Super Mario Advance Shitsumonbako
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The title of this article is official, but it comes from a Japanese source.
If an acceptable English name is found, then the article should be moved to the new title.
Super Mario Advance Shitsumonbako is a section of the official Japanese website for Super Mario Advance. The section serves to answer a series of previously collected user-submitted questions about the game and it's characters. The section is split into three separate pages.
Page 1[edit]
Questions are in bold.
- Q1.
- What is the difference from "Super Mario USA" that was on the Famicom?
- In this "Super Mario Advance," broadly speaking, you can enjoy two games. One of them is a remake of "Super Mario USA," which was released on the Famicom in 1992.
- That said, it was remade for the Game Boy Advance based on the version that was included in the Super Famicom's "Super Mario Collection," so the character graphics and such are based on the Super Famicom version.
- But, it is not simply a port. Many productions unique to the Game Boy Advance have been added, and of course many new elements are prepared, so even people who enjoyed the original should be able to enjoy it enough.
- Incidentally, the other game is a remake of "Mario Bros.," which was released on the Famicom in 1983. With just one cartridge, you can enjoy four‑player competitive play in "Battle" (coin‑collecting competition), and there is also "Classic," which is close to the original stage‑clearing type. This too is very substantial.
- Q2.
- Can you switch the usable characters in the middle? Please tell me!!
- In "Super Mario USA," you can select characters after clearing a stage or when you make a mistake (lose a life).
- It is not possible to change characters anytime and anywhere. For example, if you start playing with Toad, and in the middle you want to jump to a high place, you cannot suddenly switch to Luigi, who has strong jumping power. Therefore, finding the character that is easy to use for clearing each stage can be said to be the shortcut to clearing.
- When there is a stage that you cannot clear easily, sometimes if you change the character and play, it will go well.
- Q3.
- Can even I, who am over 30, enjoy it?
- It can be enjoyed enough even by people over 40 (according to developer Mr. N).
- Basically, I think it is a game that can be enjoyed by children to adults, beginners to advanced players. The big thing is that you can play that "Mario Bros." on a handheld game machine.
- Speaking of "Mario Bros.," it is a nostalgic software from the early Famicom, released in 1983. Now, even adults, if they have memories of being fired up about "Mario Brothers" battles when they were children, most of them will first want to try playing it.
- Of course, the fun is guaranteed. Especially when you play four‑player competitive, it really gets lively. The Famicom version of "Mario Brothers," which was already quite heated with two players, can now be played with four, so you can probably imagine the fun just from that.
- However, please be careful not to get so heated that relations within your family become bad (laughs).
- Q4.
- What are the L and R buttons used for?
- The L button is "viewpoint change," and the R button is "dash" (= B button).
- After all, this is a game that was released in the Famicom era, when the controller originally did not have L and R buttons, so you can play all the way to the end without using either the L or R button.
- Also, by combining the L and R buttons with other buttons, you can use them in auxiliary ways, as follows:
- Select + R pressed at the same time → goes into sleep mode
- Select + L pressed at the same time → returns from sleep mode
- "Sleep mode" is a power‑saving mode where the power remains ON but the LCD display disappears. For example, when you suddenly get a phone call, or when you change trains, when you don’t want to turn off the power but want to interrupt play for a short while, it is more convenient than simply pausing because it saves battery. Though plain, it is a mode useful for handheld game life, so please make good use of it!
- Q5.
- How much does Princess Peach weigh?
- That is rather hard to know. First of all, you cannot ask a lady her weight (laughs).
- But, if you think about how she can float in the air while jumping, perhaps she is quite light.
Gallery[edit]
Page 2[edit]
- Q6.
- "Super Mario Advance" and "Mario Kart Advance (tentative title)" are being released, but will you release any other Mario series titles?
- A sequel to Super Mario Advance will be released.
- Two titles, Super Mario Advance 2 (tentative title) and Super Mario Advance 3 (tentative title), are planned for release, and these will be remake versions of past Mario series games. Super Mario Advance 2 (tentative title) will be a remake of Super Mario World, which was released for the Super Famicom in 1990, while Super Mario Advance 3 (tentative title) is planned to be a remake selected from among the Mario series titles that have not yet been ported to the Game Boy.
