Super Mario Bros.

Mario is one of the most beloved video game franchises ever, which brings adults back to their childhoods, and creates memories for children still today. What many people don't realize is that Mario is really a spinoff of Donkey Kong. Super Mario Bros. pretty much invented the platforming genre, many elements of the game and its sequels being copied into later rival game franchises.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay is, guide Mario through a level only going right, while collecting coins that sounds simple, but its not. There are also obstacles including:

Pipes- green tubes sticking up from the ground, sometimes with piranha plants poking out of the top, steer clear of them, and when they go back into the pipe, you can then stand on the pipe. Sometimes Mario can enter a pipe and will take him to a secret area or back up to the end of the level.

Blocks- literal blocks in the level, these can be smashed by mario sometimes to find powerups or coins. Some are marked with question marks to signify they do have something in them.

Pits- Pits in the level must be jumped over an any way necessary.

Stairs- Must be jumped up to cross, can contain enemies.

Enemies- In Super Mario Bros., there are few different kinds of enemies but most notable are the goomba's, and the koopa's. For a full list of Mario's foes and what they can do, refer here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recurring_Mario_franchise_enemies.

And as mentioned there are powerups including:

Super Mushroom Turns Mario into super Mario.

Fire Flower turns super Mario into fire Mario, unless collected by normal Mario. 

The 1up Mushroom-adds 1 life to Mario. 

And the star makes him invincible for a short amount of time. 

Jumping to and fro might seem a tad out dated, but with hidden blocks, warp zones, and some glitches that are fun to find, make this game very addictive. 

 

GRAPHICS

The NES is no PS3, but for 1985 the graphics are very good.  The blocky and and chunky look of the 8bit machine are quite charming and add to the retro feel. If the graphics are to Old and chunky for you, then I would suggest the Super NES version which looks more like Super Mario world, with 16bit graphics.

AGE

Super Mario Bros. has no offensive content, however you do need to have keen platforming skills to play this game.

 

 

OVERALL

This game is in short a timeless classic.

Using a witty sense of platforming, cartoony graphics, and the most loveable plumber ever, makes this on of the greatest video game titles of all time.

I give a 8 out 10 just because of the NES graphics.