey Kong had four stages, Super Mario Bros. had 32 stages across eight worlds, each world progressively more difficult as more gimmicks, hazards, enemies, and even gameplay mechanics were introduced. The first world alone featured more variety than its comparable predecessors - it started with the iconic beginner's stage made up of mostly flat terrain, peppered with pipes, blocks, pitfalls, and simple enemies to impede your progress. After that, you'd go underground into a much more claustrophobic stage with a great emphasis on large patterns of brick wall to limit your mobility, and your first taste of moving platforms. Then came a stage high up in the air with giant mushrooms of varying heights to act as platforms, forcing you to jump from one surface to another to advance. And finally a castle filled with lava pits and deadly fire traps. Future levels would continue to introduce new concepts, such as underwater levels, a cloud-riding enemy called Lakitu who throws spiky enemies at you from above, a broken bridge over a body of water filled with flying fish who attack you nonstop, cannons that fire living mortar shells at you, and plenty more.


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Perhaps Super Mario Bros.' biggest contribution to console gaming was the transition to focus on completion-based gameplay and design. Computer adventure games and RPGs on had previously been designed to be completed, but the high price and complexity of computers at the time made them less accessible to the home console demographic, and none of these computer games had yet been ported to the NES. Some prior arcade games (such as Donkey Kong) had multiple stages to progress through and a clear "ending," but that aspect always felt secondary to the goal of attaining a high score, and many consisted simply of a single gameplay screen repeating forever. Super Mario Bros. made progressing through and eventually completing the game feel like the main purpose. The game marked your progress, telling you how far you had come with a simple level number. Worlds got progressively more difficult, each one ending with a fight against a boss enemy, and a congratulatory message before moving on to the next world. The continuous introduction of new enemies, tricks, and traps became a reward in itself for progress. This sense of progress, rewards, and variety made the game feel like a journey with a well defined beginning, middle, and end. It was at this point that console developers came to understand that even simple action games are more enjoyable if they make the players feel like they are accomplishing something, and as such, nearly all console action games afterwards, to this day, were designed to be finished.


My rating:

3.5 Super Marios (remarkable)


The influence of Super Mario Bros. is difficult to overstate, and seldom questioned or understated. The vast majority of noteworthy NES games that are not arcade or computer game ports can be described as "like Super Mario Bros. but....", and this trend continued well into the 16-bit era. But the game is more than just revolutionary and genre-defining. It's incredibly well made and designed. The mechanics are brilliant, with responsive and fluid controls that follow an intuitive physics system, the level design is varied and challenging and still feels unique after decades of copycats, the technically primitive graphics are colorful and memorable, and the equally technically primitive music is iconic. On the off chance that anyone reading this hasn't already played this game to death, I recommend playing the original NES version via emulation, which can be done on the Nintendo Wii through Virtual Console.


Super Mario Bros. - The Lost Levels

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Originally released as "Super Mario Bros. 2" in Japan in 1986, this game was not released in the US for years. It would make its first Western appearance as a 16-bit remake titled "The Lost Levels," and only as of 2007 was made available in its original form, distributed under the same title as its prior remake.

The Lost Levels plays very similarly to its predecessor. Some mechanics are slightly different - enemies now provide a boost to your jump when you stomp on them, and you can play as Luigi who can jump higher and farther than Mario, but has poorer traction. A few graphical elements have been redrawn too. The main difference is that the level design is much, much more difficult. Tiny platforms frequently provide the only solid ground between vast bottomless pits. Jump trajectories usually intersect with an enemy's patrol route or some other deadly hazard. Some levels are windy, a new feature, which greatly raises the difficulty of controlling Mario. Enemies are more numerous and more aggressive than before, powerups are sparser, some powerup blocks contain the infamous poison mushroom, and warp zones sometimes take you backwards to levels you've already beaten.