- With this, including Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, which is currently being rewritten to great popularity through "NINTENDO POWER," almost all Mario action games will be playable on the Game Boy Advance.
- Also, Wario Land 4, starring Wario - who is a member of the Mario family and a character born from the Game Boy - is also under active development, so please look forward to that as well.
- Q7.
- Is there a difference in lifting speed between normal vegetables and large vegetables?
- There is quite a big difference.
- As expected, large vegetables take more time to lift than normal vegetables. Because it takes time to lift them, you are more likely to make mistakes while lifting, but when you throw them at enemies, you can defeat many enemies at once, so it feels exhilarating and very pleasant. If you defeat many enemies using this method, you can also aim for a 1‑UP, so please give it a try.
- Q8.
- Tell me about the download time and mechanism of "1‑cartridge play."
- Using one cartridge to do communication play with two or more people is called "1‑cartridge play." Of course, you need one Game Boy Advance system and one GBA communication cable per person, but if you have one copy of the software, everyone can enjoy the game together, so it’s very economical. This is a term that will appear often on the Game Boy Advance from now on, so please remember it.
- As for the mechanism, in "1‑cartridge play," by downloading the program into the Game Boy Advance's memory, it becomes possible for four people to enjoy the same game. Since there is only one cartridge even though four people are playing, it is necessary to send the game program to the other GBA systems that do not have the cartridge.
- In Super Mario Advance, you can also enjoy four‑player battles using this "1‑cartridge play." Specifically, the Mario Bros. battle game supports "1‑cartridge play." To enjoy this, you need about 20 seconds of download time before playing (it doesn’t change much whether it’s two players or four). During this time, please do not press buttons or move the cable—just wait a little.
- Q9.
- What is "multi‑cartridge play"?
- Preparing one cartridge per player and doing communication play is called “multi‑cartridge play.” It is easy to understand if you think of it as the same as communication play on previous Game Boy systems. In Super Mario Advance, the Mario Bros. classic game supports this, so if you want to enjoy multiplayer in that mode, each person will need to bring their own cartridge.
- Unlike "1‑cartridge play," you must prepare software for each player, but because each system has its own cartridge, the content is more complete. For example, in F‑ZERO, with "1‑cartridge play," you cannot select courses or machines, and the BGM does not play, but in "multi‑cartridge play," none of those limitations exist. You can battle with the same content as the single‑player game. Also, of course, no download time is required. Therefore, if you have software for each person, you should play using "multi‑cartridge play."
- Q10.
- When playing with many people, do you have to load before every match?
- No. In the battle game, once you download it, you can continue battling as many times as you like. There is no need to download for each match. As explained in Q8, the system works by downloading the game program into the GBA’s memory, but that only needs to be done at the start of the game. So you can play to your heart’s content until you turn off the power.
- Meanwhile, the classic game supports "multi‑cartridge play," so just like previous Game Boy games, no download time is required. You can enjoy four‑player play immediately. Of course, even in the battle game, if you prepare one cartridge per person, it becomes “multi‑cartridge play,” so no download is needed.
- Q11.
- Can you freely change the difficulty level?
- In the Mario Bros. battle game, you can change the stage difficulty.
- To allow you to enjoy various kinds of matches, you can adjust the battle game’s level. For example, if you set the battle game level to "Hard," the stage floor becomes entirely ice and slippery, more enemy characters appear, and you must battle in a situation where it is easier to make mistakes. This is for advanced players. Of course, you can also make it so that “fireballs” do not appear for beginners, and you can add handicaps, so even game beginners can participate without worry.
- As for Super Mario USA, you cannot freely change the difficulty. However, depending on the character you choose to play, the difficulty of the stage may change.
Gallery[edit]
Page 3[edit]
- Q12.
- Doesn’t Bowser appear!?
- Bowser appears in the Mario Bros. battle game.
