Difference between revisions of "Super Mario Bros."

Latest revision as of 19:38, 13 March 2024

Super Mario Bros.

NES - USA - 1st edition

Developer	Nintendo
Publisher	Nintendo
Published	1985-09-13
Platforms	Famicom Disk System, PlayChoice-10, NES, VS. System
Genres	Action, Platformer
Themes	Action, Cartoon
Series	Mario, Super Mario Bros.
Multiplayer	Alternating versus
Distribution	Commercial

Super Mario Bros. is a ratchet scrolling platformer video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System on 1985-09-13, and later released for several other platforms. The game extends the burgeoning Mario universe and begins the new "Super" series within it. In the game, the Mushroom Kingdom has been taken over by King Koopa (later called Bowser) and you play Mario or Luigi in an attempt to rescue the kidnapped Princess Toadstool (later Peach). You must run through eight worlds, each with 4 levels. While the first three levels will have various settings, the fourth level is always a castle level which ends with a boss battle.

Super Mario Bros. is a pivotal title in video game history, not only because it broke all previous records of sales for a console game, but because it maintained that record for over 20 years until out-sold by Wii Sports. And while Super Mario Bros. is nowhere near the first scrolling platformer, it is the first hugely successful one.

Personal

Own?	Yes. Loose US cartridge.
Won?	Yes. No warps.
Finished	No warps: Around 1990 / No 100 lives: Around 2002 / Hard mode no warps: 2021-10-06.

The very first time I saw this game was shortly after it was released in the USA for the VS. System in the arcade (around 1986-1987). Having no idea how to play, and being afraid to touch the question mark blocks, I very quickly lost all my lives in the first level. Shortly thereafter, around 1987, I saw this game at my baby sitter's house. Not long after than, around 1988, my brother and I bought our own NES Action Set which came with the Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt multicart, and we played the game many, many times. Even though this game was nowhere near the first video game I played (my family had an Atari 2600 for years prior), it still causes a great welling of nostalgia to play it. This is partially because it was the first NES game I played, partially because I played it so much, and partially because it's just a really well-made game.

I have also reached minus world, jumped the flagpole in 3-3 in 2019, painstakingly elapsed the score on 2021-10-05, and beat hard mode with no warps on 2021-10-06.

Review


7	7	5	5	8

Best Version: NES

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

Over all, the game is a lot of fun with a challenge that slowly increases in difficulty over time.
Character control is pretty good. You can control your running speed, jumping height, and jumping distance intuitively. It's not as great as Super Mario Bros. 3, but still quite good.
The game has great level design which introduces you to new concepts as you progress, effectively teaching you how to play without needing a manual.
There is variation between the levels. As you progress in the game, there are new enemies and new environmental hazards, like platforms, springs, firebars, etc., and the background art varies from day, night, underground, underwater, tree tops, bridges, inside castles, outside castles, winter, etc.
Compared to other games in 1985, the graphics are quite good.
Koji Kondo's created a wonderful song with the Above Ground track, and the the other tunes, while short and repetitive, still fit the theme quite well.
The addition of an unlockable hard mode adds some replay value to the game, even if it isn't much of a change.
I am awed that the developers were able to cram the entire game into 32K!

Bad

Honestly, the only music I really like in this game is the Above Ground tune. The underworld and castle songs are fine, but they're both short and a bit repetitive, and I find the instruments in the underwater music to be a bit grating.
The hammers thrown by the hammer bros. have really bad collision detection.
The ending is too plain for such a difficult game.

Ugly

Looking back at it now, the game is far too difficult. For someone who hasn't already memorized where all the hidden bonuses are, three lives and a few 1-ups is nowhere near enough to get through 36 stages! And, unless you can pull off the hundred lives trick, or know about the continue cheat, having to reset your game entirely when you run out of lives is an severe punishment.

Media

Box Art

Famicom - Japan - This cover perfectly captures the surreal cartoonish vibe of the game and shows the various enemies you'll meet along the journey. My favorite box art, obviously. It was used on European releases as well.
Famicom Disk System - Japan - The FDS disk cover crops out a lot of the art.
NES - USA - This shares the hideous pixel art of all the US launch titles.

