13 replies to this topic

[Orithan]

In this thread, I will play through each Super Mario Bros game in the order of their release and then give my thoughts on them as I play through them.

Rules:
No spinoff games or anything before Super Mario Bros. will be covered. This also includes the Yoshi's Island and Luigi's Mansion series.
Neither of the "hack" games, Super Mario Bros. 2 (JP)\ Lost Levels or New Super Luigi Bros U, will be covered.
Before you ask me to chronicle the unholy Hotel Mario or any other CDi Mario game, the answer will be a straight up NO.

I will be playing the PAL versions of the games, as these are the ones available in Australia. I will attempt to play them all on their original consoles or the Virtual Console if failing that.

And with that, let`s begin:

List of games to cover

• 1. Super Mario Bros, 6.5/10.
• 2. Super Mario Bros 2 (US), 7/10
• 3. Super Mario Bros 3, 8/10
• 4. Super Mario World
• 5. Super Mario Land
• 6. Super Mario Land 2
• 7. Super Mario 64
• 8. Super Mario Sunshine
• 9. New Super Mario Bros
• 10. Super Mario Galaxy
• 11. New Super Mario Bros Wii
• 12. Super Mario Galaxy 2
• 13. Super Mario 3D Land
• 14. New Super Mario Bros 2
• 15. New Super Mario Bros U
• 16. Super Mario 3D World

Edited by Orithan, 04 September 2015 - 07:39 PM.

