Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a platform adventure game for the Famicom, and the third installment in the Super Mario Bros. series. It was released in Japan on October 23, 1988; in North America on February 9, 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 features new moves, items, and enemies. It also features special non-level parts of each world, including Toad Houses where lives are earned 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 the Koopalings tried to take over the real world as well, and not only the Mushroom Kingdom. The cartoon series is produced by DIC Entertainment Productions in association with Nintendo.

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 (Larry, Roy, Lemmy, Wendy, Iggy, Morton, and Ludwig) into seven parts of the Mushroom World to steal the Mushroom Kings' magic wands, and with the wands, transform the Kings into various creatures. 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
Grass Land is the first world of the game that was attacked by Larry Koopa, who stole the wand of the Grass Land King and turned him into a dog (or a Cobrat from Super Mario Bros. 2 in the remake). 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 Hill
Desert Hill (also known as Desert Land or the Koopahari Desert) is the second world of the game. 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 (or a Hoopstar from Super Mario Bros. 2 in the remake). 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.The boulder also hides two Fire Bros. which stole the last Warp Whistle. Four of the five levels need to be cleared to get to the great pyramid and the palace. Desert Hill houses many desert-related creatures like Fire Snakes and the very rare Angry Sun.

Ocean Side
Also referred to as Water Land or Sea Side, Ocean Side 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 world map, Mario will encounter drawbridges that open and close in a set pattern. The world's palace is located far to the east on a small remote island that is only accessible through a Warp Pipe. The king of Ocean Side was turned into a Spike (or a Dino-Rhino from Super Mario World in the remake) 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. Ocean Side 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 world also introduces a very rare Boo known as a Stretch.

Big Island
This world, which is also known as Giant Land, 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 Big Island King into an orange dinosaur (or Donkey Kong Jr. in the remake). The world has two fortresses, one on the east side and one on a small island in a lake in the world's center. The most prominent feature of Big Island, which gives this world its 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.

The Sky
The area also known as Sky Land is the world that has been conquered by Roy Koopa, who has turned its king into a condor (Albatoss in the remake). 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 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 nine levels in total, three Spade Panels, three Toad Houses and two Fortresses. The palace is on the southwest part of the sky part.

Iced Land
Sometimes referred to as Ice Land, Iced Land is an area covered in snow and ice. The palace of Iced Land was attacked by Lemmy Koopa - who has turned its king into a fur seal (Monty Mole in the remake) 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 Iced 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 ten levels in total, three Spade Panels, two Toad Houses, and three Fortresses. The Palace is far to the east near the sea.

Pipe Maze
Also known as Pipe Land, Pipe Maze is a series of small islands in a network of confusing pipes. The fourth stage is an underwater level with spiked Cheep Cheeps, some Big Berthas and three 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 nine levels, three Spade Panels, two Fortresses, two Nipper Plant Levels and three Toad Houses. The palace is located in southeastern Pipe Maze by the sea. If not defeated, Ludwig's airship will fly from one island to another, since the anchor is required to stop it.

Castle of Koopa
This mysterious world (also known as Dark Land) is ruled by King Bowser. The levels in this world are primarily tank brigades and airships. There are also Hand Traps found in the second area of the world, which unexpectedly grab Mario or Luigi and take them to a short obstacle course which has a chest containing a Super Leaf at the end. The third area has two normal levels and a Fortress, and the final level has the last tank level and Bowser's Castle, where Mario or Luigi must finally battle Bowser.

Warp Zone
World 9 is only accessible by a Warp Whistle. In it, 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 they used the Warp Whistle in. If the player uses another Warp Whistle in the Warp Zone, it will take them to the pipe leading to World 8.

World-e
World-e is an e-Reader-based world, and it is exclusive to Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. It can be reached right at the very beginning of the game. Players can use two Game Boy Advance, one with the game and the other with the e-Reader in order to scan level cards, demo cards, and power-up cards.

While in a Level

 * Move
 * /: Jump
 * /: Dash/interact
 * /: Pause

On the World Map

 * Move Mario Around the Map.
 * /: Select level/item
 * /: Open the item menu

Power-Ups
In international releases, after players obtain a power-up that is greater than a Super Mushroom, any injury will turn them back to their super form. In the original Japanese NES release, any hit reduces the player back to small form.

Enemies

 * Battle Mode
 * Fighter Fly
 * Fireball
 * Sidestepper


 * Goombas
 * Goomba
 * Grand Goomba
 * Micro-Goomba
 * Paragoomba
 * Pile Driver Micro-Goomba
 * Red Paragoomba
 * Shoe Goomba


 * Koopas
 * Colossal Koopa Paratroopa
 * Gargantua Koopa Troopa
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Spike


 * Buzzies
 * Buster Beetle
 * Buzzy Beetle
 * Para-Beetle


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


 * Lakitu
 * Lakitu
 * Spiny
 * Spiny Egg


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


 * Fortress
 * Boo Diddley
 * Dry Bones
 * Gray Bowser Statue
 * Hot Foot
 * Podoboo
 * Roto-Disc
 * Stretch
 * Thwomp


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


 * Desert
 * Angry Sun
 * Fire Snake
 * Tweester


 * Chomps
 * Chain Chomp
 * Fire Chomp


 * Artillery
 * Bill Blaster
 * Bob-omb
 * Bullet Bill
 * Cannon
 * Cannonball
 * Giant Cannonball
 * Missile Bill
 * Rocket Engine
 * Rocky Wrench

Bosses

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

2-Player
In two-player mode, player one is Mario, and player two is Luigi. After one brother completes a level/loses a life, the other brother plays. Also, if one brother picks a level that the other brother completed, they enter versus mode in their small forms.

