Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Bros. 3 (also known by the abbreviation SMB3) is a platform adventure game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan on October 23, 1988; in North America on February 12, 1990; and in Europe on August 29, 1991. It was later released in the US on the Wii's Virtual Console on November 5, 2007. It is the sequel to Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2, although outside of Japan, it is considered the sequel to the Americanized Super Mario Bros. 2.

It has been considered as one of the greatest games of all time. Its complexity and challenging levels made it a huge success. In addition to new power ups, it featured new moves, items, and enemies. It also features special non-level parts of each world, including Toad Houses and Spade Panels, as well as some secret parts, such as the White Toad House and the Treasure Ship. Shortly after the release of the game, a cartoon named The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 was made. The cartoon was based on the game, except the plot was changed. In the cartoons, King Koopa and his Koopalings tried to take over the real world as well, and not only the Mushroom Kingdom.

Story
Bowser has returned to the Mushroom Kingdom and now with the help of his seven Koopaling children, he tries to conquer it again. He sends his Koopalings into seven parts of the Mushroom World to steal the Mushroom Kings' magic wands, and with the wands, transform the Kings into various cretures. Princess Toadstool sent Mario and Luigi to go and stop the Koopalings and turn the kings back into their normal form. At the end of each world, Mario and Luigi fought one of the Koopalings, and after the match was over, the brothers took the wand from the Koopaling and turned the king back to normal. While the brothers are out in their adventure, Bowser kidnaps Princess Toadstool and takes her to his lair in Dark Land. The brothers go to Dark Land and fight Bowser. After defeating Bowser, they save Princess Toadstool and they all return to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Grass Land
The first world of the game, that was attacked by Larry Koopa, who stole the Magic Wand of the Grass Land King and turned him into a dog. The landscape itself is mainly composed of plains, surrounded by hills and even some cliffs in the south. A fortress can be found in the middle of Grass Land, and the king's palace lies to the southeast, surrounded by a circular moat. The enemies Mario encounters here are regular ones, like Goombas, Koopa Troopas and Piranha Plants. The world features a Spade Panel, two Toad Houses and six levels, of which four have to be cleared to reach the king's palace.

Desert Land
A land that is also called Desert Hill. It is a region within a vast desert, filled with sand, palm trees and some pyramids. A fortress is located in the west part of the desert, and a quicksand field can also be found, as well as a great pyramid that the player needs to traverse in order to reach the kings palace. The king was attacked by Morton Koopa Jr., who turned him into a spider. The world features two Spade Panels and three Toad Houses, of which one lies in a secret area behind a rock, that needs to be crushed by a Hammer. It contains a Warp Whistle. Four of the five levels need to be cleared to get to the great pyramid and the palace. Desert land houses many desert-related creatures like Fire Snakes and the very rare Angry Sun.

Water Land
Also referred to as Ocean Side, this world is a water themed region that was raided by Wendy O. Koopa. While some levels take place on solid ground, most of the levels and even one of the worlds two fortresses involve water in a certain way. At the northern part of the worldmap, Mario will encounter drawbridges that open and close in a set pattern. The worlds palace is located far to the east on a small remote island that is only accessible through a Warp Pipe. The king of Water Land was turned into a Kappa during Wendy's attack. A boat can be unlocked by using a Hammer on a rock in the south. Through it, the player can reach some bonus Spade Panels and Toad Houses. Water Land contains nine levels in total, of which one can be skipped if a certain drawbridge is closed, and houses several water creatures like Bloopers, Cheep Cheeps, and Big Berthas. The country also introduces a very rare Boo known as a Stretch.

Giant Land
This world, which is also known as Big Island, is mainly composed of an island in the vague shape of a Koopa. It is a relatively green island with plants growing on it that resemble Fire Flowers. The castle at the west coast of the island was attacked by Iggy Koopa who transformed the Giant Land King into an Acrocanthosaurus. The world has two fortresses, one on the eastside and one on a small island in a lake in the world's center. The most prominent feature of Giant Land, which gives this world it's name, is the fact that many enlarged versions of regular enemies can be found here. The world features four Toad Houses, two Spade Panels and six levels, of which five need to be cleared to reach the king's palace.

Sky Land
The area known as Skyland is the land that has been conquered by Roy Koopa the Koopaling. It is divided into two parts: A ground part and a sky part. The player begins on the ground. The most notably feature of this area is the possibility to gain the Kuribo's Shoe, an Item that can be obtained in level 5-3. After clearing the levels on the ground, the player can reach a spiraling tower that reaches up to the sky. The main part of the level is located here, and there are also some creatures exclusively to this realm, namely the Fire Chomp and the Para-Beetle. After clearing the tower that serves as a link between the two areas, the player can go back to the ground, but they will have to clear the tower again on their way up. If Roy Koopa isn't defeated at the first try, his Airship will be able to move freely between sky and ground. There are 9 levels in total, 3 Spade Panels, 3 Toad Houses and 2 Fortresses. The palace is on the southwest part of the sky part.

