Mario Bros. (series)

This article is about the series of games based around the arcade Mario Bros. For the series based around Super Mario Bros., see Super Mario (series).
Mario Bros.
Mario Bros. North American logo
First installment Mario Bros. (1983)
Latest installment Mario Clash (1995)
Franchise Super Mario

The Mario Bros. series is a video game series in the Super Mario franchise, deriving from the original 1983 arcade game of the same name.

List of gamesEdit

Title
Cover, original release, and system Synopsis
Mario Bros.
 
  June 21, 1983[?]
Arcade machine
Mario Bros. is the second arcade game starring Mario as a protagonist, coming after Donkey Kong. The game's main attraction was featuring cooperative two-player functionality with Mario's recently introduced brother, Luigi. The two are in a sewer, battling various enemies leaking from the plumbing, hitting the floors underneath them to stun them before kicking them away. Many aspects from this game recur in later games of the Super Mario franchise, notably coins, pipes, POW Blocks, and enemy turtles. The game has been ported innumerable times to various systems.
Mario Bros. Special
 
  August 1984[?]
Home computer
Mario Bros. Special is a Japan-only computer game developed by Hudson Soft. It has altered gameplay with stages where Mario or Luigi must complete specific tasks, such as pressing switches or collecting $ symbols.
Punch Ball Mario Bros.
 
  October 5, 1984[?]
Home computer
Punch Ball Mario Bros. is another Japanese computer-based sequel by Hudson Soft. It features stone "Punch Balls" that must be thrown at enemies to stun them.
Mario Clash
 
  September 28, 1995[?]
Virtual Boy
Mario Clash, unlike its predecessors, stars only Mario, but it otherwise keeps the same gameplay formula. It takes place in the Clash Tower, where Mario needs to defeat invading enemies in both the standard playing field and the background by using the Virtual Boy's depth and Koopa shells.

Remakes and compilationsEdit

Title
Cover, original release, and system Synopsis
Mario Bros. Returns
 
  November 30, 1988[?]
Family Computer Disk System
Mario Bros. Returns is a Japan-only game for the Family Computer Disk System, being mostly a more graphically accurate port of the original arcade game than the 1983 Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System port in the Arcade Classics Series. However, it also has new features, such as the ability to change direction mid-jump and a slot machine minigame. Many of its graphical enhancements were used in a 1993 European NES port of Mario Bros. for the Classic Series.
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Mario Bros.
 
  2004[?]
Arcade machine
Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, Mario Bros. is an arcade system, only found in America, in which players could choose which of the three games they wanted to play.

Related gamesEdit

Title
Cover, original release, and system Synopsis
Mario Bros. (Game & Watch)
 
March 14, 1983
Game & Watch
The Game & Watch game Mario Bros. was released before the arcade game (and, as such, is technically the first appearance of Luigi), though it also started development later. Gameplay-wise, the games have nothing in common, with the Game & Watch game featuring Mario and Luigi working in a bottling plant, with one of the brothers appearing on each of its two screens. It was ported to both Game & Watch Gallery 3 and Game & Watch Gallery 4.
Super Mario Bros. 3
 
  October 23, 1988[?]
Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Mario Bros. 3 features a battle mode called "Classic Mario Bros.," which is an altered version of the original. It is the first rendition to replace Shellcreepers with Spinies. A further edited version appears in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3.
Super Mario Advance
 
  March 21, 2001[?]
Game Boy Advance
Super Mario Advance also features an alternate mode based on Mario Bros., having both a normal mode and a battle mode. Additionally, it can have up to four players and features some other new elements, such as garbage cans and Bowser. This mode returns in every other Super Mario Advance game as well as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
Super Mario 3D World
 
  November 21, 2013[?]
Wii U
Super Mario 3D World features an alternate mode with an edited port of the first NES version, called Luigi Bros. It replaces Mario with Luigi's modern colors, keeping the original Luigi the same.

See alsoEdit

  • Wrecking Crew, a series using a similar layout of stacked platforms.
  • Hotel Mario, a game that also uses a similar layout.