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"[GAME] Super Mario Bros."

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Sat 22/08/09 at 09:02
Regular
Posts: 15,681
Twenty-eight years have passed since Mario gave up his carpentry and became a plumber. People were fed up of wood, but everybody needs to have a wee and a bath sometimes, so demand for plumbers in the Mushroom Kingdom was high. With his brother in tow, he grabbed his plunger and started advertising his business. Little did the brothers Mario know that plumbing would be so difficult. And so, after bashing their heads against the bricks of the sewers, slipping on ice and dodging random balls of fire to clear the plumbing of crabs, flies and turtles, they decided to settle down and enjoy life in the sun a bit. Mario soon started chatting to a new girl on the internets who called herself Peach. He fell in love with her after only three days of chat on the Mushroom Shyguy Network messenger and was soon to meet up with her, oddly at the Mushroom Kingdom’s castle. On the morning of this meeting, Mario logged on the MSN* to check the time and place when he received a new message...

“if u want 2 c ur princess agen, bring me 2b-squillion gold coins. Mwa-ha-ha! Signed the new King of the Koopas, Bowser! x x x

The x’s were crossed out as Bowser forgot he wasn’t writing to his dear mother.

At this moment, it all began to make sense. Mario’s internet babe was actually Princess Toadstool! Not only that, but she had been kidnapped by an evil lizard. Mario soon began to regret flipping those koopa-like turtles onto their backs and playing football with them whilst they wriggled in panic. Clearing his head with magic mushrooms, Mario donned his dungarees again in attempt to rescue his princess. And so our adventure begins...

Super Mario Bros is heralded as the original true side-scrolling platformer. Of the 8-bit generation, Super Mario Bros sees you racing through the Mushroom Kingdom through stages of ever increasing difficulty to save Princess Toadstool (now known as Peach) from the evil King Koopa (now known as Bowser). You heard there was cake? The cake is a lie. In Super Mario Bros, your aim was to rescue the Princess in the name of honour, truth, justice and love...

Each stage of the Mushroom Kingdom was full of various perils. From large drops to Goombas, Koopa Troopas to fire. Bowser oddly had plenty of time to set traps. Make contact with any creature and Mario dies. However, Mario does have a weapon at his disposal. His feet. Jump on Goombas and you squash them. Jump on Koopas and they hide in their shells. These shells can then be used to take out other enemies nearby.


Mario’s quest isn’t so straight forward though. Every stage is a race against the clock. What could Bowser be plotting? Whatever it is, it causes Mario to lose a life if he’s too slow. Some of the stages are based underwater where Mario proves he is no ordinary plumber; He strangely has the ability to breathe without any trouble.

Mario’s squeaky clean plumbing ain’t so free of toxins though. Mario is keen to use magic mushrooms to make him feel big and to eat magic plants to make him shoot fire from his finger. The mushrooms allowed Mario to reach places he couldn’t whilst small, as well as giving him an extra health point. Whereas an enemy encounter would result in a loss of life, Mario would just shrink to his normal height. The same happens when Mario has powered up with a fire-flower too. Oddly, his dungarees change colour too... Mario can also become temporarily invincible from attack if he encounters a star. Mario will glow and as he bumps into any enemies they’ll be destroyed. This only has a temporary effect though so watch out for the glow disappearing.

Every fourth level Mario will encounter Bowser in one of the Mushroom Kingdom’s forts. Bowser is the largest of Mario’s enemies, can jump, breath fire, and all contact with this beast renders Mario dead. Mario can attack by either shooting him with multiple fire-flower fireballs, running underneath him as he jumps or jumping over him whilst he’s on the ground. The latter two moves results in Mario accessing a hammer that destroys the bridge Bower is supported upon, dropping him into the lava below. On succession, Mario finds he has rescued the princess! Or has he...

If you want to race a friend through your quest, try to get a high score or simply see how you compare, you can play Super Mario Bros with two players. The second player controls Luigi who looks identical in all but dungaree-colour. The first time I was introduced to this game, I played it two-player and it kicked backside! Sure, its turn based, but neither of you gets bored as you watch your friend fail.

