Super Mario Bros. 3 is a legendary title and one of the most well-loved games from Nintendo. Released 3 decades ago, it is still held up as one of the all-time greatest 2D platformers ever made, and a game that has been cloned repeatedly by other developers. Personally, I do not have the same nostalgia for this title that many others do, as I always felt Super Mario World was the superior game. That being said though, Super Mario Bros. 3 changed the game ( pun intended) for the Mario series going forward.
While the game was still a linear platformer, there were far more secrets to discover and more power-ups to find. The game started off with a bang in the first level by showing you new versions of older enemies and a brand new power-up in the form of Racoon Mario, whose ability to fly opened up an entirely new way of exploring levels. Things just built up from there, with powerups like the frog suit, tanooki suit and more, all while giving new and exciting enemies to fight.
New minibosses in the form of Boom Booms and end-stage bosses in the form of the Koopalings were also welcome, as they added a new type of boss encounter. Yes, they were defeated in a similar manner, but the fights themselves were different due to how the bosses acted. There is a reason these characters became well-loved by fans for years.
There was also the matter of the new worlds in the game as well. Whereas we had water levels and underground levels before, now the game included ice worlds, worlds where everything was giant, and fire worlds. The game felt new and creative and was so much bigger compared to the first game, a breath of fresh air compared to the second in Japan, and had more familiar ideas compared to the second Western entry.
Graphically, the game also pushed the NES far more than Nintendo had done previously and gave Mario and friends their established looks that remain now. The game even had more of a story than any previous entry, and it kept players engaged. Many of these introductions would be expanded on and built up in the next entry Super Mario World, Super Mario Bros. 3 is where the beginning of modern Mario occurred.
Super Mario Bros. 3 has been re-released numerous times, but the best version was Super Mario Advance 4 for the Game Boy Advance, Super Mario Advance 4 had additional levels added via the e-reader peripheral and these were the first new 2D Mario levels in years and the only new 2D Mario on the Game Boy Advance. Many of the new levels had remained Japan-exclusive until the Wii U re-release, but since then the levels are available worldwide, including on the Switch re-release of Super Mario Advance 4.
All in all, Super Mario Bros. 3 is a game that many should play, whether the original or one of the remakes Nintendo made over the years. It is truly a memorable experience.
