Retro/VC Review: Super Mario Bros.

IF you lived in Almogordo, New Mexico in the month of September, 1983, you may have heard what sounded like the creaking of heavy machinery. That was the US Console Gaming Industry dying. Torn apart by vicious price wars, an over-saturation of games (and systems) in the market, and the release of such famously bad titles as the E.T. video game, console companies began dropping like flies. The market leader, Atari, was devastated and slipped into obscurity. With that, and the rise of inexpensive Personal Computers, the Home Console seemed gone for good. Computers, Arcades -that's where the games would always be.

It was into this environment, in 1985, that a plucky little Japanese company decided to release their system. While it had had a good deal of success in Japan, the American market was, shall we say, less receptive. Too many retailers had been burned by the painful sales of '83, and were very cautious about stocking consoles and console games. The company would likely have failed in it's endeavor if it wasn't for their not-so-secret weapon. A man.

A man who would pave the way for countless others to follow, a man that would become a legend, a man who's name would be spoken reverently in households across the country for years to come.

A man with suspenders and an almost unnatural affinity for mushrooms.

It's hard to exaggerate the impact of Super Mario Bros. on North American gaming. The NES (Nintendo Entertainment System)'s success was thanks largely to it, and it was key in reviving the industry. Not only that, but it also changed forever the standards games were judged by- It's influence can still be seen in many games today, and I can guarantee that gaming as we know it would have been very different had it never been released. Powerful stuff, that.

___________________________________________________

SUPER MARIO BROS.
Original Platform: NES (Nintendo Entertainment System)
Original Release Date: 10/18/85 (US)
Genre: Platformer
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Players: 1-2
Save: High Scores Only
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Reviewed Version: Virtual Console
___________________________________________________


As a game, Super Mario Bros. needs no introduction. One of Shigeru Miyamoto's earliest classics, it was SMB that cemented both Nintendo as a leading developer and Mario as a cultural icon. But is the game still fun to play after all these years?

Absolutely. Super Mario Bros.'s gameplay is some of the simplest out there: Run, Jump, Repeat. So it's really amazing to see how fun it is, even after twenty years. The levels are short, colorful, and near-perfect. Lots of little secrets, like invisible blocks that only appear when hit and pipes that will take you underground and, in the case of some especially well hidden ones, to later levels in the game. In addition, several levels take place underwater, which changes the focus from jumping to swimming. The soundtrack is simply divine- the all-time classic Mario Overworld theme made it's debut here, as well as many others.

Items work in much the same way they do in more recent releases in the series. Grab a mushroom to grow to twice your size, after which you can nab a flower to add fireballs to the mix. The powerup system in SMB is less forgiving than many future games, though: if you're hit as large Mario you'll shrink right down to the starting size, even if you have fire power (in later Mario games, he only gets knocked down one stage at a time).

While we're on the subject of unforgiving things, Super Mario Bros. is just that: Unforgiving. Perhaps I've just been spoiled on the much lower difficulty of today's games, but Super Mario Bros. has tested my platforming skills to the limit. The game doesn't exactly shower you with lives, either (*cough-New Super Mario Bros.-cough*), so every coin counts (collecting 100 adds an extra life to your roster) and finding the hidden 1-up mushrooms scattered throughout the game becomes something of a necessity.
Grabbing a star relieves the pressure a little, though, granting temporary invincibility with which to mow down approaching foes. The learning curve is great, too, so you never feel that something is entirely out of your league. The game hits the balance perfectly; it's not gonna be easy, but you're always compelled to try again.

It's somewhat fitting that the game marked the beginning of a trend for game developers to be focused on console games over arcade ones, because Super Mario Bros. feels like that transition point for the Mario series, too. It's length and size (massive for an arcade title of the time) are definitely console-game fare, but at the same time it wouldn't be entirely out of place in an arcade cabinet.
For one thing, the game saves the high score and displays it on the title screen. Also, the multiplayer mode feels very arcade-like. Rather than switching after each level like in Super Mario Bros. 3 and later games, whoever is playing gets to continue until they loose a life; a technique much better suited to arcade games than home console ones.

Scores

Visuals: 8.0

There are definitely more technologically advanced games on the NES. The character sprites are quite simple, and several of the enemies just have one or two frames of movement. However, Super Mario Bros. features a colorful, aesthetically pleasing world that adds loads to the game's overall feel. The game also dabbles in stylism a bit; one of the later stages is presented almost entirely in black and white.

Sound: 9.0

A real breakthrough in game music composition. You could count the number of tracks on two hands, but that would be two hands-worth of some of the best known tunes in the industry. In addition to the wonderful Mario Overworld Theme, there are brilliant compositions like the Underwater music, and the repetitive (but catchy) Underworld and Starman themes. Don't forget the sound effects, either; The "Boing" sound that the bros. make when they jump is etched into the minds of gamers the world over, and for good reason.

Gameplay: 9.0

Behold the reining champion of gameplay. Mario's been in more refined games since, but they all owe their success to this most masterful early game. Which, you could argue, owes it's success to Donkey Kong, but, really, it's quite a step up from that...
Well, regardless, Super Mario Bros. is wicked fun to play, and features levels designed very much with the player in mind. Games closer to perfection are uncommon.

Replay Value: 8.0

Eight worlds. Four levels each. Super Mario Bros. is not the largest or longest game on the NES, but the large number of in-game secrets and the rather crazy difficulty in the later stages will keep you playing for quite some time. Even once you beat the game, though, I really get the feeling you'll want to play it quite a bit more, because it's just so dang...

Final Score(not an average): 9.0

Fun. If I was to choose one word to describe Super Mario Bros., that would be it. There are so many types of games these days; you've got your "Epic" games like Zelda, "Story-Driven" Final Fantasies, "Intense" First Person Shooters, and so on. But when it comes to pure, simple "Fun", Mario rules over all, and this game serves as a great reminder of why that is. It's not the best Mario platformer out there, but it's both a timeless classic (twenty years enough for ya?) and a must-buy VC title. Because it's fun.


-It's-a-me, Smashing Brother.