Hello and
welcome back everyone to another edition of the Gamerman Weekly. This week I
will be doing my first Oldie but Goldie Re-Review on a very dear favorite,
Super Mario Bros.
Another quick housekeeping notice, I did forget to research for my Gaming Culture Spotlight segment, but next week I deliver one. Possibly on Pokemon Go! Which I believe is now the most influential addition to the gaming culture. But for now, let’s take a trip down memory lane.
Some may be confused with the subtitle and why I use the word “again.” Well, the answer is very simple, Super Mario Bros. wasn’t the first ever smash hit piece of gaming that enraptured the public, that was pong in the 60s and 70s. And then during the great game industry crash of the mid-80s, Super Mario Bros. came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. The Christmas it launched, it’s glorious fate was sealed. The mobs of people clamoring to buy this comparatively incredible piece of gaming software spelled amazing success for the then fledgling game developer, Nintendo.
After Nintendo’s groundbreaking success, other developers pulled up their bootstraps and started producing products on par with the quality of Super Mario Bros. Thus, the gaming industry and its culture was born anew, ready to have the general public acknowledge its existence again.
Even though Super Mario Bros. is in itself possibly the crown jewels of gaming history, how has the game aged over the years. In my opinion, the Re-Review for it is mixed. Now before I go any further, I just want to say to the prospective butt-hurt gamers, anything that could be construed as a criticism or a comment with a negative tone, I am a writer that produces content with a balance. That means I write about the good and the bad. If I was to have the same tone on every single piece of content I create, then the Weekly would become bland, boring, and that is not the goal. Thank you again though for reading any of this, and for your understanding.
So, after about a week of trying to get the game to work on my computer (I am really bad with computers) I opted for playing it on my phone, which has the guaranteed same quality as if playing it on the pc. I’ll give the details on getting the game later.
When I booted the game up again for the first time, I was instantly hit with mind boggling amounts of nostalgia. The 8-bit textures with the warm and familiar color-palette, music that even a four year old today would recognize, and the gaming legend himself, Mario, standing on the screen, ready for action. I was very happy indeed.
Personally, I can’t stand platformers. They are far too fast-paced for my reflexes, and I can hardly follow the action on the screen. But with Super Mario Bros. I hardly ever feel this. The game seems to have an atmosphere that is nurturing to gamers that have reflex deficiencies. The classic saying to gamers such as myself to help them enjoy the game more is to tell others to “git gud” but Super Mario Bros. doesn’t say that. All I can ever hear from it is “enjoy yourself.” Because of this, Super Mario Bros. is one of my favorite games.
However, after all this time, I forgot how floaty the controls of the game were. When you’re controlling Mario, he feels like he’s being pushed by the wind in the direction you hit the buttons. The directional controls are not quick to react in any sense of the word. Jumps are barely controllable at times, especially when you are trying to guide Mario through the air. And the hit-boxes for the enemies, especially my nemesis the Goomba, are sometimes so precise you’d need to measure them with the tip of a pin.
These difficulties, though, are what gives the game depth. It allows you to choose how hard you want to have your playthrough, or how easy, depending on your play style. In my opinion, that is the mark of a master content creator, and an example I live up to.
Now, there is one problem with the game that I want to explain, possibly even more in-depth in a later Weekly edition. I believe the game, over the years, has become boring. Not because there are other fantastic titles that deliver awe inspiring views and amazing technological advancements. That usually doesn’t matter for a good game with the caliber of Super Mario Bros. No, I believe that Super Mario Bros. has become far too epitomized by the public. That because of the game’s sky high popularity and cultural heritage, I believe to many people the game is now over-hyped, making it lose some charm for the general public. Others may argue this claim, and I am more than willing to discuss my opinion with anyone further at a later time.
I got the game to work on the John NES Lite emulator using the Super Mario Bros. (Japan/USA) ROM on emuparadise.me; and this was the Android phone version. I might or might not get games on my computer. The 65 new viruses I have added to my collection could prove to not be worth the trouble.
As always, thanks for reading this edition of the Gamerman Weekly. I appreciate any attention that you guys give this, it means the world to me that my words could hold importance to someone, or a good laugh. I’m fine with either.
--G
