Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Bros. 3

This game doesn't need much of an introduction so I'll just get to the review. My review will of course be opinion based because this game has been around for so long and multiple generations have had the chance to develop appreciations and criticisms for Super Mario Bros. 3. 
  • Gameplay 10/10:

Gravity sucks and Mario finally destroys it in this game with his amazing ways of flying, bouncing, flipping and riding on top of bullets. Every gamer was amazed the first time they touched a leaf and Mario transformed into a raccoon who could fly if he ran fast enough. The flower power-up is back and looks better with more realistic fireballs. The frog suit was arguably a great solution to how annoying water levels can be in any video games. The grand finale is the Tanooki Suit: Mario dons a suit that resembles a Japanese raccoon-dog which allows him to fly then transform into a solid stone statue. And how cool is it to jump on top of a moving bullet while riding a flying ship?
  • Graphics 9.5/10:
When comparing World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. 1 to number 3 there is a remarkable enhancement.  The background for the first installment is rather bland with some objects that could be hills or possibly trees. The background visuals for Super Mario 3 have detailed trees, cute kid friendly clouds that look like they have eyes, bushes and the floor Mario is running along looks more like an actual ground instead of bricks. 
  • Sound and Music 10/10:
There is a massive improvement in both the quality and quantity of music for Super Mario Bros. 3. Because Mario now has so many varying environments he needs multiple sound tracks to go with it. Nintendo does this perfectly by adding music that fits each new world that the Italian Plumber enters. Scary music for dungeons, bright cheery music for the grasslands, a brilliant desert song track and many more. Additionally, there are a plethora of new sound effects to accompany Mario's expanded repertoire of power-ups and costumes. 
  • Story 8/10:
Princess Toadstool has been captured, again! Despite how much I love this game, I must criticize the constant reuse of this premise with every successive Mario game. Although, it is good that she finally has a face and does something useful with her notes that happen to contain power-ups. She's once again in a castle and she will be rescued the moment Mario defeats the evil King Koopa. It might not be original, but this is a sequel and sequels usually rehash the same plot over and over. 
  • Replay Value 10/10:

There's so many different ways to beat this version of Mario. With the introduction of an open map that allows players to pick which levels they want to enter and completely avoid the ones they don't like there is obviously multiple reasons to play this game over again. The bosses even have multiple ways of being defeated instead of the ridiculously simple "jump over him and grab an ax." This version contains far more secretes including extra levels, extra items, hidden mini-games and the game breaking warp-flutes. Admittedly I used the warp flute to beat the game my first few times, but so did everyone else. It was a great way to give lesser gamers a glimpse of the harder levels and extra worlds.
  • Originality 10/10:

    
Super Mario Bros. 3 changed the game of gaming by adding mini-games. Confusing sentence? Not for anyone already familiar with the video game world. The introduction of mini-games changed our world and gave us gamers a confusing jargon to use around the uninitiated: "What's a mini-game?" or "Why would you want to play another game inside a game?" And as mentioned before Mario also introduced an extensive amount of new power-ups and possibly one of the first open-worlds in video game history. Choices, costumes, games within a game and multiple endings: this game had everything we expect in the modern era. Truly a masterpiece of its time. 
  • Multiplayer 3.5/10:

Sadly Super Mario 3 had one huge flop: the hand-me-down multiplayer mode. Nintendo decided to include their original failed version of Super Mario as the multiplayer for Super Mario 3. There's nothing worse than forcing a failed product into something great. 

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