Post by Nester the Lark on Jan 15, 2020 22:25:21 GMT -5
So, I wanted to talk about the original Mario Bros arcade game, because it's kind of the awkward middle child between Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. Being neither as ground breaking nor as influential as either of those games, it tends to get a little overshadowed. However, I've always had a soft spot for it for some reason.
Not that I ever played it a lot in the arcade, but I did pop in a quarter here and there. It has that "simple, yet addictive" nature that so many great arcade games have. It's kind of like a platforming version of Joust, which I was also a fan of. (And I think I may have heard that Miyamoto said Joust was one of the inspirations for it, but don't quote me on that.)
I also find its two-step method of defeating enemies interesting (first bopping them from underneath to flip them over, then kicking them away). It seems just a bit more complicated than what a lot of arcade games presented at the time, but somehow, it gets away with it. (Maybe because of the short tutorials it stuck in between levels.) Or maybe it's interestig because of it, making the game feel more strategic.
Of course, it was also the main introduction of Luigi. Yes, the Game & Watch version came out a few months earlier, but there's a reason that bit of trivia is not well known. This is the game that really gave Luigi his big break.
I eventually bought a used copy of the NES version sometime in the late '90s. As most NES conversions of Nintendo's arcade games, it never gets as difficult or chaotic. At one point, I got good enough at it where I could essentially play it indefinitely because I memorized the most difficult pattern in the game.
Also, the most popular course I made in the original Super Mario Maker was based on Mario Bros.
And despite not quite having the same status as either Donkey Kong or Super Mario Bros, Nintendo has never forgotten it. It popped up as a two-player minigame in Super Mario Bros 3, which even got its own upgraded mode in the All-Stars version. It had basically a proper sequel in the form of Mario Clash on Virtual Boy. A version of it was included in evey Super Mario Advance title on GBA. And of course, there's a Smash Bros stage based on it. Not to mention, it was the first Nintendo arcade game in the Arcade Archives series. (And quite frankly, the original arcade version is still the best.)
Here is Jeremy Parish's retrospective of the NES version from his Video Works series.
And here's the commercial for the Atari version, just because it has such a catchy jingle (plus, what I assume is the first live-action depiction of Luigi).
So, I'm curious, what are you guys' thoughts and feelings about the original Mario Bros?
Not that I ever played it a lot in the arcade, but I did pop in a quarter here and there. It has that "simple, yet addictive" nature that so many great arcade games have. It's kind of like a platforming version of Joust, which I was also a fan of. (And I think I may have heard that Miyamoto said Joust was one of the inspirations for it, but don't quote me on that.)
I also find its two-step method of defeating enemies interesting (first bopping them from underneath to flip them over, then kicking them away). It seems just a bit more complicated than what a lot of arcade games presented at the time, but somehow, it gets away with it. (Maybe because of the short tutorials it stuck in between levels.) Or maybe it's interestig because of it, making the game feel more strategic.
Of course, it was also the main introduction of Luigi. Yes, the Game & Watch version came out a few months earlier, but there's a reason that bit of trivia is not well known. This is the game that really gave Luigi his big break.
I eventually bought a used copy of the NES version sometime in the late '90s. As most NES conversions of Nintendo's arcade games, it never gets as difficult or chaotic. At one point, I got good enough at it where I could essentially play it indefinitely because I memorized the most difficult pattern in the game.
Also, the most popular course I made in the original Super Mario Maker was based on Mario Bros.
And despite not quite having the same status as either Donkey Kong or Super Mario Bros, Nintendo has never forgotten it. It popped up as a two-player minigame in Super Mario Bros 3, which even got its own upgraded mode in the All-Stars version. It had basically a proper sequel in the form of Mario Clash on Virtual Boy. A version of it was included in evey Super Mario Advance title on GBA. And of course, there's a Smash Bros stage based on it. Not to mention, it was the first Nintendo arcade game in the Arcade Archives series. (And quite frankly, the original arcade version is still the best.)
Here is Jeremy Parish's retrospective of the NES version from his Video Works series.
And here's the commercial for the Atari version, just because it has such a catchy jingle (plus, what I assume is the first live-action depiction of Luigi).
So, I'm curious, what are you guys' thoughts and feelings about the original Mario Bros?
