Super Mario Bros. 3
| Super Mario Bros. 3 | |
|---|---|
| File:Smb3.jpg The cover of Super Mario Bros. 3 features Raccoon Mario. | |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto Takashi Tezuka |
| Platform(s) | Famicom/NES Re-releases: SNES, GBA, Virtual Console |
| Release | JPN October 23, 1988 NA February 12, 1990 EU August 29, 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
Super Mario Bros. 3 (スーパーマリオブラザーズ3, Sūpā Mario Burazāzu Surī, sometimes referred to as Mario 3, SMB3, or Super Mario 3) is the last major Mario video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released on October 23, 1988 in Japan, February 12, 1990 in North America, and August 29, 1991 in Europe. The game was directed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, with music composed by Koji Kondo.
Super Mario Bros. 3 introduces a number of advances to the Super Mario Bros. series: the addition of a map screen, minigames, many new power-ups, enemies, and level types. It also features the first appearance of Bowser's children, the Koopalings. Unlike Super Mario Bros. 2 (US version), it remains true to the original Super Mario Bros. gameplay formula, yet it features a great deal more innovation and freshness than Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. It consistently places highly on 'greatest games of all time' lists.
Although widely regarded as being the best-selling video game of all time, the original Super Mario Bros. is actually the best-selling video game, at 40.23 million copies compared to Super Mario Bros. 3's 17.28 million (as recognized by the Guinness Book of Records [1], based on data given by Nintendo). Many figures put the sales at over 18 million copies sold. Because of the confusion that bundling causes with sales figures, Super Mario Bros. 3's achievement is often given more weight. When combined with its Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 versions, Super Mario Bros. 3 has sold over 33 million copies. The game was on the NES Top 20 list in Nintendo Power from its release until the NES list was discontinued in 1995.
Story (spoiler alert!)
As in most Mario games, the plot is minimal, existing mainly to serve the functions of the gameplay.
In Super Mario Bros. 3, Mario and Luigi are on a mission to rescue the seven kings of the seven worlds which neighbor the Mushroom Kingdom. Each of the kings has had his magic wand stolen by one of the Koopalings, who has turned him into a different type of animal. It's up to the Mario Bros. to enter the seven worlds, make their way to the Koopalings' airships and take back the wands.
However, as Mario learns at the end of world 7, these attacks are merely a diversion planned by Bowser, to get Mario out of the way while he kidnaps Princess Toadstool. So it's up to Mario to save the Princess once again.
Gameplay
The gameplay is a return to the style of Super Mario Bros. after the vast departure of the North American version of Super Mario Bros. 2. The heroes can again jump on many enemies to destroy them, as well as take on many different forms by acquiring special items.
However, despite the familiar gameplay, Super Mario Bros. 3 is still a different game from its predecessor. More puzzles, enemies and secret areas were added to enhance difficulty.
Rather than simply move forward in the game in a linear fashion, Mario travels the Mushroom World via a map, which often splits into different paths, giving the player more of a choice of which levels to play. Now the player could know what to expect while entering a level: for instance, a level situated near or on a body of water would most likely have aquatic elements. Furthermore, the player could skip levels entirely, allowing there to be greater control over the gameplay. While on the map, Mario can acquire special items through "Toad Houses" and battles with Hammer Brothers, which are saved in an inventory, and can be used in between levels.
Furthermore, smaller mechanics are changed. For instance, as in Super Mario Bros. 2 but not the original Super Mario Bros., the player can travel backwards in a level in case he had missed a special area or item. Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced the further ability of the screen to scroll smoothly and diagonally (in Super Mario Bros. 2, it can sometimes scroll vertically and sometimes scroll horizontally, but never in both manners at once and not smoothly).
