I recently played through these levels with GBA Online and World E is easily the best 2D Mario game I’ve ever played. By combining the best aspects of Mario 3 and World, Nintendo gave us some of the most creative and challenging levels in any Mario adventure.
@@Demeech people say the blockchain cant be deleted. I'm pretty sure if they got outlawed those servers would be factory reset in a god damn heartbeat. Reddit fucking tricked me into opening a vault because they didnt fucking tell me what it was. Does anyone wanna help me with a class action lawsuit?
As the eshop was closing and I got good grades, my dad actually bought me Mario Advance 4, and for what Ive played of the E reader levels, I can say they're some of the best levels from a mario game I've played. Good review, and I think you should review a Klonoa game
Yeah, this technically is the origin of New Super Mario Bros., as the NSMB series is technically the continuation of the Super Mario Advance series. From what I've heard, NSMB DS was technically supposed to be Super Mario Advance 5, where after doing re-releases for the previous 4 installments, the 5th one would finally be a new game, but obviously it wasn't _called_ SMA5 because, well, it wasn't on the Gameboy Advance lol (and wasn't a re-release like the other installments). But that means that the new E-reader levels were technically our first teaser of the NSMB series...if they were actually easy to play back in the day, which of course they sadly weren't. It's like, they started toying with making new levels with the 6 new bonus levels they made for Advance 3 (Yoshi's Island), and then went much further with that for these E-reader levels in Advance 4 (Mario 3), and then finally just made a fully new game that was _just_ new levels for New Super Mario Bros. (technically Advance 5). Pretty neat to think about.
I never knew about this extra content, nor really the e-reader stuff in general. To play this game in the intended manner feels like it would be very cumbersome, happy Nintendo's not letting this hidden treasure be lost in the void. But thank you for enlightening me on this obscure piece of gaming history. 2D Mario isn't my cup of tea, but you can make something I'm not into so well-informed, entertaining, and enjoyable, that I'm consistently engaged. Love this video, can't wait to see you review The Cosmic Shake!
@@Demeech You know something, these e-Reader levels ooze creativity and charm, something that lacks on 2 and U especially. It's kinda nuts how much more creative the older games were.
I was really surprised to see the GB and GBA return to the Switch (finally!). I remember getting Super Mario World (one of my first GBA games) for the GBA and I was really curious about the old Super Mario Bros. I used to get hooked into that game for as long as I did for Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, and Super Mario World. Now I can relive my childhood playing these exact games on the Switch. Though I wish I still have my red GBA with the backlight.
@@Demeech oof... I always thought it's a regular red GBA with a clamshell and backlight as a kid before getting the original purple/blue GBA and the Pikachu edition. Yes I liked other games mentioned and I had many more but lost them all sadly. I'm not sure if I want to collect them to replay and take a trip down memory lane due to personal reasons but at least I'll be able to play some of those on the Switch for the time being.
World-e (The "e" relates to e-Reader. DAMN. SHOCKING RIGHT? 🙃) was truly a treasure that I could finally play because of the Wii U. Oh and Advance Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mario Bros. is there too. That's cool. XD
I can’t believe none of this is new to me, I’m that old!!! However, it’s fascinating to see others taking notice of this masterpiece of a GBA game. I never owned all of the cards, but the levels I did play were really good. ^_^
I actually did this back in the OG days. The intended use case was to use a Gameboy to scan the card or with the link cable specifically while playing it on the GameCube, with full rumble.
Honestly, this could be a great idea if it was expanded upon more. I'd love to play a full-length mashup like SMBE in an SMB3 style, and there could also be powerups from 3D games as well!
Hey great video and content! @ section 17:16 is that the Mushroom Kingdom theme from Mario RPG Legend of The 7 Stars? I love the soundtrack from that game especially 🙂
So here's a fun fact not mentioned in the video. Technically speaking the GBA cartridge for SMB3 Advance can't actually hold the data required for all 38 e-reader levels as the level limit is 32 no matter what. A whopping 6 levels would be left inaccessible for anyone who had the necessary cards to access all 38 levels. Someone at Nintendo either did some freaky dark magic or hacked the rom to gives the somewhat full experience. Yeah, there's a part 2 to this not-so little fun fact. You see, it wasn't just levels you could get from packs of e-reader cards for SMB3 Advance, you could also get power ups with some cards giving you multiple power-ups at once, special switches and demos that act like the Hint movies from NSMBWii with different videos showcasing something different be it speedrun strats, infinite 1-UP tricks or even how to access one of the many secrets the game holds.
