Super Mario Bros.

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Super Mario Bros.
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date(s)	NES September 13, 1985 October 18, 1985 May 15, 1987 Virtual Console December 2, 2006 December 25, 2006 January 5, 2007 January 5, 2007
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone
Platform(s)	NES, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console
Media	320-kb cartridge
Preceded by	Mario Bros. (1983)
Followed by	Super Mario Bros. 2J (1986) Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
Credits • Gallery

Super Mario Bros. is a Nintendo Entertainment System video game released in 1985 by Nintendo. The game, designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, has become one of the most important and successful video games of all time. The second best selling video game (preceded solely by Wii Sports), Super Mario Bros. has found its way in the homes of over 40 million consumers. It was introduced to many Americans as an arcade title, though the home console version generated more sales. A successor to the arcade video game Mario Bros., the game was perhaps as popular as it was due to the increasing fanbase of gamers who immensely enjoyed titles like Donkey Kong and, naturally, Mario Bros. The Nintendo Entertainment System's success in America can arguably be attributed to the video game, and certainly it helped increase the sales of the Famicom in Japan.

In Super Mario Bros., the character Mario sets off on an adventure to save Princess Toadstool from King Koopa (both later renamed to Princess Peach and Bowser, respectively). Princess Toadstool is capable of reversing the black magic of King Koopa, which explains his motives for kidnapping her. King Koopa uses his magic on the Mushroom Kingdom and transforms the denizens of the land into mushrooms and stones. In the multiplayer mode, the second player will take control of Mario's brother Luigi when the first player loses a life.

The game is recognized worldwide for its significant contributions to the gaming industry, particularly in America where it brought the country out of the video game decline of the eighties. Journalists' acknowledgment of its importance is evident today with the game appearing on a myriad of "best games of all time lists", gracing the top spot of Electronic Gaming Monthly and IGN's lists on numerous occasions. Its success led to the creation of several sequels, two of which are known as Super Mario Bros. 2. In Japan, the game Super Mario Bros. 2 is known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in America and Europe due to its nonappearance on the NES in those territories. Westerners, on the other hand, received their own version of Super Mario Bros. 2, which was a remake of a game titled Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic in Japan but with Mario characters.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Gameplay 2.1 Glitches 2.1.1 Minus World 3 Characters 3.1 Playable 3.2 Major Non-Playable 3.3 Enemies 4 Items 5 Types of Levels 6 Warpzone 6.1 Warp Zone Locations 7 Remakes and Rereleases 8 External links

[edit] Plot

One day Bowser, the evil King Koopa, and all of his tribe of Koopa Troopas, along with a gang of other enemies, invaded the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom, and turned all of the residents, or Toads, into stones, mushrooms, and blocks. The only one that was able to stop the magic spell and return them to normal was Princess Peach, who was also captured by Bowser.

Mario and his brother, Luigi, two plumbers, hear about this, and plan a quest to save the Princess and the Toads from the evil Bowser. Mario and Luigi then go out, only to be encountered by a huge gang of enemies, including Goombas and Koopa Troopas. They hit a block, and find a Super Mushroom that makes them much bigger and stronger, and also have more health. They use this ability to crash through blocks and more. After this, they find a Fire Flower, which gives them the ability to shoot fireballs from their hand.

Now, with these new items, and their powers, they will have to go through 8 "worlds" to help save the Princess and the Toads. At the end of the last "world", they encounter Bowser, who starts shooting fireballs as well as throwing hammers. They needed to get under him, and hit the switch to make him fall into a lava pit, or hit him with fireballs.

After Mario defeats Bowser, he will go into a room where the Princess is waiting. She kisses him on the cheek, and thanks him for saving the Mushroom Kingdom.

[edit] Gameplay

In Super Mario Bros., the player takes control of Mario and is tasked with sending him through various trials that ultimately lead to saving Princess Toadstool. In the two player mode, player one will play for as long as possible until his character dies, after which the second player will take his place and control Luigi (who is only playable in the two player mode). The two characters have negligible differences, with the only noticeable dissimilarities are a change in clothing (Mario has red and brown clothes while Luigi has green and white).