Now to the basics. This is an 8-bit game. So don’t expect the best graphics or audio you’ll have experienced in videogames. What most gamers will tell you, quite rightly, is that Super Mario Bros’ visuals and soundtrack are iconic. They probably became the basis of most games today. Crisp, clear, and the style still used in most Nintendo games. I doubt 8-bit was pushed to the limits with Super Mario Bros, but being the best selling videogame prior to Wii Sports, it can’t have looked too bad. Te controls are basic which makes the gameplay easy to pickup. Left and right move Mario accordingly. B makes Mario run and shoot and A makes Mario jump. Pressing down over certain pipes will take Mario through to subterranean stages or bonuses, and will sometimes warp Mario ahead as shortcuts through the game.

So what do I think? Well anyone here will tell you I’m a big Nintendo fan and this was the game that started it all for me. I’m twenty-four and although I enjoy the delights of Saints Row 2, the latest footie and Red Faction games, there’s something Super Mario Bros has over all of the new games of today. The fun-factor. It ticks all of the boxes, and despite almost celebrating twenty-five years of success, has so much re-playability it puts the new 3D multi-processing games to shame. If you want to play it, you can get it on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Color (as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe), Game Boy Advance, Wii Virtual Console, and is also unlockable in the GameCube version of Animal Crossing. If you want to play a 16-bit generation version, you can via Super Mario Allstars and Super Mario Allstars featuring Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s the same game with updated graphics, soundtrack and an ability to save your game. It’s the only version I’ve been able to complete!

9/10

*See what I did there!
Wed 02/09/09 at 08:08
Regular
Posts: 15,681
Why thank you - tis one of my most played games of all time. I don't know all the secrets or owt, but I've kinda memorised the game in my head.

I once even had an op where I needed a general anaesthetic. They call it a dreamless sleep but I dreamt the first level of Super Mario Bros :)
Fri 28/08/09 at 11:17
Regular
"ITFC! C'mon Blues!"
Posts: 3
Wow! Great review Edgy! I'm new to the site and was greatly impressed by your in depth review, it's got me wanting to play the game! Nice work man!
Thu 27/08/09 at 16:19
Regular
Posts: 15,681
Thanks guys and thanks Freeola for picking this for 'teh win' :)

I enjoyed reviewing this game and I hope it showed in my writing.

And for some reason this has convinced me to play Super Mario Bros. a little more now :)
Wed 26/08/09 at 09:55
Regular
"THFC"
Posts: 4,488
nice review Edgy, makes me think back to me and my brother playing this game (i was always Luigi when younger, but when i got older and better at games i managed to steal the main player lol)
Tue 25/08/09 at 13:32
Moderator
"possibly impossible"
Posts: 24,985
Nice retro-review Edgy, even if I did wince at the MSN bit! :)
Mon 24/08/09 at 12:19
Regular
Posts: 15,681
Whoo! Free-Freeola advertising! I just tried out the 'share to facebook' link for the first time :)
Sat 22/08/09 at 09:02
Regular
Posts: 15,681
Twenty-eight years have passed since Mario gave up his carpentry and became a plumber. People were fed up of wood, but everybody needs to have a wee and a bath sometimes, so demand for plumbers in the Mushroom Kingdom was high. With his brother in tow, he grabbed his plunger and started advertising his business. Little did the brothers Mario know that plumbing would be so difficult. And so, after bashing their heads against the bricks of the sewers, slipping on ice and dodging random balls of fire to clear the plumbing of crabs, flies and turtles, they decided to settle down and enjoy life in the sun a bit. Mario soon started chatting to a new girl on the internets who called herself Peach. He fell in love with her after only three days of chat on the Mushroom Shyguy Network messenger and was soon to meet up with her, oddly at the Mushroom Kingdom’s castle. On the morning of this meeting, Mario logged on the MSN* to check the time and place when he received a new message...

“if u want 2 c ur princess agen, bring me 2b-squillion gold coins. Mwa-ha-ha! Signed the new King of the Koopas, Bowser! x x x

The x’s were crossed out as Bowser forgot he wasn’t writing to his dear mother.

At this moment, it all began to make sense. Mario’s internet babe was actually Princess Toadstool! Not only that, but she had been kidnapped by an evil lizard. Mario soon began to regret flipping those koopa-like turtles onto their backs and playing football with them whilst they wriggled in panic. Clearing his head with magic mushrooms, Mario donned his dungarees again in attempt to rescue his princess. And so our adventure begins...

