Super Mario Bros. 3 was in the U.S., a true sequel to the classic Super Mario Bros. Released for the NES five years after the original. It took everything that made the original great, and improved pretty much everything.


   It added an over world with alternate paths, so you could possibly pass a level you had trouble with, it greatly improved the graphics, and added tons of new powerups. Not only that, but the controls were more fluent with jumping, and the screen no longer prevents you from moving left. This made the player feel like you could explore the level, instead of simply moving right.


   To add to the adventure part of the game, each world has levels that correspond to the over world. The ice world will involve stages that are mostly frozen in ice. There is a pipe world that is inhabited by tons of Piranha Plants. But best of all, there are the giant levels, which have mega sized Goombas and Koopa Troopas. It really does feel like you are in that world.


   Another way this game feels more like an adventure is that with one of the new suits, the Raccoon suit, you can now fly around the world. You can find hidden areas, coins, or even extra lives up in the sky by using this item. You can also attack with your tail to kill enemies, or destroy blocks.


   Some other suits are the hammer suit, where you can throw hammers like a Hammer Bro., and a frog suit, where you can swim much easier. It is pretty useless, but it is fun to use, because Mario hops on land while you walk. And last is the Tanooki suit. It is the same as the raccoon suit, however, now you can turn into a statue for a few seconds. This keeps enemies from hurting you, and can help if you have no way to avoid an attack. I never found this useful though, because the statue lasts for only a very short time, and I usually would get hit by the thing I am trying to avoid.




   Gameplay: 9.5 – The platforming in this game is near perfect. There are very few cheap deaths, and there are also some good secrets to find. Controls work perfectly, and as I mentioned before, you now have much more control with your jump. The terrific level design can have you come back for more, and it never feels dull. The only problem I had with the levels was the fortresses. Some of them were a bit confusing, and eventually, I just walked through every door I saw. This is only a minor complaint, because these confusing parts are usually only a little part of the stage.


   Something else that is great about the over world is that there are levels that can be activated by running into certain enemies, such as Hammer Bros. These fights were really fun, and if you beat them, you would be rewarded with an item that you can equip at the over world before starting a level. This gives you the chance to start with an invincible or even fight Bowser with a Frog Suit. You can also find these at Mushroom houses, which are scattered around the worlds.


   There is also an expansive variety when it comes to the type of levels. There are the standard “go right” levels of course, but are some where the screen will be moving whether you are going or not, and getting caught behind will kill you. There are also some airship levels, which move the screen, but along with that, the Bullet Bills will move more like they are moving straight, and don’t follow the level, like they are separate from the ship.


   There are also mini-boss battles, where you fight Hammer Bros. for items. Also, you can do levels that scroll up, but you can move through the sides of the screen, reminiscent to the classic Mario Bros. game. These aren’t used often, but are really fun to play. 



   Graphics: 8. 5 – The game looks great. From the much updated Koopas and Goombas, to the much more human looking Mario, the game looks great. The over world looks like what it is supposed to be, like a desert or sky city. One beef I have about the graphics is that backgrounds are a little bland sometimes. For instance, when flying up in most levels, you do not feel like you are progressing up. The only difference is sometimes you fly up to where there are floating fire flowers in the sky. This seems like a weird thing to include, and just seems awkward to me.


   Sometimes though, the backgrounds can be great. On the air ships, lightning will strike once in a while. This makes you feel like you are in a serious situation, and really pulls you in, and makes you focus on the game. It is a really cool animation that actually makes me like those levels even more.




   Sound: 9.5 – There is so much great music in this game! The over worlds all get great music, and the boss battles sound great as well. All the level themes sound nice, and go well with the levels. It also has much more to offer when it comes to the soundtrack than the original Super Mario Bros.


   Something else that is very helpful with the sound is the full speed sound. Once you reach full speed, a meter at the bottom will fill, and a beeping sound will start to play. Although this can get annoying, it is also very helpful, because to fly with the Raccoon suit, you need full speed, and this alert is extremely helpful, especially toward the beginning of the game when you are getting used to it.




