Super Mario Bros. (NES)
Developed/Published by: Nintendo R&D4 / Nintendo
Released: 13/9/1985
Completed: 24/11/2022
Completion: Beat it by warp zoning to 8-1 and then using the continue trick.
Trophies / Achievements: n/a
[Apologies for interrupting, but before we get to the article I’d like to mention that you can pre-order a copy of exp. 2600, my brand new zine, right now and get more of–and help support–writing like what you’re about to read.]
Super. Mario. Bros. Is there a game that less needs anything more written about it? Even I’ve touched on it previously in the form of the (excellent) Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, and I’ve mentioned more than once on this blog the major thing I ever really have to say about Super Mario Bros., which is “ee, isn’t it funny how slippy and inertia-heavy Mario’s movement is? It’s not like a modern platformer at all!” so I should probably just skip that even.
In fact, Super Mario Bros. is such well-trodden ground that I couldn’t really get my dander up for playing the original again, even though I’ve never actually beaten the game in its original, untouched NES form. Because… well…
Am I alone in finding the original Super Mario Bros an incredibly drab looking video game? It’s so… brown. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe brightens things up quite a bit for the Game Boy Color screen, but the original is just so… RF Cable. I can’t think of another way to explain it.
Plus, I think that we’ve all played the first world of Super Mario Bros. so much by now that it doesn’t feel that exciting (especially if you played a bunch of Super Mario 35). Don’t get me wrong–it’s still a masterpiece. But it looks nicer on SNES, it’s richer on GBC… sacrilege it might be, but I think the NES version might be the least interesting version to play, authenticity be damned.
(Plus I was playing it on Switch online, anyway.)
So playing it this time I decided to take a short-cut, considering I’ll only play it again when I get to Super Mario All-Stars: I decided to play it “for real” but just warp-zone my way to the end.
I do not recommend this.
Playing Mario, the original, is a like riding a bike, sure. But the bike is a penny farthing, or or something. It’s not a smooth city bike or something like what I’m used to riding these days. Sure, I get on it, I remember the idiosyncrasies of it’s movement, I walk through the first couple of levels as usual, I get myself to 4-2, I get myself to 8-1…
It’s like taking your penny farthing to a BMX course. You know what to do, but suddenly you’re having to do it exactly right. 8-1, you’re no fool, you remember Mario can run across single block gaps! But then you hit a bit where you need to jump perfectly onto a single block island and not lose momentum or die.
This… will lead to a lot of restarts.
And in 8-2 all hell breaks loose.
I did it, don’t get me wrong. I bloody did it (although I did look up the route for 8-4, and then was pretty lucky to dodge that twatty final hammer bro quite handily both times I had to.) But this betrayed the spirit of this project. Completing a game isn’t about just seeing to the end–if I cared about that, I’d just watch Youtube–it’s about experiencing the game from beginning to end, and playing Super Mario Bros. is about getting on a Penny Farthing in 1-1 and at the end being able to smash that BMX course because the level design has trained you up into it!
It’s a good life lesson, really, if probably also the kind of pat, obvious one you’d expect from an Adam Sandler movie.
I’ll do better next time.
Will I ever play it again? To be honest, I stand by my feeling that this is the least enjoyable version of the game, if only because it’s the most visually boring to me (your mileage may vary). I’ll play through the Super Mario Bros. All-Stars version and this time I’ll do it all the way through properly. My promise to you!
Final Thought: For all my disinterest in seeing this through this time round, I think it’s important to still note the insane context of Super Mario Bros., coming on Famicom as it does after a bunch of absolutely honking releases like Soccer, Ice Climber and the like, with even third-parties just putting out pretty weak sauce arcade ports like Yie Ar Kung Fu and Dig Dug. Things were of course far more interesting internationally on different platforms (A Mind Forever Voyaging! Ultima IV!) but it’s unarguable that the entire world of action games changed the day this was released, and it would take far longer than you’d expect for anyone to catch up–even something as simple as Sega’s Wonder Boy won’t be out in arcades for almost an entire year, and the first Mega Man doesn’t come out till the end of 1987!
Support Every Game I’ve Finished on ko-fi, either via a one-off donation (pay what you like) or by joining as a supporter at just $1 a month. Supporters receive an automatic 35% discount off physical zines, like exp. 2600, which you can order now.
7 notes
·
View notes
Super Mario Bros., released in 1985, is a timeless classic that defined the platformer genre. With its charming characters, innovative level design, and catchy music, it became a landmark in video game history. Super Mario Bros. introduced players to the iconic plumber duo, Mario and Luigi, and laid the foundation for the success of the Super Mario franchise. Its enduring popularity is a testament to its enduring appeal and lasting impact on the gaming industry.
0 notes
Top: officially licensed 1985 Super Mario Bros. Goomba figurine from Japan.
Bottom: viewing the figurine from behind reveals that the Goomba has arms, which are folded behind its back. Whether this was merely a visual gag by the designers of the figurine, or whether this was a legitimate interpretation of the enemy's sprite as seen in Super Mario Bros. (which is only seen from the front), is unknown.
Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source: twitter.com user "maedax_x"
2K notes
·
View notes
The Super Mario Bros 1985 was the first ever game where he and his brother Luigi saves the Princess from their first time fighting Bowser using my Mario Movieverse Charaters.
Mario: www.deviantart.com/hotdog900/a…
Luigi: www.deviantart.com/hotdog900/a…
Peach: www.deviantart.com/hotdog900/a…
Toad: www.deviantart.com/hotdog900/a…
Bowser: www.deviantart.com/hotdog900/a…
1 note
·
View note