Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Bros. 3
The cover art depicts Mario, the main protagonist, flying with tanooki ears and tail obtained from the new "Super Leaf" item.
Developer(s)	Nintendo R&D4
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto Takashi Tezuka
Composer(s)	Kōji Kondō
Series	Mario
Platform(s)	Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayChoice-10 arcade, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console
Release date(s)	NES JP October 23, 1988 NA February 12, 1990 EU August 29, 1991 Game Boy Advance JP March 31, 2003 NA October 27, 2003
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E
Media	3-megabit cartridge

Super Mario Bros. 3 (スーパーマリオブラザーズ3 Sūpā Mario Burazāzu Sun^?) (also referred to as Super Mario 3 and SMB3) is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. It was first released in Japan in 1988 and later in the United States and Europe in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Development was handled by Nintendo's Research & Development Team 4, led by Shigeru Miyamoto who directed the game along with Takashi Tezuka.

The game centers on the quest of Mario and Luigi to save the rulers of seven kingdoms from Bowser, the series' antagonist. The two brothers must travel across eight worlds to restore order to the Mushroom World. It built on the gameplay of previous Mario games by introducing new power-ups that augment character abilities, and established conventions that were carried over to future games in the series.

Prior to its North American release, gameplay footage from Super Mario Bros. 3 appeared in the Universal Studios film The Wizard and helped fuel the game's anticipation among fans. Upon its release, the game was commercially successful and has since become one of the best-selling video games in the industry. Super Mario Bros. 3 was well received by critics and has been included in numerous lists of top video games. The success of the game resulted in an animated television show based on its elements, and in the game's rerelease on later Nintendo consoles.

Gameplay

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a two-dimensional platform game in which the player controls the on-screen protagonist (either Mario or Luigi) from a third-person perspective. The game shares similar gameplay mechanics with previous titles in the series—Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and Super Mario Bros. 2—but introduces several new elements. In addition to the running and jumping moves found in past games, the player can fly and float with the aid of special items, slide down slopes, and execute new types of jumps.^[1] Super Mario Bros. 3 is set after the events of previous games. Mario and Luigi embark on a mission on behalf of Princess Toadstool to stop Bowser and his children (called "Koopalings") from terrorizing the kings of seven regions in the Mushroom World; the Koopalings stole the kings' magic wands and transformed them into animals.^[2] Each region serves as a game world that is divided into stage levels, and an eighth region is included as the final world, Bowser's Kingdom. The eight worlds feature distinct visual themes; for example, the second world, "Desert Hill", contains sand-covered levels with pyramids, while the levels in the fourth world, "Giant Land", are populated with obstacles and enemies twice as large as other worlds.^[3]

Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced several suits to alter the character's abilities. For example, Mario can use the "Frog Suit" to swim more easily in water, but will move more slowly on land.

The player navigates through the game via two game screens: an overworld map and a level playfield (pictured left). The overworld map displays an overhead representation of the current world and has several paths leading from the world's entrance to a castle. Paths connect to action panels, fortresses and other map icons, and allow players to take different routes to reach the world's goal. Moving the on-screen character to an action panel or fortress will allow access to that level's playfield, a linear stage populated with obstacles and enemies. The majority of the game takes place in these levels, with the player traversing the stage by running, jumping, and dodging or defeating enemies.^[4][5][6]

Completing stages allows the player to progress through the overworld map and to succeeding worlds. Each world features a final stage with a boss to defeat; the first seven worlds feature an airship controlled by one of the Koopalings, while the player battles Bowser in his castle in the eighth world. Other map icons include large boulders and locked doors that impede paths, and special minigames that provide the player a chance to obtain special power-ups. A new feature is the player's option to save power-up items obtained in minigames for later use via a menu accessible at the overworld screen.^[4][5]

In addition to special items from previous games like the "Super Mushroom" and "Fire Flower", new power-ups are introduced that provide the player with new gameplay options. Items vary in scarcity; for example, 1-up mushrooms, which give the player an extra attempt to play after the character dies, are abundant, while the "magic whistle", which enables the player to bypass certain worlds, only appears three times in the game.^[7] The "Super Leaf" and "Tanooki Suit" give Mario raccoon and tanuki appearances respectively and allow him to fly for a short period of time. Other suits include the "Frog Suit", which increases the character's speed and agility under water, and the "Hammer Suit", which gives Mario the appearance of the Hammer Bros. enemy and allows him to throw hammers at enemies. Some abilities provided by the suits are intended to give the player more navigation options in stages. For example, the Frog Suit allows the player to access underwater pipes, and the Tanooki Suit can transform Mario into an invincible statue, minimizing the threat of damage.^[4][5][8]

