Developer: Nintendo
Platform: NES
Release Date: USA February 12, 1990
Brandons Nostagia:
A long time ago when I had an NES that I had to but plocks in to get it to work, I played very few games. Wasn;t really a gamer, like I am now, and I only played side scrolling games. When you are a kid though I think that is good to start off at, Its just plain mindless fun. Running from left to right collecting coins and jumping on baddies. So after seeing the "Wizard" and the commercials of People dressed in white and red that zooms out to the world and form a shape of Mario, I was all geared up of getting that game. I think My anticipaion of Metal Gear 2 was only matched by the wait for Mario 3. But I didn;t get it when it came out. I played it at my friends, but didn?t have the luxury of today to go out and buy games. Instead I Asked for it on X-Mas (but I don't think I waited 11 months, so I am not sure about that date above, got it from gamefaqs) When the great day arrived, I saw no boxes the sixe fo the cartridge and was greatly disappointed. But my parents being the sneaky selvs they are, put it in a large box. So when I opened the larges box I got the smallest, but the best gift that year. Super Mario 3.
The Game play was a great side scroller. And for the first time you could fly which was a big deal back then. There were levels, each with its wonderful theme and baddies. Also the idea of secrets was introduced to me. I mean it wasn't till recently that I would say I found about everything in that game. Every time I see somebody play it I see him or her do something new, and I had the guide for the later released SNES version. I will admit that I am driven by story in most games, but this one was just so fun it didn;t need story. The whole concept of the different worlds was great. When I first played it I always just warped away right to the last level, but now when I play it (yes I still do) I go thought and play every world, every level. It;s just so fun. Some of the best parts of the game are the sky world. I love how you get the boot in can jump on pretty much everything. And the Tanoki suit was one of my most valuable assets in the whole game, not the P-Wing, but that wonderful raccoon that would turn into a statue. Wish I had some pics of it, but they are hard to find. One day I will sit down and play the game on my computer and take screen shots of all the best parts.
Not only did you get the greatness of Mario 3, but bundled in those little cartritges was a new take on the original Arcade mario. Here you could do 2-player and battle it by getting more coins then your oponent, jump on their head, and try not to get hit by the baddies running around. Here was one of the first Great Mini-Games.
Well, for NES this was pretty typical. I seem to always pick out how graphically games are to there era, but this wasn?t anything exceptional. The Music was typical too. The only thing that I thought was great was that in past games the color palet was the same through the game. Mario 3 Had a large array of colors demonstrated throught the various worlds. Overal My graphics score would be a 6.
Mario 3 was unique to its series and in my opinion is the greatest Side Scroling game of all time. It's a gold gem For the NES era, and proof that a game with no story is ok as long as it has killer gameplay.