Documentation

Manual - Famicom - Japan.
Manual - Famicom - Japan - Digital.
Manual - Game Boy Advance - USA.
Manual - NES - USA.
Manual - NES - USA - Digital.
How to Win At Super Mario Bros.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 1.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 2.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 3.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 4.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 5.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 6.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 7.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, part 8.
The Official Nintendo Player's Guide, blurb.
Nintendo Power, 1988-06 - Counselor's Corner.
Nintendo Power, 1988-09 - Counselor's Corner.
Nintendo Power, 1988-11 - Classified Information.
Nintendo Fun Club, 1986-Q2 - Tips.
Nintendo Fun Club, 1988-06 - Tips and Tricks.

legendsoflocalization.com/super-mario-bros/manuals/ - Differences between Japanese and English manuals.

Maps

1-1.
1-2.
1-3.
1-4.
2-1.
2-2.
2-3.
2-4.
3-1.
3-2.
3-3.
3-4.
4-1.
4-2.
4-3.
4-4.
5-1.
5-2.
5-3.
5-4.
6-1.
6-2.
6-3.
6-4.
7-1.
7-2.
7-3.
7-4.
8-1.
8-2.
8-3.
8-4.
-1.

Graphics

Palette swapping for ambience.

spriters-resource.com/nes/supermariobros - Graphics.

Screenshots

The player start screen.
The game makes use of ratchet scrolling.
Respawning at the first checkpoint.
Invincible thanks to Starman.
Even when invincible, you can still die from falling.
World 1, level 1 - the first underground stage.
You can purposely get hit to safely bypass Bowser.
The "coin heaven" bonus stage.
Getting a 1-up by chaining kills.
The 100 lives trick.
More than 9 lives adds a crown, more than 19 lives glitches the display.
It's possible to jump the flag pole in 3-3.
The infamous "minus world."
Ending.
Game over.

Developers

Some of the game's development team.

Fan Art

Yes, I was the first to make this publicly known.
Fan comic by Adam Ellis.
Fan comic by MrLovenstein.
Fan art of Fire Mario jumping.
Goomba cord.
Finding Minus World.

Videos

NESComplex.

Review - NES Works.

Review - NES Works Gaiden.

Review - What's So Great About Gaming?

Glitches.

Speedrun tactics.

Speedrun progression.

Commercial - Japan.

Boundary Break.

Dorkley - Dark story.

Longplay - No warps.

Longplay - No warps, 2nd run.

Play Online

Famicom Disk System

Representation

Strong female character?	Fail	The sole woman is a damsel in distress.
Bechdel test?	Fail	There is only one woman.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	All characters are white.
Queer character?	Fail	There are no queer characters.

Download

This is a collection of Editors, utilities, and technical documents for Super Mario Bros., including disassembled source code.

Download (Info)

Credits

Although the game doesn't contain credits, its popularity over the years has led to many fans to dig around and figure out who was involved in creating the game. I'm still amazed that such an amazing game was created with such a limited staff.

Roles	Staff
Executive Producer	Hiroshi Yamauchi
Producers	Shigeru Miyamoto, Hiroshi Ikeda
Director	Shigeru Miyamoto
Assistant Director	Takashi Tezuka
Designer, Graphics	Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka
Programmers	Toshihiko Nakago, Kazuaki Morita
Music, Sound Effects, Audio Programmer	Koji Kondo

Multicarts

Super Mario Bros. was in three official NES multicarts including:

Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt
Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt / World Class Track Meet
Super Mario Bros. / Tetris / Nintendo World Cup

Titles

Language	Native	Transliteration	Translation
Chinese	超级马力欧兄弟	Chāojí Mǎlìōu Xiōngdì	Super Mario Bros.
English	Super Mario Bros.
Japanese	スーパーマリオブラザーズ	Supa Mario Burazazu	Super Mario Bros.