I love your channel man. Also, when I forst played these on the virtual console for Wii U, IT WAS AN AMAZING FEELING! I was so excited! I 100% completed the e-reader levels (except for beating them all as both Mario & Luigi). Like, it was so fun! Also, YOU ARE TO CLOSE TO 50,000 SUBSCRIBERS! Please continue to post amazing content! I hope that you reach 100,000 subscribers soon!⭐️
Seeing elements and mechanics from Super Mario Bros., _both_ versions of Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros 3., Super Mario World, *and* Yoshi's Island all contained within a single official game is absolutely insane. I had no idea any of this even existed! Seeing turnips and a Chargin' Chuck in the same level is a level of cognitive dissonance I never expected to see. I feel like the Nintendo Direct did an absolutely terrible job at showcasing how much unique content this game had! I think showing just turnips and Bumpties alone would have been enough to turn some heads. Nobody popped off in any of the reaction videos to it being announced for the Switch. Thanks for the video! I seriously might actually look into playing this game now. This is so cool!
the sma4 E-levels are the exact right direction that 2d mario games should have taken. i agree with your rating, platinum treasure. truly the peak of 2d mario. opa! opa!
Underrated RU-vidr, subscribed! I haven't played that one yet (I'm in the middle of playing all of the 2D Marios) And I've been using the Advance versions of the Mario games that have it since they're way better, once I get to SMB3 I'll play World-e too. It looks really unique, sad that most people just play the All Stars version of SMB3 instead.
It is awesome that the Wii U release of this game (as well as the recent Switch release as part of the GBA line up) has all of the additional levels unlocked, since several of the level cards were exclusive to Japan. I bought it back on Wii U when it came out (and still have it). I just wish that these re-releases of the game had some way of using the function of other (non-level) e-reader cards. I actually got this game for GBA, as well as the e-reader and the two packs of cards for this game (as well as some other e-reader cards separate from this game) back when they were available at retail, and I still have it all. I had both a GBA system as well as the GBA player add-on for the Gamecube. They could be connected together with the link cable, using the e-reader on one and the game on the other. There were many other item cards that could be used with the regular SMB3 game. For the most part, these were item cards with various power-ups, and scanning them would add the item(s) to the inventory on the map screen. While most of them were the standard power-ups from SMB3, there was also a card for the cape feather from Super Mario World. That could be scanned to add the feather to the inventory (just re-scan it to add more), and the cape feather could be used in what is otherwise the regular SMB3 game. There was also a card to add the vegetables from SMB2 into the regular SMB3 levels. So with those cards, those features weren't restricted to only the e-reader levels where they show up by default. It sucks that these features are essentially lost in these re-releases.
This game is sort of like a blue print for SMBX, that fan game is amazing, and the E levels were so fun to play through, especially the ones themed around smb2
I picked up the complete set of North American SMA4 E-reader cards, including the much sought-after Walmart exclusive cards on Ebay about 15 years back, and have never regretted it. I was happy when SMA4 dropped on Wii U, as it allowed me to play the Japan exclusive levels for the first time. I'm glad to see them available again on Switch for more people to finally enjoy. Because it was my first game, I'll always hold World above Bros. 3, but World-e almost tips the scales for me (if they had just crammed Yoshi in there somewhere, there'd be no contest). It's definitely a best-of showcase for sprite-based 2d Mario games.
