Super Mario Bros. 3
Screenshot, NES/Famicom version of Super Mario Bros 3
Super Mario Brothers 3 was the last major Mario video game made for the Nintendo Family Computer (in Japan) and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in (North America and Europe). It was developed through 1988 - December 1989, and it was not released until Feburary 12,1990 to the world. It is widely regarded as being the best-selling video game of all time. It was again directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and the music composed by Koji Kondo.
It features the first appearances of Bowser's Children. Mario and Luigi have to save seven kingdoms of the Mushroom World from The Koopa Kids (or Koopalings) by recovering the wands that they stole from the seven kings of those kingdoms and they have to save Princess Peach Toadstool from the clutches of King Bowser Koopa.
Game mechanics
The game play is a return to the style of Super Mario Brothers after a vast departure in Super Mario Brothers 2. The heroes can again jump on many enemies to destroy them, as well as take on many different forms by acquiring special items.
However, despite the familiar gameplay, Super Mario Brothers 3 is a radically different game than its predecessor. More puzzles, enemies and secret areas were added to enhance difficulty.
Rather than simply move forward in the game in a linear fashion, Mario traveled the Mushroom Kingdom via a map, which often split into different paths, giving the player a choice of which levels to play. While on this map, Mario could acquire special items through "Mushroom Houses," which were saved in an inventory, and could be used in between levels.
Furthermore, smaller mechanics were changed; for instance, the player could now travel backwards in a level in case of a special area or item they had missed.
Also, due to the increased difficulty, a luxury was given to the player, in the US and European releases: if he had one of the "special" powers: Fire Mario, Racoon Mario, Hammer Brother Mario, Tanooki Mario etc. - then took a hit, he would revert into Super Mario, allowing for an extra hit. This is contrary to the original Super Mario Brothers and the Japanese release of Super Mario Brothers 3, where if a player had been hit as Fiery Mario (or any other power-up mode), he would revert to regular Mario.
Items
Items that returned from Super Mario Brothers:
- Starman. Mario gains temporary invincibility. He is impervious to death by any means except lava and bottomless pits.
- Super Mushroom. Mario doubles in size and can take one hit without dying.
- Fire Flower. As Fiery Mario, he can throw fireballs that bounce across the ground.
Items and forms new to Super Mario Brothers 3:
- A Super Leaf turned Mario into Raccoon Mario. After getting a running start, Mario can fly for a short time.
- Frog Suit. Movement on land is hindered, but swimming is greatly facilitated and accelerated.
- The Tanooki Suit allows Mario to fly, just like Raccoon Mario; can also turn into a statue briefly, which renders him temporarily invincible.
- In the Hammer Brothers' Suit, Mario can throw hammers, just like the Hammer Brothers from the original Super Mario Bros. Also, crouching renders him invincible to fireball attacks from above.
- Mario can also jump into the Goomba's Shoe (or Kuribo's Shoe, after Goomba's Japanese name). In the shoe, he can stomp on Piranha Plants and Venus Fire Traps to kill them, and he can walk across Munchers (long lines of Piranha Plants acting like spikes). His jumping ability is also augmented. This is available in only in level 5-3, and is lost when you clear the level.
Game popularity
With its expansive gameplay, Super Mario Brothers 3 is often considered Nintendo's masterpiece for the NES, and is routinely voted one of the greatest video games of all time. It sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide (18 million of which in North America alone), a record at the time for video games that were sold separately from their consoles.
Several months before its release, a "sneak peek" of sorts was given to the general public in the movie The Wizard (1989), where the game was featured as the final lap of a video game competition.
Screenshot, SNES/Super Famicom version of Super Mario Bros 3
Enhancing the game
Super Mario Brothers 3 received a graphical and audio facelift for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) (and in Japan, the Super Famicom) in the Super Mario All-Stars (also Super Mario Collection) cartridge of 1993. This version of the game also appears on the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. On the Super NES version, the Spade panels on the map are animated. The action scene (numbered) panels sparkle. The airships have thunder effects and they are the same color. The king transformations have been changed in this version. Most notably, the king of World 7 was transformed into a Yoshi in the Super Famicom/SNES version of the game, but he was transformed into a Piranha Plant in the Famicom/NES version.