Super Mario Advance (series)

The Super Mario Advance series is a series of video game reissues released only on the Game Boy Advance. It is a successor to Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on the Game Boy Color, itself an indirect successor to Donkey Kong on the Game Boy. Each game contains one of the classic Super Mario sidescrollers, with improved graphics, sound, and additional features. Also, each game contains an updated version of the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. which adds an extra POW Block near the top of the stage. The series finished in 2003 with four games, although New Super Mario Bros., the first original 2D platformer since 1992, was developed as a response to requests for Super Mario Advance 5.

Multiplayer mode
Any game in the Super Mario Advance series can link up to other Game Boy Advances that also have any of the said four games. This allows two to four people to play a version of Mario Bros., with upgraded graphics, control, and sound. All players are Marios, but they wear different colored uniforms (red, yellow, green, and blue), though they still have the letter "M" on their caps. Players can pick each other up and throw each other, though a grabbed player can escape another's grasp. In "Classic Mode", the players cooperate in defeating the enemies like in the single player mode. In "Battle Mode", the players start off as Super Marios and compete against each other to collect five coins first by defeating enemies or being the last one standing. An invincible, flame-throwing Bowser appears in bonus rounds.

If there are only two players in the Battle Mode, there will be a garbage can at the bottom. Players can be thrown in the garbage can. A player in the garbage can is stuck there for several seconds, putting them at a disadvantage, but they will come out with an item that may help them fight their rival. Players can receive a Koopa Shell, POW Block, Fish Skeleton, or an Egg. The Egg can yield either a coin, a Heart, or a Starman.

This mode is also included in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. There are very minor differences between this version, the one found in the first Super Mario Advance, and the rest of the games in the Super Mario Advance series.

Changes from the original games

 * In Super Mario Advance, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, there are added voice clips for each player character and most bosses.
 * In line with the current standard, Super Mario Advance, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, now also refer to Princess Toadstool as "Peach" (as introduced to the West in Yoshi's Safari and retained in Super Mario 64 onward).
 * In Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, Luigi is playable as the first player, and has his special attributes from Super Mario Bros. 2, with a higher jump, and lower traction.
 * In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, some levels have been slightly altered to fit on the GBA screen.
 * In Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, there are additional levels based on e-Reader cards.