Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3
	File:SMA4box.jpg
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Platform(s)	Game Boy Advance
Release	July 11, 2003; October 17, 2003; North America October 21, 2003; February 23, 2004
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 is a platform video game that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It is an updated version of the best-selling NES title Super Mario Bros. 3.

Game Info

The game was updated heavily from its original incarnation, as it was noticeably older than the last two ported Mario games. This version is taken largely from the Super Mario All-Stars SNES cart, which has highly improved graphics; extra polish has been given to this version, especially with sounds and music.

Save System

This game also featured a save system. The save system was very controversial, as some players perceived it to be awkward and clunky. There were two types: temporary and permanent save spots. Players could make temporary save spots at any time; the save point would be erased when accessing the save, and the player would have to save again. If they forgot to save, the game would revert back to the last permanent save point. There are around twenty-five permanent save spots:

After beating each Koopaling (7)
After beating each Fortress (14)
After beating the tank levels in World 8 (3)
After going up into the sky in World 5

It is impossible to beat the first three items (Koopaling, Fortress, and Tank) again after beating the game, unless it has been defeated with a completion score of 100%. For this reason, the World 5 permanent save point is very popular to create a permanent save spot (to preserve the score and items box) after beating the game.

After fully beating the game (every level), temporary save spots are removed, and each save is now permanent (the player must still go back to the title screen, however). Players can also save on the map screen as well.

e-Reader

Super Mario Advance 4 was one of the few games to have a fully-fleshed e-Reader extension. There were level, power-up, and demo cards. The levels are accessible in the Level Card option in the opening menu. In the main game, the player can bring up a menu with two options: "Demo Card" and "Power-Up Card". In the e-Reader world, accessing the levels menu showed the option of "Level Card." to load more levels in.

The cards were released in three forms:

SMB3-e series
Wal-Mart cards
Special demo card included with the game

In Japan, two sets of cards were released; America got two but they had only half the number of cards that the Japanese sets had, there were 50 cards in Japanese series 1 & 2; and the e-Reader was not released in Europe. They are the same size as an ordinary playing card and come in three types: Power-Up, Demo, and Level Cards.

When players wanted to play a demo, load a power-up, or load a level in, they would need an e-Reader, two GBAs, a link cable, and the appropriate card. The player would stick the purple connector into the GBA with the cart, and the gray connector into the GBA with the e-Reader. The player would turn both units on and load up the optio to connect to the e-Reader in SMB3. When the connection was set, the player scanned the cards, and disconnected when finished.

Power-Up cards

Power-Up cards were, as the name suggests, cards that added power-up items, such as a Tanooki Suit or a Hammer Suit, into the player's inventory. From Card #10 to #15, the cards were compilations, like a 5 Starman set or a full 8-item set). There were also 5-Up and 10-Up Mushroom cards.

There were two cards that introduced new items normally unavailable in the game. The first one was the Cape Feather from Super Mario World It works similarly to the original in Super Mario World. The second one is the Boomerang (only available in Japan), normally wielded by the Hammer Bros. Players may get a look at this item in the Sliding the Slopes level in the e-Reader series.

There were also two "Switch" cards (Orange and Blue Green) that turn on certain functions. The player would scan it once to turn it on, and would scan it a second time to turn it off. The Orange Switch had Mario's fireballs turn an enemy into a coin (a la Super Mario World). The Blue Green Switch added vegetables in the level (reminicent of Super Mario Bros. 2). This Blue Green Switch only added the vegetables to the original game levels, and didn't change the e-levels at all.

These cards are by far the most-used cards, due to the fact that they could be used multiple times and scanned in otherwise rare or normally nonexistent (such as the Cape Feather) items.

Level cards

There were two more SMB3-e series released in Japan that were unreleased elsewhere. The game lists a possible 30 levels that are legally unobtainable outside of Japan, but only has around 20 available levels for the North American (NA) release.

SMB3-e

In the North American SMB3-e Series 1 and 2, there were ten of these Level Cards. Each of them featured Advance Coins (much like the Dragon Coins in Super Mario World) that gave a life when all five were found.

Classic World 1-1 - A nearly-exact port of the first level of the original Super Mario Bros. game.
Slidin' the Slopes - Hilly level where sliding made up the majority of the level.
Vegetable Volley - A tribute to Super Mario Bros. 2, this level had vegetables planted all around for Mario or Luigi to pick up and throw at enemies.
Doors o' Plenty - A difficult maze of doors and levels. Features a Big Boo fight at the end, a possible tribute to Super Mario World.
Bombarded by Bob-ombs - Another difficult level with a storm of Bob-ombs. A possible tribute to the Bob-omb levels in World 8.
'Magical Note Blocks - A level entirely composed of magical note blocks; very tough to move up.
The Ol' Switcheroo - A hidden P-switch moves this short level along.
Piped Full of Plants - A tricky level filled with plants everywhere.
Swinging Bars of Doom - Another tricky level with closely-aligned bars that may make one misstep a fatal one.
Para Beetle Challenge - Para Beetles cross the sky in this nearly floor-less level; a possible tribute to World 7-4.

Wal-Mart

There was an exclusive deal at American Wal-mart stores that included 5 additional cards with each version of the game. One of these was a level card, entitled 'Airship's Revenge', which was an autoscrolling airship that moves in all 4 directions and features Morton Koopa, Jr. as a boss. Two of the remaining cards were a Super Mushroom and Super Leaf power-up cards. The final two cards were demo cards.

SMA4 Cards

There was also a level card packaged with every version of the game, regardless of where it was purchased. This level was entitled Wild Ride in the Sky, and was (as the name implies) set in the sky. The level included moving platforms, automatic scrolling, and diagonally-firing Bullet Bills like those seen in Super Mario World.

Demo cards

When demo cards were scanned in, they played a demo of a level. Generally, there are three different types of released demo cards:

Toad's Hidden House cards - There were six of them (2-2, 3-8, 4-2, 5-5, 6-7, and 7-2) that showed the player how to get the required number of coins to unlock Toad's house.
Tricks - These cards showed small tricks that could be done. Two cards showed how to get unlimited 1-Ups in World 1-2 and 3-4. A third card, titled "World 3-2 Star Power" showed how to get all the stars throughout World 3-2.
Runs - "World 1-1 Speed Stage" shows an attempt to go through World 1-1 as fast as possible. There may be more cards of this variety.

These cards acted most like mini-tutorials, showing players advanced techniques to either learn or improve on.

Reaction

The game was very well received by both retro gamers and newer gamers. Reflecting its status as the best-selling stand-alone game of all time, it sold hugely. Only Super Mario Advance 2 sold more copies in the remake series.

The e-Reader part was very controverisal. The e-Reader was only released in Japan and North America, excluding PAL players that had to import the e-Reader. Many people disliked having to purchase an e-Reader ($40) and e-Reader cards to unlock a few levels. Additionally, because the levels are only added through the e-Reader, players cannot use an Action Replay like with other problems.

Nintendo seems to have realized that this was a mistake on their part, as they discontinued the e-Reader shortly after SMA4 was released. This led to more criticism, as Nintendo only released a quarter of the e-Cards. The abrupt disconintuation led to the Super Mario Advance 4 e-Reader site, a homebrew site that tries to emulate the unreleased cards.