Classic NES Series: Super Mario Brothers: Still Super?

Like many people my age, the first NES game I played was Super Mario Brothers. It was the packin game along with Duck Hunt which came with most NES consoles. I put in many hours into this game when I was young. Hey, it was a great game that was way ahead of its time. It was the epitome of what it was like to grow up in the late 80's. Now 20 years later it's available for the Gameboy Advance in their Classic NES series of games. Is it worth it?


Gameplay

Super Mario Brothers while not the first platformer game, was the one that put the genre on the map. You run, jump, stomp on your enemies, bump them off a ledge, or throw fireballs at them. And there are a host of enemies. One enemy has spines on its back which cannot be stomp. Others have a hard shell that can be pushed into other enemies. Some throw hammers, while others are impervious to your fireballs. You go from the trees to the ocean facing squid, flying fish, and avoiding spinning fire platforms, bottomless pits, and timers counting down to zero; all in an effort to save the princess.

There are a host of items along the way to help you in your quest. You'll find coins all over the place, along the ground, suspended in the air, in question mark boxes, or inside bricks. Collecting 100 coins gives Mario an extra life. There are also mushrooms which can turn regular Mario into Super Mario, a larger size that can break brick blocks by jumping under them. When you're Super Mario, those mushroom blocks turn into fire flowers. Fire flowers turn Super Mario into Fire Mario who can throw fireballs that bounce along the ground and even through the water. There are also bouncing stars that turn Mario invincible for a short period of time. Finally there are 1up mushrooms that give Mario an extra life.

The gameplay mechanics while simple are also rather complicated too. While you traverse each level, the world scrolls along, but you can't go back. Secret areas can be found by reaching new heights and by going down warp pipes. There's a momentum system that makes Mario hard to control. Running makes Mario hard to stop, especially on platforms. Unlike later games you can find yourself easily skidding off the end of ledges and other perilous areas.

In the end the gameplay is pretty solid. It isn't as forgiving as other Mario games, but it is balanced, challenging, and most importantly fun. Yeah you can't scroll back the other way, but that's just what Super Mario Brothers is all about. It's a great game that is shallow compared to its competition today, but still fun.


Controls

The controls are pretty basic. The dpad moves Mario. Pressing down on the control pad allows him to duck. The A button forces Mario to jump. Depending on how long you hold down the button, Mario with either hop or leap. The A button will also allow Mario to swim up and/or forwards. The B button performs one of two functions. Holding down the B button while moving allows Mario to run fast and thus can jump higher and farther. If you have a fire flower the B button throws fireballs. The controls as you can see are pretty basic, but they work. You don't get your fingers tied up unless the Gameboy Advance is too small for your hand.


Graphics

The graphics while primitive are classic. Yeah Mario looks much grainier than his alter ego in even the later NES installments to the Super Mario franchise. But he is still unmistakable with his mustache, hat and overalls. The backgrounds still seem drab and boring. They certainly are not as vibrant as I remember. Still, Mario, and his adversaries move fluidly and with few hitches or frame losses. Most of the issues come in when Lakitu start lobbing tons of spines at you. Now the Gameboy Advance is much more, ahem, advanced than the old NES, but the still the same graphical performance prevails.


Sound

Like the graphics the sounds are primitive but classic. Everything from the theme song to the sound effects are recreated in this installment of Super Mario Brother. When you stop and listen, these sound effects were really primitive and archaic compared to the audio from even the later NES games. Still, the themes and sound effects are so ingrained in the psyche of gamers from my generation that they are faithfully recreated in later games albeit remixed dozens of times over.


Replay Value

Compared to games of today Super Mario Brothers doesn't quite offer the sheer diversity of options and gameplay to bolster its replay value. Still, I would be lying to my 9 year old self to claim that there is no replay value. The obvious motivation to play this game over and over is to simply beat it. After that's finished, you try to maximize your score. However, there are ways to get unlimited 1ups and thus extend your score as far as it'll allow through unlimited lives. The biggest motivation to replay this game today is the speed run where you try to beat the game as quick as possible. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to time or even record this accomplishment. Beyond that once you beat the game, Super Mario Brothers loses a lot of its luster. Most people will put down this game after probably 20 hours of gameplay. Not too bad, but is it worth the $20 price tag? I don't think so. There are so many games out there which can occupy your time just as intensely or more for much less. I would recommend this game only for the people who are looking for a little bit of nostalgia and only have a Gameboy Advance or Nintendo DS. However, the fact is you can buy this game for much less on the Wii's virtual console. And if you have an old NES you might even be able to get this game for a dollar.