There’s more to the reason why Luigi feels different in the base game compared to the E-levels. There were various types of cards for levels, power-ups, and game modifications. Luigi’s better jump being under the modification category. Sadly, this release doesn’t include the full package. Things like being able to play SMB3 with plants littered across the stages, halving the P-speed meter, being able to use the cape in SMB3, and yes, Luigi’s better jump in the base game. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have everything, but even playing it as originally designed had limitations like how many levels you could download onto the cartridge at a time. At least what we were given is the more important stuff. I can’t express how happy I am to play this content as it’s what inspired me to become a game designer in the first place.
The E-Reader, along with most of Nintendo's weird experimental devices, are certainly complicated. that incredibly complex way to even use thing really hampered it in the long run, and sent it to card-based console "heaven" with the Hyperscan a few years later. This was a very good Review! I haven't gotten very far in SMB3E due to trying to figure out how to get all E coins in one of the levels (100% Moment), but in the few levels I've seen, I've seen something that's never really been done ever again, in a good way. Also, Nintendo releasing them on the Wii U was a rare good moment in modern Nintendo, as SMB3E was divided between Japan and North America, and some of the Levels were never even released. Preservation of media is always good in my book. I agree with pretty much everything you say in this video. Ultimately, though, I think the E-Reader was destined for Failure. Its complicatedness outweighs it's benefits tenfold, and I think that rings very true for card-based gaming in general (looking at you, Hyperscan). However, I think this was a massive high moment to end out something that could have had potential, but was doomed by complexity. Plus, SMBA4 is just a good game without SMB3 attached to it.
@@Demeech Quite Possibly. I've never thought of it that way before. However, the issue with amiibo Is that other than Smash Brothers, most of the games that use them tend to use them not to their greatest potential or in some cases outright poorly. I think a better iteration of the "toys to life" concept that was wildly successful was Skylanders, and i think that could hold the title as a "successor*" to the E-Reader, albeit as a very spiritual one and one not made by Nintendo itself. (The other caveat is that Skylanders and amiibo are more aimed towards 1 distinct purpose: figurines, while the E-Reader tended to branch out and go crazy with what the cards could hold on them. In this case, the closest analog to amiibo the E-Reader has is the Animal Crossing E Reader Cards. Alternatively, Pikmin 2-E, but that is rather obscure.)
I got the E-Reader and everything needed for this back in the day. I loved the E-Reader, and was sad when they stopped producing cards. I don't remember needing two GBAs, but even if that was required I had my normal GBA and my add-on for the GameCube.
*At **7:33** and **20:28** in this RU-vid Premiere video:* The "Bombarded by Bomb-ombs" e-Reader stage/level [along with the 2 Bowser's Airship (Battle Cruiser) and 2 regular Airship (Battle Cruiser) e-Reader stages/levels, as well as the 1 battleship e-Reader stage/level] is among my favourite _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ e-Reader stages/levels!
Here's a fun fact: The "Bombarded by Bomb-ombs" _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ e-Reader stage/level is a *_Military Base_* stage/level - *_NOT_* a _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ e-Reader Tank stage/level.
6:54 Peach seems kinda bummed out. It's like everyone else gets a fun bonus adventure, but no one kidnapped her this time, so she's kinda just sitting on her hands like "welp..." while Mario and Luigi are all like "k bye." Like why doesn't she get to be included?
I bought all the e-reader cards when they were brand new. I was able to transfer them because I had a Gameboy Advance, and a GameCube with a Gameboy Player attached. It was an ordeal. I wish they would give this same treatment to the other Super Mario Advance games.
played through these on my 2ds years ago (the yo-ho way), great collection! Also, Mario advance 5 was reworked into nsmb iirc, there's a whole beta64 video that explains it expertly!
I had the original SMA4 and got the eReader because of it. Fortunately, I still had my old GBA after getting an SP--I found out AFTER getting the eReader that I would need two systems to use it with a cartridge. I was also fortunately able to track down both sets of cards released in the U.S. I still have my original SMA4 cart with the e-Levels on to it. As soon as I found out the game was released on the WiiU Shop with all the Japan-exclusive levels, I quickly downloaded it! The one thing I miss from the original hardware, however, is the item and switch cards! The e-Levels were a lot easier when I could scan a bunch of P-Wings at will! 😀
I like how each level in World-e is a remix of the base Super Mario Bros. 3 engine with assets from Super Mario Bros., The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island and Super Mario Advance with some new original game assets thrown in...
