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Super Mario Bros.

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Computer & Video games

   Super Mario Bros.
   Box art of Super Mario Bros.
   As was typical of NES games in America at the time, the cover shows a
   scene from the gameplay.
   Developer(s) Nintendo
   Publisher(s) Nintendo
   Designer(s) Shigeru Miyamoto
   Series Mario series
   Release date(s) NES version
   ^JP September 13, 1985
   ^NA October 18, 1985
   ^EUR May 15, 1987
   FDS version
   ^JP February 21, 1986
   Genre(s) Platform game
   Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
   Rating(s) ESRB: E (Everyone) (2004 NES Classics re-release)
   Platform(s) Famicom/NES, GBA, Virtual Console
   Media 40  KB cartridge

   Super Mario Bros. is a video game released by Nintendo in late 1985 for
   the Nintendo Entertainment System. Universally considered a classic of
   the medium, Super Mario Bros. featured bright, expansive worlds that
   changed the way video games were created. Often wrongly credited as the
   first scrolling platform game (there are at least a half dozen
   earlier), it is the first console original in this genre to feature
   smooth-scrolling levels, which made it a landmark in home videogaming.

   Super Mario Bros. is listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as
   the best-selling video game of all time, and was largely responsible
   for the initial success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, as well
   as ending the two year slump of video game sales in the United States
   after the video game crash of 1983. It has inspired countless imitators
   and was one of Shigeru Miyamoto's most influential early successes. The
   game starred the Italian plumber Mario and his slightly younger brother
   Luigi, the former who would eventually become one of Nintendo's most
   well known mascots.

   The game was succeeded by a direct sequel in Japan (later retitled
   Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels in North America), and by Super Mario
   Bros. 2, a Mario-themed port of Doki Doki Panic, elsewhere in the
   world.

Gameplay

   The player takes the role of Mario, or in the case of a second player,
   Mario's brother Luigi. The ultimate object is to race through the
   Mushroom Kingdom, evade or eliminate King Koopa's forces, and save
   Princess Peach (or "Princess Toadstool" as she was commonly known in
   North America until 1996).

   Mario's primary attack is simply jumping on top of his enemies, which
   kills the mushroom traitors, known as Goombas, and sends the turtle
   soldiers known as Koopa Troopas into their shells. Mario can then kick
   these shells into other enemies, which will conveniently dispatch them;
   but conversely, kicked shells can bounce back off walls or other
   vertical obstructions and hit him. Jumping on enough enemies in
   succession or kicking a shell into enough enemies in succession
   (combos) results in double points earned with each enemy killed,
   eventually earning Mario a 1-up, an extra life and another chance to
   pass the level. Some enemies, though, such as Spinies, can be killed
   only by fireballs or shell impact; stomping them will hurt Mario.

   Aiding him in his quest are several powers. Mario can be hurt if he
   touches an enemy. If he takes a hit from an enemy as Super Mario or
   Fiery Mario, he simply reverts to regular Mario and the game continues.
   However, if he takes a hit as regular Mario, falls down a pit
   (regardless of status), or if the time clock runs out, he loses a life
   and starts again. The point where Mario continues depends on how far he
   ran through the level before dying: either from the very beginning or
   at an invisible "checkpoint" partway through the level. There are no
   checkpoints in castles or in world 8, the final world. Mario can also
   collect a star and become invincible. While invincible Mario is
   impervious to the touch of enemy characters and most obstacles, he will
   still die if he falls in a pit of lava or time runs out.

   The game consists of eight worlds with four levels in each world.
   Though each world is substantially different, there are basic
   similarities: typically the first sub-world is a generic above-ground
   (overworld) level, the second is in an underground dungeon or
   underwater (or in the overworld with a unique challenge), the third is
   a series of platforms suspended high in the sky, and the fourth is
   always a fortress or castle. The third and sixth worlds take place at
   night, and all other worlds take place during the day. At the end of
   each castle level, Mario fights "King Koopa" (who, until the final
   level, is actually a lesser enemy disguised as King Koopa) across a
   bridge over a pool of lava. In the later worlds (worlds 6-8), King
   Koopa throws hammers as well as occasional jets of fire breath. King
   Koopa may be defeated in one of two ways: either by touching the axe at
   the edge of the bridge (thereby dropping King Koopa into the lava) or,
   as Fiery Mario, throwing fireballs at him to defeat him directly and
   reveals what enemy is in disguise. At the end of each world save the
   last, Mario is greeted with the words, "Thank you Mario! But our
   princess is in another castle!", spoken by a Toad retainer, which
   became a popular quotation among gamers.

   After beating the game, the player is given the option to start the
   game again in "'Hard' Mode", where all Goombas are replaced by Buzzy
   Beetles (Koopa Troopa-like enemies who cannot be killed by fireballs),
   and all enemies walk faster. In addition, the elevator-style lifts are
   about 60% their original size throughout, as opposed to the original
   size until world 5-3 and 60% after.