   Difficulty: 8.5 – This game is really hard, especially toward the end. It starts off at a good pace, and slowly ups the difficulty. Suddenly, by the 6th world, you notice that the last part of the game will be no easy task. The first time I played through this, I actually lost 30 lives on one of the fortress levels in the 8th world. But it’s never something that seems cheap. It’s usually because you messed up, and you know it as well. Fortunately, this game has an in game save, so you don’t have to start all over if you get a game over, which saves a lot of frustration.




   Addictiveness: 9.5 / Depth: 10 – Following up with what I just said, the saving also comes in handy, because the game is enormous! There are about 90 levels, and they all have a unique feel to it. You never feel like you are stuck looping the same levels over and over. For instance, the ice world is the largest, but the huge variety of levels keeps it fresh. This game’s replay ability still holds strong even today.


   You will also be glued to your seat while playing. This game is something that is usually pretty important in video games. It is fun. And it never stops that trend, all the way to the end. You will have the same feeling of adventure and excitement through the whole experience. I’ve beaten this game about 3 times, and each time was just as much fun as the last.




   Story: 8 – This time, Bowser sends out his Koopalings to steal the magic wands of the kings of all seven kingdoms, and turn the kings of those areas into animals. So Peach sends Mario and Luigi off to get the wands back from the evil Koopa Kids. To do this, you must defeat each Koopaling, with one taking over each of the first 7 worlds. Once you get the final king’s wand back. He presents you with a letter. It is from Bowser, saying that he has stolen Peach again! So now you must go to Dark World, to free Princess Peach, and save the land.


   So why did Bowser tell Mario in the first place? Who knows? But it’s cool that this time you feel like you are doing it for the good of the Kingdom instead of doing it all for the Princess. It makes you feel more like you are the hero of the entire land, where as finding out that the Princess Peach is actually a Toad at the end of the level instead. And despite the small flaw in Bowser's plan, this is actually a good story.



   Overall: 9.6 – This game is a masterpiece. Everything about this game is great. The improved gameplay and depth over the original really stands out, as well as the presence of a real story. It has the colorful graphics, and great, but non-repetitive worlds, the phenomenal music, and overall, probably the best game the NES has to offer.








Thanks for reading my review! Please rate, and if you want, comment on it. Criticism is accepted. Thanks, and God bless!

patar4097 : I love this game!  It's truly a classic favorite from my childhood!  Thanks for writing the nice, in-depth review

kramer4077 : Thanks for the compliments, and glad you liked the review. Really is a great game.

I do say that this game is one of my favorites, even thought I haven't played it all that much. I found the difficulty a bit much starting World 3, but it was better than jumping right to World 8, which I often did just to do it. The darker theme of it is really neat as well, with the auto-scroll tank and airship levels. Kuriboh's Shoe is really neat to play with, shame it was only seen in one stage. Hammer Bro suit, oh my gosh was that an epic power-up or what? Flying? Yep. SMB3 has it.

Mr. Nerd : Yeah, the shoe and hammer suit were amazing powerups. Although It would be cool if there used more. Nothing like Killing Bowser with hammers though.

patar4097 :  Nice review, you know, this is pretty much my absolute favorite game in the entire Mario series, both on the NES and the SNES’s All-Stars versions, pretty awesome game from my childhood.

IgorBird122 : Thanks, I really liked how this one turned out. Personally, I always liked World better, but being the second best platformer I've played isn't bad at all. And the All-star version is great too. What I didn't know though, is that we got an easier version of the game. In Japan, Fire Mario getting hit would reault in small Mario, like in SMB1. As if his game ian't hard enough on its own. Seems like a nice added challege though.

This review is fantastic. It took me a long time to read since it was over 1,500 words long. I was actually going to review this but since you did it, and probably did it much better than me, I stand no chance in reaching the featured reviews. I have never hit 1000 words in a review ever, but I got close. I think I reached 950 or something along the lines of that. I have seen you around making decent length reviews but this is the only one I considered to read since I am rather interested in the game. 
Keep it up patar! This time I will look for a less popular game to review so I don't let a better reviewer do it before me!

patar4097 : Another Super Mario Bros review made great! I love this game and I really want to finish it but it is annoying at some levels...

Anywaays, congratz for this good review and... keep up the great wrk, I guess...

I remember playing this growing up.  This was among my favorite games...until I got an N64.  I regret selling my Nintendo now, but thankfully I can play them all on Vizzed, now with an Xbox controller