The gaming industry is full of mascots and icons. They are necessary just as they are in every other business in existence. Most if not all companies carry with them some sort of logo or trademark to make them identifiable in the public's eye. Sports teams have their poor geeks who dawn the insanely hot costume for every game to cheer the players on. No matter what the situation, mascots and icons really drive sales and popularity of whatever they're representing. When it comes to Nintendo, they have more than their share of characters who represent the games they pride themselves on developing. Zelda, Link, Donkey Kong and Peach are among them. In the NES generation, the first team Shigeru Miyamoto and Co. came up with ended up being the very franchise of Nintendo.
Mario and Luigi, the Super Mario Bros. These guys have been through it all since 1985. Super Mario Bros. released with the NES in that same year, and it was an immediate success story. It was what practically drove a majority of the 60 million units of hardware. The objective of the first game was simple. You had to take the Italian plumber Mario through countless stages just to end up hearing "But our princess is in another castle" from Mushroom Kingdom's Toad. You would eventually get to Bowser's real castle and rescue the princess. In the second game, a whole different world was threatened by the dreaded Wart, a knock-off of Bowser. You used four different Mario characters, each with their own unique ability to get to the ugly toad. However, what truly defines the Super Mario Bros. franchise is the third installment. Without a shadow of a doubt, SMB 3's world was one of the most immersive ones ever, and the entertainment value is simply unrivaled.
The story is no different, get yourself to Bowser's castle, rescue the princess and save the Mushroom Kingdom. One might think repeating what was already done in the first SMB game would prove disastrous to its enjoyment. How it ended up being the exact opposite is still mind blowing to this day. It's rather easy to see what it is about the game though. The story may be the same, but it was the gameplay that defined the fun factor. Without all the different options and ways to traverse from world to world, SMB 3 would've easily flopped. Thankfully that didn't happen, and what we still have today is one of the most enjoyable classics of all time.
You take on the role of either Mario brother, as you start at the very beginning until you once again reach the final world. But what made the game unique to start with was the introduction of a world map. With a very capturing sprite presentation, you would see small pictures of various characters that you would see throughout the world. Each actual stage is represented by a small black box, and all it took was a press of a button to enter it. There were even hidden elements on the map to make things more interesting. As soon as a level starts, you are treated to some trademark music that makes most Mario games so enjoyable. Then the conventional platforming begins, allowing you to run, jump stomp and drop. You have your pipes, you have your item blocks and you have the koopa minions of Bowser and Co. getting in your way virtually every second.
The very aspect that drives how fun SMB 3 is to play is the upgrade system. Each stage and Toad Shop offers a number of opportunities to make Mario more versatile. Whether you knock the power-ups out of item blocks or simply buy them from Toad to use on the world map, there's plenty of options. The most popular one would easily be the tanooki suit, which turns Mario into a flying raccoon and the fire flower which allows him to throw balls of fire at his enemies. There are even non-power up items such as the whistle that allows you to skip an entire world and start the next one. It's always up to you as well whether you would use items in your inventory.
Another feature of the game that kept each world interesting was the koopa boss you had to face at the end of each world. These koopa bosses are all relatives of Bowser, and they include the infamous Iggy, Wendy and Ludwig. Each has a home base that more or less is a flying ship that you have to navigate until you get to the end. Once you got there, you had to face the particular koopa child and whatever unique fighting technique they may bring to the table. Each battle was incredibly fun, even though some of the little guys seemed a little stronger and smarter than they should've.
The experience is truly rewarding throughout the game. In the final world you face a plethora of challenges as Bowser basically throws everything he has at you. This includes tanks and automatic moving levels to keep you moving at every moment. All the big baddies are located here, and more than ready and willing to give you a whooping. Reaching Bowser is no easy task either, but thankfully the battle isn't entirely overwhelming. It's rather humorous to defeat him by making him destroy his own room, namely the floor. Then instead of hearing the 'our princess is in another castle' annoyance, you actually get to her. Super Mario Bros. will always be a landmark in Nintendo's history, and those that say or feel otherwise need a serious reality check.
Mario and Luigi, the Super Mario Bros. These guys have been through it all since 1985. Super Mario Bros. released with the NES in that same year, and it was an immediate success story. It was what practically drove a majority of the 60 million units of hardware. The objective of the first game was simple. You had to take the Italian plumber Mario through countless stages just to end up hearing "But our princess is in another castle" from Mushroom Kingdom's Toad. You would eventually get to Bowser's real castle and rescue the princess. In the second game, a whole different world was threatened by the dreaded Wart, a knock-off of Bowser. You used four different Mario characters, each with their own unique ability to get to the ugly toad. However, what truly defines the Super Mario Bros. franchise is the third installment. Without a shadow of a doubt, SMB 3's world was one of the most immersive ones ever, and the entertainment value is simply unrivaled.
The story is no different, get yourself to Bowser's castle, rescue the princess and save the Mushroom Kingdom. One might think repeating what was already done in the first SMB game would prove disastrous to its enjoyment. How it ended up being the exact opposite is still mind blowing to this day. It's rather easy to see what it is about the game though. The story may be the same, but it was the gameplay that defined the fun factor. Without all the different options and ways to traverse from world to world, SMB 3 would've easily flopped. Thankfully that didn't happen, and what we still have today is one of the most enjoyable classics of all time.
You take on the role of either Mario brother, as you start at the very beginning until you once again reach the final world. But what made the game unique to start with was the introduction of a world map. With a very capturing sprite presentation, you would see small pictures of various characters that you would see throughout the world. Each actual stage is represented by a small black box, and all it took was a press of a button to enter it. There were even hidden elements on the map to make things more interesting. As soon as a level starts, you are treated to some trademark music that makes most Mario games so enjoyable. Then the conventional platforming begins, allowing you to run, jump stomp and drop. You have your pipes, you have your item blocks and you have the koopa minions of Bowser and Co. getting in your way virtually every second.
The very aspect that drives how fun SMB 3 is to play is the upgrade system. Each stage and Toad Shop offers a number of opportunities to make Mario more versatile. Whether you knock the power-ups out of item blocks or simply buy them from Toad to use on the world map, there's plenty of options. The most popular one would easily be the tanooki suit, which turns Mario into a flying raccoon and the fire flower which allows him to throw balls of fire at his enemies. There are even non-power up items such as the whistle that allows you to skip an entire world and start the next one. It's always up to you as well whether you would use items in your inventory.
Another feature of the game that kept each world interesting was the koopa boss you had to face at the end of each world. These koopa bosses are all relatives of Bowser, and they include the infamous Iggy, Wendy and Ludwig. Each has a home base that more or less is a flying ship that you have to navigate until you get to the end. Once you got there, you had to face the particular koopa child and whatever unique fighting technique they may bring to the table. Each battle was incredibly fun, even though some of the little guys seemed a little stronger and smarter than they should've.
The experience is truly rewarding throughout the game. In the final world you face a plethora of challenges as Bowser basically throws everything he has at you. This includes tanks and automatic moving levels to keep you moving at every moment. All the big baddies are located here, and more than ready and willing to give you a whooping. Reaching Bowser is no easy task either, but thankfully the battle isn't entirely overwhelming. It's rather humorous to defeat him by making him destroy his own room, namely the floor. Then instead of hearing the 'our princess is in another castle' annoyance, you actually get to her. Super Mario Bros. will always be a landmark in Nintendo's history, and those that say or feel otherwise need a serious reality check.
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