SMB3 Mario Adventure Review by: Sludgehead - 9.5/10
Review for Super Mario Bros. 3 Mario AdventureSuper Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is a hack for the amazingly popular Super Mario Bros. 3, released for NES in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Like almost every Super Mario game, Super Mario Bros. 3 has had many hacks made for it, but the Mario Adventure hack is very different from those, and well exceeds the expectations for them. Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure features many new bells and whistles that one would not expect from any Super Mario Hack.
Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure has been stuffed with all brand new levels, built from the ground up. These levels are much more challenging than those from the original Super Mario Bros. 3. Adding to the new challenge, the levels all look wonderful, and play just as well. Another interesting feature that adds to the quality of levels and graphics of this game is the weather and day/night cycle. Each time a level is selected, it randomly decides whether it is night or day, rainy or snowy, or sunny or cloudy. This greatly changes the tone of each level, while still remaining the same level! However, despite how wonderful each level is, some of the levels are very short, and don't take much time to beat.
Super Mario Bros 3: Mario Adventure also features many new graphics outside that of the levels and weather-time cycle. There are new enemies with new abilities (such as black shy-guys that generate and throw large spiked balls), many new power ups and new abilities for Mario (such as a power that creates a star throwing Mario, for example)and much more. All the enemies and new graphics fit in perfectly with the game and how it plays, and don't seem even remotely out of place. Many other objects found in game have had their sprites updated and altered to fit in with the weather system, as well, such as snow covered blocks when the snow system is in place.
The sound in Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure are no different than those found in Super Mario Bros. 3. All the same music and sound effects are used in the game, and all still fit with the over all flow of the game. While having no new sound effects may sound like a bad thing, it keeps the mood and tone of the game the same, so it actually really does the game justice, in a way. The feel of the game remains the same, while still feeling brand new and fresh, and that is mainly thanks to the sound and background music still working so well with the game.
Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is by far the most addicting Super Mario game that is out there and can be played. With all of the new enemies and variety, as well all the new levels and challenges, and still playing like the original, this game is tough to put down. The original Super Mario Bros. 3 was, in itself, hard to put down, and this hack manages to pull off the same amount of fun from the original and add more into it. The only thing hindering this, however, is just how short some levels are. If the levels had been a little longer, this would be impossible to stop playing. However, the amount of levels and their visuals greatly make up for this.
Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is fairly challenging, but never really gets too difficult. At times, the game does leave some challenge to be desired. This game isn't a breeze, by any means, but it certainly won't leave you pounding the keyboard in frustration. Some levels are a bit harder than others, especially the longer ones, but over all this game is at a fine balance of not too easy, but not all that hard, either.
Over all, the Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure hack is a true masterpiece. The hack was well made, and includes many new elements that cannot be found in the original. This game is beautiful, fun, very fresh, and very addicting. Any fan of Mario games would absolutely love this hack, as it feels entirely professional, and may even out do the original. The weather and time cycle make the game feel much fresher, and greatly adds to the atmosphere within the game. The levels are all very fun, though some are a tad to short, and may be a bit underwhelming. However, the game is all around amazing, nonetheless, and plays wonderfully and is absolutely fun. Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure also carries a very strong replay value, and will not leave fans disappointed, at all.
The run down for Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is this:
Graphics: 10/10
In Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure, all of the original graphics from Super Mario Bros. 3 are found, and rendered just as well. Of course, all the new graphics fit right into the hack perfectly, and don't alter the Super Mario Bros. 3 feel in any way at all. The new graphics are an excellent addition to the game, and make all of the levels feel completely fresh and exhilarating. The new weather cycle looks and works marvelously with each level, adding a lot of atmosphere to the hack, and even altering how a level plays out, and making levels more difficult in the case of snow or darkness. The new enemies all fit in flawlessly with the hack, and they all look nice and add plenty of freshness and variety. The new abilities, and the sprites that go with them, all fit in just as well, and add to the uniqueness and brilliance of this hack. Graphics have earned a very well deserved perfect score of ten out of ten, and make this gaming experience a truly worthy one.