Ice Land
Sometimes referred to as Iced Land, this land is an area covered in snow and ice. The palace of Ice Land was attacked by Lemmy Koopa and Mario has to venture there and reclaim the Magic Wand just like in the previous worlds. Before he can reach the palace however, the player has to navigate Mario through the levels of Ice Land. These levels feature frozen ground which makes movement more difficult, as Mario has poor footing on them and is likely to slip off into a bottomless pit. In some levels, the player can find ice blocks that contain coins or enemies. These blocks can only be melted with one of Fire Mario's Fireballs. There are 10 levels in total, 3 Spade Panels, 2 Toad Houses, and 3 fortresses. the Palace is far to the east near the sea.

Pipe Land
More commonly known as Pipe Maze, Pipe Land is a series of small islands in a network of confusing pipes. The 4th stage is an underwater level with spiked Cheep Cheeps, some Big Berthas and 3 Blooper Nannies. Prince Ludwig von Koopa attacked the Pipe Maze king and turned him into a goldenrod Venus Fire Trap. The country itself consists of 9 levels, 3 Spade Panels, 2 Fortress, 2 Special Nipper Levels and 3 Toad Houses. The palace is located in southeastern Pipe Maze by the sea. If not slain, Ludwig's airship will fly from one island to another, since the anchor is required to stop him.

Dark Land
Castle of Koopa (World 8) Ruled by Bowser. The Japanese version of the game spells Koopa as Kuppa.

Warp Zone (World 9)
Warp Zone is only accessible by a Warp Whistle. In the Warp Zone, the player can choose to go to any other world in the game. The selection of Worlds the player can choose from, changes depending on the World he/she used the Warp Whistle in.

World-e
(e-Reader-based world; exclusive to Super Mario Advance 4)

Power-Ups
After the player obtains a power-up that is greater than a Super Mushroom, they will take a hit and then turn back to their super form.

Goombas

 * Goomba
 * Grand Goomba
 * Micro-Goomba
 * Paragoomba
 * Pile Driver Micro-Goomba

Koopas

 * Koopa Troopa
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Rocky Wrench
 * Spike
 * Gargantua Koopa Troopa

Buzzies

 * Buster Beetle
 * Buzzy Beetle
 * Parabeetle

Piranha Plants

 * Muncher
 * Nipper Plant
 * Piranha Plant
 * Ptooie
 * Venus Fire Trap
 * Piranhacus Giganticus

Lakitu

 * Lakitu
 * Spiny

Hammer Brothers

 * Boomerang Bro.
 * Hammer Bro.
 * Fire Bro.
 * Sledge Bro.

Fortress

 * Boo Diddley
 * Dry Bones
 * Hot Foot
 * Podoboo
 * Roto-Disc
 * Stretch
 * Thwomp

Water

 * Cheep Cheep
 * Baby Cheep
 * Big Bertha
 * Bloober
 * Bloober Nanny
 * Boss Bass
 * Jelectro
 * Lava Lotus
 * Spiny Cheep-Cheep

Artillery

 * Bob-omb
 * Bullet Bill
 * Cannonball
 * Missile Bill
 * Chain Chomp
 * Fire Chomp

Bosses

 * Boom Boom
 * Bowser
 * Koopalings
 * Larry Koopa
 * Morton Koopa Jr.
 * Wendy O. Koopa
 * Roy Koopa
 * Iggy Koopa
 * Lemmy Koopa
 * Ludwig von Koopa

Fire

 * Angry Sun
 * Fire Snake
 * Hot Foot

2-Player
In two-player mode, player one is Mario, and player two is Luigi. After one bro. completes a level/loses a life, the other bro. plays. Also, if one bro. picks a level that the other bro. completed, they enter a battle stage similar to Mario Bros.

Development
Following the poor critical reception of Super Mario Bros. 2, Nintendo had to make a sequel that was stronger than its predecessor. The hard part of creating a video game with old characters is making the old characters seem fresh and new. In many ways, Super Mario Bros. 3 revived the series and brought many new young and old fans back to the adventures of the Mario Bros.

Remakes
Super Mario Bros. 3 was later revamped and included in Super Mario All-Stars, with updated graphics and sound for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A notable addition to the All-Stars version was a save feature. Additionally, there's a Battle Game feature that works differently from the ones featured from the maps in the 2-Player Game Mode.
 * 'Super Mario All-Stars

In 2003, the fourth entry in the Super Mario Advance series, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 was released for the Game Boy Advance. It boasted similar graphics and sound to the All-Stars version, and made use of the e-Reader. A few e-cards came included with new copies of the game, while two sets (referred to as "series") of cards, were released and sold alongside the game. By scanning special cards into the e-Reader, players were able to upload items, videos, and most importantly, new levels into game. One notable item was the Cape Feather from Super Mario World, which allowed Mario to transform in Cape Mario. There were also two Switch cards that the player could activate (and deactivate) the effects of by scanning them; the Orange Switch and the Blue Green Switch. Scanning these switches triggered small functions in the game. The e-Reader feature is absent in the European version.
 * Super Mario Advance 4
 * For a complete listing of cards, see Super Mario Advance 4 e-Cards.

