Game:

Super Mario Bros. (1985)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 50:43

1,568 views

23

Released 9/18/1985, Super Mario Bros. for Famicom would also see a release a little over a month later as a pack-in game for the NES. A modified version for the VS arcade system the following year would include levels from its sequel. The standard for all platform video games to come, it builds on its arcade predecessor, Mario Bros., in a way that can only be described as an evolutionary leap.

After humble beginnings as "Jumpman" on Donkey Kong, our heroic Italian handyman Mario runs a (primarily) plumbing business with his brother Luigi. He has "maybe" heard about a takeover of a kingdom and capture of a princess (see the manual). By eating a 🍄 Magic Mushroom he becomes bigger and stronger, Super Mario. He decides to liberate the Mushroom People from the turtle soldiers known as the Koopa who are led by a "black magic" sorcerer named Bowser.

We never get a story transition from working on the underground pipes in Mario Bros. to the Mushroom Kingdom, but the transitions between levels in SMB may suggest a pipe from the first game led Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom. Either that or those flammable underground gases in Mario Bros. made him pass out and dream this whole story. 🤔

I feel confident in saying this is the GOAT of all console video games just as Pac-Man is the GOAT of all arcade video games. Shigeru Miyamoto has done many great things in his career, and it's arguable whether Donkey Kong is his greatest achievement. For my money, Super Mario Bros. is Miyamoto's Sistine Chapel. However, Takashi Tezuka should also be given due credit as he played a huge role in this game's development as well.

The word "super" connotes going beyond or excelling. Though the Mario Bros. arcade game is excellent and provides a solid introduction to the characters, it sits squarely within established patterns of arcade games at the time. Super Mario Bros. takes everything innovative it learned from games that came before it, like Pac-Land, and combines it into a new species of video game. Everything prior to Super Mario Bros. on Famicom feels like a downgraded version of an arcade game. This was something entirely new.

It is no exaggeration to say this game evolved at a crucial time in the history of video games. The video game market in the U.S. had crashed, and the industry needed something to rebuild public interest or console games would fail. As THE selling point for the NES Action Set, Super Mario Bros. (with a lot of help from Duck Hunt and the NES Zapper) managed to capture the hearts of Western audiences in a way that no other video game has since. The theme music for Super Mario Bros., done by Koji Kondo, is literally the most recognized video game tune by nongamers everywhere.

It may be impossible to summarize just what makes this game perfect. Many of us have nostalgia coloring our view of its importance. Personally, some of my earliest memories are of watching older kids play this game. I remember getting Super Mario Bros. in the orange Zapper NES Action Set in 1989 as a Christmas present when I was five years old. I also remember waking up one night to the sound of button mashing only to see my dad sitting in my brother's and my room trying to swim with Mario underwater. He had beaten World 1 before we did!

What are some of your favorite memories of this masterpiece of a game? Let us know in the comments!

I am considering a playthrough to be beating the Hi-Score. I played on an original NES using a NES classic controller, RCA cables, and a Sharp X-Flat 27" CRT TV.

#crt #nes #asmr #supermariobros

Famicom / NES Chronological Playthrough Playlist:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhLc94yXAxYpMtgHYWlGrRCjZ-9XXf8I7

Hi there! Just thought I'd post the link to my business profile on Venmo. For $20 you can sponsor a video. Plug your business, write a short dedication, or share a gaming memory. This will be included at the top of the video description. All sales go toward purchasing games for my chronological Famicom / NES library CRT TV playthrough!

https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3772549007672846151

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