Soon into the game, the objective is revealed and it is reasonably simple: move to the right. Moving right is the first thing that the player needs to know in accomplishing his or her goal, which would be completing the game. It is the most simple act in the game, and yet the most important. Unless the player read the manual beforehand, the objective would not be clear to them, though immediately after playing the game it would become evident as to what you as the player should do. Due to the player not being able to move to the left (for the most part; view below), there is only one other direction in which they can go. Of course, since the camera is for the most part centered on the character, they can move to the left, but once they start to move in that direction the camera stays in place and once the character reaches the far left, they will be unable to go any farther even if they progressed quite far in the stage. Once the character starts to move to the right, the camera will start moving as soon as Mario or Luigi reaches the center. Whereas it is possible to touch the far left, the player is incapable of touching the far right of the camera.

As the character moves to the right, obstacles will start to pose a threat to the player. A simple block jutting from the ground or a gap of various sizes are the most simple of obstacles. They aren't there to work against Mario and for the most part don't move, but it is when the player first encounters these obstacles where they'll perform a new tactic: Jumping. The primary actions are running and jumping. The speed of the character will affect the height of the jump (for example, jumping while walking will send the character a maximum of five in-game blocks, while jumping while running is capable of sending him almost nine blocks. Jumping while standing will only allow the character to go a maximum of four blocks), and once in the air the player has a limited amount of control over the character, though is ultimately capable of changing where the character will land. For example, if the player is wishing to jump on a narrow platform, after jumping he or she can alter their position to an extent where the character will land on the platform, even if at first landing seemed unlikely if direct control wasn't taken. Due to jumping being the prominent action save for running, the game is classified as a platforming video game, which was made popular by Donkey Kong.

If a player fails to jump over a gap, then he or she will lose a life. In the beginning of the game, the player has three lives which can be increased by acquiring special 1-Up Mushrooms which have become the staple life-increasing item in the Mario series. Falling into a gap is not the only way the character can lose a life. When attacked by an enemy, Mario or Luigi will die unless they have been granted a Super Mushroom, which increases their height and durability. A player will also die when hit by lava or fire, or if they fail to complete the level when the time-limit runs out (each level has a 400 second time limit to complete the stage, which is easily attainable).

In the game, there are two types of challenges including ones enforced b enemies and ones enforced by the environment. Typically both can be very easy or very hard to overcome. Challenges in the second group can include any obstruction in the game that is non-sentient. As previously mentioned, failing to leap over a gap can lead to Mario's untimely death. A simple block or two on the ground can be considered an obstacle since Mario is required to jump over them, though (if there are no enemies) it poses no actual threat of losing a life. Some stages include platforms that move upwards and downwards, and if the player stays on these platforms for too long it'll send them too far off the screen and will cause them to lose a life. The very fact that the platforms are moving will cause the player to rethink what they have to do in order to reach the other side. The Podoboo, due to their inability to permanently dispatch them, aren't considered enemies. They pop out of the lava and touching them can result in death if the player is not Super Mario or Fire Mario. The long lines of fire that are usually present in the same stages as Podoboo rotate and thus cause a more challenging threat to get past.

Enemies are the major threat of the game, though despite this fact the player is always able to kill them, even if doing so requires a certain item. Enemies all have the common goal of taking down Mario, though they're not all the brightest of creatures. For the most part they act differently from one another though they can all be categorized based on their movement and attack pattern, and in what way the player is capable of taking them out. Mario can dispatch enemies in a variety of ways including hitting them from above, below and attacking them with a fireball after coming in possession of a Fire Flower or crashing into them after collecting a Starman. The act of hitting an enemy who is on a set of blocks from below originates from Mario Bros.

