Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. was a cartridge-based video game for the Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America and Europe that made Mario famous. It featured the first appearance of Princess Peach Toadstool, King Bowser Koopa and other characters. The classic game is widely considered to have been the first side-scrolling platform game of its kind, introducing players to huge, bright, expansive worlds that changed the way video games were created, played, and perceived.
The game was directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, who created the Mario character. He has created many other famous Nintendo titles including Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, and Star Fox, among others.
The very famous and catchy music was composed by Koji Kondo.
Game mechanics
The player took the role of Mario, or in the case of a second player, Mario's brother Luigi. The ultimate object was to race through the Mushroom Kingdom, eliminate Bowser's forces, and save Princess Toadstool.
Mario's primary attack was simply leaping on top of his enemies, which would kill the mushroom traitors, Goombas, and send the turtle soldiers known as Koopa Troopas into their shells. Mario could then kick the shells into other enemies, which would dispatch of them quite nicely; but conversely, could also bounce back and hit him. Jumping on enough enemies in succession, or kicking a shell into enough enemies in succession, would double points earned with each enemy killed, eventually earning Mario a 1-Up, an extra life and another chance to pass the level.
Aiding him in his quest were several power-ups, including the Super Mushroom, which would turn Mario into Super Mario, doubling his size; the Fire Flower, which turned Mario into Fiery Mario, allowing him to throw fireballs (though only attainable as Super Mario); Starman, which gave him temporary invincibility; and the 1-Up Mushroom.
If Mario took a hit from an enemy as Super Mario or Fiery Mario, he would simply revert back to regular Mario and the game would continue. However, if he took a hit as regular Mario, or fell down a pit (regardless of his status), he would lose a life, and would start again, either from the beginning of the level or a set location that he had passed before dying.
The game consisted of eight worlds with four sub-worlds, or levels, in each. The first sub-world was an above ground (overworld) level, the second was below ground (sometimes in water), the third is a sky level (except the eighth world, which was a long race to the final stage), and the fourth is a castle. At the end of each castle level, Mario fought Bowser across a bridge over a pool of lava.
The third and sixth worlds are take place at night, and the other worlds take place in the day.
Game popularity
The game sold approximately 40 million copies in North America alone. However, although the game was popular enough on its own, this is more attributable to the popularity of the NES itself, as Super Mario Brothers was always packaged along with the console. Therefore, it has been estimated that this game, next to Tetris, is the bestselling game of all time.
The game's popularity eventually led to dozens of sequels and spinoffs; there are three direct sequels to this game on the NES platform: Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese), and Super Mario Bros. 3.
There was even a TV Series and a movie based on it. Mario has since been known as Nintendo's mascot and one of the most popular video game characters of all time.
Release dates
- Japan - September 13, 1985
- North America - October, 1985
- Europe - 1987
File:SuperMarioBrosNESTitle.png
Title screen of Super Mario Bros. (NES Version)
File:SuperMarioBrosSNESTitle.png
Title screen of Super Mario Bros. (SNES Version)
Enhancing the game
In 1993, Super Mario Bros. was released with enhanced graphics for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System under Super Mario Collection aka Super Mario All-Stars. It was later released with additional features (but not enhanced graphics) for the Game Boy Color as Super Mario Brothers DX. In early 2004, Nintendo rereleased the game on the Gameboy Advance in Japan as part of their Famicom Minis collection and in the U.S. as part of the Classic NES Series. Unlike previous rereleases, these versions contain no graphical updates or new features, and is simply an NES emulator and a copy of the Super Mario Brothers ROM. The only differences between this and the original are that the screen images appear a bit squished, due to the smaller GBA screen, and the high score is saved to the cartridge.