- The battle game is made up of a repeating four‑stage structure, and Bowser appears in the last, fourth stage.
- This time’s Bowser can be stunned if you hit him from below, but unlike other enemy characters, he cannot be defeated. And on top of the confusion already happening during battles, he breathes fire and such, making him quite ferocious.
- However, if you maneuver things so that your rivals run into this ferocious Bowser, the battle will develop in your favor. To win battles, even Bowser should be used skillfully (laughs).
- Q13.
- Doesn’t Yoshi appear?
- You don’t get to ride Yoshi and adventure together, but he does appear.
- However, he will not appear unless you clear Super Mario USA once.
- That is because, this time, once you clear the game, you can play an extra mode called "Yoshi Challenge," in which you collect two Yoshi eggs hidden in each course. As for this, please enjoy it after clearing the game…
- Q14.
- Is there any benefit to collecting A-Coins?
- First, there are five A‑Coins in each course. If you collect all five, you get a 1‑UP, so it’s better to collect them. However, depending on the course, some are in places that are quite difficult to get, so please don’t push yourself too hard. Also, A‑Coins may be hidden in unexpected places, so there may be times when you simply cannot find them. But in such cases, just move on to the next course. It’s fine to come back and collect them slowly after clearing it.
- Incidentally, if you collect all five A‑Coins in a course, a star mark will appear on that course. And since there are 20 courses in total, that means there are 100 A‑Coins altogether. Ultimately, aim for 100%. Something might happen if you collect all the A‑Coins…
- Q15.
- Can you warp?
- In Super Mario USA, if you go to a certain place, you can warp to a later course. Being able to warp ahead makes clearing the game much easier, which is nice. But if you play normally, you may not easily find the warp locations.
- Actually, the warp locations are in the "back screen" that you can reach by using the Magic Potion. Most of the jars in the course can be entered, but there are some jars that cannot be entered from the front screen. Those jars can be entered from the back screen, and those are the jars that allow warping. So, if you find a jar you cannot enter along the way, try using the Magic Potion and entering it from the back screen.
- Q16.
- About how many stages does "Mario Bros." have?
- It goes on forever.
- In the classic mode of Mario Bros., there is no game clear or ending. In the early Famicom era, that was normal. Of course, the further the stages progress, the harder they become to clear, so challenge yourself to see how far you can go.
- Incidentally, the stage counter goes up to 99.
- Q17.
- How much do the characters talk?
- They talk quite a lot. It’s hard to convey in magazines and such, but from shouts to small phrases, the characters talk quite a bit, so during play it feels very lively. Originally, even on the Game Boy Color there were games with voices, but that processing put a considerable burden on the CPU. On the Game Boy Advance, even in an action game like Mario, that kind of processing can be done sufficiently. So even if Mario talks while the characters are moving, it does not affect gameplay.
- The sound quality of the voices has also improved considerably on the Game Boy Advance. Please try listening with headphones. You will immediately understand how much the sound capabilities have improved. Of course, not only the voices, but the BGM and sound effects also sound very good. Mario’s music is great, isn’t it?
- Now then, the things they say differ slightly depending on the character you choose. The voices were recorded using foreign voice actors. Try listening to all the different characters' voices. However, since they are speaking in English, you may not understand what they are saying. But since it’s a good opportunity, have someone who understands English listen and tell you the meaning, and study English too (laughs).
- This concludes the "Super Mario Advance Shitsumonbako," which we have answered over three installments. Thank you very much for all the questions.
Gallery[edit]
One of two screenshots of Bowser in the Game Boy Advance version of Mario Bros.
The second screenshot of Bowser in the Game Boy Advance version of Mario Bros.
One of two screenshots of the "Yoshi Challenge" mode
The second screenshot of the "Yoshi Challenge" mode
Artwork of Wart
Artwork of a Spark
Artwork of a Shy Guy riding an Ostro
Artwork of Clawgrip
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | スーパーマリオアドバンス質問箱[1] Sūpā Mario Adobansu Shitsumonbako |
Super Mario Advance Question Box |