Also, due to the increased difficulty, the U.S. and PAL releases were changed to make the game easier for players. If Mario had one of the "special" powers (Fire Mario, Raccoon Mario, Hammer Mario, Tanooki Mario, etc.) and then took a hit, he would revert into Super Mario, allowing for an extra hit. This is contrary to the original Super Mario Bros. and the Japanese release of Super Mario Bros. 3, where if a player had been hit as Fire Mario (or any other power-up mode), he would revert to regular, small Mario. This game play mechanic was not used in the original Super Mario World, but it was used in the later Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World for the Game Boy Advance, and New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS.
A stripped-down version of the first Mario game in the series, the 1983 arcade release Mario Bros. was also included as a 2-player minigame.
Minigames
Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA) featured a slot machine minigame, and Super Mario Bros. 3 built on this by featuring several different minigames which can be accessed from the map screen. There are two different game show-style bonus games, both hosted by Toad, which consist of a sliding matching game and a memory game where the player has to match up two of the same card without missing twice. Though not games per se, there are also "Toad houses" which give the player free items, as well as coin bonuses similar to those found at the end of beanstalks in the original Super Mario Bros.
A cut-down version of Mario Bros. is also used as a two-player mini-game in Super Mario Bros. 3. In two-player mode, either player can initiate the mini-game when both players are at the same place on the overworld map. The two players compete to earn five coins; the first one to get five wins the mini-game and gets to continue in the main game, although the loser can still rematch if they quickly react before the winner moves to a different spot on the overworld map. Any cards received at the end of a level can be stolen by an opposing player if they jump the block underneath his/her opponent (the card then travels in correlation with their graphic; the mushroom card travels slowly on the ground, the flower card sits in one place, and the star card bounces up and down).
Development
U.S. and Japanese version differences
While Super Mario Bros. 3 was in development in Japan, rather than directly porting the exact game code, Nintendo of America took the time to alter the game by adjusting the difficulty by either adding or removing some elements of the game. The following table is a mostly complete list of differences between the U.S. and Japanese versions of Super Mario Bros. 3. [2]
| Japanese version | U.S. version |
| When a level is selected on the Map screen, the screen is blanked with an iris fade-out, followed by an iris fade-in to display the level. | The iris fade-in effect was replaced with a simple palette fade-in. |
| In the World 1 Fortress at the end of the room with the falling spiked ceiling, four higher spikes are located below and to the right of the lower two. | These four spikes were removed, the wall was extended two blocks to the left, and the door that goes to Boom-Boom's room was moved one block to the right. |
| The castle throne room has three columns, the column shadows are to the right of the columns, the column beside the King is behind the stairs, Mario begins the level standing on the left side of the screen, the edge of the throne and tops of the stairs are light blue, the stairs are shorter, and the background is greenish-blue. | There are only two columns, the column shadows were switched to the left, the column beside the King is in front, the chair edges and tops of the stairs are gold, the triangles in the background are a different size, Mario begins near the center of the screen, Toad has moved back a little, the stairs are longer, and the background color has changed colors slightly to light blue |
| Mario will revert to small Mario after taking a hit, no matter what power-up he has. | If Mario takes a hit when he's Fiery, Raccoon, or wearing one of the suits, he will return to being Super Mario rather than small Mario. |
| In World 3, if Mario uses a Warp Whistle while riding in the Canoe, the Canoe will go into the Warp Zone, and he will not be able to get back onto the Warp Island if he falls into the water of the Warp Zone. The only way he can continue is by using another Warp Whistle. | The Canoe will be removed in response to the Warp Whistle. Mario will thus be able to use the Warp Zone as normally. |
| At the end of World 5-1, Mario reaches a wall with a pipe sticking out of it. Mario must enter this pipe to reach a different part of the level containing the goal card. | The end of World 5-1 does not contain a wall or pipe. The dark ending portion of the level was moved to the spot previously occupied by the wall. This particular change was made in response to a glitch that occurred in the Japanese version when Mario reached the area containing the goal and proceeded to fly over the left-hand wall in this area. |