Is it worth playing? Only if you're a completionist or a Super Mario Bros. master who wants a challenge. Aside from being frustratingly difficult, the level design just isn't very memorable and doesn't flow well. The good points are made redundant by its predecessor - even the music is exactly the same. Overall, it plays and feels like an amateurish level hack for a better game.

My rating:

1 poison mushroom (playable)

Super Mario Bros. 2

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As explained above, the true sequel to Super Mario Bros. was only released in Japan at first. In 1988, to fill the void in North America and Europe, Nintendo EAD took another Shigeru Miyamoto designed game, an Arabian Nights-themed platformer called Doki Doki Panic, and gave it a Mario facelift, changing the character sprites into Mario characters and making other changes accordingly. This was then released outside of Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2.

Being a non-Mario game originally, this game is the odd one of the series, containing many gameplay elements uncharacteristic of the series. For starters, there are four playable characters, each with different characteristics. There's Mario, who is average in all regards. There's Luigi, who can jump higher than anyone else and descend slowly with a rapid flutter air kick, but loses agility when carrying items. There's Toad, who is a crummy jumper, but is very strong and can quickly lift items and loses no agility while carrying them. And there's Princess Toadstool, who can hover in the air for a few seconds, allowing for longer jumps than even Luigi, but lacks upper body strength and can't lift items quickly. Enemies are no longer defeated by jumping on them, but instead you must pick up objects such as vegetables, bombs, and even other enemies, and throw them as projectiles. Coins are quite rare, and are used to play slot machines in between levels for a chance to win extra lives.

There are also some gameplay elements that are introduced here which have become quite characteristic of the series. Levels often have semi-linear design, with multiple routes or even secret ones. Backtracking is made possible (and in some levels required), as is more vertical level design. Bosses are more common and more varied, and exude more color and personality than SMB's Bowser did.


Is it worth playing? I'd say so. Even if it wasn't really designed as a true Mario game, many of its elements have ascended to canon status by future games, like Shy Guys, Bob-ombs, and Birdo. Level design is a bit of a mixed bag - most of the memorable moments are at the beginning, and none of the levels are especially challenging, but overall it's a solid title in the series. Recommended to Mario fans.

My rating:

2 Mario characters (very good)

Super Mario Bros. 3

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In 1988, the same year as the then US-only release of Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo EAD created Super Mario Bros. 3, with Shigeru Miyamoto once again serving as lead designer.

Being designed as a Mario game from the start, Super Mario Bros. 3 returns to the hop 'n bop conventions of the original, but with more polish and more variety. There are numerous new powerups, the most common one being the Super Leaf which transforms Mario into a raccoon capable of brief spurts of flight. Old enemies return, plenty of new enemies are introduced, level design is more varied and frequently thematic. Each of the eight worlds has a common theme to its stages, which is reflected in the graphics, and frequently, the gameplay and level design. There is a flooded water world, a world where everything is oversized and even the goombas tower over you, a world high above the ground where the stages consist of floating platforms, a world filled with pipe mazes, and much more.

Super Mario Bros. 3 also introduces an overworld for each of the eight worlds, which gives you some amount of freedom in the order of stages, of which there are many more per world than SMB1's four. Many stages are completely optional, but reward completion by giving you access to a bonus stage or a hut with free items, or chances to win extra lives. Common to *all* worlds is a fortress or two which must be completed to advance, and an airship at the end which must be boarded and completed to move on to the next world.


Is it worth playing? Definitely. This game has perhaps the most variety of any Mario game ever, and that's one of the things that made the series so great in the first place. If it has any flaws, it's that the sheer length of the game makes completion in a single sitting unlikely. Of course, now that NES games are typically emulated with savegame ability, this is not an issue. If it has any *other* flaws, it's that perhaps the insane amounts of variety prevent most of the concepts from being fully explored. For instance, do you like Kuribo's Shoe? Of course you do. Enjoy your brief time with it in stage 5-3 - it's the only place you'll ever get to use it.

My rating:

3.5 P-Wings (remarkable)