Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros.
Box art of Super Mario Bros.
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Composer(s)	Koji Kondo
Platform(s)	Famicom/NES
Release	September 13, 1985 United States of America October 1, 1985 1987
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Super Mario Bros. is a video game produced by Nintendo in 1985. Universally considered a classic of the medium, Super Mario Bros. was one of the first side-scrolling platform games of its kind, introducing players to huge, bright, expansive worlds that changed the way video games were created.

Super Mario Bros. is one of the best-selling games (possibly the best-selling game, depending on estimates) of all time, and was largely responsible for the initial success of the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System. It has inspired countless imitators (eventually founding an entire genre) and was one of Shigeru Miyamoto's most influential early successes. It also brought Mario, who would later go on to become Nintendo's mascot and more recognizable among American children than Mickey Mouse, to prominence.

Shigeru Miyamoto described his initial idea for Super Mario Bros. as "a character that bounces around. And the background should be a clear, blue sky."^[1]

The player takes the role of Mario, or in the case of a second player, Mario's brother Luigi. The ultimate object is to race through the Mushroom Kingdom, evade or eliminate King Bowser's forces, and save the Princess.

Mario's primary attack is simply jumping on top of his enemies, which kills the mushroom traitors, known as Goombas, and sends the turtle soldiers known as Koopa Troopas into their shells. Mario can then kick these shells into other enemies, which will conveniently dispatch them; but conversely, kicked shells can bounce back off of walls or other vertical obstructions and hit him. Jumping on enough enemies in succession, or kicking a shell into enough enemies in succession (combos), results in double points earned with each enemy killed, eventually earning Mario a 1-up, an extra life and another chance to pass the level.

Aiding him in his quest are several power-ups, including the Super Mushroom, which would turn Mario into Super Mario, doubling his size; the Fire Flower, which turns Super Mario into Fiery Mario, allowing him to throw fireballs; Starman, which gives him temporary invincibility; and the 1-up Mushroom.

Mario can be hurt if he touches an enemy. If he takes a hit from an enemy as Super Mario or Fiery Mario, he simply reverts back to regular Mario and the game continues. However, if he takes a hit as regular Mario, falls down a pit (regardless of status), or if the time clock runs out, he loses a life, and starts again. The point where Mario continues depends on how far he ran through the level before dying; either from the very beginning, or at one of several invisible "checkpoints" throughout the level.

File:Goomba Group Strategy.png

The game consists of eight worlds with four levels in each. Though each world is substantially different, there are basic similarities: typically the first sub-world is a generic above-ground (overworld) level, the second is in an underground dungeon or underwater (or in the overworld with a unique challenge), the third is a series of platforms suspended high in the sky, and the fourth is a fortress or castle. At the end of each castle level, Mario fights "Bowser" (who, until the final level, is actually a lesser enemy disguised as Bowser) across a bridge over a pool of lava. In the later worlds, Bowser throws hammers as well as occasional fire breaths. Bowser may be defeated in one of two ways; either by touching the axe at the edge of the bridge (thereby dropping Bowser into the lava), or, as Fiery Mario, throwing fireballs at him to defeat him directly.

The third and sixth worlds take place at night, and all other worlds take place during the day.

After beating the game, the player is given the option to start the game again in "'Hard' Mode," where all Goombas are replaced by Buzzy Beetles (Koopa Troopa-like enemies who cannot be killed by fireballs), and all enemies walk faster. In addition, some of the elevator-style lifts are about 60% their original size.

File:SuperMarioBrosNESTitle.png

The game sold approximately 40 million copies in North America alone, which still stands as a Guinness World Record. It has been estimated that this game, next to Tetris, is the bestselling game of all time.^[2] Although the game was popular enough on its own, this is more attributable to the popularity of the NES itself, as Super Mario Bros. was most often packaged along with the console (usually in a dual cartridge with the shooting game Duck Hunt), just as Tetris was packaged with the Game Boy. Super Mario Bros. 3 is often cited as the best selling game of all time, which, as far as stand-alone releases go, is likely true.

Super Mario Bros. is often cited as the inspiration for many game designers; for example, it was the inspiration for the designers at id Software when they developed Commander Keen. (Indeed, Commander Keen began life as a PC port of Super Mario Bros.) It has also been critically acclaimed in retrospect; IGN named it #1 on their top 100 video games list twice (both in 2003 ^[3] and 2005 ^[4]), and it is one of only two games (along with Elite) to receive a 10/10 score in their "retro reviews" retrospective series.

