Like a lot of people, I first played the original Mario Bros. through the mini-game included in Super Mario Bros. 3. It was never a mode I spent loads of time on as a kid, what with Super Goddamn Mario Bros. 3 being the alternative to play, but it was always a fun distraction. In particular, I remember multiplayer with my cousin being chaotic fun. Picture two six year-olds trying to antagonize each other using the POW block, and you’ll get the horrifying idea.
Clearing the standalone NES edition was the first time I’d spent time on Mario Bros. in over twenty years. And it was great, of course. I’m not gonna bore you by explaining how it’s played; if you’re on this blog I’m going to assume you’re already familiar with the basic concept. After you get a good feel for the controls and the movement patterns of the different enemy types, it’s not terribly difficult to reach the loop point of level 16, keeping a fun and manageable difficulty curve throughout. There’s also a ton of the game to master beyond the loop point if you’re the type of gamer who enjoys racking up points and clearing as many levels as possible.
Mario Bros. originally released in 1983 in Japan, meaning it turned 40 this year. Feel old yet? Sorry about that. But that it’s still as fun to play as ever is a real testament to its strong game design. I actually finished this back in December of 2022, but life got in the way and I forgot to write about it ’til today. When reality gets a little hairy, it’s nice to escape into a fun, simple and addicting arcade game like Mario Bros. Just shut your brain off and wail on some turtles, y’know? They weren’t called koopas in this one yet, but shellcreepers. There’s a fact for ya.
There’s not too much to say about a game that’s both good and ubiquitous. If you’ve somehow gone your entire life without playing the original Mario Bros., give it a try sometime. If you’ve already played it before…play it again! Play it now! NOW!
NESJunk 