Some versus mode stages are similar to Mario Bros. The player that defeats three of five enemies or survives wins. Enemies to defeat are Spinies, Sidesteppers, and Fighter Flies but defeating a Fireball does not count. Players can indirectly kill each other by forcing the rival to collide with an enemy to gain victory. Players can also steal Roulette Box cards from each other by bumping from below. One stage involves grabbing three of five coins.

There is also a stage that has a vertical pipe that shoots out Fireballs and coins. The player that collects three coins or survive wins. Another stage has the players climbing ladders to retrieve coins under boxes, some of which are empty. The first to obtain three wins.

Any deaths incurred in the versus mode will not affect the player's lives in the main game. Super Mario All-Stars also includes a similar Battle Game in the main menu for Super Mario Bros 3.

Development
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 and Ports
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, as well as in the re-issue, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, and the game's eventual port to the Wii as Super Mario All-Stars - 25th Anniversary Edition. A notable addition to the All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3 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 Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
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 Super Mario 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.

Story
The story, from the instruction booklet:

The Mushroom Kingdom has remained a peaceful place, thanks to the brave deeds of Mario and Luigi. However, the Mushroom Kingdom forms an entrance to the Mushroom World, a place where all is not well. Bowser sent his seven children to make mischief in this normally peaceful land. As their first order of business, they stole the royal magic wands from each country in the Mushroom World and used them to turn the Mushroom Kings into animals. Mario and Luigi must recover the royal magic wands from Bowser's seven kids to return the kings to their true forms. As Mario and Luigi set off on their journey deep into the Mushroom World, Princess Peach and Toad have but one thing to say: "Good-bye, and good luck!"

List of Changes
There are many changes between the original Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Advance 4.
 * Spade Panels now produce different variants in response to completing one. The order is: Spade > Heart > Club > Diamond. Each one allows the player the chance to earn more lives.
 * Before facing Boom-Boom, steel blocks will block the entrance.
 * Mario can have more than 100 lives.
 * Getting a Fire Flower or Raccoon Leaf will have their usual effect rather in the situation of Mario taking damage to revert to small Mario before he touches the power-up; previously this would just have the effect of a Mushroom.
 * Koopa Troopas can now be stomped underwater.
 * Upside-down Spiny shells can now be safely touched, stomped or kicked from above without taking damage; in previous versions, even an immobile, upside-down Spiny shell would hurt Mario if he landed on top of it.
 * The map icon for the Sledge Bro. got modified to make it look more like an actual Sledge Bro.. Their SNES map icon was merely a green Hammer Bro..
 * Giant Brick Blocks can now be broken with Mario's tail (with the Raccoon or Tanooki suit).
 * In several levels of Big Island, just before the Goal Panel, there is a coin bonus in the sky.
 * In The Sky, some brick blocks that otherwise make Pipes and Bullet Bill cannons float in the air contain coins.
 * In World 5, the map of the ground seen from the sky was moved up and right hiding the little mistake they made on the "Ground Map" on the NES and SNES Version.
 * In Iced Land, the path to the Mushroom House was altered so the player does not have to do 6-5 to access it.
 * A few sprites were slightly improved. For example Mario and Luigi now wear their gloves. Previous versions had the two with no visible gloves, the NES version due to color limitations and the All-Stars version because Nintendo forgot to change it.
 * Princess Peach received a brand new sprite for the Game Boy Advance version.
 * For most levels (except for underground levels, airships, and fortresses) there is no parallax scrolling in the background.
 * Mario can carry shells into pipes without losing them.
 * The first pipe in level 1-1 now contains a normal Piranha Plant instead of a Venus Fire Trap.
 * The first tank level in World 8 is shorter, with the removal of the first two tanks after the first ? block.
 * The cards acquired at the end of each level have been renamed "panels".
 * Pressing the R button brings up the e-Reader menu
 * The inventory window is now much larger.

e-Reader Cards
For a complete listing of the cards themselves, see Super Mario Advance 4 e-Cards, however here is a list of additional features added to Super Mario Advance 4 by the cards:

Exclusive Features

 * See-saw platforms
 * Grey Brick Blocks (Can only be destroyed by Hammer Suit or crushed by Tanooki Mario's statue)
 * ! Switch
 * Rotating Blocks
 * Sideways Venus Fire Trap
 * Ace Coins
 * E+ Coins
 * Invisible Blocks (can be visible when Mario transforms into the Tanooki Mario statue)
 * ? Block with Goomba's Shoe
 * Grey spike Donut Lifts
 * Blue Boomerang