The game's popularity eventually led to dozens of sequels and spinoffs. There are three direct sequels to this game on the NES platform:

• Super Mario Bros. 2 (this adaptation of Doki Doki Panic, an unrelated Japanese game, was originally released in the U.S. instead of the original Super Mario Bros. 2, sometimes referred to as Super Mario Bros. 2: Japanese. While some speculate that this decision was made because the Japanese version was deemed to be too hard for North Americans, others believe it was because the game bared too many similarities to the original and wouldn't sell in the US. SMB2 was later released in Japan as "Super Mario USA"),
• Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (originally released only in Japan as "Super Mario Bros. 2" but later released worldwide as "The Lost Levels"), and
• Super Mario Bros. 3.

Mario would later go on to become Nintendo's mascot and more recognizable among American children than Mickey Mouse^[5].

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Super Mario Bros. also inspired a TV series and a movie. Mario has also since become Nintendo's mascot, and is one of the most popular and recognizable video game characters of all time.

The oft-sampled soundtrack was composed by long-time Nintendo composer Koji Kondo.

The soundtrack is often sampled. While many bands have sampled the Super Mario Bros. soundtrack or otherwise recorded songs inspired by the game and its soundtrack, a Super Mario Bros.-inspired single by Japanese band The Tongari Kids, titled "B-Dash", reached as high as sixth place on the Japanese music charts.^[6]

As one of Nintendo's most popular games, Super Mario Bros. has been rereleased and remade numerous times, ranging from an arcade version released at approximately the same time as the original NES release, to its inclusion as an unlockable game in in the GameCube game Animal Crossing.

File:VVs. Super Mario Bros..png

The first of these alternate versions, Vs. Super Mario Bros., is nearly a separate game in its own right. This game, one of several games made for Nintendo's NES-based arcade cabinet, the Nintendo Vs. Unisystem (and its variant, the Nintendo Vs. Dualsystem), is based loosely on Super Mario Bros., and has identical gameplay. The stages are different, however; the first stages are subtly different, with small differences like the omission of 1-up mushrooms or other hidden items, but later stages are changed entirely. (Many of these later, changed stages later appeared in the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2.) These changes have a net effect of making Vs. Super Mario Bros. much more difficult than the original Super Mario Bros.

As with many older arcade games, it isn't clear exactly when this game was released; while the arcade boards themselves are stamped "1985,"^[7] the Killer List of Video Games and the MAME game listing list the game as having been released in 1986.^[8][9]

File:All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros box art.jpg

All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. is a version of Super Mario Bros. with graphics based upon a radio show, called 'All Night Nippon', that was very popular in Japan in 1986. It was released for the Famicom Disk System.

The game, which was only released in Japan, was a special promotional version that was given away by the Japanese radio station 'All Night Nippon' in raffles in 1986. The game borrows levels from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese version), and Vs. Super Mario Bros. The enemies and the mushroom retainers at the end of Bowser's forts are replaced with Japanese music idols, famous recording artists, and DJs, as well as other people related to 'All Night Nippon.' It was published by Fuji TV, the same company that published Doki Doki Panic (which was later remade into Super Mario USA, a.k.a. Super Mario Bros. 2).

While Super Mario Bros. is one of the best-selling games of all time, one of the most common versions of the game is actually an alternate version, a multicart including both Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. This version, first released in North America in November 1988, was only available packed in with the "NES Action Set," a bundle including the NES, two controllers, the Zapper lightgun, and the Super Mario Bros./Duck Hunt double cartridge.

Later, in December of that year, Nintendo also released a three-game multicart, including Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet. This three-game multicart was only included in the "NES Power Set," a bundle including everything in the "Action Set" above, but with the Power Pad and the triple-game cartridge in place of the double-game cartridge.

In 1993, released an enhanced SNES compilation, titled Super Mario All-Stars, of all of the Super Mario games released for the NES and Famicom. The version of Super Mario Bros. included in the compilation had improved graphics, redrawn to match the SNES's greater graphical capabilities and a save game feature. Several glitches from the original NES release were also fixed.

This compilation also includes later Super Mario games, including Super Mario Bros. 3, the North American/European Super Mario Bros. 2 (known as Super Mario USA in Japan), and the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 (known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in North America and Europe). A later version of this compilation, sold only as a bundle with the SNES, also includes Super Mario World.

In 1999, Super Mario Bros. was released on the Game Boy Color, under the title Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. It featured simultaneous multiplayer, a Challenge mode and also included the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 (which was released on Super Mario All-Stars as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) as an unlockable. It also was compatible with the Game Boy Printer. However, the game did not feature any upgraded visuals.

