Reviews
Game:
Super Mario Bros. 3
System: NES
Release Date: 1989
Price: $44.95
Super Mario Bros. 3 is
probably only second in popularity to the incredible Super Mario 64 for the
Nintendo 64. But I could be wrong; it could be the most popular Mario game
ever. :) This game was released to much hype after the movie, The Wizard (covered
in the Mariology section by MEGAByite),
which helped to propel the third entry in the Mario Bros. saga to legendary
proportions when it was finally released.
Super Mario Bros. 3 took
the series back to it roots, and improved upon it tremendously. Jumping on
enemies was back in full force; anything without spikes you could stomp and
squash. If you wanted to, tho, there were a variety of enemies you could
pick up and hurl into other enemies. Or you could use the various power-ups
to gain new abilities. The Fire Flower was back, and the Starman, with new
additions such as Raccoon Tail Mario (Mario with a tail, who could fly),
Frog Suit Mario (Mario as a frog, for enhanced swimming) and Tanooki Mario
(Mario could turn into a statue, avoiding physical harm. There were also
secretive goodies like the Hammer Bros. suit, which would let you become a
Hammer Brother and hurl huge mallets at enemies.
Bowser
had once again kidnapped Princess Toadstool, who sent magical letters to
Mario as he traveled to rescue her, telling him of her whereabouts. Once
again, there were 8 themed worlds to traverse across, with fortresses
scattered about each. Bowser wasn't alone in his quest to crush Mario tho,
as now Mario had to deal with the added threat of Bower's kids! These unruly
brats ran around the kingdoms in the powerful airships, which Mario would
have to chase down and invade. It wasn't just joyriding he was putting a
stop to, though, as each of the Koopa kids had turned the various kings of
all the kingdoms, into horrible creatures. Beating them and retrieving each
king's magic wand was the only way to break the spell.
Super Mario Bros. 3 was
also the first Mario game to feature mini-games. While it's true that Mario
2 had the Slot Machine, Mario 3 had several fun little mini-games that you
could pass the time with. The only downside was these were on the world map,
and could only be accessed once. Once you'd completed one, it left a marker
showing Mario had been there, and you couldn't access it again, until you
restarted the game, or continued.
This is not only one of
the SMBSS staff's personal favorite games, but also our Mario fans as well.
This is the Mario game we field the most questions about, and even today,
people are still trying to find all the secrets within it. If you have a
Mario collection and don't have a copy of Super Mario Bros. 3, you can't
call yourself a TRUE Mario fan. :)
-NulShock
