- For the series with the same name, see Super Mario Bros. (series).
Template:Game infobox Super Mario Bros. is the first game in the Super Mario series. This game was first released on the Famicom and later the Nintendo Entertainment System
Plot
Taken directly from the manual for the game;
One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin.
The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King. Unfortunately, she is presently in the hands of the great Koopa turtle king.
Mario, the hero of this story (maybe) hears about the Mushroom People's plight and sets out on a quest to free the Mushroom Princess from the evil Koopa and restore the fallen kingdom of the Mushroom People. You are Mario! It's up to you to save the Mushroom People from the black magic of the Koopa!
Gameplay
The player takes control of Mario, or Luigi in the case of the second player, and must reach the end of the level, defeating enemies and collecting powerups along the way. The player can jump on enemies to defeat them. Goombas will die after being stomped on once, but Koopas will hide in their shells, forcing the player to hit them once more. This sends their shells speeding off along the ground. This can be used to kill other enemies if launched in the right direction, but can harm or kill the player as well.
Powerups in the game are hidden inside coin boxes, which require the player to hit the box to acquire its contents, A Mushroom will make Mario grow in size and allow him to take an extra hit from enemies. A Fire Flower will change the colour of Mario's attire to white and grant him the ability to shoot fireballs, which bounce on the ground and kill all enemies in 1 hit, except for Buzzy Beetles and Bowser. Bowser takes multiple fireballs to kill and Buzzy Beetles cannot be harmed by fireballs.
The goal is to reach the end of the level and take down Bowser's flag risen above the castle. In the Zone 4 stages, the player must reach the bridge at the end and fight Bowser, who can killed by fireballs or dropped into the lava pit below the bridge by removing the hammer behind Bowser supporting the bridge. The Bowsers that the player fights from World 1 to 7 are False Bowsers. The real Bowser is encountered only at World 8-4, the final level in the game.
After defeating a False Bowser at the end of a World, the player will proceed to the back of the castle, where a Toad is found being held captive. He will thank the player for saving him and inform the player that the princess is in another castle. The player will then advance to the next world.
After defeating Bowser at the end of World 8, the player will find Princess Toadstool at the back of the castle, who thanks Mario for saving her. The game ends and the player is given the choice to replay the game in a higher difficulty.
Characters
Main and Supporting
Enemies
- Blooper
- Bill Blaster
- Bullet Bill
- Buzzy Beetle
- Cheep-Cheep
- Firebar
- Goomba
- Hammer Bro.
- Koopa Paratroopa
- Koopa Troopa
- Lakitu
- Piranha Plant
- Podoboo
- Spiny
- Spiny Egg
Bosses
- False Bowser (Worlds 1 through 7)
- King Bowser Koopa final boss (World 8)
List of levels
World | Level | Setting | Enemies found (characters in bold making their debut) |
---|---|---|---|
World 1 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa | |
World 1 | Underground | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Piranha Plant | |
World 1 | Athletic | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa | |
World 1 | Castle | Firebar, False Bowser (Goomba) | |
World 2 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant | |
World 2 | Underwater | Blooper, Cheep-Cheep, Piranha Plant (at end of level) | |
World 2 | Athletic | Jumping Cheep-Cheep | |
World 2 | Castle | Firebar, Podoboo, False Bowser (Koopa Troopa) | |
World 3 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Hammer Bro. | |
World 3 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant | |
World 3 | Athletic | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa | |
World 3 | Castle | Firebar, Podoboo, False Bowser (Buzzy Beetle) | |
World 4 | Overworld | Piranha Plant, Lakitu, Spiny | |
World 4 | Underground | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Piranha Plant, Buzzy Beetle | |
World 4 | Athletic | Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa | |
World 4 | Castle | Piranha Plant, Podoboo, Firebar, False Bowser (Spiny) | |
World 5 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Bullet Bill | |
World 5 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Buzzy Beetle, Bullet Bill, Hammer Bro. (Blooper, Cheep-Cheep) | |
World 5 | Athletic | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Bullet Bill | |
World 5 | Castle | Podoboo, Firebar, False Bowser (Lakitu) | |
World 6 | Overworld | Piranha Plant, Lakitu, Spiny | |
World 6 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Buzzy Beetle (Blooper, Cheep-Cheep) | |
World 6 | Athletic | Bullet Bill | |
World 6 | Castle | Podoboo, Firebar, False Bowser (Blooper) | |
World 7 | Overworld | Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Buzzy Beetle, Hammer Bro., Bullet Bill | |
World 7 | Underwater | Bloober, Cheep-Cheep, Piranha Plant | |
World 7 | Athletic | Jumping Cheep-Cheep, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa | |
World 7 | Castle | Podoboo, Firebar, False Bowser (Hammer Bro.) | |
World 8 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Buzzy Beetle | |
World 8 | Overworld | Goomba, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Buzzy Beetle, Lakitu, Spiny, Bullet Bill | |
World 8 | Overworld | Koopa Troopa, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Bullet Bill, Hammer Bro. | |
World 8 | Castle | Goomba, Koopa Paratroopa, Piranha Plant, Firebar, Podoboo, Buzzy Beetle, Hammer Bro., Bloober, Cheep-Cheep, Bowser |
Challenge Mode
After Mario or Luigi completes the game, a harder version of the game is unlocked with the following major changes:
- The level names will be changed to a "Star 1-1" in contrast to the regular "1-1"
- All Goombas will turn into Buzzy Beetles.
- All of the enemies walk faster.
- Firebars can be in any possible location.
- All "harder" versions of each level will be played instead (World 5-3 is a harder version of World 1-3; in the harder version, 1-3 and 5-3 are the same level).
Music
The music in Super Mario Bros. is played on a synthesizer, much like most NES games. The game is known for its over world theme, which has become a staple of the series.
Development
Limitations
In 1991, Shigeru Miyamoto explained about the limitations in creating Mario: "We had to work under technical constraints including the number of pixels and number of colors the Famicom can display. There are many reasons why we drew him the way we did. We gave him a mustache rather than a mouth because that showed up better. We gave him a hat rather than hair because that looked better, too. Mario wears overalls because that shows the movement of his arms, and he's wearing white gloves because the white contrasts better with the colored backgrounds. These are the technical reasons we made him look the way he does."
Due to the limitations of memory, Luigi is actually a palette swap of the Mario sprite. This means that there wasn't any need for all those new frames of animation.