Review: Super Mario Brothers
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:Like most NES games, you can pause at any time by pressing START on your controller. However, this early title did not support saving your progress. Time needed per session:The entire game can be completed in under an hour - though you'll finish it much faster if you take advantage of the many "warp zones" and skip parts of the game.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians You really need to overthink things in order to find anything offensive in this game. |
Screenshots
These screenshots were captured using video from an actual console.
Game Overview
The original Super Mario Brothers game is easily one of the most recognizable video games in history. It's the game credited with defining the platformer genre, and was the first games released for the NES in North America. Even then, it's managed to sell millions of copies and has been ported or remastered a dozen times over.
Everyone knows the story by now: the evil King Koopa* has attacked the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnapped Princess Toadstool*. To save the kingdom, Mario and his brother Luigi head out on a grand adventure, stomping on goombas and grabbing coins as they travel across the land in order to rescue the princess. Throughout their journey, players can find hidden treasure rooms and warp zones. The latter function as shortcuts that allow players to bypass large portions of the game.
Although this game came out almost forty years ago and is fairly simple compared to modern games, it's considered to be a classic and still has a thriving fanbase to this day. Definitely consider looking into this if you're interested in retro games or want to see how the Super Mario franchise began.
* Better known today as Bowser and Princess Peach
Everyone knows the story by now: the evil King Koopa* has attacked the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnapped Princess Toadstool*. To save the kingdom, Mario and his brother Luigi head out on a grand adventure, stomping on goombas and grabbing coins as they travel across the land in order to rescue the princess. Throughout their journey, players can find hidden treasure rooms and warp zones. The latter function as shortcuts that allow players to bypass large portions of the game.
Although this game came out almost forty years ago and is fairly simple compared to modern games, it's considered to be a classic and still has a thriving fanbase to this day. Definitely consider looking into this if you're interested in retro games or want to see how the Super Mario franchise began.
* Better known today as Bowser and Princess Peach
Points of Interest
Eight worlds of four levels each
Each world follows the same general pattern. The first level is always an overworld area, followed by a world-specific special level type (eg, underground or underwater). With the exception of World 8-3, which is a run up to Bowser's castle, the third level is a platforming challenge for the player to navigate through. The fourth and final level of each world is a castle level, with the classic battle between Mario and Bowser on the bridge at the end.
New Game Plus
New players may not expect this, but once you finally rescue Princess Peach at the end of 8-4, the player is given the option to play through a second, harder game. In this mode, the goombas are replaced by buzzy beetles (which aren't effected by fireballs and leave a shell that can be knocked back into the player), platforms are shorter, and the enemies are faster.
Minus World, the famous mistake
Thanks to an interesting combination of bugs, it's possible for players to use the first warp zone to travel to worlds that don't exist in the game's code. The most famous of these displays just " -1" in the opening screen, granting it the nickname "The Minus World" among the game's fans.
These corrupted levels are typically unplayable, but people enjoy visiting them anyway.
These corrupted levels are typically unplayable, but people enjoy visiting them anyway.
Huge speedrunning community
Super Mario Bros. is one of the most popular games for speedrunning, with the world record beating the game in less than five minutes. If you're up for a real challenge of your gaming skills, this is one game to try!
Concerns and Issues
Extremely mild violence
The most questionable material in this game involves what happens when Mario or Luigi defeats an enemy - ie, you jump on them, hit them with fireballs, kick turtle shells into them, or touch them with a star powerup active. This either flattens them or just knocks them off screen.
Likewise, if Mario or Luigi touches an enemy or hazard, they'll lose their current powerups and return to their original state. If they were already small when this happened, they'll jump up and fall off the screen.
None of this really registers as "violence", but it's the most offensive material this game has to offer.
Likewise, if Mario or Luigi touches an enemy or hazard, they'll lose their current powerups and return to their original state. If they were already small when this happened, they'll jump up and fall off the screen.
None of this really registers as "violence", but it's the most offensive material this game has to offer.