Super Mario Bros. Review
Platforms: NES(original), SNES(Super Mario Allstars),
Gameboy Color(Super Marios Bros. DX), GBA, Wii(VC), 3DS
Players: 1-2
Original Release Date(s):1985(Jap, US), 1987(Europe)
Well I thought I would kick off my reviews with the game that really helped start it all for Nintendo consoles, Mario really needs no introduction being the most famous video game icon in history and far beyond that too, a general popular culture icon too.
Just about anyone who has played a Mario game will be able to relate in some way to the series roots, and just about all games in the series that have came since all owe their basic structure to the original, as all games of the genre do.
The game that launched the NES also launched what would be Nintendo's mascot for the next three decades and since the two have been synonymous with each other, and rightfully so as they both pretty much always deliver a certain level of quality that people came to expect from Nintendo over the years.
Presentation
Simple and too the point, pretty much as simple as you can get but easy enough to read and know what is going on, nothing really to complain about as the overall presentation is what you would expect from the time basic and to the point so you can jump right in.
Graphics
As 8-bit as you will ever get from a Mario game this is the look ever 8-bit gamer remembers most, big bold and blocky sprites, but don't let that fool you into thinking it looks bad as everything is well animated and looks great, and the artwork is still used today in current Mario titles and other such Nintendo games as they are so widely know and icon images of both Mario and his enemies and even the whole Mushroom Kingdom around him, one of those games that everyone will know when they see or even a single spite will be instantly recognisable.
Sound
Some of the most iconic tunes in gaming history much like the games artwork everyone who hears them will be able to recognise them, at times you will even find your self humming along to the main theme as lets face it everyone knows it. One of the best long living things about the game are those tunes and how they never seem to get on your nerves no matter how many times you hear them, really a testament to how well they have help up over the years. Sound effect wise they are simple enough and like the game itself have retained their consistency through the series and been the same effect for jumping on an enemies head and firing a fire flower all trademarks of the series to this day.
Gameplay
Simple and too the point move from left to right, jumping on enemies to dispatch them, and jumping over chasms and dodging enemy fire as you go, to get to the end target flag pole, simple controls that are so effective with the correct button presses in different combinations. The game mechanics have became the foundation for the series and have remains staples to this day and for the paltforming genre as a whole, holding up as the benchmark for which all games of the genre are compared with.
Lasting Appeal
Thirty-two levels, two difficulties, after you beat it once of course, a two player mode to compete with some one else to see how far you can get faster the the other person, loads of secrets in each level to find and even a secret world to uncover, then there is playing through it again for your favourite parts, plenty to come back and see.
Overall
One game that everyone knows and not just because it's just an old game one of the games that has aged well in terms of how it plays and the legacy that it has left, a classic in every sense of the word and a game everyone should play at least once to see how the series evolved and how Nintendo started their own legacy of making classic games and where one of their most well known series began and continues to evolve from it's roots that were lay down so many years ago.
Scores
Players: 1-2
Original Release Date(s):1985(Jap, US), 1987(Europe)
Well I thought I would kick off my reviews with the game that really helped start it all for Nintendo consoles, Mario really needs no introduction being the most famous video game icon in history and far beyond that too, a general popular culture icon too.
Just about anyone who has played a Mario game will be able to relate in some way to the series roots, and just about all games in the series that have came since all owe their basic structure to the original, as all games of the genre do.
The game that launched the NES also launched what would be Nintendo's mascot for the next three decades and since the two have been synonymous with each other, and rightfully so as they both pretty much always deliver a certain level of quality that people came to expect from Nintendo over the years.
Presentation
Simple and too the point, pretty much as simple as you can get but easy enough to read and know what is going on, nothing really to complain about as the overall presentation is what you would expect from the time basic and to the point so you can jump right in.
Graphics
As 8-bit as you will ever get from a Mario game this is the look ever 8-bit gamer remembers most, big bold and blocky sprites, but don't let that fool you into thinking it looks bad as everything is well animated and looks great, and the artwork is still used today in current Mario titles and other such Nintendo games as they are so widely know and icon images of both Mario and his enemies and even the whole Mushroom Kingdom around him, one of those games that everyone will know when they see or even a single spite will be instantly recognisable.
Sound
Some of the most iconic tunes in gaming history much like the games artwork everyone who hears them will be able to recognise them, at times you will even find your self humming along to the main theme as lets face it everyone knows it. One of the best long living things about the game are those tunes and how they never seem to get on your nerves no matter how many times you hear them, really a testament to how well they have help up over the years. Sound effect wise they are simple enough and like the game itself have retained their consistency through the series and been the same effect for jumping on an enemies head and firing a fire flower all trademarks of the series to this day.
Gameplay
Simple and too the point move from left to right, jumping on enemies to dispatch them, and jumping over chasms and dodging enemy fire as you go, to get to the end target flag pole, simple controls that are so effective with the correct button presses in different combinations. The game mechanics have became the foundation for the series and have remains staples to this day and for the paltforming genre as a whole, holding up as the benchmark for which all games of the genre are compared with.
Lasting Appeal
Thirty-two levels, two difficulties, after you beat it once of course, a two player mode to compete with some one else to see how far you can get faster the the other person, loads of secrets in each level to find and even a secret world to uncover, then there is playing through it again for your favourite parts, plenty to come back and see.
Overall
One game that everyone knows and not just because it's just an old game one of the games that has aged well in terms of how it plays and the legacy that it has left, a classic in every sense of the word and a game everyone should play at least once to see how the series evolved and how Nintendo started their own legacy of making classic games and where one of their most well known series began and continues to evolve from it's roots that were lay down so many years ago.
Scores
|
|