Worldwide sales

   The game sold approximately 40 million copies worldwide, which still
   stands as a Guinness World Record. It has been estimated that this
   game, next to Tetris, is the bestselling game of all time. Although the
   game itself was very popular, its overall success can be largely
   attributed to the popularity of the NES itself. Super Mario Bros. was
   most often packaged with the NES console (usually in a dual cartridge
   with the shooting game Duck Hunt), just as Tetris was packaged with the
   Game Boy. Super Mario Bros. 3 is often cited as the best selling
   non-packaged game of all time.

Critical acclaim and legacy

   Super Mario Bros. is often cited as the inspiration for many game
   designers; an example is the inspiration for the designers at id
   Software when they developed Dangerous Dave in Copyright Infringement
   and the later Commander Keen series.

   Super Mario Bros. has also been critically acclaimed in retrospect; IGN
   named it #1 on its top 100 video games list twice (both in 2003 and
   2005 ).

   In February 2006, Electronic Gaming Monthly named Super Mario Bros. #1
   on its list of the "200 Greatest Games of Their Time", as part of a
   200-issue celebration. It beat many other Mario titles, including Super
   Mario Bros. 3 (14), Super Mario 64 (6), Super Mario World (88), and
   Yoshi's Island (83). The rankings on the list reflects their impact at
   release, not today.

Sequels and spin-offs

   The success of Super Mario Bros. led Nintendo to choose Mario to be its
   mascot and eventually resulted in several TV series and two movies: one
   anime movie and one live-action movie. Mario himself became more
   recognizable among American children than Mickey Mouse.

   The game's popularity eventually led to dozens of sequels and spinoffs,
   listed here.

Soundtrack

   The soundtrack, composed by long-time Nintendo composer Koji Kondo, is
   often sampled. While many bands have sampled the Super Mario Bros.
   soundtrack or otherwise recorded songs inspired by the game and its
   soundtrack, a Super Mario Bros.-inspired single by Japanese band The
   Tongari Kids, titled "B-Dash", reached as high as sixth place on the
   Japanese music charts. Mario's first "theme" kart in the later game
   Mario Kart DS is named the B-Dasher, presumably as an homage to the
   album.

   Kondo's theme to Super Mario Bros. has also become a hit in the United
   States as a ringtone for cellular phones. In the late spring of 2006,
   the melody reached Number One on Billboard magazine's Hot Ringtones
   chart.

   The theme is used during the opening credits of the game's 1993 movie
   adaptation and throughout both the live action and animated skits in
   The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.

Film and animation adaptations

   In Japan in 1986, Nintendo released a 60-minute-long anime feature
   directed by anime industry veteran Masami Hata, titled Super Mario
   Bros.: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Daisakusen (The Great Operation to Rescue
   Princess Peach). This film has never been released in the United States
   and is a rare, sought-after collector's item among both anime and Mario
   fans. Nintendo followed it in 1989 with a three-part OAV series which
   featured Mario and friends acting out the stories of Issunboshi, Snow
   White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Momotaro.

   Meanwhile in 1989, on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Nintendo and
   DiC made The Super Mario Bros. Super Show for syndication on U.S.
   television. 65 half-hour episodes of the series were produced. The
   series combined animated adventures with live-action sequences which
   starred Lou Albano as Mario; guest stars in the live-action sequences
   included Cyndi Lauper and Cher. Each half-hour show contained, along
   with the live-action sketches, two short animated stories featuring
   Mario and his friends along with one short based on The Legend of
   Zelda. This was followed in 1990 by a new series based on Super Mario
   Bros. 3 and in 1991 by another new series based on Super Mario World;
   both aired on NBC on Saturday mornings as part of Captain N: The Game
   Master.

   The game was then adapted into the Super Mario Bros. movie in 1993.
   This film was produced by Hollywood Pictures and starred Bob Hoskins
   and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi respectively, and Dennis Hopper
   as King Koopa (Bowser).

Alternate versions

   As one of Nintendo's most popular games, Super Mario Bros. has been
   re-released and remade numerous times, ranging from an arcade version
   released soon before the original NES release, to its inclusion as an
   unlockable game in the GameCube game Animal Crossing.

Famicom Disk System

   In Japan, Super Mario Bros. was also released for the Famicom Disk
   System, Nintendo's proprietary floppy disk drive for the Famicom. This
   version was largely identical to the cartridge version, but was much
   cheaper because of the cheaper media.

Vs. Super Mario Bros.

   One alternate version, Vs. Super Mario Bros., is nearly a separate game
   in its own right. This game, one of several games made for Nintendo's
   NES-based arcade cabinet, the Nintendo Vs. Unisystem (and its variant,
   the Nintendo Vs. Dualsystem), is based on Super Mario Bros., and has
   identical gameplay. The stages are different, however; the early stages
   are subtly different, with small differences like the omission of 1-up
   mushrooms or other hidden items, but later stages are changed entirely.
   (Many of these later, changed stages reappeared in the Japanese Super
   Mario Bros. 2.) These changes have a net effect of making Vs. Super
   Mario Bros. much more difficult than the original Super Mario Bros.

