006 – Super Mario Brothers
Year: 1985 | Publisher: Nintendo | Developer: Nintendo Creative Department | Genre: Platform |Live Play | Play Through
Really, what can be said about this game that hasn’t already been said?
Mario is a character that has woven its way through our popular culture and into our hearts and homes. With more than 50 appearances in games, television shows, a movie, comics, breakfast cereal, books, symphony performances, and so much more, it’s difficult to do almost anything without running into this icon. I would be on the next plane if there were a Mario Theme Park.
Coming back to SMB1 always brings with it new and fun challenges. How far can I go without dying? How quickly can I beat the game without warping? With warping? The answer is just under 6 minutes on my best go.
I decided to make two run throughs of this game. A warp and a non-warp. After an initial play to remember where the two warp zones are, I jumped in. For the purposes of this review, I’m just going to talk about the non-warp play through.
It has been a lifetime since I’ve seen some of these levels. 1-1, 1-2, 4-1, 4-2, and the 8s are old hat. But we’re taking about a game with 32 levels and when warping is involved, you only end up playing 1/4 of the game. And the structure of the game is not that complicated. Maybe a dozen characters. Another dozen terrain types. Day/Night. And then some of the dungeons are reused, just a little more difficult. So how did I feel about this run? Nostalgic? Challenged.
As an early Nintendo title, technically, this game shouldn’t have been capable of that much. The graphics were early NES. The music too. The controls are ever so slightly more than basic. And yet, this game launched a franchise or more specifically, an icon. Mario was a character in games before SMB. And has held so many jobs before and after. Here, he is a plumber. Saving the Mushroom Kingdom.
Though Nintendo had the console, several titles for it, and many arcade hits, this was the turning point. And not only was it an amazing game, Nintendo was giving it away for free. With every new NES and player getting a copy of this game, challenges would begin to emerge. Starting with the Nintendo World Championship tour and ending with exploit after exploit leading to the most amazing speed runs imaginable. Finding ways to infinite lives. Or the trap of the negative world.
I could probably go on and on about this game. There’s a wonderful book called Super Mario about the rise of Nintendo and another by the name Console Wars that are amazing reads (or listens if you prefer audio books) that cover a lot of what made Mario a staying character through time.
I’ll wrap up. SMB has very limited graphics, characters, level development, and music. Ultimately, the game had very little to work with. And yet, it made the most of every little bit that it could. SMB is actually more than the sum of its parts and all it parts all already amazing. Is it nostalgia that keeps the game fresh in our minds? Is it the evolution of Mario and being as much a part of his life as he is of ours? Growing with Mario as he grows with us? Being able to look up to the wholesomeness of character for more than 35 years (except for maybe his time in Donkey Kong… should get both sides of that story).
Whether small, big, or holding on to that flower power; collecting coins or running for time; or maybe you want to take the long way around; Super Mario Brothers can take you to your past or prepare you for the future. Either way you’l be running and jumping with joy. Yippee! – Mario
Erik
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