It's-a me, Mario!

When Super Mario Bros. 3 was released way back in 1993 it was regarded by critics as "one of the greatest games of all time" and even now I believe this statement still rings true.

The first Super Mario game, developed by Shigeru Miyamoto, was released in 1985 and no one knew how popular this platforming side-scroller would soon become. The story and gameplay is extremely basic and to this current day, has not changed in the slightest. You play as Mario, an Italian plumber with his iconic overalls and moustache, and you set out to rescue Princess Peach who has been kidnapped by the evil Bowser, King of the Koopas. You play through fairly short levels in a total of eight worlds with mini bosses along the way, with your ultimate goal of reaching Bowser's Castle, defeating him and rescuing the Princess. With a range of different levels, players didn't seem to tire of the same repetitive gameplay. The variety of enemies, which included Bowser's children the Koopas, also kept gameplay interesting.

Mario, our favourite Italian plumber, started his first journey with very few power-ups He was able to change into Flower Mario which enabled him to shoot fireballs, and Invincible Mario which as the name suggests made him invincible for a short time. In this new game however, this would not be the case. These old power-ups, as they would now be called, had been thrust aside and kids would never again be as excited to get a flower power-up as they used to be. With six new, far more exciting power-ups, Super Mario Bros. 3 had hit their stride and it soon became a favourite amongst fans. The new power-ups included the tanooki suit; the super leaf; the frog suit; the hammer suit; the magic whistle; and although it appeared in only one level, the boot. These new power-ups were not all necessary to complete the game but they added to the gameplay and give the player more of an advantage in different levels. The frog suit, for example, made it easier and faster to swim in water but disadvantaged you on land. The tanooki suit allowed you to fly for a short period and therefor players were able to complete levels incredibly fast and also find secret areas in the clouds. The idea of the new power-ups affecting gameplay in such a way was a first in any game and it was a real hit with fans.

There are some very major differences between this game and the previous titles, one being the world map and the ability to choose which level to do. This is another area in which the game improved. Players now had a choice of which level to complete and felt a sense of accomplishment when completing all levels, even if it wasn't required to win overall. Mario also wasn't alone on this map, he was now joined by the hammer bros. who would move position on the map after every level or death of Mario's. Stepping onto a tile that they occupied would take you into a mini battle against them and a power-up would be received if you defeated them. Two other mini games also moved around the map in the same way and they were a card game similar to memory and a slot machine line up game. The world map now also included toad huts in which the player could go into and choose from three chests to win an unknown power-up.

Most would have thought that the first super Mario game had achieved gaming perfection but the developers went on to achieve greatness with the release of Super Mario Bros. 3 and to this day it is a masterpiece of gaming. The new power-ups and world map just added to an already amazing game series and it has continued to out do itself with every new installment.