Retro|Spective 075R: Super Mario

[Cepp]

Game 02 - Mario Bros.
The following year Donkey Kong Jr released and was followed by several Game and Watch titles that continued to make use of the character but the next full videogame with him in the lead controlled role was the self-titled Mario Bros. With players able to control both Mario and Luigi, the brothers used their platforming skills to battle enemies that emerged from pipes at the sides of the screen. Though a simple game, much of its concepts would become staples of the franchise moving forward.





Did the first named Mario game lay some good pipe for the franchise?

This was the first Mario game I played, the Atari 2600 version in 1990 or so. It's the first memory I have of the character, although I remember being surprised to see him on a "rival" platform, so it presumably wasn't my first time seeing him.

I had a lot of fun with it at the time although going back to it today, it's a lot blockier than the above gif.

[Neon Ignition]

We've reached the tipping point... *insert andherewego gif*


Game 04 - Super Mario Bros.
Pulling together everything the team had accomplished and learned over the prior few years, Super Mario Bros delivered the first real entry that strongly reflects the legacy that would follow. With Mario or Luigi working through levels before facing off with Bowser, the player overcomes obstacles and enemies to track down and save Princess Peach.








What memories do you hold for this entry?

[Nu-Eclipse]

Ahhh. Good old Super Mario Bros.

A seminal moment for platform gaming, no doubt about it. Not the first NES game I ever played but easily one of the most memorable, with one of the true all-time great opening stages in videogaming history.

Having actually replayed it a few times in recent years, it's fascinating to see how modern 2D Mario retains much of the original game's framework. Hidden items, multiple level paths, power-up progression...timeless mechanics that have pretty much become standard rules for 2D platforming.

[Asura]

Having actually replayed it a few times in recent years, it's fascinating to see how modern 2D Mario retains much of the original game's framework. Hidden items, multiple level paths, power-up progression...timeless mechanics that have pretty much become standard rules for 2D platforming.

I would argue that the original SMB is one of the oldest yet still genuinely great videogames.

That's kinda hard to explain but what I mean is that a lot of earlier titles can be fun, but many early videogames (especially home console games) are really janky. Most of the Atari 2600 library has this problem, in that I think the appeal of those lies in their esoteric nature as such early games trying to do so much with so little. Most home computer games were fun at the time but lack polish.

But I'd argue that Super Mario Bros is still just as playable today as it was back then. If you sit down and start playing it, it's absolutely compulsive. If you see someone playing it, you really want to give it a go. You can stack it up against any platformer that followed, even its own sequels, and it fares well. It's just a fantastic game.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I would argue that the original SMB is one of the oldest yet still genuinely great videogames.

That's kinda hard to explain but what I mean is that a lot of earlier titles can be fun, but many early videogames (especially home console games) are really janky. Most of the Atari 2600 library has this problem, in that I think the appeal of those lies in their esoteric nature as such early games trying to do so much with so little. Most home computer games were fun at the time but lack polish.

But I'd argue that Super Mario Bros is still just as playable today as it was back then. If you sit down and start playing it, it's absolutely compulsive. If you see someone playing it, you really want to give it a go. You can stack it up against any platformer that followed, even its own sequels, and it fares well. It's just a fantastic game.

Couldn't agree with you more.

The fact that it is nearly 40 years old and I keep going back to it speaks to everything you've written there.

It's almost crazy that Miyamoto-san, Tezuka-san and their team got so much right at the first time of asking when developing this.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 05 - Super Mario Bros. Special
Developed by Hudsonsoft, this remake of the game dropped scrolling visuals and featured new enemies and level designs. It's intention of being for non-Nintendo machines has kept it as one of the least experienced titles in the franchise.








Was it Special?

[Nu-Eclipse]

Heard of SMB Special but obviously, like the vast majority of western gamers of the time, wouldn't have played it given that it didn't see the light of day here due to the hardware that it was made for.

Obviously a precursor for the likes of SMB2JPN/Lost Levels and, to a lesser extent, VS. SMB and/or SMB (Playchoice-10 Edition).

[wakka]

That's a new one on me. Very interesting. Looks bloody awful but I'm sure there were some Japanese kids that had some real fun with it even still.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 06 - Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels
The original of often overlooked sequel to SMB. Arriving the following year, the game was more difficult and altered how Luigi controlled but in many ways was one of the most straightforward Mario sequels Nintendo has made. Having been released on the NES disk unit and been deemed too hard for western gamers it was denied an English language release and wouldn't see release for several years until the SNES all-star collection.







Should Nintendo have held the course and released this back in '86?

[Dogg Thang]

Lost Levels really feels like level pack DLC. I never really got through it but I didn't have the drive to either, by the time I actually got to play it.

[Dogg Thang]

Lost Levels really feels like level pack DLC. I never really got through it but I didn't have the drive to either, by the time I actually got to play it.

It's actually a reminder to me about how many game sequels back in those days started from scratch with their graphics, even if on the same system. It was perfectly normal to redo literally every asset.

Edit: Well I meant to edit rather than reply. Now I'm just having a conversation with myself, which is weird.

[Asura]

Lost Levels really feels like level pack DLC.

Fair, though I guess that's what it was, by later standards, so that makes sense. I'm not sure I've ever played it. Maybe on the SNES port? But even then, probably only for ~10 minutes.

You're right in what you say; it was very much the norm back then when making a sequel to throw practically everything away and to start from scratch. That's madness by today's standards but I guess it made sense with how things worked back then.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 07 - Super Mario Bros. 2
Nintendo made heavy work of Mario in cameos in entries such as Punch Out!! and educational titles making this westernised overhaul passed as a sequel the next title. Doki Doki Panic was reworked to be Mario themed even if the theming was a departure still from what gamers were familiar with.







2 Good?

[Ouenben]

SMB 2 USA was my least favourite of the original 3 though I still prefer it to Lost Levels, I was thinking of playing the Allstars version on GBA again soon as I've not beaten it since early 2000s.

[Neon Ignition]

SMB2's existence feels like one of the rare examples of how Nintendo hasn't always valued the plumber so much. No way it would get made today this way