   As with many older arcade games, it is not clear exactly when this game
   was released; while the arcade boards themselves are stamped " 1985,"
   the Killer List of Video Games and the MAME game listing list the game
   as having been released in 1986.

All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros.

   All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. is a version of Super Mario Bros.
   with graphics based upon a radio show, called ' All Night Nippon', that
   was very popular in Japan in 1986. It was released for the Famicom Disk
   System.

   The game, which was released only in Japan, was a special promotional
   version that was given away by the Japanese radio station 'All Night
   Nippon' in raffles in 1986. The game borrows levels from Super Mario
   Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japanese version), and Vs. Super Mario
   Bros. The enemies and the mushroom retainers at the end of Bowser's
   forts are replaced with Japanese music idols, famous recording artists,
   and DJs, as well as other people related to 'All Night Nippon.' It was
   published by Fuji TV, the same company that published Doki Doki Panic
   (which was later remade into Super Mario USA, a.k.a. Super Mario Bros.
   2).

Multicart versions

   While Super Mario Bros. is the best-selling video game of all time, one
   of the most common versions of the game is actually an alternate
   version, a multicart including both Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt.
   This version, first released in North America in November 1988, was
   only available packed in with the "NES Action Set", a bundle including
   the NES, two controllers, the Zapper lightgun, and the Super Mario
   Bros./Duck Hunt double cartridge.

   In December of that year, Nintendo also released a three-game
   multicart, including Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, and World Class
   Track Meet. This three-game multicart was only included in the "NES
   Power Set", a bundle including everything in the "Action Set" above,
   but with the Power Pad and the triple-game cartridge in place of the
   double-game cartridge.

Super Mario All-Stars

   In 1993, Nintendo released an enhanced SNES compilation titled Super
   Mario All-Stars. It includes all of the Super Mario games released for
   the NES/Famicom. The version of Super Mario Bros. included in the
   compilation had improved graphics, redrawn to match the SNES's greater
   graphical capabilities, improved sound, and a save game feature.
   Several glitches from the original NES release were also fixed.

   This compilation also includes later Super Mario games, including Super
   Mario Bros. 3, the North American/European Super Mario Bros. 2 (known
   as Super Mario USA in Japan), and the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2
   (known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in North America and
   Europe). A later version of this compilation, sold only as a bundle
   with the SNES, also includes Super Mario World.

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe

   In 1999, Super Mario Bros. was released on the Game Boy Colour, under
   the title Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. It featured simultaneous
   multiplayer, a Challenge mode and also included the Japanese Super
   Mario Bros. 2 (which was released on Super Mario All-Stars as Super
   Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels) as an unlockable. It also was compatible
   with the Game Boy Printer. However, the game did not feature any
   upgraded visuals (aside from some graphics such as water and lava now
   being animated rather than static), and since the screen resolution of
   the Game Boy Colour was smaller than the NES, the view distance of the
   player is reduced. To compensate, players can press up and down to see
   above and below the player. Pressing select during the game also places
   Mario/Luigi in the middle or off to the left of the screen so that
   player can see well.

Classic NES series

   In early 2004, Nintendo re-released the game on the Game Boy Advance in
   Japan as part of their Famicom Minis collection and in the U.S. as part
   of the Classic NES Series. Unlike previous re-releases, these versions
   contain no graphical updates. Super Mario Bros. was one of the
   best-selling of these rereleases; according to the NPD Group (which
   tracks game sales in North America), this re-released version of Super
   Mario Bros. was the best-selling Game Boy Advance game in June 2004,
   and as of June 2004 the GBA's sixth-best-selling game overall. In 2005,
   Nintendo released this game again for the GBA as part of its 20th
   Anniversary with a special edition, which sold approximately 876,000
   units.

Virtual Console (Wii)

   Super Mario Bros. is slated for release on the Wii's Virtual Console.
   It will be available on launch in Japan, and there is no set release
   date for all other territories.

Other versions

   Super Mario Bros. is one of the NES games included in the GameCube game
   Animal Crossing. The only known way to unlock Super Mario Bros. is by
   use of a game modification ("cheating") device.

Minus world

   By passing through a solid wall due to a glitch, it is possible to
   travel to "World -1", often referred to as "Minus World." This stage is
   mostly underwater, and has no ending. Exploiting the same glitch in the
   Japanese Famicom Disk System is considerably different and has three
   levels, after which the player is returned to the title screen as
   though he or she completed the game. This glitch has been fixed in the
   Super Mario All-Stars remake as well as in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.
   Super Mario All-Stars changes the default pipe layout to remove the
   Minus World pipe. There are also level 0-1 and -2.

Development staff

     * Directed by: Shigeru Miyamoto
     * Executive Producer: Hiroshi Yamauchi
     * Assistant Director: Takashi Tezuka
     * Original Music by: Koji Kondo
     * NOA Producer: Leslie Swan

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Bros."
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