Links

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]]
+{{Video Game
+ | Title            = Super Mario Bros.
+ | Image            = Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA.jpg
+ | ImageDescription = NES - USA - 1st edition
+ | Developer        = {{VideoGameDeveloper|Nintendo}}
+ | Publisher        = {{VideoGamePublisher|Nintendo}}
+ | PublishedYear    = 1985
+ | PublishedMonth   = 09
+ | PublishedDay     = 13
+ | Platforms        = {{Platform|Famicom Disk System}}, {{Platform|PlayChoice-10}}, {{Platform|NES}}, {{Platform|VS. System}}
+ | Genres           = {{VideoGameGenre|Action video game|Action}}, {{VideoGameGenre|Platformer|Platformer}}
+ | Themes           = {{MediaTheme|Action}}, {{MediaTheme|Cartoon}}
+ | Series           = ''[[Mario (universe)|Mario]]'', ''[[Super Mario Bros. (universe)|Super Mario Bros.]]''
+ | Multiplayer      = {{GameMultiplayer|Alternating versus}}
+ | Distributions    = {{VideoGameDistribution|Commercial}}
+}}
-'''''Super Mario Bros.''''' is a [[platformer]] video game developed and published by [[Nintendo]] for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] on 1985-09-13, and later released for several other platforms. The game extends the burgeoning [[Mario (universe)|Mario universe]] and begins the new "Super" series within it. In the game, the Mushroom Kingdom has been taken over by King Koopa (later called Bowser) and you play Mario or Luigi in an attempt to rescue the kidnapped Princess Toadstool (later Peach). You must run through eight worlds, each with 4 levels. While the first three levels will have various settings, the fourth level is always a castle level which ends with a boss battle.
+'''''Super Mario Bros.''''' is a [[ratchet scrolling]] [[platformer]] video game developed and published by [[Nintendo]] for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] on 1985-09-13, and later released for several other platforms. The game extends the burgeoning [[Mario (universe)|Mario universe]] and begins the new "Super" series within it. In the game, the Mushroom Kingdom has been taken over by King Koopa (later called Bowser) and you play Mario or Luigi in an attempt to rescue the kidnapped Princess Toadstool (later Peach). You must run through eight worlds, each with 4 levels. While the first three levels will have various settings, the fourth level is always a castle level which ends with a boss battle.
 ''Super Mario Bros.'' is a pivotal title in video game history, not only because it broke all previous records of sales for a console game, but because it maintained that record for over 20 years until out-sold by ''[[Wii Sports]]''. And while ''Super Mario Bros.'' is nowhere near the first scrolling platformer, it is the first hugely successful one.
 ==Personal==
+{{VideoGameStatus
+ | Own      = Yes. Loose US cartridge.
+ | CantOwn  =
+ | Won      = Yes. No warps.
+ | CantWin  =
+ | Finished = No warps: Around 1990 / No 100 lives: Around 2002 / Hard mode no warps: 2021-10-06.
+}}
 The very first time I saw this game was shortly after it was released in the USA for the [[VS. System]] in the arcade (around 1986-1987). Having no idea how to play, and being afraid to touch the question mark blocks, I very quickly lost all my lives in the first level. Shortly thereafter, around 1987, I saw this game at my baby sitter's house. Not long after than, around 1988, my brother and I bought our own NES Action Set which came with the ''[[Super Mario Bros. multicarts|Super Mario Bros. / Duck Hunt]]'' multicart, and we played the game many, many times. Even though this game was nowhere near the first video game I played (my family had an [[Atari 2600]] for years prior), it still causes a great welling of nostalgia to play it. This is partially because it was the first NES game I played, partially because I played it so much, and partially because it's just a really well-made game.
-==Status==
+I have also reached minus world, jumped the flagpole in 3-3 in 2019, painstakingly elapsed the score on 2021-10-05, and beat hard mode with no warps on 2021-10-06.
-I own this game as an individual cart and as a multicart with ''[[Duck Hunt]]''. I have beaten it without warping or mining extra lives. I have also reached minus world. In 2021, I started pushing my skills with the game and successfully jumped the flagpole in 3-2, painstakingly elapsed the score on 2021-10-05, and beat hard mode no warps on 2021-10-06.
 ==Review==
-{{Video Game Review|8|8|6|6|8|NES}}
