Top 50 Video Games: Number 22

#22: Super Mario Bros 3
System: Nintendo Entertainment System
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1989
Players: 1


Raccoon Mario in one of the damned wretched water stages. I hate water.


Super Mario 3 was a great game for a lot of people. It came packaged with the NES system in later years, so everyone had it. It's the first game I remember actually being hyped, with TV ads and a preview in a motion picture (The Wizard.) I went to the theatre to see it, got my little Nintendo/Super Mario 3 promo pamphlet and saw SM3 for the first time on the big screen. Fred Savage's freakish, mute little brother played it in a video game competition in the movie. It may not have done much for the movie industry, but Super Mario 3 raised the bar for Nintendo. It's the first Mario game that really had that good Nintendo polish on it.

SM3 has all of the features and quality we've come to expect from Nintendo's flagship franchise. The gameplay's a blast, it's easy to pick up but challenging to finish. It also introduced the idea of different suits for Mario, a concept that has appeared in some form in most subsequent games in the series. Mario could now turn into a raccoon and fly (I don't get it either) by picking up a leaf. He can also swat enemies with his tail. Nintendo also gave him a frog suit, a tanooki suit (like the raccoon suit, only cuter - plus you could turn into an invincible/immobile statue) and the ultra rare, ultra cool Hammer Brothers suit. There were two stages in the game where you could outfit Mario with the oddly nuts and disgustingly cute Kuribo's Shoe. The game allows you to stockpile these items (except for the shoe) and use them before entering a stage. It also presented Mario players with an overhead map for the first time.


Mario in Kuribo's Shoe.


The game's eight worlds each have their own distinct music and flavor. Each one is fun and memorable in its own right. Upon reaching the end of each world, Mario had to hijack an enemy's flying boat and defeat the boss. In standard Mario fashion, the game developers gave the players a way to zoom quickly to the end of the game if they know how to do it. Players can find magic whistles hidden around the game world and warp ahead. Super Mario 3 just radiates quality, it begs to be played through multiple times just to take in the 8 distinct worlds and to find every hidden little niche in the game. Super Mario Bros 3 is one of the most complete games ever created. Tony Little would say "It's TOTAL BODY!!!"