Well, *_I_* had the privilege to play some of the _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ e-Reader stages/levels - which were most of the ones that were available in North America [aside from the Walmart-exclusive/Walmart promotional e-Reader Level card that has the Airship's Revenge stage/level on it, which seemed to be available only in the U.S. (I lived in Canada for my entire life, so...)] way back in the early-to-mid 2000's. However, I bought a Nintendo Wii U last spring and bought the digital version of _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ before the Nintendo Wii U eShop (as well as the Nintendo 3DS eShop) stopped allowing you to add funds to your account late last August; and now, _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ has been added to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service - so, now, there are 2 ways in which I can play the Japan-exclusive and U.S.-exclusive _Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3_ e-Reader stages/levels on modern Nintendo video game hardware (though I have yet to subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack service, so I'll have to settle to playing these e-Reader stages/levels on my Nintendo Wii U until I can upgrade from the basic Nintendo Switch Online service to the Nintendo Switch Online *_+ Expansion Pack_* service in August of this year).
There's actually a mario fangame that kinda takes the DNA of the E-reader levels and builds a new game around it. It's called Super Mario Bros X. It has the same theme of having levels with notable elements from all classic 2D mario games. Hell, it even included a level and world maker far before Mario Maker. It would be cool to see you cover it, it's really good.
You can also import custom assets into smbx through, it is a bit complex, One thing that i never managed to do in smbx is that i never could create custom events where you, say, walked throgh an area and suddenly have textboxes appearing, or have sprites appear and disappear, or etc. So i could never make a cutscene in smbx like in those cool smbx custom story-based levels you can find online. Anyways, did you know about a certain zombie mario fangame named "the Shroom project"? You can create levels with it, play as different toads, and such.
@@dylanzlol7293 good to know I wasn't the only one who had troubles with setting up events and the like. Also no, I didn't know about the shroom project, might check that out sometime.
Now if only Nintendo would be kind enough to have every e-reader track with the next release of F-Zero GP Legend. I played all of them on an emulator in the case Nintendon't. But speaking of these Mario 3 e-reader levels... it's been a while since I played them on Wii U and I'm excited to try them again now.
It's some real solid bonus content, but not nearly on par with a full-blown original adventure like SMW & NSMBWii. The level design incorporates elements of previous games, but it is filled with fanservice. We've seen better. It's a great treasure, but far from the best 2D Mario game. NewerSMBWii is a phenomenal example.
Man, in 2021 I found in a game store a 6-7$ Wii U card that allowed to download Super Mario Advance 3, I had a little thought of buying it but I didn't, now I'm freaking regretting 💀
I think the next game can have a 3D world like artstyle and have a twist on existing level theme. A red desert and ice-covered snow world is a good example. The power up can be poison flower where you have to wait a while before defeating enemies and a cheese that turns mario into mouse mario which let mario walk on ceilings. They should have original bosses instead of boom boom in the tower levels like mega hammer Bros or king bob-omb. The castle having Koopalings is fine but they can have interesting attacking method once in a while. The world map can be more inspired by Mario world in certain worlds while keeping the format for the others. Would be nice to see more obscure and new emeries like shy guys and goloomba. There can be more moves to reward advanced players like roll and long jump. The score system should be hidden and the game should limit Mario to 25 lives. Coins also should reward you with power-ups when it reaches 100.
if Nintendo never releases the E-Reader levels again there is a rom hack that adds them so at least you can play them on a emulator like MGBA on PC and Pizza Boy Advance on Mobile or on a flash cart like the EZ Flash
Super Mario Land 2 is such an underrated game! i remember playing it, and its good! Also, for the e-reader levels, i always wanted to access them, but couldn't. i feel like there is so much to explore in them btw, e-reader doesnt exists in europe
I remember a video in my childhood where the person played a level on the Super Mario Bros 3 e world that references Super Mario Land and has a Sphinx as the boss in the end I think it was a hack but to be fair, I’d like to find the video once again