Sound: 9/10
Like wise with the graphics, all of the original sounds and music heard in Super Mario Bros. 3 can be heard in Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure. The quality is exactly the same, and the sound and music work with the hack just as well. There aren't many new sounds nor is there new music added to the hack, if any, but that is all part of keeping in touch with the original game. The sound gets a near perfect score of nine out of ten, however, as new sounds for the new enemies would have been a nice feature to have. But again, the sound does nothing much to hinder the excellence of this hack, and certainly will not change the players opinion on the hack.
Addictiveness: 10/10
The gameplay in Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is outstandingly fun. The levels are all amazingly rendered, they look nice, and they play smoothly. There is no end to how fun these levels are to go through and explore time and time again. All the original platforming is there, and added onto. Any fan of the original Super Mario games, and especially Super Mario Bros. 3, will love and be entirely addicted to the Mario Adventure hack. It is almost tempting to just come out and say that this hack is more fun and addictive than the original Super Mario Bros. 3. The levels are all fluent, fun, and mind-blowingly wonderful looking. Each level in itself is an absolute blast to play through, though a tad short at times. The addictiveness of Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is an absolute perfect score of ten out of ten, and won't have the player putting down the controller or keyboard any time soon after playing.
Story: Blank
In Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure, there really is no story given to the player. It is assumed that the game follows the same story as Super Mario Bros. 3, where the princess is kidnapped, and Mario must save her. Along the way, you save various castles in different lands by helping the king gain his wand back from various boss enemies working for Bowser. Other wise, there is not much to add about the story of this game. While this would usually hinder the score of a game, in this case, Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is not acting as a stand alone title, and thus the story (or lack thereof) really does not have much to do with how great the game is and its scoring, nor should it. So the story gets a nice blank out of ten.
Depth: 9/10
Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is a very elaborate and complex hack. There is so much more to offer than what could be found in the original Super Mario Bros. 3 game. The game has many new challenges, brand new levels designed from scratch, and a lot of new features not found in the original game. The new enemies add a lot of variety to the game, and make the game so much more interesting to go through. The new graphics, as well, add to the over all feel of the game, and make it quite a new and wonderful experience. However, some of the levels are short and pretty underwhelming at times, and leave some more to be desired. While this really doesn't hurt the depth of the hack and how fun and addictive the hack is, it does drop the score down from perfect, and grants the hack's depth a great score of nine out of ten, anyways.
Difficulty: 6/10
The difficulty of Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure rarely exceeds that of very hard. Some of the mini-bosses through out the hack will give the player some trouble, and some of the platforming is quite tricky, but over all the hack is not too difficult, and won't give the player any amount of real frustration. Sometimes the hack may feel a bit lacking in the difficulty, and again, may leave the player wanting a little more challenge and a raise in the difficulty of this hack. However, the hack is never too easy, and still offers a fair challenge to the player at all times. The difficulty, as it stands now, is a six out of ten, as it has never dropped below the too easy mark, but still may have players wanting an extra bit of difficulty in certain levels and in a few objectives.
Overall: 9.5/10
Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is an overall wonderful hack to play through, and will keep the player coming back time and time again to play through it some more. The hack is obviously very well made, and had a lot work, time, and thought put into making it. This hack keeps the wonderful, nostalgic, and timeless feel of the original Super Mario Bros. 3, while adding plenty of new features and visuals to keep the game fresh and addictive and feeling like a brand new experience. The over all experience of this hack greatly surpasses those that other super Mario hacks may offer. The hack is just sleek, well made, and feels great to play. The only thing that is really keeping this hack from garnering a completely perfect score is the shortness of a few levels, and how quickly these levels can be completed. However, despite some levels being shorter than desired, the shortness is greatly over passed and easy to overcome simply by the tremendous amount of replay value and addictiveness that this hack carries. Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure is an over all amazing experience that every Super Mario fan would likely enjoy, and every fan of the Super Mario games should absolutely give this hack a play through without any hesitation. It can't be said enough that this hack is incredibly well made, and plays just like a real Super Mario title, if not better. The over all experience of this hack is worth having, and any Super Mario fan would absolutely get a kick from playing it. Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Adventure gains an over all score of nine-and-a-half or of ten, and this hack absolutely deserves every bit of praise that it receives.
Graphics
10 Sound
9 Addictive
10 Depth
9 Difficulty
6