The Piranha Plant is a type of enemy that is often times considered a trap due to its inability to move, remaining stationary for the most part save for coming out of a pipe when the character comes near it. The Piranha Plant can be killed via a Fire Flower, though one variation of a Piranha Plant will spew fireballs from its mouth, which do just as much damage as an enemy attack. There are some enemies that don't respond directly to the player and just move either to the left or to the right. These enemies pose a threat since touching them will result in a lost life unless the player jumps on them. These enemies includes the likes of Goombas and Koopa Troopas. When the player jumps on the shell of a Koopa Troopa, it retracts into its shell and the player can kick it, using it as a weapon that acts as a double edged sword when it launches back at the player after hitting a wall. The Hammer Bros. and Lakitu are among the few enemies that act haphazardly and unpredictably, and require more thinking in how to dispatch if the player doesn't have a Fire Flower or Starman in possession.

Mario and Luigi will be able to more easily take out the enemies by finding special items contained within boxes with a question mark on them, indicating that what is found within is random, which in actuality the item will for the most part be the same each time depending on whether the player is little or super Mario or Luigi. The item within can be "opened" by jumping underneath it. After hitting it, one of various different types of items will come out, including a Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Starman, 1-Up Mushroom, or a simple coin which, after collecting 100 of them, will net the player an extra life. Collecting a single coin will result in points. A Super Mushroom is the most basic power up in the game and the first one they'll encounter if they hit the ? blocks in the order in which they're supposed to be hit. A Super Mushroom will enlarge the player, turning them into Super Mario or Super Luigi. This grants Mario and Luigi an extra bit of health, meaning they won't die automatically after being attacked by an enemy (though will still lose a life when they fall in a gap). Super Mario can break through blocks though is unable to fit in places that are the size of little Mario unless he gets a running start and ducks, after which he'll slide through the blocks due to the momentum of the run. Fire Mario will allow Mario to shoot fire balls form his hands, easily allowing him to take out various enemies. The Starman in an invincibility item that, for a short time, allows Mario to plow through enemies without worrying about them hurting the player, though like the other items if the player falls in a gap it'll cause the character to die and lose a life.

[edit] Glitches

Very few people worked on Super Mario Bros., and thus it is riddled with glitches. Gamers have spent countless hours traversing the many stages of Super Mario Bros. attempting to find new glitches. Some of them, such as the Minus World and the infinite 1-Up trick are famous among gamers, while others are hardly known.

[edit] Minus World

The Minus World is one of the most famous glitches in any video game. It is actually world 7-1 infinitely looped, but the number is 36-1. Since the number 36-1 in the game is represented as a blank space, it looks like the level is world -1. This is where the level's name (World Minus One, or The Minus World) comes from.

To enter the Minus World, one must reach World 1-2 as Super Mario, and continue to the end of the level. The player must not enter the pipe that leads to the flagpole. Instead, the player must jump on top of the pipe and break the second and third blocks from the right on the ceiling. Then, the player must maneuver Super Mario to the edge of the pipe so that one of his feet is hanging off. Then, making sure not to smash the block that is farthest to the right, the player must jump backwards into the left side of the block. This will cause the camera to scroll to the right. Continuing to do this will eventually cause Super Mario to be sucked into the wall. Now, the player must enter the leftmost pipe before the camera finishes scrolling. Entering the middle pipe will warp the player to World 5, while entering the leftmost pipe will allow the player to enter the Minus World.

The Minus World is an underwater level that never ends. There are Coins and Bloopers in the level, and so it seems to be perfectly normal. However, entering what would appear to be the exit pipe causes the player to respawn at the beginning of the level. The player will continue to go through this looping level until the time runs out, at which point, if he or she has any lives left, the level will start again. The player will not be able to exit the Minus World until he or she either gets a Game Over or turns the console off.

The Minus World was removed in the many remakes of Super Mario Bros, though in recent emulations for the Game Boy Advance and Virtual Console the developers kept it, and various other glitches from the game, in.

