In the context of NES platformers, Super Mario Bros. 3 decimates its competition. Even compared to other games in the series, it's a gigantic step upward from the frustrating Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, and the diversionary (through still excellent) American sequel. Compared to the original game, the screen scrolls in all directions, allowing for more open and less confining stages, including tense levels where the screen automatically scrolls.
The map allows alternative routes to the end of each world, with challenging castles at the mid-way points, and airship stages that culminate in fights against one of Bowser's seven children. Put simply, it’s far more expansive than almost any other similar game on the 8-bit platform. Even divorced from context, though, Super Mario Bros. 3 excels because of its level design. The stages are relatively short, but each is memorably and skillfully designed. The eight Worlds all have distinct themes – deserts, oceans, and clouds, with the most unique being one where everything, enemies and bricks, is oversized. There are charming details, like the bushes in the first World map, which appear to dance along with the theme music. The individual levels are filled with foes and items that pop up only a few times, like the menacing sun in the sand stages, or Kuribo's Shoe, a curious one-time item that lets Mario hop around unharmed on spikes. The Raccoon tail is the first (and best) power-up that allows Mario to fly, while several others abilities – the Frog, Tanooki and Hammer Bros. suits – are uncommon, but offer cool abilities. It's the rare game where almost every part of it feels special.
It's also the last time where a Super Mario Bros. game is legitimately challenging. Each subsequent game relegates the truly difficult levels to either optional secret areas or post-game challenges. Here, the final stages (save for the slightly disappointing final battle) are fairly difficult. The hands that randomly grab Mario as he crosses over the lava bridge in World 8, forcing him into a particularly challenging level, remain one of the most harrowing moments of the game. It's a reminder of an era when Nintendo could make titles that were both charming and demanding. The SNES remake on Super Mario All Stars is decent, with a nice visual overhaul, and the save system is most definitely welcome, but the physics are slightly off. The same can be said for the GBA remake, which, in a boneheaded move, features extra levels only accessible via eReader cards, many of which are impossible to find nowadays. The NES original is still the best.
Many message board battles have been fought as to which of the classic Mario titles are superior. While we have an ever-so-slight preference for Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World is still an absolutely fantastic game, especially for being an SNES launch title. To begin with, the levels are much larger and full of secrets, including exits that lead to hidden stages. This puts the focus a little more on exploration than straight up platforming. It also introduces the dinosaur Yoshi, who will happily gobble almost anything. While the game isn’t very difficult overall, if you manage to find the secret Special World, you’ll come across some of the most devious challenges seen in a platformer, at least until the Super Mario World ROM hacking scene took off with the advent of emulation.
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