[Orithan]

~~~Super Mario Bros.~~~

 

 

Among the first releases for the NES, this is the game that defined the face of Nintendo and redefined the realm of gaming and may very well be the game that ignited the return of the gaming industry. As a result, I can not thank this game enough for the movement it sparked. However, like other groundbreaking titles of the era (eg. Metroid, The Legend of Zelda), it did not endure the test of time very well and is plagued with issues regarding to early NES limitations.

First off, let's address the good points of the game. Both the graphics and music, as simple and archaic as they may be, are unforgettable pieces of art and have retained their charm well to this day and age. For a NES game, the game is straightforward and is mostly free from the dumb trial and error shenanigans of the era (with a couple of annoying exceptions) and rewarded the players who were willing to explore. The warp pipes, while they can be abused to skip as much of the game as possible, opened up opportunities to jump right back into the game after getting a game over to skip the worlds you already beaten.

 

The game in general was unforgiving, often punishing you harshly for simple mistakes. Powerup blocks were very rare in the later levels and often being absent altogether in the Bowser castles, often forcing you to rely on working as Small Mario for many levels. On addition said blocks were often placed in trollish locations, like right before a checkpoint or where attempting to get it can easily get yourself killed. Getting hit by enemy attacks reverted you back to Small Mario, regardless of form and there were several questionable enemy placements and design, mostly regarding Hammer Bros in World 8 and the Bowser fights from World 5 onwards. In terms of design; this game was mostly fair about its difficulty and gave you ample time to react to any situation the game presented to you, though it might scare off newcomers to the game.

With that out of the way, the game has a lot of issues; mostly in regard to engine limitations. The first and foremost of these is the fact the game can not scroll backwards, effectively railroading you forwards at all times. That was a very annoying mechanic and I am glad that was gone from the series altogether. Secondly, the physics are very dated; Mario felt difficult to control and fell like a brick if he hit an object (especially annoying in underwater levels). There are other limitations like grabbing a Fire Flower as Small Mario only turns him into Super Mario, but those are relatively minor complaints. That said, it was an amazing engine back in its era.

As for bad design choices, these were fairly few but were often annoying. The first of these that come to mind is the infamous "Trial and Error" corridors in several of the Bowser castles, where you run through a choice of passages hoping you run through the correct ones to proceed. The one in World 2 was reasonable given it was simple, but the one in World 7 was a big NO thanks to it being very complicated and intricate. I'm glad those were mostly gone from the series they should never return without major improvements. The second of which is the long jump in World 8-2, where you had to walk and then run following the jump in order to make it over. That took many attempts to get correct and down properly, wasting time. the level provided a free 1-UP prior to the jump, which eased things up a little but the jump shouldn't have taken this much precision.

Overall, this game is mostly solid and is worth a playthrough. It was an amazing game back in its day but age has not been kind to it. Its engine has been aged the most, though I don't think it needs a remake very much.

Score: 6.5/10

 

Edit: Updated review slightly to make it more clear that the unforgiving difficulty was not really a complaint I had with the game.

Edited by Orithan, 10 April 2016 - 02:17 AM.

[Timelord]

TBH, intentionally skipping SMB2(j) makes this dead to me. It's like randomly ignoring Zelda II, when chronologically reviewing the Zelda series. You can dislike it, for whatever reason, but it's still there. It isn't as if it's obscure, or fan-made, or even third-party. Skilling the Hudson games, fine, I can see that, but skipping a canon Nintendo release, designed by the same team as the original?

 

There's simply no reason to do that, if you are actually reviewing the series as a whole, especially as it's a critical linchpin in the evolution of jumping physics, flight, terrain, hazards, stomp-jumping, secret exits, backward movement, and other staples that were further explored in SMB3.

 

I don't know if you ever even bothered to play the genuine FDS game; but it's quite different from the 16-bit re-releases. In fact, I think I like it better than SMB3, which may seem odd, but it has a great deal of variety, and replay value. In fact, in order to unlock the Super Player levels, you need to beat the game no less than eight times. The SuFami/SNES re-release of it, was dreadful, and in no way accurately represented the feel of the original game.

 

I'm also guessing that you aren't too versed in the 8-bit games, as your main complaints above, most players can do blindfolded. Even the maze paths are decent, until you get to 8-4. You didn't mention what version you were playing, on what console (or emulator), or give other specifics that would radically change game physics; including if you are using PAL versions of the games. (The SuFami/SNES re-releases of all the games change many game physics, for the worse.)

 

'Super Mario All Stars' should be an entry, in and of itself.

 

P.S. Review SMB3 (World), and SMB3 (Japan), both. Your complaint about shifting to small Mario, regardless of power-up, was still in play for SMB3. Nintendo decided to change that for non-Japanese players, to make the game easier. There are also other, minor changes, but the JP version is much more challenging.

 

P.P.S. This must be the first review of SMB I've ever encountered, that complained about the game physics of SMB, that the platform gaming community, as a whole, generally praises. The older generation, is far more prone to complain about the loose, mid-air wobbly controls in newer games, and the horribly slow falling when stomping.

 

e.g. 'New Super Mario Bros', where it takes an eternity to get back on the ground, and running. In fact, the pace of the newer games feels somewhat lazy. Perhaps Mario is slowing down in his old age?

Edited by ZoriaRPG, 24 June 2015 - 07:52 AM.

[strike]

I agree with a good bit of Orithan's review. The stuff I don't agree with is:

The physics. I love the physics to that game. It's super fun. Not the swimming though, definitely agree on that.
The scrolling forward. There's no need to go backward at all. I don't know. That just wasn't a problem to me.

Small thing, but the trial and error passages do return I know for sure in New Super Mario Bros.

Yeah, good review. The only thing I would say is that the harshness of the game and the engine are some of the games strong points, not weaknesses. Really that was a nice review, well thought out.

-Strike

[Haylee]

I don't know if you ever even bothered to play the genuine FDS game; but it's quite different from the 16-bit re-releases. In fact, I think I like it better than SMB3, which may seem odd, but it has a great deal of variety, and replay value. In fact, in order to unlock the Super Player levels, you need to beat the game no less than eight times.

Sounds like forced replayability to me.

Also, considering Zelda II was actually released outside of Japan, I think it's fair game to choose not to do it, especially considering Nintendo considers SMB2usa to be the true sequel, and SMB2j to be an expansion at this point.

Edited by Nexas, 24 June 2015 - 11:22 AM.

[Shane]

The scrolling forward. There's no need to go backward at all. I don't know. That just wasn't a problem to me.

I have to disagree as it feels... awkward I suppose? It just doesn't feel right and being able to go backwards gives that extra polish and extra polish is what any and every game can use.

[MarinaraSauce]

TBH, intentionally skipping SMB2(j) makes this dead to me. It's like randomly ignoring Zelda II, when chronologically reviewing the Zelda series. You can dislike it, for whatever reason, but it's still there. It isn't as if it's obscure, or fan-made, or even third-party.

 

Why?  It's basically the same game as SMB1, just a little harder.  And considering the fact that it wasn't released outside of Japan, I'd say that it is actually pretty obscure.

[strike]

The inability to go backward is just a personal thing I don't mind at all.

-Strike

[Orithan]

The reason I will not be touching SMB2 (JP)/ Lost Levels is because it is nothing more than a simple hack of SMB1, just a lot more unfair ("Hey, I have a great idea! Let's add in warp pipes that take Mario back to previous levels and worlds"). That and it is not considered to be a canon entry. Similar story with New Super Luigi Bros U. I doubt anyone is missing out on anything if I don't cover those games.

[Air Luigi]

Imo, Super Mario Bros is still the most perfect platformer ever and the Lost Levels is the pinnacle of the series. Sadly, with World, Yoshi Island and Mario 64 the series adopted the boring "playground" style of design. I always see Mario as a obstacle course, so SMB and SMB3 are my favorites. Perfect pace, perfect placement of secrets, and they never feel a commitment.

 

"You can't scroll backwards". That's a key element in the first SMB, and the game will lost all the sense without that. You have to think a bit.

 

NSMB series are atrocious and lost all the point with the stupid 3D movements: double jump, triple jump, wall jump... No balance at all. And they are artistically awful.

Edited by Air Luigi, 24 June 2015 - 03:15 PM.

[kurt91]

If I remember correctly, Lost Levels introduced some new mechanics to the game, including wind that would mess with the distance you could jump in some levels, and new more-powerful springs that would launch you so high that it would take multiple seconds to return to the screen. Also, it was the first game to diverge the physics between the two brothers, so that instead of a two-player game, you could play as either typical Mario or slippery yet high-jumping Luigi. The level design was created to accommodate this as well, where some areas require precision movement that Mario would excel at, while other areas had pipes or ledges where Mario would have to springboard off of an enemy or something tricky while Luigi was able to just jump up. On top of all of that, it also introduced the Poison Mushroom items that would damage the player rather than power them up, with their graphics looking surprisingly similar to the 1-Up Mushroom (Unless you played the SNES version, where they were given unique graphics). I don't recall what the difference in graphics between the Poison or 1-Up Mushrooms were, so I'm guessing that the idea was that until you learned to spot the difference, you had to consider the difficulty in locating the item and determine whether you wanted to try grabbing it before it traveled off-screen.

 

All in all, personally, I feel that it's worth taking a look at to at least write how the changes affected the core experience, and why some ideas stuck around while others were either adapted out such as the similarities between the 1-Up and Poison Mushrooms or removed altogether.

 

Speaking of reviewing games, don't forget that there's also Super Mario Bros DX. for the Game Boy Color. A decent review would go over the added game modes/features and any benefits/drawbacks to trying to convert a game designed around the screen dimensions of the NES/Famicom towards the smaller-screened Game Boy Color.

[Orithan]