[edit] Characters

Full Staff:
Director:	Shigeru Miyamoto
Producer	Shigeru Miyamoto
Assistant Director:	Takashi Tezuka
Executive Producer:	Hiroshi Yamauchi
Sound Composer:	Koji Kondo
Graphic Design:	Shigeru Miyamoto
Graphic Design:	Takashi Tezuka

[edit] Playable

• Mario - After Mario learns that the Princess has been captured by Bowser, he goes straight off to save her. In the game, he will be able to jump very high, throw fire balls, run fast, and face tons of enemies.
• Luigi - Luigi will join Mario, though his techniques are the exact same. The only difference is that Mario has red clothes while Luigi has green.

[edit] Major Non-Playable

• Princess Peach - In the game, Princess Peach will get kidnapped by Bowser, and taken into his castle. Mario will then have to go through 8 worlds to save her.
• Toad - Different Toads will be captured and taken into the first 7 castles waiting for Mario to come and save them. They explain that Princess Peach is in another castle, which led to a long-running joke throughout the series.
• Bowser - Bowser has taken control of the Mushroom Kingdom, and kidnapped all of the residents other than Mario and Luigi. Now the brothers will have to defeat Bowser to bring back peace to the land.
• Fake Bowser - Fake Bowser's will appear at the end of every world other than the last one. They are regular enemies with Bowser disguises on to fool you.

[edit] Enemies

• Koopa Troopa - A turtle-like enemy that can be a projectile if jumped on first. There are two types of them, a green one and a red one. The green ones will run off the edge while the red will stay put on the platform he is on. If you jump on them and then leave them like that, they will come back out of there shell.
• Koopa Paratroopa - A flying Koopa Troopa that will jump up and down. Like the regular Koopas, these are either red or green. The green ones will jump off the edge while the red ones will jump back and forth on the platform he's on.
• Goomba - The most common enemy that will only try to run into you. They are beaten by jumping on them and squishing them. They will sometimes attack in groups, where you will be able to kill them all while jumping once.
• Lakitu - Lakitu's are Koopas that sit atop clouds throwing Spinys at you. If you manage to kill one, you can ride the cloud.
• Spiny - Spinys are the enemy that Lakitus throw at you. They are red Koopas that have spines on their back, meaning that you can't kill them by jumping on them. In fact, they'll harm you if you jump on them! They can be defeated by a koopa or buzzy beetle shell, fireball, or running into them while invincible.
• Buzzy Beetle - A beatle that is like a Koopa Troopa, except the only way to kill it is to knock it off an edge, hit it with a shell, or to ram into it while in possession of a Starman.
• Piranha Plant - A carnivorous plant that will pop out of pipes trying to bite you.
• Bullet Bill - A bullet that will be shot out of a cannon toward you.
• Hammer Bros. - A pair of Koopa brothers that will throw hammers. Even though you will usually find them in pairs, they will also sometimes fight solo.
• Cheep Cheep - A fish that will try to swim into you, or just swim on a certain path.
• Blooper - A squid that will try to swim into you.
• Podoboo - A fire ball that will pop out of lava.

[edit] Items

• 1-Up Mushroom - Once you find a 1-Up Mushroom, you will have one more life.
• Coin - Coins are scattered through out almost every level. Once you find and collect 100 of these, you will have an extra life.
• Fire Flower - Once your Super Mario, you will be able to find Fire Flowers inside blocks. Once you do, you will be able to shoot fire balls out of your hand.
• Normal Block - These are brick blocks that can be crashed through if your Super Mario.
• Starman - Once you find a Starman, you will become invincible for a short amount of time.
• Super Mushroom - Once you find a Super Mushroom, you will be able to crash through blocks, you will also have more energy as well.
• Warp Pipe - Warp Pipes lead you to other areas.

[edit] Types of Levels

Note: These are the types of levels that were in the original game, and not the remakes. Some of the remakes include a snow world, and others.

• Overworld/Grassy - The main types of levels are the grassy ones, or Overworld. The sky is blue, the main platform are brick blocks and grass, and there are trees. The common enemies here are Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Hammer Bros, Lakitus, Spinys, Bullet Bills, Piranha Plants, Buzzy Beetles, and Koopa Para-troopas.