+{{Video Game Review|7|7|5|5|8|NES}}
 {{Spoilers}}
@@ Line 20: / Line 42: @@
 * Character control is pretty good. You can control your running speed, jumping height, and jumping distance intuitively. It's not as great as ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', but still quite good.
 * The game has great level design which introduces you to new concepts as you progress, effectively teaching you how to play without needing a manual.
-* There is variation between the levels. As you progress in the game, there are new enemies and new environmental hazards, like platforms, springs, firebars, etc., and the levels vary from day, night, underground, underwater, tree tops, bridges, inside castles, outside castles, winter, etc.
+* There is variation between the levels. As you progress in the game, there are new enemies and new environmental hazards, like platforms, springs, firebars, etc., and the background art varies from day, night, underground, underwater, tree tops, bridges, inside castles, outside castles, winter, etc.
 * Compared to other games in 1985, the graphics are quite good.
 * [[Koji Kondo]]'s created a wonderful song with the ''Above Ground'' track, and the the other tunes, while short and repetitive, still fit the theme quite well.
@@ Line 28: / Line 50: @@
 ===Bad===
 * Honestly, the only music I really like in this game is the Above Ground tune. The underworld and castle songs are fine, but they're both short and a bit repetitive, and I find the instruments in the underwater music to be a bit grating.
-* The hammers thrown by the Hammer Bros. have really bad collision detection.
+* The hammers thrown by the hammer bros. have really bad collision detection.
 * The ending is too plain for such a difficult game.
 ===Ugly===
-* Nothing.
+* Looking back at it now, the game is far too difficult. For someone who hasn't already memorized where all the hidden bonuses are, three lives and a few 1-ups is nowhere near enough to get through 36 stages! And, unless you can pull off the hundred lives trick, or know about the [[continue]] cheat, having to reset your game entirely when you run out of lives is an severe punishment.
 ==Media==
 ===Box Art===
 <gallery>
-Super Mario Bros. - NES - Japan.jpg|The Japanese box art (and some European releases), perfectly captures the surreal cartoonish vibe of the game and shows the various enemies you'll meet along the journey. My favorite box art, obviously.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Japan.jpg|Famicom - Japan - This cover perfectly captures the surreal cartoonish vibe of the game and shows the various enemies you'll meet along the journey. My favorite box art, obviously. It was used on European releases as well.
-Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA.jpg|The North American box shares the hideous pixel art of all the launch titles.
+Super Mario Bros. - FDS - Japan - Disk Cover.jpg|Famicom Disk System - Japan - The FDS disk cover crops out a lot of the art.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA.jpg|NES - USA - This shares the hideous pixel art of all the US launch titles.
 </gallery>
 ===Documentation===
 <gallery>
-Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA - Manual.pdf|Manual, USA.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Japan - Manual.pdf|Manual - Famicom - Japan.
-Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA - Manual - Digital.pdf|Manual, USA - Digital.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Japan - Manual - Digital.pdf|Manual - Famicom - Japan - Digital.
-Super Mario Bros. - NES - Japan - Manual.pdf|Manual, Japan.
+Super Mario Bros. - GBA - USA - Manual.pdf|Manual - Game Boy Advance - USA.
-Super Mario Bros. - NES - Japan - Manual - Digital.pdf|Manual, Japan - Digital.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA - Manual.pdf|Manual - NES - USA.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - USA - Manual - Digital.pdf|Manual - NES - USA - Digital.
 Super Mario Bros. - NES - How to Win At Super Mario Bros..pdf|''How to Win At Super Mario Bros.''
 Official Nintendo Player's Guide - 027.jpg|''[[The Official Nintendo Player's Guide]]'', part 1.
@@ Line 104: / Line 128: @@
 ===Graphics===
+<gallery>
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Underground Palette Swap.png|[[Palette swap|Palette swapping]] for ambience.
+</gallery>
 * [https://www.spriters-resource.com/nes/supermariobros spriters-resource.com/nes/supermariobros] - Graphics.
