Review #297: Super Mario Bros. 3(Virtual Console)

 Still has it.

 Back when I was younger, there were two Mario games I played(3 if you count Super Mario World), Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3. I grew up with Mario, I adored Mario, and for the longest time I considered 3 the best Mario game. As I grew older, I started consider Mario Bros 1 the more 'timeless' one, but 3 the better game.... but I think my views have changed a bit since then.

 Super Mario Bros. 3 features the debut of the Koopalings, Bowser's seven kids, who steal the magic rods and transform 7 kings into animals. It's up to Mario to rescue the poor kings... and eventually Princess Peach as well. The game is divided into 8 different worlds of different themes of varying lengths each. For the first time in Mario history, there's an 'overworld' of sorts where you walk over the levels you want to play. On this overworld you may also come across minigames that will grant Mario power-ups. But these power ups can be stored for later use! As for power ups, there's the Mushroom, which makes Mario taller and grants him an extra hit, the return of the Fire Flower, which grants Mario projectile attacks, the new Leaf that grants temporary flight and a close range attack by sweeping a tail, the Tanooki suit, a beefed up Leaf that also lets Mario transform into an invulnerable statue, the Frog suit, which is useless on land, as a matter of fact, it encumbers movement... but turns water stages into a cakewalk and, lastly, the Hammer Bros. suit, the rarest power up in the game, that grants Mario projectile attacks and cover while ducking. There's also a plethora of items that affect the overworld, you can use the Cloud item to bypass a stage, the flute item to warp to a different world, etc.

 This is 3D platforming at its finest. Levels go from foolproof easy to very, very challenging. That said, I don't think levels are properly spread out. While World 8 is definitely the hardest, World 4(Giant World) is one of the easiest worlds in the game, and is number 4. That said, Mario's movement is spot-on, with tight, responsive controls. When you die, it never feels as if it wasn't your fault and your fault only(Although I bet DarksydePhil would find a way to blame it on the game). Some obstacles may seem impossible, but they simply require proper timing to get across, and man, can the timing get strict. At least, since you can carry power ups with you, you can sorta give yourself extra 'hits' if a level proves to tough, or skip it altogether with the Cloud item. That said, there were a few gimmick levels, labyrinthine at that, that I didn't enjoy very much. They felt more of a hassle than anything else, I go to Mario for platforming, not pseudo-puzzles.

 One thing I will say, is that I missed this limited color palette. Don't get me wrong. subsequent ports(SNES via All-Star Mario, GBA via Mario Advance 4, Wii via Mario Anniversary) feature more colorful. better graphics... but maybe it's because I grew up with these, but I simply enjoy this graphics more, and I usually prefer SNES-style spritework to NES'. Speaking of ports, these have extra features that this version doesn't have, like the GBA port that lets you replay any level that you want at any time, after finishing the game. There's also NO saving, but luckily the 3DS allows you to create 'savestates', so that's not an issue.

 Super Mario Bros 3 is still a phenomenal game, an example of what 2D platforming should be. This playthrough made me realize that I enjoy Super Mario Bros. 1 a bit more, but I think it has to do with that game's simplicity. There's a lot to do in this Mario adventure, a lot of variety and a lot of ways to get to the end. It's a piece of videogame history that deserves to be, at least, tried.
 9.0 out of 10