Also available on Super Nintendo, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, 3DS, Wii, Wii U, and Switch Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Entertainment System is the granddaddy of the 2D platformer. While it certainly shows its nearly 40 years of age these days, its simple charm and iconic visuals and sound effects continue to be brutally addicting. This was the first video game I ever owned and played, so it's got a very special place in my heart, but beyond that, it set the gold standard for what a platformer should be and cemented Nintendo's place as THE home console manufacturer from the mid 80s through the mid 90s. Anybody who's anybody is familiar with Super Mario bros, and and with a story as thin as a Paris runway model's waistline, there's not a whole lot to say about the context. You play as Mario as he jumps, runs, and stomps his way through 32 levels of the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach from Bowser. Each of the eight worlds consists of four levels, and the four level in each world is one of Bowser's castles where Bowser awaits you at the end. There are warp pipes throughout the game that let you skip levels - sometimes multiple worlds at once - if you know where to look and how to access them. With the exceptions of the Nintendo 64 and the Virtual Boy, this game has been playable in some way, shape, or form on pretty much every hardware platform Nintendo has released since 1985. The tight controls, clever level design, and smoothly increasing difficulty curve are what keep Super Mario Bros being fun and playable nearly four decades later, and it's not hard to see how this game made Nintendo a household name. It may be one of an endless sea of 2D platformers today, but every one of those 2D platformers since has at least some element of Super Mario Bros visible in its design and DNA. There's really not much more to say that hasn't been said a thousand times already since Reagan infested the Oval Office; later sequels may have improved upon and perfected the formula that this game established, but it's a classic that remains playable today for a reason. My Rating - A |
I'm a teacher.And I like to play video games. I like to collect video games. I like to talk about video games, and I like to write about video games. During the day, I teach high school history; during the night, I spend my spare time gaming. Then I write about it. Archives
April 2024
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