File:NESClassicGBA SuperMarioBros1boxart 160h.jpg

In early 2004, Nintendo rereleased the game on the Game Boy Advance in Japan as part of their Famicom Minis collection and in the U.S. as part of the Classic NES Series. Unlike previous re-releases, these versions contain no graphical updates; indeed, they are running in emulation. Super Mario Bros. was one of the best-selling of these rereleases; according to the NPD Group (which tracks game sales in North America), this rereleased version of Super Mario Bros. was the best-selling Game Boy Advance game in June 2004, and sixth-best-selling game overall.^[10]

Differences between this and the original are that the screen images appear a bit squashed, due to the smaller GBA screen, and the high score is saved to the cartridge. In 2005, Nintendo released this game again for the GBA as part of its 20th Anniversary with a special edition, selling approximately 876,000 units.^

Super Mario Bros. is one of the NES games featured in the Gamecube game Animal Crossing. However, Nintendo has yet to release an official means of unlocking it. Currently the only known way to unlock the game is by using a game modification ("cheating") device, such as an Action Replay.

Not long after Super Mario Bros. was released, a now-popular cheat code emerged. If a player reached a distant world, but then lost all their lives, they would normally be forced to start at the very beginning of the game. This cheat code allowed them to continue from the first level of whatever higher world they had reached. The code is performed by holding Down on the directional pad and the A button simultaneously when the "Game Over" message appears. Then, by releasing Down, but still holding A, the player can press Start when the regular menu appears and skip ahead to the world where they left off.

File:Smb1 minus world.png

Minus World is an infinite water level (with a layout similar to that of Levels 2-2 and 7-2). Most likely the result of a coding glitch rather than intentionally created, this level is sometimes claimed to be a myth. It does exist, although it can be difficult to reach. It is only accessible by performing a certain jumping trick in Level 1-2 at the pipe that leads to the end of the level. This trick allows Mario to move through the wall to where the level's warp zone is located. There, the first pipe leads to the Minus World, but only if the game doesn't scroll to show all the pipes; in which case, the pipes revert to their default locations. (Incidently, the second pipe leads to World 5 if reached in time.)

Once Minus World is reached, it is impossible to escape, and Mario is destined to die by running out of time (assuming he survives the standard water-level obstacles as well). The reason for this is because the pipe at the end of the level leads to the very beginning, instead of dry land, and therefore, the level loops, or repeats itself. The name was created by a glitch, and since it is not a normal level, the name is literally (nothing)-1, creating the effect of -1.

World 36 in the Japanese Famicom Disk System version of the game is considerably different and has three levels, after which the player is returned to the title screen as though he or she completed the game. This glitch has been fixed in the Super Mario All-Stars remake as well as in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.

The current world record time for this game has been set by Trevor Seguin and Andrew Gardikis with times of 5 minutes and 9 seconds. These claims have been confirmed by Twin Galaxies, and a video is available at SDA. These are both only a few seconds slower than the fastest known tool-assisted speedrun, which currently measures at just under 5 minutes.

1. ^ - O'Connell, Patricia. "Meet Mario's Papa", BusinessWeek online, November 7, 2005, retrieved November 26, 2005.
2. ^ - Best-Selling Video Games, Guinness World Records, 1999, retrieved November 21, 2005.
3. ^[11] - IGN's Top 100 Games, IGN.com, May 9, 2003, retrieved November 26, 2005.
4. ^[12] - IGN's Top 100 Games, IGN.com, retrieved November 26, 2005.
5. ^ - Sheff, David. Game Over: How Nintendo Zapped an American Industry, Captured Your Dollars, and Enslaved Your Children, Random House, 1991.
6. ^ - Nllzumi, Hirohiko. "Mario music bounces up the charts," Gamespot, June 7, 2005, retrieved November 26, 2005.
7. ^ - passport. Vs. Super Mario Bros., Everything2, December 29, 2001, retrieved November 21, 2005.
8. ^ - Vs. Super Mario Bros., Killer List of Video Games, retrieved November 22, 2005.
9. ^ - Screenshots V, Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator website, retrieved November 22, 2005.
10. ^ - Thorsen, Tor. "ChartSpot: June 2004", Gamespot, August 2, 2004, retrieved November 26, 2005.
11. ^ - Jenkins, David. "Japanese Sales Charts, Week Ending October 2", Gamasutra, October 7, 2005, retrieved November 22, 2005.

• List of Mario games
• List of Famicom games
• List of NES games
• List of Mario series characters
• Great Giana Sisters, an Amiga and Commodore 64 game that was withdrawn due to its similarity to Super Mario Bros.

• Super Mario Bros. Headquarters
• Super Mario Bros at The NES Files
• toadscastle.net
• The Mushroom Kingdom
• The Super Mario Bros. glitch page on The Mushroom Kingdom.