~~~Super Mario Bros. 2 (US)~~~

(also known as Super Mario USA in Japan)

 

 

The second canon entry into the Super Mario Bros series; this game is much unlike its predecessor, SMB1, and its non-canon Japanese version, Lost Levels, in the fact that the game played very differently.  As this was the result of being redeveloped from Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic in Japan after Nintendo of America deemed its Japanese version, Lost Levels, to be too difficult for western audiences, the game felt like a different take on the Mario Bros formula and less like a sequel like what Lost Levels was supposed to be. This is also the first game that featured a playable Princess Peach and Toad and is likely to have been a major source of inspiration for the latest installment in the series as of writing, Super Mario 3D World. While not as groundbreaking as the original game, this game has aged a lot less badly than its predecessor thanks to its departure from the traditional formula.

 

Perhaps the thing I liked the most about the game is about how the combat mechanics worked alongside the traditional SMB platforming gameplay. The combat in this game comes from simple idea of throwing stuff at enemies, which games from other developers like Mischief Makers took on later. Pull out veggies, Bombs, POW blocks, you name it out from weeds under your feet and throw them at your enemies to beat them as you platform your way around the mysterious and wonderful dream world of Subcon. In my opinion, this combat system worked great and synerigized well with the classic Mario platforming, despite focus being taken out of platforming a little bit as a result. The combat in this game can get a bit unforgiving at times and lacked polishing in certain areas (namely in regard to the player) just like in the first game, but it is still a timeless system, only being one-upped within the series by Super Mario Sunshine's combat system.

