Super Mario Bros. Special

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Super Mario Bros. Special Developer(s) Hudson Soft, Nintendo Publisher(s) Hudson Soft (Japan) Caroline Software Incorporated (South Korea) Platform(s) NEC PC-8801 Sharp X1 Samsung SPC-1500 Release date 1986 1987 Genre Platformer Rating(s) Mode(s) Single player Media 5.25-inch floppy, Tape Input Super Mario Bros. Special (スーパーマリオブラザーズ スペシャル) was developed by Hudson Soft and released in 1986 for the NEC PC-8801 and Sharp X1 series of Japanese computers, and around 1987 for the Samsung SPC-1500 in South Korea. Special was the first Nintendo-licensed follow-up to Super Mario Bros., released shortly before Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. Two years earlier, Hudson Soft had released Punch Ball Mario Bros. and Mario Bros. Special, which were both based on the original Mario Bros. While superficially very similar to the original Super Mario Bros., the game features original new levels and has a screen-by-screen scrolling mechanism. The latter is implemented more smoothly in the Sharp X1 version, which features Zelda-style scrolling, where the screen visually slides to the next lock point (with some overlap between screens), whereas the PC-88 version simply turns blank for a moment while loading the next screen. Jumping and dashing physics also differ from the original NES, providing a more challenging experience than Super Mario Bros. Adding difficulty is the fact that the stage time is faster than in the original NES game. Returning was Mario's Hammer from Donkey Kong, alongside a variety of past foes from earlier arcade Mario titles, and new exclusive items. Due to the PC-88 and Sharp X1's technology being inferior to that of the NES/Famicom, the graphics and audio differ slightly from the original game as well, although they are closely replicated. Additionally, the game does not include Luigi nor does it contain a multiplayer mode. The Sharp X1 version contains partial scrolling and slightly more colorful graphics, featuring all eight colours possible with 100% and 0% RGB, including lime-green, cyan, magneta and white. While the PC-88 is able to produce eight colors, Special only uses half of the PC-88's hardware palette, restricted to only black, red, yellow, and blue, including dithered results with those four colors. Further, sprites exclude the use of blue to allow transparency in the sprites. The Warp Zones from the original were changed in such a way that Special has no true Warp Zone. In World 1-2, reaching the area over the pipe instead leads to the single bonus room that could be accessed normally in the stage, but with a pipe that still leads to the overworld, thus to the end of the level. In World 4-2, a room that more resembles a true Warp Zone can be found, however the only pipe it holds does not have any destinations defined, likely due to an oversight by the developers. The pipe can still be entered, but the player will remain stuck there indefinitely, forcing the player to be killed by the timer. New Enemies Hudson's staff took these enemies from earlier Mario games, none of which can be stomped, and provided them with new names: Chokichoki (Sidestepper) - Originally from Mario Bros. Can be defeated with a fireball or a bump. Nakaji (Fighter Fly) - Originally from Mario Bros. Can be defeated with a fireball or a bump. Tsurara (Icicle) - Originally from Mario Bros. Can be defeated with a fireball. Sigebou (Fire) - Originally from Donkey Kong. Tarusar (Barrel) - Originally from Donkey Kong. Can be defeated with a hammer or a bump from below. Gameplay The object of the game is to get to the goal flag to advance to the next level. While on Mario's way to the goal, he must encounter many enemies and collect power-ups and use items to help solve puzzles and destroy enemies. Power-Ups Name Sharp X1 image PC-88 image Description Super Mushroom Grab this to change into Super Mario. 1000 points awarded. Fire Flower Grab this to change into Fire Mario. 1000 points awarded. "Hummer" The hammer power-up from Donkey Kong, which spawns a hammer in front of Mario that rapidly swings. Found in Worlds 3-4 and 5-1. 1000 points awarded. Wing Collecting this causes Mario to briefly act as if he is swimming in the air. Found in Worlds 3-2 and 4-1. 1000 points awarded. Star Makes Mario briefly invincible. 