Features and Enemies from Past Titles

 * Super Mario Bros.
 * Lifts
 * Firebars
 * Balance platforms
 * False Bowser


 * Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
 * Poison Mushrooms


 * Super Mario Bros. 2
 * Vegetables
 * Sand able to be dug
 * POW Blocks
 * Locked doors
 * Hoopsters
 * Flurries
 * Porcupos


 * Super Mario World
 * Cape Feather/Cape Mario
 * Stretch Blocks
 * Triangular Blocks
 * Snake Blocks
 * Trampolines
 * Roulette Blocks
 * 3-Up Moon
 * Keys
 * Spike Tops
 * Cross-shot Bullet Bills
 * Lil' Sparkies
 * Hotheads
 * Bony Beetles
 * Thwimps
 * Magikoopas
 * Amazing Flying Hammer Bros.
 * Rip Van Fish
 * Jumping Piranha Plants
 * Monty Moles
 * Wigglers
 * Goomba(Kuribon)s
 * Para-Goombas
 * Bowser Statues
 * Falling Spikes
 * Big Boos
 * The Big Boo
 * Chargin' Chuck
 * ? Blocks with Coin Snakes


 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * One-way gates
 * Bumpties


 * Super Mario Advance
 * Giant Vegetables
 * Items trapped in bubbles

Sales
The game's sales are very high being over 17.27. It is the second best selling NES game and the eighth best selling Mario game.

References to Other Games

 * Mario Bros.- The Battle Mode is very similar to the multiplayer in this game.
 * Super Mario Bros.- When Toadstool is saved from Bowser, she says "Thank you. But our Princess is in another castle! ...Just kidding! Ha ha ha! Bye bye." 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- Princess Toadstool's appearance is identical to how she appeared in this game.

References in Later Games

 * Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World - This contains a remake of Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - The music heard in Grate Guy's Casino is a rendition of music from the Mini-Games of Super Mario Bros 3, and the theme heard during the battle with Bowser in Super Mario RPG is a remix of that from Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * Paper Mario - The jingle that plays when Mario rescues a Star Spirit is a remix of the theme that plays when Mario recovers a Mushroom King's Magic Wand.
 * Mario Party Advance - The music played after Mario beats a Boom Boom/Koopaling is heard after the player completes a quest. Also, in the mini-game Drop 'em, the background has a similar design to the levels from Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * Tetris DS- Levels 4, 5 and 6 in Marathon mode uses Super Mario Bros. 3 gameplay on the top screen, along with the Raccoon, Frog and Tanooki Mario sprites on the touch screen. Also, a remix of the overworld theme plays.
 * Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix - Music from Super Mario Bros. 3 is remixed in this game.
 * Super Mario 64 - Many levels in Big Island resemble Tiny-Huge Island in Super Mario 64 and its remake. Changing sizes by using doors also resembles using pipes to go from tiny to huge in Tiny-Huge Island.
 * WarioWare: Twisted! - The Super Mario Bros. 3 microgame, along with the Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift microgame, are based on Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee - The main overworld theme was remixed in both Mushroom Kingdom and Princess Peach's Castle.
 * Super Mario 64 DS - The Rec Room theme is a remix of the Grass Land theme
 * 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.
 * Super Paper Mario - The theme that plays when Big Blooper appears is a remix of the underwater theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl - The main overworld theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee is re-used in this game.
 * Mario Kart Wii - A license plate which reads "SMB3" can be found.
 * Super Mario Galaxy - The airship and athletic music is remixed in this game.
 * 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, and can be heard on airship levels. The design on the fortresses are based on the fortress sprites of Super Mario Bros. 3. 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, players can use reserve power-ups like in Super Mario Bros. 3. Also, the Parabeetle makes its second and only other appearance in the main games so far here.
 * Super Mario 3D Land - The Tanooki Suit, Jump Blocks, and the Super Leaf appear in this game. Also the Airships and Boom Boom battles returns.

Quotes

 * "The Tanooki Suit turns into a statue! Even though I knew it wouldn't make sense to some non-Japanese players...I was so excited about it that I left it in." - Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario History 1985-2010 booklet
 * "We were helped by many people when developing this game. But even with a larger team, I was still the worst gamer of the bunch." - Takashi Tezuka, Super Mario History 1985-2010 booklet
 * "This time around, I added a lot of percussion and was able to create tracks that sounded like there were three or more sounds playing at once, resulting in much richer-sounding music." - Koji Kondo, Super Mario History 1985-2010 booklet

Trivia

 * This marked the first appearance of important characters or species, such as the Koopalings, Boos, Paragoombas, Dry Bones, Thwomps, Venus Fire Traps and Chain Chomps.
 * The Nintendo Entertainment System 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 original 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".
 * Defeating a boss while in the Frog, Hammer or Tanooki suit results in an alternate message from the newly transformed king.
 * According to the Guinness Book of World Records 2008, Super Mario Bros. 3 was the world's best-selling video game.
 * However, the image used in the book was of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the remake.
 * Along with Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 is the only Super Mario Advance game with Italian localisation.