Review: Super Mario Bros. - 04/05/2008 by Andrew
Platform
Released on the NES on the 13th of September 1985, Super Mario Bros. is the best selling game of all time selling over 40 million copies. This in itself should earn it a perfect score. Super Mario Bros. was also the first game of it's type (side-scrolling platformer), credited to ending the video game crash of 1983 and was a brilliant game, from start to finish. It's hard to think that this is the sequel to Mario Bros. that was released two years earlier – the two games look a decade apart in terms of graphics and gameplay.
The aim of the game is to guide Mario (or Luigi as the 2nd player) through eight separate worlds to beat Bowser and rescue Princess Peach. Each world has four levels with the last level being the 'boss' stage. During the first seven boss stages you fight what appears to be Bowser, though this is actually another enemy character in disguise. You can kill Bowser (including the fake bowsers) either by fireballs or by reaching the axe to drop the bridge into the lava. I always found it easiest being the smallest Mario and running under a jumping Bowser to reach the axe, so don't worry if you get to the boss level and you lack firepower.
You've able to warp to worlds 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 which makes replaying certain aspects of the game much easier as there's no save or password option. World 2, 3 and 4 can be access from World 1 level 2 by walking on the blocks at the top of the screen, easily accessable by the last elevator and World 5 can be access in the same way but from World 4 level 2. Beanstalks allow you to warp to World 6, 7 and 8.
It's hard to express how epic this game was and continues to be. The music (dum dum dum dee dum dee dum dee dum dum dum dum – you know what I mean) is known worldwide and Mario is one of the most recognisable computer game characters ever.
This game isn't just the best NES game, it's one of the best games ever.
100/100