Retro/VC Review: Mario Bros.

NOT to be confused with Super Mario Bros.

The later, "Super" Marios get more attention, but Mario Bros. was more important to the series than you might think. It was the first Mario game that allowed for simultaneous multiplayer, and the first with "Mario" in the title. Most importantly of all, however, it introduced Mario's brother.
Luigi has been a staple of the series ever since, and has moved well beyond his initial "Player 2" status as a character. His exploits have earned him quite a following, and the Marioverse is much better off with him in it.

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MARIO BROS.
Original Platform: Arcade (Downloaded version is NES)
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Original Release Date: 1983 (Arcade)
NES Release Date: 06/86 (US)
Genre: Action
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Players: 1-2
Save: No
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Reviewed Version: Virtual Console
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The plumbers Mario and Luigi really have their work cut out for them. The pipes they're working on have been infested with giant turtles (called Shell Creepers), crabs (Side Steppers), and bugs (Fighter Flies). They're incredibly dangerous; even getting close enough to touch one means almost certain death. How do you deal with such a threat?

Simple. Just hit the platforms they're on from below, then, when they lose their balance, kick 'em.

Yep. Interesting technique, eh?

And that's the basis of Mario Bros.'s gameplay. Heck, that's almost all there is to it. But if I cut off here, this would hardly be a worthy or useful review, would it? So perhaps it would be best if I elaborated a little.

You progress through Mario Bros. by defeating all of the enemies in a stage. The difficulty steadily racks up as you play; when you start the first stage (opened by an 8-bit version of the first few notes of Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, of all things) you'll only be up against a few wimpy Shell Creepers, but after a while the area will be crawling with dangerous critters, as well as hazards like roaming fireballs.

The construction of the stage itself never actually changes; it's a simple, one-screen affair. Pipes at the top of it eject the villainous vermin, who make their way sideways, dropping down from one platform to the next when they reach the end of it (the stage is circuitous, anything walking off the right end enters from the left end, and vice-versa). If they reach the pipes positioned at the bottom left and right of it, they enter, and are spat out of one of the top pipes a few seconds later. And so the cycle continues, until you beat them all and progress to the next stage.

Repeating the pattern over and over is fun for a while, but severely lacking in the variety department. While the game does a decent job of introducing new challenges as you go (and throws in a coin collecting bonus round every once in a while), it lacks the continuous fun that more recent Marios have down pat. In addition to this, controlling Mario isn't nearly as satisfying as it is in later games. While there's a minor enemy (called a Freezie) that can freeze a platform to make it slippery, the floor seems plenty slippery as is -changing Mario's direction quickly can be difficult. And you can't change direction mid-jump, an ability that adds so much to the games that use it and would have been quite helpful here. It doesn't ruin the game, but I can't help but feel it could have been that much better.

As long as we're making complaints, the visuals could have used more work, too. The characters are rendered very simplistically, even for an early NES game, and the animation is minimal. The worst offender, though, is the coloring- the background is a solid black, and it has nothing of the cheery, colorful feel that has since become so quintessentially Mario.

All that said, though, the game's real redeeming feature is multiplayer. The game is designed with co-op play in mind, and teaming up against enemies is really where the bop-'n-kick gameplay is at it's best. You can formulate strategies; send one player to hit the beasties from below while the other finishes them off, say. But perhaps the most enjoyable way to play is competitively, trying to be the last one standing. It's a real battle of the wits, as you scurry around, collecting points (enough of which grant extra lives), you'll keep your rival in the corner of your eye. While the players themselves cannot directly damage each-other, there are quite a few ways to bring about your colleague's demise, including such tricks as jumping on their head to stun them when they near an enemy or knocking a flipped critter back onto it's feet as your rival is closing in on it. The versatility of the multiplayer mode is impressive for a mid-80's arcade game, and is quite likely why it became such a hit. Even so, it's no competition for a lot of the games of that sort today.

Scores

Visuals: 3.5

It's not terrible, but there's hardly any variety or color. The animations are simple, and everything about it looks like a very early, simple NES game- something that's not far from the truth.

Sound: 5.0

There are a few neat musical fanfares at points, but the rest of the game is played mostly in the rather repetitive beat set by the player's footsteps. The fairly good sound effects and inclusion of a classical piece help to boost the score a little.

Gameplay: 7.0

Miyamoto knew what he was doing here. While the single player game leaves something to be desired, multiplayer definitely advances it, and playing with a friend is good fun. Not fun to the degree that you may have come to expect from Mario's creator, but fun nonetheless.

Length/Replay Value: 5.5

While some arcade lovers may get a kick out of trying to get as far as possible, it's the multiplayer mode -with it's more varied fun and greater level of depth-, that holds the most promise for repeated visits. Even so, don't expect it to hold you as long as most later games in the series (or quite a few other NES games) will.

Final Score(not an average): 6.0

Mario Bros. was the game that paved the way for one of the most important video games of all time. It's also an arcade classic, and it was a very important and successful game for Nintendo at the time of it's launch. These are undeniable facts.
But in the crowded world of NES Virtual Console games, this one does not come recommended. It's fun, but so are a lot of the games available for the VC, and Mario Bros. lacks the polish and variety of gameplay that several of it's competitors bring. Also, there's a very good chance you own it already. Nintendo released it as an add-on in a large number of GBA games, including the Super Mario Advance series of remakes and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (all of which have had fantastic sales), as well as for the e-Reader.

A fine game, but one that would be left in the dust by those to come.

-Smashing Bro.