 

I also liked the exploration offered in the game by various means. Many stages offered multiple avenues of exploration, but you will be missing out on some neat stuff if you just look down those routes. The game also featured subspace, a different dimension accessed through the usage of special doors created from potions, that featured more familiar elements the Mario series: Super Mushrooms and Coins, which increased your max health for the stage and gave you chances to obtain extra lives at the end of each stage respectively. As they only span the screen that you were on, this feature added an extra layer of exploration to the game that I would like to see return in some form later on.

 

The setting and enemies are completely different this time around; Outside of the player characters and stuff within subspace, you won't be seeing any familiar faces from SMB1 and many of these new guys return in later titles either as adaptations (eg. Panser to Volcano Lotus in SMW) or in their original form like Shy Guys and Pokeys. The world this time around is Subcon, the dream world where the evil tyrant Wart has taken over. At times, the different setting made me feel a bit homesick, wanting to see traditional Mario enemies, but this alien selection contributed to the setting of the world; that Subcon is not Mushroom Kingdom. The graphics and music are good, but they aren't particularly noteworthy next to SMB1 and SMB3's visuals and tracks.

 

With all of the positives out of the way, I think it is time to shed light on the issues the game had. For a starter, the hitboxes are inconsistent with the sprites when you are at low HP. When you hit 1 HP in the game, your character takes on their small sprite, which is roughly half the size of the sprite they use in their big form, but retains the same hitbox as what your big form had. This was very annoying and got me killed several times, even if the enemy or their attack clearly did not connect with my sprite. Then there is a lack of polishing in some areas. In horizontal scrolling areas; going down the bottom of the screen, even if it leads directly to another area, will always result in a bottomless pit death unless you are climbing downwards on a ladder. There are also issues like standing on the top of the screen results in the game blanking out your sprite and Birdo respawning when you leave a screen and then come back to it, but those are fairly minor in the scope of the game (outside of Wart's Fortress, World 7-2, where Birdo appears as a regular enemy and not the stage boss).

 

Like the previous installment, SMB2 has relatively few instances of bad and questionable design choices. The only downright bad design choice I can think of off the top of my head is the Trouter platforming segment in World 5-1; where you had to jump on the Trouters and use them as platforms as you jumped your way to a safe platform. That required too much precision to make your way through, and they may end up glitching out and knocking you off them even if you land on them properly. There are a few instances of questionable design, like the Megaman-styled falling segment in World 5-2 and the whale segment of World 4-2. I also question the decision to lock you into a specific character once you first select them for a stage, until you clear it or use a continue. Getting locked into a character that sucks for a particular stage sucks, though you can still beat each stage using anyone so I guess it is not a big issue.

 

Overall, this game is very solid and deserves a playthrough if you are a Mario fan, though the difference in both formula and setting may deter you from playing it. It is overall better than SMB1.

 

Score: 7/10

Edited by Orithan, 28 June 2015 - 05:59 PM.

[trudatman]

I wish you had started with Mario Bros.

[Orithan]

Annd this thread is back in business. I was hoping to get this chronicle down much sooner, like two months ago, but then I ended up getting distracted by something. The culprit? Housepets! (if you are into furry webcomics, go read it - it is a good read).
 
