Retro|Spective 075R: Super Mario

[Neon Ignition]

Game 08 - Super Mario Bros. 3
1988 and Nintendo launched the next true sequel in the franchise onto the NES, arguably the entry that truly sprang the character into the superstar leagues that he's enjoyed ever since. As a sign of how things used to be, the game took a further two years to reach America and another year beyond that to reach Europe. Introducing more mechanics, characters, a world map and refining the gameplay heavily this title became much of the overall template for 2D Mario moving forward.








The King of 2D Mario?

[Atticus]

I still haven't played SMB3

[QualityChimp]

My main memories of Super Mario Bros 3 is that the kid in The Wizard had to play it at a contest in Reno and got beaten by another kid with a PowerGlove and got really upset about it.

The End.

[Dogg Thang]

SMB3 is the best Mario game ever made. The short level sizes are perfect. Each with its own little challenge. The whole vibe is lovely. The suits are fantastic. Everything is right about this game.

[Nu-Eclipse]

SMB3 is quite clearly the best of the NES Mario games and one of the best 2D platfformers ever made. It's likely the best 8-bit platformer ever made.

King of 2D Mario though? Nope. No way. Not by a long shot. Super Mario World has that title firmly locked down.

[Neon Ignition]

I owned SMB in that double pack with Duck Hunt and played SMB2 a lot when I visited my cousins house but SMB3 was the first one where I was aware of the hype on release. I remember going to Woolworths and buying it on release because my parents were worried of picking up the wrong game. I had the Panini sticker album as well.

Played the life out of it and it's so far beyond the prior titles for the NES. It's pretty much everything you could ever hope for from a 2D 8 Bit Mario title and holds up phenomenally today still. I feel it's definitely been surpassed but it's still up there after all these decades.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Super Mario 2 is probably were my experience with Mario first began. That and the game boy Mario.
What can I say, Mario1, 2, 3 & world are all absolute classics.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 09 - Super Mario Land
Having delivered multiple entries for the NES, Nintendo turned to its popular handheld to bring some of that success across. Across 12 levels with an Egyptian styled theming players also took in side scrolling shooter sections as Mario leapt into his first non-Miyamoto involved title to save the new character Princess Daisy.







Did the series Land well on GB?

[Nu-Eclipse]

Super Mario Land will always hold fond memories for me (second ever GB game that I played, like most people I suspect), and it will always be a stone-cold GB classic.

So much fun to play from the off and it deviated from the Mario formula with excellent shmup sections. Soundtrack is excellent too - fine work from Hip Tanaka.

Even if one were to criticize the game's short length (4 world's - 12 levels), that could actually be seen as a positive in that it is perfect for a quick pick-up-and-play - Game Boy gaming to a tee.

Yes, the sequel is unquestionably a better game but, funnily enough, I find myself going back to the original far more often.

[Asura]

Yes, the sequel is unquestionably a better game but, funnily enough, I find myself going back to the original far more often.

Ooooh... Expect a strongly worded rebuttal in the post sir

[tokyochojin]

The music in Super Mario Land is fantastic. I still find myself humming or whistling the jingles from time to time.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Ooooh... Expect a strongly worded rebuttal in the post sir

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is a far better game than Super Mario Land by every conceivable metric. I said what I said.

Doesn't mean that I personally outright prefer it over the original Super Mario Land though.

[Asura]

Doesn't mean that I outright prefer it over the original Super Mario Land though.

Honestly I'm not so arrogant as to say "you're wrong" even if you liked it more, I was being glib.

But SML1 vs SML2 - as a kid, I got to play a decent amount of both, and if you had asked me which was better, I would've said 2 every single time, and thought it obvious.

But as an adult, when I got my ANBERNIC handheld I went back to them, and I was surprised to see that I liked the first one much more than the second. I think it's because the first one feels like its own thing; it's a uniquely Game Boy version of Mario, and I like the tiny sprites and how that makes you feel like you have a lot of space onscreen. The second one, though, feels more like a Super Mario World tribute act, and comes off worse due to it.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Honestly I'm not so arrogant as to say "you're wrong" even if you liked it more, I was being glib.

But SML1 vs SML2 - as a kid, I got to play a decent amount of both, and if you had asked me which was better, I would've said 2 every single time, and thought it obvious.

But as an adult, when I got my ANBERNIC handheld I went back to them, and I was surprised to see that I liked the first one much more than the second. I think it's because the first one feels like its own thing; it's a uniquely Game Boy version of Mario, and I like the tiny sprites and how that makes you feel like you have a lot of space onscreen. The second one, though, feels more like a Super Mario World tribute act, and comes off worse due to it.

Fair.

There's a lot there that I don't disagree with.

Super Mario Land is just as much of a SMB tribute act if SML2 is aping SMW in similar style. It's just that there are enough differences in SML for it to work (the emphasis on different enemies and worlds far removed from the Mushroom Kingdom - likely because of the GB's tech limitations).

I stand by what I said though. SML2 is objectively better. I just find SML to be more fun.

[QualityChimp]

Super Mario Land may not be the best Mario game, but it is my favourite.

To give it context, I got a Game Boy the Christmas it came out, which is an amazing result for my parents who must've ran to Toys 'R' Us the day they dropped to avoid that "Cabbage Patch" Christmas drought.

I played it that Christmas, much to the chagrin of my dad and I have a really vivid memory of sitting at the dining table with a power adaptor connected, rattling away at the buttons as I got to the final boss and sweating with how tense that was!

Aside from the nostalgia factor and the fact you were playing a full game on a handheld when previously, the closest was the LCD G&W that was great, but limited:


(TBC need to reboot)