1000 points awarded. Items Name Sharp X1 image PC-88 image Description 1-Up Mushroom If Mario collects one, he'll get an extra life. Coin Collect 100 Coins for a 1-Up. Clock Upon picking this up, Mario will get an additional 100 seconds added to the timer. Found in World 8-3. 1000 points awarded. Hachisuke (a.k.a. Hu-Bee) The bee from the Hudson Soft logo. If Mario finds this item, he will be awarded 8000 points. Found in World 1-1. Lucky Star Resembles an atom. If Mario collects it, all the enemies on-screen will be defeated and award their normal point values as if hit by a Star (similar to a POW Block except it also affects airborne foes). Found in World 4-1. 1000 points awarded. Glitches Due to both the PC-88 and Sharp X1 technology being inferior compared to the NES/Famicom, some glitches and tricks that were previously not present in the original appear here. The Blinkfest When moving, Mario and some other sprites flicker. Due to the hardware Super Mario Bros. Special is built on, sprites do not have as fluid and smooth of a movement as they did in NES game Super Mario Bros. and Sharp X1 version. This "glitch" is more present in the PC-88 version. Infinite-1 Up trick Like in the original Super Mario Bros., jumping continuously on a Koopa Troopa or a Buzzy Beetle when it's about three blocks away from an edge or wall won't make it move, thus allowing the player to remain hopping on the shell and gain infinite 1-Ups. Unlike the original, the trick is much easier to perform due to the game's different collision physics launching the player higher after a stomp, and can be done in virtually any area with both a Koopa Troopa and an edge/wall. When a sliding Koopa shell is stomped and stops moving, the timer before the Koopa gets back up does not reset, continuing from where it left off when the shell was kicked. Because of this, it is possible for a Koopa to break itself out of the trick, requiring Mario to re-set it up. The player can accumulate a maximum of 255 lives, with the number of current lives remaining represented in hexadecimal numbers (such as "85" for 173 lives and "DE" for 222 lives). Collecting any more will round the counter back to 0 lives. Innocue Fire Bars Sometimes, hitting the most external part of a Fire Bar won't deliver any damage, likely because of the game's limits in hardware and registering hitboxes with moving obstacles. Lagging Fire Bars In World 8-4, in the room with five Fire Bars, the game will lag, probably due to technical limitations with the number of sprites that can be projected on-screen exceeding the normal limit. Trap or Glitch? In World 4-3, there is a Beanstalk that leads to a Coin Heaven. When trying to leave, sometimes Mario will be unable to enter the exit pipe. It is assumed to be an overlooked program error, as the entrance back to the main level from this bonus area is present underneath the Mushroom stairs leading to the flagpole. A similar error appears in 4-2, where a hidden pipe placed beyond the exit pipe can be entered, but it lacks a destination to take the player, thus causing Mario to be stuck inside the pipe until time runs out. Out Of Service Springboard Compared to the original Super Mario Bros., the Jumping Board present in 2-1 is much more difficult to perform a higher Jump off of due to poor collision detection, sometimes being stuck in its animation frames when Mario jumps off. Sometimes holding the Jump key while landing on the Spring will guarantee success in jumping off, and in the event that a player would have trouble, the set of invisible ? Blocks placed around the Spring allows players to bypass it. Disk Error Some copies of the PC-88 version of Super Mario Bros. Special (notably ROM dumps that are run on computer emulators) are missing the data necessary to trigger the IPL switch needed to load World 8-4, and thus will load a blank screen reading "DISK ERROR! PLEASE TURN IPL SWITCH ON", after clearing World 8-3. This glitch is very likely not present in an authentic copy of the game. Stop Music Due to bad pipe entering detection, if Mario gets too close to a horizontal pipe that can be entered and quickly turn around, the player will hear the pipe entering sound, and the music will stop until Mario actually enters the pipe. The player can do this multiple times in the same room, but all that will happen is that they will hear the pipe entering sound again. Staff Main article: List of Super Mario Bros. Special staff Programmed By Yukio-Takeoka Course-Designed By Ichirou-Sakurada Sound Effected By Fumihiko-Itagaki Megumi-Kawamata