| The Goomba's Shoe will turn red if Mario runs into an enemy, and Mario will be reduced to small Mario if he is Super, Fire, Raccoon, or is wearing any of the suits. | When Mario runs into an enemy, he will only lose the shoe and still remain in the power-up condition he had when he got into the shoe. Also, the shoe does not turn red. |
| In the first ship encountered towards the beginning of World 8, if Mario drops into the mud and manages to do a trick to swim all the way to the right of the final pipe, he will not be able to get back up without a P-Wing because the wall is a single block too high. | A block was removed at the very top of the right wall. Thus, even if Mario falls into the mud, he will be able to get back up and continue on. (However, the block is present in Super Mario All-Stars.) |
Lost levels
There are about 12 to 14 "Lost Levels" in the game, but they are inaccessible by normal means. They can only be accessed through a ROM patch for SMB3. However, the levels can have one or more of the following: no exits, no enemies, can be short, or are early versions of other levels. A photo of one of these levels may be seen on the reverse side of the packaging of the first European, US and Canadian release of the game. The lost levels really show levels that the makers were not going to use. As said, some of them are just a little different from the real levels in the game. Some Game Genie codes give you access to these levels. There are also two enemies in these levels that are never seen in the real game: the Golden Cheep Cheep, and the green Parabeetles. The golden cheep cheeps swim a lot faster than the regular ones, and the green parabeetles are just a different color.[1]
Graphics
Although technology was primitive at the time of the game's release (1988), the developers were able to implement some pseudo-3D effects into it. Various sprite rotation effects were made, such as Mario moving his head from side to side when he is walking and Bowser turning around. There are also some moving cloud sprites in the airship levels, and when Mario falls out of the sky with a wand after beating a world which tries to "simulate" parallax scrolling. Map tiles (such as hills and water) are also animated, and move to several notes of an instrument, mostly drums at a specific number of frames per beat (2 Frames per beat in World 4 for example).
Music and sound
The theme music during most of World 8 (as well as the Doomships) is an arrangement of Mars from Gustav Holst's The Planets.[citation needed]
The tune which plays when Mario uses the whistle is identical to the melody used for the Recorder in The Legend of Zelda, and in both games it summons a tornado that sweeps up the hero and dumps him elsewhere. Koji Kondo composed the music for both franchises.
Remakes
BS Super Mario Bros 3
In 1995 Nintendo released an add-on for the Super Famicom called the Satellaview, also known as the "BS-X" in Japan. One of the games for this system is a demo version of Super Mario Bros. 3, with enhanced graphics just like in Super Mario All-Stars. The game is not a copy of the original. It features some new features like "flower icons" and cartoon style pictures that appear every now and then, among other things.
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario Bros. 3 received a graphical and audio facelift for the Super NES (SNES) (and in Japan, the Super Famicom) in the Super Mario All-Stars (also Super Mario Collection) cartridge of 1993. On the Super NES version, the Spade panels on the map are animated. The action scene (numbered) panels sparkle. The airships have thunder effects and they are all the same color. The king transformations have also been changed, mostly to popular creatures from other SMB games. When Mario became Fiery Mario he was previously orange where in the updated version he resembled Fiery Mario of the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World (Red and White). Most notably, the king of World 7 was transformed into a Yoshi in the Super Famicom/SNES version of the game, but he was transformed into a Piranha Plant in the Famicom/NES version. A save feature was also added for the Super Famicom/SNES version. For the aforementioned world name table, Super Mario All-Stars uses the original world names.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
A similar version appears on the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. It is not completely faithful; there are several changes to the levels. It includes the updated original Mario Bros. and the ability to connect with the link cable for multiplayer battles. Newly created levels based on Super Mario Bros. 3, and demonstrations of how to complete certain levels can be downloaded through e-Reader cards. Only two sets of cards were released and the e-Reader was discontinued shortly thereafter in the United States (the e-Reader was never released in Europe).
e-Reader
Super Mario Advance 4 was one of the few games to have a fully-fleshed e-Reader extension. There were level, power-up, and demo cards. The levels are accessible in the Level Card option in the opening menu. In the main game, the player can bring up a menu with two options: "Demo Card" and "Power-Up Card". In the e-Reader world, accessing the levels menu showed the option of "Level Card" to load more levels into the game.
