Super Mario Bros. 3 is recognized by many as the greatest in the Super Mario series. But I would go one step further and claim that Super Mario Bros. 3 is the best video game of all time. When I first got my Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988, it came with the original Super Mario Bros game, which opened my eyes to what the future holds for video games.
I was completely in awe of this character moving from left to right on my screen and the screen kept moving. Being that I and many other kids from that era were used to the static screen from platformers like Donkey Kong and the original Mario Bros, this was nothing short of revolutionary. The scope and scale of the game is what propelled the NES to become the force it was. It marked the beginning of video games that offered an all-encompassing experience, showcased throughout the system’s reign.
Before the release date of Super Mario Bros 3, the biggest buzz going on in the console world was over next-gen consoles. The Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis commercials featured bright, crisp graphics that had not been seen in video games outside of arcades. Everything changed at the time of the launch of this revolutionary game. People saw that greatness could be achieved with old-fashioned technology. As the original Super Mario Bros presented the future of gaming, it would make the perfect bookends for the NES console. The game took the formula for good from the original and just perfected it. It was the swan song of a generation. Each level in each of the worlds was innovative and original. A perfect difficulty level was displayed, as it was not necessary to be a wizard on the controller to defeat the game, nor was it easy.
As we live in times when games are amplified on tech steroids, it’s hard to find games that are this pure. With all the arsenals video game designers have at their disposal, I have yet to find or play a video game that will keep my butt on a couch longer than this game.