Now Playing: Super Mario Bros. (1985)
Topic: Nintendo (NES)
How can you possibly rate and review one of the greatest and perhaps the single most important game in the entire history of video games? Super Mario Bros. is the single most iconic game in the modern era of games. How can I even begin to tackle this game? Can I point out any of its flaws? Are there any flaws? It is perhaps one of the most storied and beloved games ever made, so where to begin?
While this was not the first iconic game to hit the market, Super Mario Bros.' impact on the industry is indelible. Not only did it spawn the supremely great Super Mario franchise, which still continues to today with the release of the excellent New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but it re-invented the entire industry as a whole. Prior to Mario's release in 1985, the gaming market was over saturated with games and systems. There was the stoic Atari 2600, and the Collecovision, the Intellivision, the Intellivison II, Atari 5200, the Magnavox Odyssey, and so on and so forth. There were simply a ton of game systems out there, and also a plethora of games. There were indeed some legends prior to 1985 like Pong, Pac-Man, Pitfall, Space Invaders, Missile Command, Asteroids, Donkey Kong (which featured Mario, then known as "Jump-Man"), Plaque Attack, and Breakout, just to name a few. However, these games didn't and surely couldn't have the technical prowess of Super Mario Bros. While these older games were generally limited to one screen of action, Super Mario had eight varying worlds of excitement.
It was the success of Super Mario that reinvigorated a slumping video game industry after the infamous "crash of 1983" which almost led the gaming world into oblivion. As Mario has always saved the day in the Mushroom Kingdom, he indeed saved the day for the game industry as we know it. He redefined what a game can be, and defined what the side-scrolling platformer would be, and laid the foundation for what any game would become. It is likely because of Super Mario that we were able to play such great games like Mega Man, Metroid, Contra, and Kirby's Adventure for the NES - and countless more. Super Mario is also embedded in our very culture as a society, as he has become a household name. Anyone can hum the wonderful Mario theme, and everyone knows the fantastic sound effects when Mario spits fireballs, and gets power-ups, gains invincibility, or pounces on a Goomba or a Koopa shell - it's just become a part of American culture, nay, the entire world!
I could go on and on about how much this game has helped shape the landscape of pop-culture since its release twenty-four years ago, but, so much has been said about it already. Let's shift gears, and talk about the game itself. Super Mario Bros. has some of the best and tightest gameplay the NES had to offer back in the day. While it may have served as the model for platformer's to follow, not many lived up to its perfect implementation and execution. The controls are easy to learn, but the levels themselves take practice to master. One could quite easily take their time through the finely crafted levels, or blaze through them in a so-called "speed run" - either way, it is a blast to play this game. Again, it's no wonder why it is such a classic after two decades.
The graphics are quite simple, but were a technical marvel in 1985. Sure, they look quite dated by today's standards, but that only adds to the charm of the game. If anything, the game only garners more prestige and respect over the years because of its perfect simplicity. Though, one could argue that it isn't necessarily all "simple" in Super Mario Bros. While this game may be rather old, another reason it has such staying power because it has a strong challenge at its core. Certainly, Level 1 is quite familiar to all, and very beatable, but of course, still quite fun. However, as the game progresses, it presents the player with some formidable challenges - just try and cross King Koopa at the end of Level 6 with all those hammers and fireballs flying about! And speaking of hammers, the Hammer Bros. are some of the trickiest enemies you'll encounter because of their tough hammer-throwing patterns. Some castles stages at the end of each level are actually mazes and require some trial and error. Furthermore, Level 8 runs Mario through the gauntlet as you aid him in his quest to save the Princess. With these epic challenges, the game is pure fun, from beginning to end, and there is no doubt that you'll come back to it again and again over the years.
From it's great gameplay, fantastic challenge, catchy, memorable, and very well-known and beloved theme music, to its charming presentation, Super Mario became a pop-icon for a reason. It is indeed the most popular video game in our history, and surely one of the best, and most influential. Super Mario Bros. is a classic. Need I say more?
-Kurt L.
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Updated: Sunday, 3 January 2010 10:03 AM EST
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