Super Mario Bros. 3 includes a multiplayer option which allows two players to cooperatively play the game by taking turns at navigating the overworld map and accessing stage levels; the first player controls Mario, while the other controls Luigi. Through this mode, players can also access a special minigame, a remake of the original Mario Bros. arcade game.^[9]

Development

Super Mario Bros. 3 was developed by a group within Nintendo's Research & Development Team 4, and took more than two years to complete.^[10][11] Developer Shigeru Miyamoto directed the designers and programmers, working with them closely during the initial concepts and final stages, encouraging a free interchange of ideas. Miyamoto considered intriguing and original gameplay ideas to be key to creating a successful game.^[10]

The game was designed to appeal to players of varying skill levels. To assist less skilled players, bonus coins and extra lives are more abundant in earlier worlds, while later worlds present more complex challenges for more experienced players. In the two-player mode, the players alternate turns to balance play time.^[10] The development team introduced new power-ups and concepts that would give Mario the appearance of different creatures as a means of providing him with new abilities. An early idea changed Mario into a centaur, but was dropped in favor of a raccoon tail that allows limited flying ability.^[10][11] Other costumes with different abilities were added to his repertoire, and levels were designed to take advantage of these abilities.^[12] New enemies were included to add diversity to the game, along with variants of previous enemies, such as Goombas, Hammer Bros., and Koopa Troopas.^[11][12] The real life experiences of Miyamoto and his staff provided the inspiration for new enemies. For example, the idea for the Chain Chomp enemies (spherical, dog-like creatures) came from a bad experience Miyamoto had with a dog as a child.^[10] Bowser's children were designed to be unique in appearance and personality; Miyamoto based the characters on seven of his programmers as a tribute to their work and efforts.^[10][11] The Koopaling's names were later altered to mimic names of well-known, Western musicians in the English localization.^[11]

The character graphics were created by using a special graphics machine ("Character Generator Computer Aided Design") that generated a collection of all the graphical shapes used in the game. Shapes in the collection were assigned numbers that the game's code uses to access during gameplay, and are combined to form complete images on the screen in real time.^[10] The Super Mario Bros. 3 cartridge uses Nintendo's custom Memory Management Controller (MMC) chip—specifically the MMC3 model—to take advantage of extra functions. MMC chips are smaller and cheaper than the chips Nintendo had previously used in cartridges, and can store more memory. The MMC3 chip allows for multi-directional scrolling and a split screen. The game uses these functions to split the game screen into two portions, a top and bottom portion, allowing the top portion to scroll as the character navigates the stage while the bottom portion remains static to display text and other information.^[13]

In mid-1988, a shortage of microchips Nintendo used to manufacture its cartridges delayed the North American release of Super Mario Bros. 3, among other games.^[14] The delay, however, presented Nintendo with an opportunity to promote the game in a feature film. In 1989, Tom Pollack of Universal Studios approached Nintendo of America's marketing department about a video game movie; inspired by Nintendo video game competitions, Pollack envisioned a video game version of Tommy for younger audiences. Nintendo licensed its products for inclusion in what would become the film The Wizard. During the movie's production, the filmmakers requested and were granted approval from Nintendo regarding the script and portrayal of the company's games.^[15] Super Mario Bros. 3 was one of the products shown in the film, and was used in a final scene involving a video game competition.^[15][16] The film was released in December 1989, a few months before the game was released.^[17]

Reception

Super Mario Bros. 3 was a commercial success and became one of the video game industry's best-selling games.^[12] Its inclusion in The Wizard served as a preview and generated a high level of anticipation prior to its release.^[17][18] Levi Buchanan of IGN considered Super Mario Bros. 3's appearance in the film as a show-stealing element, and referred to the movie as a "90-minute commercial" for the game.^[19] By 1993, the game had sold 4 and 7 million units in Japan and the United States respectively, earning Nintendo over US$500 million in revenue. Author David Sheff commented that, in music industry terms, the game went platinum eleven times.^[20] In 2008, Guinness World Records listed the game as the best-selling video game to be sold separately from a system, and reported worldwide sales of over 17.2 million copies.^[21]

