Super Mario Bros. Review

Yes, Super Mario Bros., the classic Nintendo platformer, why? Because I feel its a game everyone should play at least once and it had been a few years since I played it front to back, last time was in 2014 on the Wii U when they dropped it on the NES Virtual Console. So I decided to give it another shot by playing the All Stars version released on SNES in 1993 and actually review it this time, bit of a writing exercise here. I'm emulating this on higan, the most accurate SNES emulator out there so far, save states were used sparingly, and I'll cover why I did towards the end.

But first, story, which I think we all know the low down; firey turtle King Bowser rescues plumber Mario from the tyrannical Princess Toadsto- no, wait, sorry. Plumbing Brothers Mario and Luigi seek to rescue Princess Toadstool form the tyrannical turtle King Bowser. Of course every time Mario and Luigi beat the four levels that constitute a world and think they succeed in their quest Toadstool's Toad retainers pop up and go, "lol no, try again nerd" and then it's off to the next world for 8 times. It's very basic but somthing to note is that one change made to All Stars is that the amount of toads increses per world. World 1 has 1 Toad, World 2 has 2, World 3 has 3, etc. And they have very cute animatons when rescued; running out under the cover of a massive shell, stacking on top of each other. It's more rewarding than the original screens where it's one Toad giving you the finger by a large margin.

But I suppose that's where to bring up the All-Stars port and how it holds up to the NES ver- it's better. I'm not beating around the bush, All Stars is a better version of the original. There is a charm to the aesthetic of the original and I don't really like the inverted colored clothing Mario has in this version. But backgrounds, enemy design, and music all are better than the NES version. There's an actual background and not just a blue void, the snow levels feel like more than a palette swap, night levels are gorgeous, and there's actual parallax scrolling here to give the world depth. It helps make the world a lot more vibrant and interesting than the original, even if the original look is iconic. And it plays like the original so no need to worry about the remake changing how the original plays. which is a charm and a curse because the original Mario certainly shows it's age.

Now I think we all know the basic Super Mario Bros. gameplay but if you don't it's simple. Go left to right, collect coins, reach the goalpost, and then top it off with some some fireworks if you were a good lass/lad and reached the flag at the certain time. Of course you have foes to deal with by stomping or acquiring fire flowers; Goomba's who move right to left and have no self-preservation, same with Green Koopas but this time they have shells you can kick after you stomp on them, Red Koopas are the same as green ones but minus the yeeting themselves off cliffs. Of course you have more specialized rare enemies, like Lakitu's who throw spiky turtles who can't be stomped on, fuzzy beetles that can't be killed by the fireballs you can acquire, and the Hammer Bros, the only enemies actually trying to kill you here with their toss-able hammers. Honestly, Bowser gives me less shit than Hammer Bros. because at least there's only one of him, Hammer Bros. usually come in two and are the real boss fights. Though your greatest enemy will be bottomless pits if we're being honest because Mario 1 has some control issues here.

Mario's control is a bit stiff compared to later games and mid air control is non-existent, sometimes you accelerate off the side of a cliff or slam into a foe. Not helping is the hit detection that makes you go "I jumped on him! Come on!" which happened to me a lot, namely when speed jumping onto a Goomba, which as it turns out is very precise. Platform detection was wonky at one point, namely with moving platforms as I learned there was a split second of when they appear on screen vs when they actually become usable. And yes, it cost me a life, but I learned and moved on, which cannot be said for spring physics, which wind up taking a dive off a pier with concrete shoes. Springs don't give you the maximum bounce you need unless you hit jump at the perfect second and I could never figure out what that second was. This makes levels where they're needed to progress an absolute nightmare, looking at you World 6-3; which combines springs with Hammer Bros.

But I suppose that brings me to difficulty and while the first 4-5 worlds are fairly breezy, World 6 onward kicks you with a jackboot and tells you to git gud. Took me like, three hours to make it through to the end from World 6 where as before it took me an hour to breeze through the first 4-5 worlds. And like I said, Hammer Bros and springs will be your greatest foe therefore making your final power up, the flame shooting fire flower, worthless. The Super Mushroom, which gives you a hit and makes you bigger, is a great "fuck this" crutch though as it lets me take the hit and abuse  newfound invincibility time to allow for recovery.

As for the save stating I mentioned, this ties into All Stars save system. Game over means you go back to the start of the world and by World 8 you'll be slamming yourself into a brick wall over and over again. So I decided I didn't like suffering and started using states only at the start of every level in World 8. I don't think it's that bad of a practice given NES and SNES Online on Switch have save states, I just wanted to be transparent because some people might see it as cheating. And given how proper saving doesn't exist in the orignal NES version on Switch Online, I recommend save states if you wish to have a good time or even drop the game and pick it back up later.

That said, in spite of its aged quality, frustration towards the end, and my want of save states, Super Mario Bros. has aged well, more so with All Stars but the original has it's charm. And well, it's the gaming equivalent of Citizen Kane or Metropolis, such a revolution, such a quantum leap for gaming that it's impact cannot be ignored. If you haven't played Super Mario Bros yet I implore you to give it a shot, whether through All Stars, the NES version, or it's subsequent re-releases. It's one game that every gamer, once in their life, should play; whether young enough to care about Fortnite or an old fart ranting about the glory days that they most assuredly put rose tinted glasses on for. Super Mario Bros. will always stand the test of time and that's a promise.