 ===Screenshots===
 <gallery>
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Player Start.png|The player start screen.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Ratchet Scrolling.png|The game makes use of [[ratchet scrolling]].
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Checkpoint.png|Respawning at the first [[Checkpoint (respawn)|checkpoint]].
 Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Invincible.png|[[Invincibility (video game terminology)|Invincible]] thanks to Starman.
 Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Death While Invincible.png|Even when invincible, you can still die from falling.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - 1-2.png|World 1, level 1 - the first underground stage.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Purposely Taking Damage.png|You can [[Purposely taking damage|purposely get hit]] to safely bypass Bowser.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Coin Heaven.png|The "coin heaven" [[bonus stage]].
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Chain 1-Up.png|Getting a [[extra life|1-up]] by chaining kills.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - 100 Lives Trick.png|The 100 lives trick.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Lots of Lives.png|More than 9 lives adds a crown, more than 19 lives glitches the display.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Jumping the Flag Pole.png|It's possible to jump the flag pole in 3-3.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Minus World.png|The infamous "minus world."
 Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Ending.png|Ending.
+Super Mario Bros. - NES - Screenshot - Game Over.png|Game over.
 </gallery>
@@ Line 121: / Line 161: @@
 <gallery>
 Super Mario Bros. - Mario Dies On the Cover.png|Yes, I was the first to make this publicly known.
+Adam Ellis - Toad.jpg|Fan comic by Adam Ellis.
 Super Mario Bros. - NES - Fan Art - Mr Lovenstein.jpg|Fan comic by MrLovenstein.
 Super Mario Bros. - Fire Mario Jumps.jpg|Fan art of Fire Mario jumping.
@@ Line 130: / Line 171: @@
 {{YouTube|0iHtcvPm0nQ|NESComplex.}}
 {{YouTube|vSssHzHam_o|Review - NES Works.}}
+{{YouTube|kzdyERLY3HA|Review - NES Works Gaiden.}}
+{{YouTube|EsIPVcTPgBo|Review - What's So Great About Gaming?}}
 {{YouTube|HigLnJE9zug|Glitches.}}
 {{YouTube|5Tx2lJ4hYCc|Glitches.}}
@@ Line 136: / Line 179: @@
 {{YouTube|sSgTB-tKrNk|Commercial - Japan.}}
 {{YouTube|khtTZ87amwc|Boundary Break.}}
-{{YouTube|Dp7fVUfj8oI|Longplay - No warps.}}
+{{YouTube|ptO-0tLs4n4|Dorkley - Dark story.}}
+{{YouTube|6ufyQSAVrn0|Longplay - No warps.}}
 {{YouTube|lqKru7mJj8Y|Longplay - No warps, 2nd run.}}
+==Play Online==
+{{PlayOnline|https://www.retrogames.cc/fds-games/super-mario-bros-japan.html|Famicom Disk System}}
+==Representation==
+{{Representation
+ | Media                       = Video games
+ | StrongFemaleCharacterStatus = Fail
+ | StrongFemaleCharacterNotes  = The sole woman is a damsel in distress.
+ | BechdelTestStatus           = Fail
+ | BechdelTestNotes            = There is only one woman.
+ | StrongPOCCharacterStatus    = Fail
+ | StrongPOCCharacterNotes     = All characters are white.
+ | QueerCharacterStatus        = Fail
+ | QueerCharacterNotes         = There are no queer characters.
+}}
 ==Download==
@@ Line 190: / Line 250: @@
-[[Category: Games]]
-[[Category: Video Games]]
-[[Category: 1985 Video Games]]
 [[Category: Video Game Prime Order - Action, Adventure, Strategy]]
-[[Category: Video Game Genre - Platformer]]
+[[Category: Game Mechanic - Ratchet Scrolling]]
-[[Category: Media Theme - Fantasy]]
 [[Category: Game Mechanic - Unlockable Difficulty Levels]]
-[[Category: NES Games]]
-[[Category: PlayChoice-10 Games]]
-[[Category: VS. System Games]]
 [[Category: Trope - Damsel In Distress]]
 [[Category: Trope - Women As Reward]]
-[[Category: Video Games I've Beaten]]
 [[Category: Favorite]]
 [[Category: Favorite Games]]
-[[Category: Multi-Player]]
-[[Category: Video Games That Fail the Bechdel Test]]

Difference between revisions of "Super Mario Bros."

Latest revision as of 19:38, 13 March 2024

Contents

Personal

Review

Good

Bad

Ugly

Media

Box Art

Documentation

Maps

Graphics

Screenshots

Developers

Fan Art

Videos

Play Online

Representation

Download

Credits

Multicarts

Titles

Links

Navigation menu

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

More

Search

Navigation

Tools

Google AdSense