Super Mario Bros is heralded as the original true side-scrolling platformer. Of the 8-bit generation, Super Mario Bros sees you racing through the Mushroom Kingdom through stages of ever increasing difficulty to save Princess Toadstool (now known as Peach) from the evil King Koopa (now known as Bowser). You heard there was cake? The cake is a lie. In Super Mario Bros, your aim was to rescue the Princess in the name of honour, truth, justice and love...

Each stage of the Mushroom Kingdom was full of various perils. From large drops to Goombas, Koopa Troopas to fire. Bowser oddly had plenty of time to set traps. Make contact with any creature and Mario dies. However, Mario does have a weapon at his disposal. His feet. Jump on Goombas and you squash them. Jump on Koopas and they hide in their shells. These shells can then be used to take out other enemies nearby.


Mario’s quest isn’t so straight forward though. Every stage is a race against the clock. What could Bowser be plotting? Whatever it is, it causes Mario to lose a life if he’s too slow. Some of the stages are based underwater where Mario proves he is no ordinary plumber; He strangely has the ability to breathe without any trouble.

Mario’s squeaky clean plumbing ain’t so free of toxins though. Mario is keen to use magic mushrooms to make him feel big and to eat magic plants to make him shoot fire from his finger. The mushrooms allowed Mario to reach places he couldn’t whilst small, as well as giving him an extra health point. Whereas an enemy encounter would result in a loss of life, Mario would just shrink to his normal height. The same happens when Mario has powered up with a fire-flower too. Oddly, his dungarees change colour too... Mario can also become temporarily invincible from attack if he encounters a star. Mario will glow and as he bumps into any enemies they’ll be destroyed. This only has a temporary effect though so watch out for the glow disappearing.

Every fourth level Mario will encounter Bowser in one of the Mushroom Kingdom’s forts. Bowser is the largest of Mario’s enemies, can jump, breath fire, and all contact with this beast renders Mario dead. Mario can attack by either shooting him with multiple fire-flower fireballs, running underneath him as he jumps or jumping over him whilst he’s on the ground. The latter two moves results in Mario accessing a hammer that destroys the bridge Bower is supported upon, dropping him into the lava below. On succession, Mario finds he has rescued the princess! Or has he...

If you want to race a friend through your quest, try to get a high score or simply see how you compare, you can play Super Mario Bros with two players. The second player controls Luigi who looks identical in all but dungaree-colour. The first time I was introduced to this game, I played it two-player and it kicked backside! Sure, its turn based, but neither of you gets bored as you watch your friend fail.

Now to the basics. This is an 8-bit game. So don’t expect the best graphics or audio you’ll have experienced in videogames. What most gamers will tell you, quite rightly, is that Super Mario Bros’ visuals and soundtrack are iconic. They probably became the basis of most games today. Crisp, clear, and the style still used in most Nintendo games. I doubt 8-bit was pushed to the limits with Super Mario Bros, but being the best selling videogame prior to Wii Sports, it can’t have looked too bad. Te controls are basic which makes the gameplay easy to pickup. Left and right move Mario accordingly. B makes Mario run and shoot and A makes Mario jump. Pressing down over certain pipes will take Mario through to subterranean stages or bonuses, and will sometimes warp Mario ahead as shortcuts through the game.

So what do I think? Well anyone here will tell you I’m a big Nintendo fan and this was the game that started it all for me. I’m twenty-four and although I enjoy the delights of Saints Row 2, the latest footie and Red Faction games, there’s something Super Mario Bros has over all of the new games of today. The fun-factor. It ticks all of the boxes, and despite almost celebrating twenty-five years of success, has so much re-playability it puts the new 3D multi-processing games to shame. If you want to play it, you can get it on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Color (as Super Mario Bros. Deluxe), Game Boy Advance, Wii Virtual Console, and is also unlockable in the GameCube version of Animal Crossing. If you want to play a 16-bit generation version, you can via Super Mario Allstars and Super Mario Allstars featuring Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It’s the same game with updated graphics, soundtrack and an ability to save your game. It’s the only version I’ve been able to complete!

9/10

*See what I did there!

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