• Underground - Underground areas are dark, and feature many secrets such as getting above the ceiling, and the warp zones. Every sprite in here has a blue or other darker color, including Mario. There are tons of blocks, which meens its a good idea to be Super Mario in here. Common enemies include Buzzy Beetles, Koopa Troopas, Goombas, spinys and Piranha Plants.

• Underwater - Underwater areas are very blue, and have a lot of coral and water plants. This is the only area where the gameplay increaingly changes. Instead of running and jumping, Mario will now swim. Common enemies are Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps.

• Lava/Castle - Castles, or lava areas, will be the last type of level in each world. In these areas, there will be many lava pits, and castle bricks surrounding you. Common enemies include Podoboos, Bowser, and Fake Bowsers.

• Bridge - The bridge levels feature a huge outside bridge, with occasional grassy platforms. Common enemies include Cheep Cheeps, Koopas, and Goombas.

• Mushroom Platforms - These types of levels take place on many different types of huge mushrooms. The common enemies include Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Hammer Bros, Lakitus, Spinys, Bullet Bills and ParaKoopas.

• Dark Overworld - Sometimes, the grassy/overworld will be nighttime. This does not effect the gameplay in anyway. The common enemies include Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Hammer Bros, Lakitus, Spinys, Bullet Bills, Piranha Plants, Buzzy Beetles, and Koopa Para-troopas.

• Clouds - Sometimes, you will be able to go to a cloud area, which is on clouds. Here, there are many coins, and absolutely no enemies whatsoever except one last Koopa at the end of the level.

[edit] Warpzone

One of the popular things you can do in the game is the Warp Zone. If you find a warp zone, it will take you to an area with a certain amount of pipes, each pipe is numbered, depending on the number on the pipe, it will take you to the world number when you enter it. To get to the warpzone, you usually must find it by jumping above certain blocks, or finding vines to climb up. There are only 3 warp zones, one in world 1, and 2 in world 4. The warp zones are all found within underground levels, though the Level 4-2 Warpzone takes you to an area above ground, and onto mushroom platforms. The Warp Zone is usually located behind the Exit Pipe.

[edit] Warp Zone Locations

• Level 1-2 - Found by going above the ceiling.
• Level 4-2 - Found by jumping under a block to reveal a vine.
• Level 4-2 (number 2) - Found by going above the ceiling.

[edit] Remakes and Rereleases

• Port of Super Mario Bros. on the Famicom Disk System.
• Rereleased in the Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt compilation.
• Rereleased in the Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, and World Class Track Meet Compilation.
• Remade for Super Mario All-Stars, a game that featured this game, as well as 3 others. Included a graphics upgrade, sprite change, sound upgrade, and glitches removed.
• Remade in the Super Mario All Stars remake titled Super Mario All Stars Super Mario World.
• Remade on Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, with additional content.
• Rereleased on the GBA as one of the Classic NES series games.
• Though not available through in-game, you can get this game by cheat device in Animal Crossing, 2002(US)/2001 (Japan)/2004(Other)
• Is available on the Wii's Virtual Console in North America as of December 25, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Super Mario Bros. at Nintendo.com
• Super Mario Bros. at Virtual Console Reviews
• the corresponding article on the NES Wiki
• StrategyWiki.org Super Mario Bros. strategy guide.
• Super Mario Bros. Headquarters
• Page at the Mushroom Kingdom site
• Gamestat's Page
• Moby Games page

This classic game is available on the Virtual Console

One day, the Mushroom Kingdom was invaded by the Koopas, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into stones, bricks, and even plants, and the kingdom fell into ruin. The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King. Unfortunately, she is in the hands of evil King Bowser. Mario, the famous plumber, learns of the Mushroom People's plight and sets out to free the Mushroom Princess from the Koopas and restore the fallen kingdom of the Mushroom People. Jump, kick shells, and throw fireballs through eight action-packed worlds in this iconic NES classic!