1. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
Super Mario Bros. 3 is gaming perfection. Mario 3 took what
worked in the original Mario, and kicked it up so many notches that it was well into outer space. The control
is precise, you could even land on a pin if you so desired. The graphics are
great and push the humble NES to its limit; the game looks so much
better than the original Mario. The music is catchy and a joy to listen to. And
the levels, oh boy, the levels… The levels in Mario 3 are the most wondrous you’ll ever see. From the lush Grass Land, to the arid
Desert Land, to the freezing Ice Land, to the overgrown Giant Land, to the
cloudy Sky Land, to the fiery and inhospitable Dark Land where Bowser resides with the kidnapped Princess Toadstool. You also have many different
suits you can wear, all with different powers such as the Raccoon Suit, which
grants Mario the ability to fly in short bursts. Mario 3 is just primal fun. It
never gets old running through the whimsical levels and jumping on goombas.
Nintendo waved its magic wand for this one. I could play this game until my eyes
bled and I wouldn’t care. I grew up on this game, and I distinctly remember how
I would dream I was Mario. I would dream I could fly and have
amazing adventures. I realize now that I can’t do that in real life, but I can
still live out my childhood fantasies in a video game, the greatest video game
of all time: Super Mario Bros. 3.
Doesn't get any better than this on the NES. A game that stands up today and probably will for decades to come.
ReplyDeleteI remember when SMB3 came out in Britain they gave it 99% in a (sort of) reputable video games magazine, so when Mario All Stars (SNES) came along they were forced to award that cart 100%. And you know what, I probably would have given Mario 3 100%, so SMAS would be 101% in my book ;)
Yeah, Harry, when I think of Mario 3, I just think of my childhood. I think of idyllic days when the future looked bright and the broken dreams of adulthood were far away. Even though I'm no longer a kid, I can still have fun like a kid sometimes, and when I pop in Mario 3 I feel like I'm going in a time machine to those carefree days.
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