The cards were released in three forms:
- SMB3-e series
- Wal-Mart cards
- Special cards included with the game
In Japan, two sets of cards were released; America also got two but they only had one-third of the number of cards that the Japanese sets had. There were 50 cards in Japanese series 1 & 2; the e-Reader was not released in Europe. They are the same size as ordinary playing cards and come in three types: Power-Up, Demo, and Level Cards.
When players wanted to play a demo, load a power-up, or load a level in, they would need an e-Reader, two GBAs, a link cable, and the appropriate card. The player would stick the purple connector into the GBA with the cart, and the gray connector into the GBA with the e-Reader. The player would turn both units on and load up the option to connect to the e-Reader in SMB3. When the connection was set, the player scanned the cards, and disconnected when finished. Because of the need of a link cable and another GBA, this function will not work with the Nintendo DS.
The e-Reader extension was received with mixed reactions. Ryan Davis from GameSpot said that the e-Reader levels were entertaining and challenging, but was critical of the process, saying that the procedure to use the e-Reader was "clunky" and "poorly explained"[2] However, the IGN Staff was very enthusiastic on the e-Reader, saying that "potential for future expandability" made Super Mario Advance 4 the best of the series.[3] Most reviewers were pleased at the prospect of unlimited numbers of possible e-Card levels.
Characters
Mario - The franchise's favourite hero must once set himself in rescuing the world from Bowser's plans, now he has to face his children and their magic rods.
Luigi - Luigi joins his brother for a new adventure and can play against him in 2-player mode.
Princess Peach - The Princess is once more the character that must be saved, she sends letters with items for Mario's advancement as a prize for success... To aid him face each level's particular difficulty, with some sound advice.
Kings - They are what drives Mario's goal throughout each kingdom as they have been transformed into different animals depending on the level they belong to and the version of the game it is (Since new games have changed these from the original).
Koopalings - Making their debut each with a distinctive personality and combat mode they've got either their own flying ship or else share the same flying ship but change its layout, positions differ but what is a constant is that the kids are attuned to the level they attack, althought their personality would grow into more complex forms over the following sequels... Only their fighting style would give some similiarity between two brothers but then, one would be the better warrior and the other a trainee of sorts.
Bowser - The final boss and schemer behind it all. He has set his children on a plan to create an empire by turning them into defenseless animals, only if he can stop Mario from turning everything back to normal.
See also
- Super Mario Bros. (game series)
- List of Mario games
- List of best selling computer and video games
- List of NES games
- List of Famicom games
- Inventory items exclusive to Super Mario Bros. 3
References
- ^ http://www.themushroomkingdom.net/smb3_lost.shtml Accessed May 25, 2007
- ^ Davis, Ryan. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 for Game Boy Advance review. October 17, 2003.
- ^ IGN Staff. IGN: Super Mario Bros. 3: Super Mario Advance 4 Review. October 14, 2003.
External links
- Super Mario Bros. 3 at MobyGames
- Nintendo Power Special: The making of SMB3
- Super Mario Bros. 3 information at The Mushroom Kingdom
- Template:GameFAQs
- Super Mario Bros 3 NES review from The Mean Machines Archive
- Super Mario Bros. 3 Shrine
- Super Mario Brothers 3 - Mario Mayhem
| Game series |
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other games | |||||||||||
| Cancelled games | |||||||||||
| Universe |
| ||||||||||
| Other media |
| ||||||||||
| People | |||||||||||
| Related |
| ||||||||||
