Playable now on just about anything with a screen, Super Mario Bros. (1985) is surely among the most important (and ported) games in video game history, with it’s easy to understand mechanics that see the titular moustached plumber continuously run left-to-right, crossing inconvenient gaps, jumping on the heads of reptilian minions, and snacking on magic shrooms. And let’s face it, from the mere mention of the name “Mario” you can hear the iconic theme tunes bloops and bleeps! Many gamers were first introduced to gaming through this NES classic, and even today players are still discovering secrets and testing the endless charm of the Mushroom Kingdom to its limits – stomping one Goomba at a time.
Certainly by todays standards it’s a little simpler in scope, yet in 1985, Super Mario Bros. showed off a level of creativity in video game design that sparked an iconic legacy and helped revive gaming as a popular form of entertainment. With hidden secrets, optional routes, an eternally memorable soundtrack, and sprite work that showed off what the NES was capable of at the time, it laid out the foundations future entries and franchises would build upon, and continue to so now. There’s no denying the legacy it forged, or that it’s still fun to play even 35 years later…
By this point, we’re all more than familiar with how the story pans out: Princess Toadstall gets kidnapped as per usual by the scaly hands – or paws? – of the dastardly King Koopa. After being informed that the Princess is being held “in another castle,” our favourite Italian plumber brothers set out on a quest to get her back, taking them through a variety of themed levels and heavily fortified, death-trap-riddled castles, jumping and stomping their way through the Mushroom Kingdoms colourful patrolling enemies. On their perilous travels the brothers will face evil sentient mushrooms, hammer-throwing turtles, and dangerous obstacles, including but not limited to fire pits, man-eating Piranha plants, and flying oversized bullets: the Mushroom Kingdom has some pretty wild inhabitants, to say the least, courtesy perhaps of certain ingested mushrooms…? Yet this wacky creativity helped cement the identity and iconic design of the Mario world.
It notably integrates a simple gameplay loop, revolving around platforming mechanics that would become a genre staple and are the core element of the 2D Mario experience, with tight controls that hold up surprisingly well. Returning to the game in 2020, you’ll likely be surprised by how much control and accuracy you are granted over Mario’s jumping mechanics, and by the time you’ve nailed those tricky jumps, you’ll find yourself coming back to complete the relatively short jumper quicker each time.
Certainly the graphics are fairly basic, as you might expect from an early NES title, though it does cary a characteristic charm with now iconic sprite work, character designs, and environments that appear on more t-shirts, stationary kits, and other miscellaneous items than Mario can carry gold coins. In a way it’s easy to see why modern gamers might struggle to go back and explore this earlier, comparatively more basic title as opposed to later titles. It’s also hard to deny Super Mario Bros. 3 is a decidedly “better” looking game, but that’s almost to be expected. Regardless, Super Mario Bros. introduces endearing and iconic backdrops and characters – and its graphical style is itself iconic, making use of a creative colour scheme.
Another aspect that might be considered as iconic, if not more so, as it’s visual design would be Koji Kondo’s instantly recognisable theme tune! The musical mastermind who gave us the iconic Legend of Zelda theme provided this game with a theme that generations of gamers and non-gamers alike find themselves do-do-do-do-do-do-dooing along to at some time or another! Besides which, you’ll be treated to the serene underwater level themes, mysterious underground theme, and of course the ding that signifies a coin grab: the Mario brothers have to make their money somehow, and they sure don’t seem to take a lot of plumbing jobs for the Mushroom Kingdom’s sole plumbing duo.
It may show its age in some ways, but no matter how many times you discover the pyrotechnic powers of the iconic fire flower, bump a yellow question mark box and receive a desperately needed 1-up, or even hear that first, oh-so-satisfying jingle that accompanies a coin pick up, these are experiences that remain fresh and endearing, something that is also true of proceeding Mario titles. As the first in a long line of highly reputed games, it’s hard to truly find stand out faults that aren’t due to age. Being a roaring success when it released with a strong following 35 years later, it’s been ported to just about every platform possible, now including a massively chaotic free-for-all battle royale edition. We can all debate over our favourite Mario outing, but it’s hard not to bring this 1985 platformer into any discussion about Miyamoto’s favourite mushroom-munching jump man.