The game was well received by the video game press. Julian Rignall of Mean Machines referred to Super Mario Bros. 3 as the "finest videogame" he had ever played, citing its addictive gameplay that offered depth and challenge. A second Mean Machines reviewer, Matt Regan, anticipated the game would be a top-selling title in the United Kingdom, and echoed Rignall's praise calling it a "truly brilliant game". Regan further stated that the gameplay offered elements which tested the player's "brains and reflexes", and that though the graphics were simple, they were "incredibly varied".^[4] In a preview of the game, Nintendo Power gave it high marks in graphics, audio, challenge, gameplay, and enjoyability.^[5] Edge magazine considered Super Mario Bros. 3 Nintendo's stand out title during 1988, and commented that its success outshone the first Super Mario Bros.'s sales milestone; the first title sold 40 million copies, but was bundled with the NES.^[22] They lauded the overworld map as an elegant alternative to a menu to select levels.^[23] Allgame's Skyler Miller praised many of the game's elements: level design, graphics, music, and nonlinear gameplay.^[6] Dengeki referred to the game as a popular title and expressed excitement over its rerelease on the Game Boy Advance system.^[24] The in-game, hidden items were a well-received element.^[25] Rignall considered them a component of the game's addictiveness, and Sheff stated that finding the secret items in the game, such as the whistles, provided a sense of satisfaction.^[4][26]

Criticism focused on different aspects of the game. Miller considered the exclusion of a system to save progress a drawback, while Rignall described the audio and visuals as being outdated compared to games on the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).^[4][6]

Because of its popularity, Super Mario Bros. 3 has appeared on numerous top video game lists. The game debuted on Nintendo Power's Top 30 list at number 20 in September 1989.^[27] It entered the list's top 10 a few months later and reached number one in May 1990.^[28][29] More than a decade later, the magazine ranked the game number six on their list of 200 Greatest Nintendo Games.^[30] The game placed 11th, behind Super Mario Bros., in Official Nintendo Magazine's "100 greatest Nintendo games of all time".^[31] In 2007, Screwattack called Super Mario Bros. 3 the best Mario game in the series as well as the best game on the NES, citing the graphics, power-ups, secrets, and popularity.^[25][32] In a poll conducted by Dengeki, it tied with Super Mario World as the number three video game their readers first played.^[33] The game has been ranked on several of IGN's lists of "top games". In 2005, they rated it 23rd among their Top 100 Games, and praised the precise and intuitive controls.^[34] IGN editors from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia ranked Super Mario Bros. 3 number 39 in their 2007 Top 100 Games, citing Miyamoto's "ingenious" designs. They further commented that the game improved on the "already-brilliant concepts" of the previous titles with new power-ups and enemies.^[11] Users and readers of the website placed the game high on similar lists: 32nd in 2005 and 21st in 2006.^[35][36] In 2007, it was included in the "game canon", a list of the ten most important video games selected by a committee to preserve key titles within the industry.^[37]

Legacy

In the television series The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, the appearances and names of the Koopalings were altered from their original form in the video game.

Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced several elements which were carried over to subsequent Mario titles.^[31] A similar overworld map is used in Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros., and Mario's ability to fly has been a feature in such games as Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy.^[11][38] Bowser's red hair was first added to the character's design in the game and has since become a part of his standard appearance.^[11] Through a collaboration between NBC and Nintendo of America, an animated television series titled The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 was created in 1990 by DIC Entertainment. The show aired weekly and featured numerous characters, enemies, and settings from the video game.^[39] Other Nintendo products have included various elements from the game as well. Music from Super Mario Bros. 3 appears as a track on Nintendo Sound Selection Koopa, a collection of songs from Nintendo games.^[40] The game's stages and graphics comprise a background theme in the 2006 Nintendo DS game Tetris DS.^[41][42]

The game has been ported to several other Nintendo consoles. In 1993, it was included in Super Mario All-Stars, a SNES compilation of enhanced remakes of NES Mario games.^[43] A Game Boy Advance version, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, was released in 2003, and included several updates.^[44][45] It features similar graphics to the SNES port along with a larger color palette and parallax scrolling. The Mario Bros. minigame allows up to four players instead of two, and the Nintendo e-Reader peripheral gives the player access to walkthrough demonstrations as well as new items and levels.^[45] In late 2007, Super Mario Bros. 3 was released via the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console service, but featured the original graphics and gameplay of the NES version.^[46][47] Super Mario Bros. 3 (as well as other games in the series) have on many occasions been the subject of modern works of art. I am 8-bit and various other shows have focused on Mario themes and games.^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Super Mario Bros. 3 (Virtual Console version) at Nintendo's website
• Super Mario Bros. 3 on Nintendo Wiki, an external wiki
• Super Mario Bros. 3 on Super Mario Wiki