References to Other Games

 *  Mario Bros.- There is a multiplayer mini-game very similar to this game.
 * Super Mario Bros.- When Toadstool is saved from Bowser she says "Thank you Mario, but our Princess is in another castle hehe, just kidding!" this is a reference to the Mushroom Retainer's line "Thank you Mario, but our Princess is in another castle!" from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2- Toadstool's appearance is identical to how she appeared in this game.
 * The Legend of Zelda- The warp whistle is an item taken from this game.

References in Later Games

 * Super Mario World- The sunken ghost ship is speculated to have once been one of the invading Airships.
 * Super Mario All-Stars- This contains a remake of Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World- This contains a remake of Super Mario Bros. 3 and the sunken ghost ship is still speculated to have once been one of the invading Airships.
 * Tetris DS- Levels 4, 5 and 6 on marathon mode show Mario identical as how he appears here running through levels found here on the top screen. Also a remix of the Over World Theme plays.
 * Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix- Music from SMB3 is remixed in this game.
 * WarioWare: Twisted!- Mario as he appears here, is features in a SMB3 style Micro-Game.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee- Main Over World Theme was remixed in both Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach's Castle.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl- Main Over World Theme from Melee reappeared.
 * New Super Mario Bros.- Many concepts started in here are features in this game, such as Toad Houses. A lot of the worlds have similar themes.
 * Defend Your Castle- By clicking SMB3W4 with the Wii Remote in the special thanks section leads to a game with giant stick men. SMB3W4 actually means Super Mario Bros. 3 World 4, which was Giant Land, hence the giant stick men.
 * Mario Kart Wii- A license plate which reads "SMB3" can be found.
 * Super Mario Galaxy- Level 1-2 and Airship Music were remixed in this game. Also the Airship's re-appear in this game.
 * Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and later Zelda games - World 3's overworld music is heard as these games main menu and when you find a Fairy Fountain.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii - The Penguin Suit is based on the suits of Super Mario Bros. 3. The Koopalings battle theme is remixed twice and once again played when fighting against them. The airship theme is remixed twice and plays on the airships. The design on the Towers are based on the Fortress sprite of SMB3. The Enemy Courses are similar to the levels when fighting against a Hammer Bro., Fire Bro., Boomerang Bro., or Sledge Bro. and even use a remix of the song. Also, the Power-Up of the reserve are used on the World maps.

Trivia

 * The movie The Wizard had new footage of Super Mario Bros. 3. The game was played at a video game competition, and was supposed to not be released in stores yet, but, somehow, Jimmy's (the "Wizard"'s) friends knew of the secret of the Warp Whistle in the first world.
 * This game was ported into the American arcade machine, Nintendo Playchoice-10.
 * There is a way to remove Bowser's fire powers, rendering him useless as a Fireless Bowser.
 * The back of some boxes show an unused level.
 * This marked the first appearance of the Koopalings and the Boo species.
 * This is both sale wise and chronologically the first time Mario has fought Bowser's children as Wendy O. Koopa says this is the first time she has fought Mario.
 * The NES version of the game was released twice in English. In the re-release, the names of the worlds were changed to (theme of world) Land, while the first English version used the Japanese names. Other changes include a slightly different set of instructions from Toad's N-Spade game and a slight rewrite in one of Toadstool's letters, changing "Kuribo's Shoe" to "Goomba's Shoe".
 * In the Scholastic World Book of Records for 2007, this was the best selling game.
 * The NES version of the game was placed 5th in the 100th issue of Nintendo Power's "100 best Nintendo games of all time" in 1997.
 * The game placed 9th in the 200th Issue of GameInformer's "Top 200 Games of All Times".
 * Super Mario Bros. 3 paper can be found in the Animal Crossing series.
 * Defeating a boss while in the Frog, Tanooki, and Hammer suits results in an alternate message from the newly transformed king.
 * In a departure from his usual reviews of poorly designed games, Angry Video Game Nerd reviewed this game, making good comments about it. Afterward, however, he discovers several apparent references to Hell, because Dark Land (world 8) resembles Hell and there is a heart shape around it at one spot. Many other references are pointed out (such as the numbers 8, 5, 12, 12 coming up to spell Hell, or the appearances of inverted crosses, pentograms, and the number 666), leading up to a showdown between him and a possessed NES cartridge.