When thinking of Nintendo, it is no surprise that the first image that comes to mind is Super Mario. Super Mario was first featured as a character in the 1983 game Mario Bros pictured below:
This might not be the game that first comes to mind when thinking of the original games featuring Super Mario as a character. That is because its sequel Super Mario Bros released in 1985 stole the hearts of many gamers around the globe, making Super Mario the forefront of Nintendo.
For those unfamiliar with the original Super Mario Bros released in 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), it is easy to understand the goal of the game as it is very simple. Mario serves as the protagonist in this 2D side scrolling game as he attempts to save his beloved Princess Peach. Princess Peach was abducted by the antagonist Bowser and can only be saved by defeating Bowser and his minions. Some of the most recognizable minions include:
Mario takes on Bowser and his minions with one primary attack: jumping. Mario can only defeat characters by jumping on them, but not all characters should be jumped on. The Pirahna Plant for example will cause Mario damage if he jumps on it. The only other attack Mario has is the fireball attack, available exclusive to Mario after he gets 2 mushroom upgrades.
With his 2 attacks Mario in Super Mario for the NES can go to 8 different worlds, most of which are basically the same as the world before it. In fact the pattern of the original Super Mario Bros follows a pattern. Each world is divided into 4 levels. Levels 1 & 3 take on the brick and daytime layout shown below:
Levels 2 & 4 of each world take on the dark castle layout shown below:
Occasionally an underwater level is thrown in the mix to keep things interesting, but there are not any other options to these 3 main levels. Each level is modified slightly and just placed into a new world until the final World 8 is reached. It is also worth noting that each world ends in its 4th sub level after Mario defeats bowser. Aside from World 8 when the level is complete Mario is told his Princess is in another castle. Aside from Mario’s objective of saving the Princess, his only real goal is to stay alive. Each time Mario is killed a life is taken from his stock of 3 given lives. Lives can be obtained by collecting 100 coins or finding a 1-Up mushroom.
It is important to understand the linear layout that the original Super Mario Bros used. Players cannot backtrack to a previous world. Once players run out of lives, the game is over. This was originally a limitation on the system and later the game had been upgraded to save the players position and allow for backtracking in remastered releases on separate platforms.
With a game so basic in design and concept, you would think the game would have never left room for a sequel. After all, you do end up saving the princess after World 8. Nintendo however, has never let the Super Mario game die, and in fact it has been given many sequels, most notably the latest Super Mario called Super Mario Wii U released in late 2012. Named after the console it was to be played on, the Wii U, Super Mario bros has transformed to show that a modern system can still facilitate the original nostalgic feel of the Super Mario Bros for NES.
Nearly everything in Super Mario Bros Wii U is the same at its core. Princess is again abducted by Bowser and Mario must save her. However this time around, the minions are plenty. Instead of the original 5-10 enemies encountered in the NES version, the player must fight off many new enemies most notably Bowser’s mini bosses. The mini bosses are presented at the end of each the 8 worlds.
Each of the mini bosses was given a different ability or specialty, creating a unique experience at the end of each world. Additional enemies were also included in each level to make for a unique gameplay.
Level diversity and quantity makes a notable difference between the 1985 and 2012 games. There was no longer the copy and paste format of the original game. Each level in a world provided something entirely new or unique to the user experience. A few examples are shown below. Many enemies are familiar to the original Super Mario Bros make an appearance in the newest Super Mario Bros as well.
The biggest difference between the 2012 release and the 1985 release of Super Mario Bros is the cooperative gameplay. The original game did not support real time competitive coop. It did offer the ability to play as Luigi but only after Mario had died, and Luigi was basically the same as Mario except green instead of red. The 2012 release makes a clear distinction between its 4 different protagonists.
Users can be either Mario, Luigi, Yellow Toad, or Blue Toad. Additionally a 5th player can hold the second screen of the Wii U and assist the players by building bridges or finding hidden blocks. This makes the game entirely fresh and unbelievably fun. Upon playing the Super Mario Bros for Wii U, I would only play it with friends. The cooperative gameplay is so unique that it makes playing alone boring.
Another unique difference between Super Mario Bros Wii U and the original Super Mario Bros is that it allows for the user to run forwards or backwards. In the 1985 release a user could never move backwards in a level. Once the user moved right, he could not go back frame to the left. On Wii U the user can go left or right.
The key differences have been highlighted, but to truly appreciate the innovations from 1985 to 2012, I recommend finding a friend and a Wii U to give the game a try! The nostalgia of the 2D scrolling 1985 game is present at heart in the Wii U. The game is familiar even though being decades apart. It is no wonder that Super Mario Bros has been a best seller for every console it has been released on!
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