Produced By Takashi-Takebe Gallery For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Super Mario Bros. Special. Hachisuke Wing Hammer and barrels Lucky Star Icicles and Sidesteppers Fighter Flies Fire Clock External Links Strange and Wonderful NEC PC-8801 Games (various games covered, including Super Mario Bros. Special) Universal Game List entry for Super Mario Bros. Special More information on Sharp X1 version References [Edit] Mario games Platformers Super Mario series Super Mario Bros. (1985, NES) • Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1986, FCD) • Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988, NES) • Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988, NES) • Super Mario World (1990, SNES) • Super Mario 64 (1996, N64) • Super Mario Sunshine (2002, GCN) • New Super Mario Bros. (2006, NDS) • Super Mario Galaxy (2007, Wii) • New Super Mario Bros. Wii (2009, Wii) • Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010, Wii) • Super Mario 3D Land (2011, 3DS) • New Super Mario Bros. 2 (2012, 3DS) • New Super Mario Bros. U (2012, Wii U) • Super Mario 3D World (2013, Wii U) • Super Mario Odyssey (2017, Switch) Mario vs. Donkey Kong series Mario vs. Donkey Kong (2004, GBA) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (2006, DS) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! (2009, DSiWare) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem! (2010, DS) • Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move (2013, 3DS) • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars (2015, 3DS/Wii U) • Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (2016, 3DS/Wii U) Other Donkey Kong (1981) • Mario Bros. (1983) • Mario's Cement Factory (1983, G&W) • Mario's Bombs Away (1983, G&W) • Mario Bros. Special (1984, PC88) • Punch Ball Mario Bros. (1984, PC88) • Wrecking Crew (1985, NES) • Super Mario Bros. Special (1986, PC88) • Super Mario Land (1989, GB) • Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992, GB) • Mario & Wario (1993, SNES) • Hotel Mario (1994, Philips CD-i) • Donkey Kong (1994, Game Boy) • Mario Clash (1995, VB) • Wrecking Crew '98 (1998, SFC) • Super Princess Peach (2005, DS) • Super Mario Maker (2015, Wii U) • Super Mario Run (2016, iOS/Android) Ports and remakes Donkey Kong (1982, G&W) • Mario Bros. (1983, G&W) • VS. Super Mario Bros. (1986, Arcade) • All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. (1986, FCD) • Super Mario Bros. (1987, G&W) • Super Mario All-Stars (1993, SNES) • Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (1994, SNES) • BS Super Mario USA (1997, SNES) • Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (1999, GBC) • Super Mario Advance (2001, GBA) • Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (2002, GBA) • Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (2003, GBA) • Famicom Mini Series (2004, GBA) • Classic NES Series (2004-2005, GBA) • Super Mario 64 DS (2004, NDS) • Virtual Console (2006-current, Wii/3DS/Wii U) • Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition (2010, Wii) • Virtual Console (2011-current, 3DS) • New Super Luigi U (2013, Wii U) • Luigi Bros. (2013, Wii U) • Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS (2016, 3DS) Role-playing games Paper Mario series Paper Mario (2000, N64) • Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004, GCN) • Super Paper Mario (2007, Wii) • Paper Mario: Sticker Star (2012, 3DS) • Paper Mario: Color Splash (2016, Wii U) Mario & Luigi series Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003, GBA) • Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005, NDS) • Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009, NDS) • Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (2013, 3DS) • Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (2015, 3DS) • Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions (2017, 3DS) Other Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (1996, SNES) Mario Kart series Super Mario Kart (1992, SNES) • Mario Kart 64 (1996, N64) • Mario Kart 64 (slot machine) (1997, Arcade) • Mario Kart: Super Circuit (2001, GBA) • Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003, GCN) • Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005, Arcade) • Mario Kart DS (2005, NDS) • Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007, Arcade) • Mario Kart Wii (2008, Wii) • Mario Kart 7 (2011, 3DS) • Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013, Arcade) • Mario Kart 8 (2014, Wii U) • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (2017, Switch) • Mario Kart Arcade GP VR (2017, Arcade) Mario Party series Mario Party (1998, N64) • Mario Party 2 (1999, N64) • Mario Party 3 (2000, N64) • Mario Party 4 (2002, GCN) • Mario Party-e (2003, GBA) • Mario Party 5 (2003, GCN) • Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party (2004, Arcade) • Mario Party 6 (2004, GCN) • Mario Party Advance (2005, GBA) • Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party 2 (2005, Arcade) • Mario Party 7 (2006, GCN) • Mario Party 8 (2007, Wii) • Mario Party DS (2007, NDS) • Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher (2009, Arcade) • Mario Party Kurukuru Carnival (2012, Arcade) • Mario Party 9 (2012, Wii) • Mario Party Fushigi no Korokoro Catcher 2 (2013, Arcade) • Mario Party: Island Tour (2013, 3DS) • Mario Party 10 (2015, Wii U) • Mario Party Fushigi no Challenge World (2016, Arcade) • Mario Party: Star Rush (2016, 3DS) Sports games Mario Baseball series Mario Superstar Baseball (2005, GCN) • Mario Super Sluggers (2008, Wii) Mario Golf series Golf (1984) • NES Open Tournament Golf (1991, NES) • Mario Golf (1999, N64) • Mario Golf (1999, GBC) • Mobile Golf (2001, GBC) • Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (2003, GCN) • Mario Golf: Advance Tour (2004, GBA) • Mario Golf: World Tour (2014, 3DS) Mario Strikers series Super Mario Strikers (2005, GCN) • Mario Strikers Charged (2007, Wii) Mario Tennis series Mario's Tennis (1995, VB) • Mario Tennis 64 (2000, N64) • Mario Tennis (2000, GBC) • Mario Power Tennis (2004, GCN) • Mario Tennis: Power Tour (2005, GBA) • Mario Tennis Open (2012, 3DS) • Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (2015, Wii U) Other NBA Street V3 (2005, GCN) • SSX on Tour (2005, GCN) • Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (2006, NDS) • Mario Sports Mix (2010, Wii) • Mario Sports Superstars (2017, 3DS) Crossovers Mario & Sonic series Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007, Wii) • Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007, NDS) • Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009, Wii) • Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009, NDS) • Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2011, Wii) • Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2012, 3DS) • Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013, Wii U) • Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016, Wii U) • Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016, 3DS) • Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition (2016, Arcade) Super Smash Bros. series Super Smash Bros. (1999, N64) • Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001, GCN) • Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) • Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (2014, 3DS) • Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014, Wii U) Other Itadaki Street‎ DS (2007, NDS) • Fortune Street‎ (2011, Wii) • Nintendo Land (2012, Wii U) • Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (2015, 3DS) • Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017, Switch) Edutainment games Mario Teaches Typing (1991, MS-DOS) • Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up (1991, MS-DOS) • Mario is Missing! (1993) • Mario's Time Machine (1993) • Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters (1993) • Mario's Early Years! Fun with Numbers (1994) • Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun (1994) • Mario Teaches Typing 2 (1996, MS-DOS) Art utilities Super Mario Bros. Print World (1991, MS-DOS) • Mario Paint (1992, SNES) • Mario no Photopi (1998, N64) • Mario Artist: Paint Studio (1999, N64DD) • Mario Artist: Talent Studio (2000, N64DD) • Mario Artist: Communication Kit (2000, N64DD) • Mario Artist: Polygon Studio (2000, N64DD) Miscellaneous Yoshi's Safari (1993, SNES) • Undake30 Same Game (1995, SFC) • Mario's Game Gallery (1995, MS-DOS) • Mario's Picross (1995, GB) • Mario's Super Picross (1995, SFC) • Donkey Kong (slot machine) (1996, Arcade) • Picross 2 (1996, GB) • Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium (1997, Satellaview) • Mario's FUNdamentals (1998, MS-DOS) • Picross NP (1999-2000, SFC) • Super Mario Fushigi no Janjan Land (2003, Arcade) • Mario Pinball Land (2004, GBA) • Yakuman DS (2005, NDS) • Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix (2005, GCN) • Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (2014, Wii U)