Super Mario Brothers
Super Mario Bros was a cartridge-based video game for the Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom) in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America and Europe that made Mario famous. It featured the first appearance of Princess Peach Toadstool, King Bowser Koopa and other characters.
The classic game is widely considered to have been the first side-scrolling platform game of its kind, introducing players to huge, bright, expansive worlds that changed the way video games were created, played, and perceived. This game was so popular that it had two direct sequels and dozens of spinoffs. There was even a TV Series and a movie based on it. Mario has since been known as Nintendo's mascot and one of the most popular video game characters of all time.
The SMB game consisted of 8 worlds with 4 sub-worlds, or levels, in each. The first sub-world was an above ground world, the second was below ground (sometimes in water), the third is a sky world (except the eighth world), and the fourth is a castle. The third and sixth worlds are nocturnal, but the other worlds are diurnal.
The game was directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, who created the Mario character. He has created many other famous Nintendo titles including Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, F-Zero, and Star Fox, among others.
The very famous and catchy music was composed by Koji Kondo.
Release Dates
- Japan - September 13, 1985
- North America - October, 1985
- Europe - 1987
Title screen of Super Mario Bros. (NES Version)
Title screen of Super Mario Bros. (SNES Version)
There are three sequels to this game on the NES platform: Super Mario Bros. 2, , and Super Mario Bros. 3.
In 1993, Super Mario Bros. was released with enhanced graphics for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System under Super Mario Collection aka Super Mario All-Stars. It was later released with additional features (but not enhanced graphics) for the Game Boy Color as Super Mario Brothers DX. In early 2004, Nintendo rereleased the game in Japan on the Gameboy Advance, as part of their Famicom Minis collection. Unlike previous rereleases, the Famicom Mini version contains no graphical updates or new features, and is simply an NES emulator and a copy of the Super Mario Brothers ROM. The only differences between this and the orginal are that the screen images appear a bit squished, due to the smaller GBA screen, and the high score is saved to the cartridge.