 

~~~Super Mario Bros. 3~~~

 
The third canon entry into the Super Mario Bros. series and perhaps the most influential of the lot in regards to 2D platforming after the original game. Where Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) had to deviate from the formula as the result of being redeveloped from an entirely different game, Super Mario Bros. 3 went back to the series roots and decided to create an entirely new experience using the basic engine the original game had as opposed to SMB2 (JP.)/ Lost Levels being a simple hack of the first game. And this entirely new experience did not disappoint at all - It was better than the original game in every way possible (except its size and mayybe the music), felt like an extremely impressive feat for the NES and aged very well for a NES game. It had a few faults, many of which show how far it was pushing NES limitations, but it didn't manage to achieve perfection quite yet.
 
First, and foremost, this game was the first SMB title to feature an overworld map. This alone majorly changed how the game played; each world had a well-defined theme each world and it felt like you were traversing the world instead of going from level to level in a linear order. This made room for the worlds to have lot more features and allowed for alternative routes through each world as opposed to just them being just in levels as in SMB2 (US). Instead of just levels, worlds were filled to the brim with features; be it the new Toad Houses, pipes, enemy encounters, drawbridges (only in World 3) and even the occasional card game to be found. Later games implemented this feature with varying degrees of success and change, but SMB3 arguably did this the best of the 2D games. There were several extremely cryptic things hidden in the overworld like the Treasure Ship which, short of coming across them on complete accident, would never find out without a walkthrough; but they were never mandatory at all.
 
The one major thing this game dialed back on from the original SMB was the unforgiving factor. Where in the original game powerups and especially 1-Ups were rare bonuses, SMB3 gives them out by the truckload. You will find plenty of them in both stages and on the overworld map, where there are many opportunities to store powerups and gain up to 5 lives at a time. However, if you wish to do a full 8 World romp, you are going to be needing them unless you feel like using continues! There are a lot more levels in the game than either the first two games, with each world having a minimum of 8 stages including the Airship and up to three fortresses. The levels start out pretty easy, but they slowly become hell once you get to the later worlds, arguably than in the original game if you don't stock up on many lives and items. There were a couple of stages in Worlds 7 and 8 that were the pure epitome of Hell, especially World 7-7 and the Airship Fleet stage in World 8, which were bound to eat up lives by the dozen if you don't have adequate numbers of powerups. While several stages were extremely punishing, you almost always had an adequate amount of time to react to every situation the game presented you; all of my deaths were because it was my fault and not the game trying to kill me, save for a few questionable moments. IIRC, the only questionable levels in the game were whenever the Angry Sun was involved (especially in World 8-2), World 3-8, World 7-7 and the Airship Fleet stage in World 8.
 
Talking about the levels themselves, SMB3 was the first game to introduce fresh new concepts, enemies and/or new applications to said concepts and enemies in nearly every one of the huge number of stages. Where the original game introduced the basics of Mario gameplay and SMB2 (USA) mostly introduced dead-ends, SMB3 banked on the original game's teaching for its basics and expanded from there. As a result, SMB3 introduced a large number of features that later went onto becoming series staples in various forms, especially within the 2D titles, like the powerup storage system and a great deal of the enemy cast. Most of these levels were fairly short, easily beatable within a short timeframe if you knew what you were doing. Some, like World 7-8, felt like they dragged on for slightly too long but overall the levels were nice and short.
 
If there was any one major complaint I have with the game, I would say it was too big for its own good. The worlds this time around were huge for a NES game, with the later worlds easily taking upwards of an hour to complete unless you knew what you were doing. This makes it difficult to complete in one sitting, which is required because like almost all other NES games; there is no saving. To alleviate this issue a little, the game provided you with whistles, which can take you all the way to World 8 if you manage to get two of them. Unfortunately, the whistles are hard to find on your own; with one of them having no realistic way of being found without the help of a guide short of trying literally everything and the one Princess Peach hints towards in World 2 requires the usage of the only Hammer you can get up to this point in one of multiple places you can smash rocks in. This was the one thing that truly needed to be fixed in remakes, which the Super Mario All Stars remake did quite nicely. This is not so bad when emulating it because you have savestates (which I did on the 3DS Virtual Console, which I played for this entry), but good luck completing it on the original console if you had no idea of where any of the Whistles were because having to leave the game normally means you have to turn it off and you will have to restart the whole game all over.
 
Overall, Super Mario Bros. 3 is a highly groundbreaking game that improves upon on nearly every aspect of the original game. While it was too big for its own good considering the lack of saving, the rest of the game was fantastic and deserves the praise it gets. The saving system introduced in the SMAS remake would easily push this game up and have it sit among my top 10 favorite games of all time.
 
 
Score: 8/10

Edited by Orithan, 10 December 2015 - 12:57 AM.