What's So Great About Super Mario Bros. 3? - The King of 2D Platformers 

It's almost unbelievable what they accomplished with this game. Hard to appreciate nowadays, but it basically reinvented the 2d platformer right after already revolutionizing it just a few years before. Just soooo many new ideas and things we totally take for granted nowadays were all just straight up invented by this one little team of developers in Japan, and all within quite a small period of time. And the technical accomplishments to make this game as beautiful as it was and perform as well as it does on the NES with all its tricks is also absolutely extraordinary. I still think it's probably the most impressive game ever made in the context of 'at the time'. And they basically did this all over again with Super Mario 64, which essentially invented and mastered the 3d platformer genre on their very first try.

Over 30 years later and Super Mario Bros 3 remains the best Mario game ever, Super Mario World as a close second.

You forgot to mention the Hammer Brothers suit that Mario can wear and the Shoe he can jump in.

“and even a violent sun.” Such a casual way to describe the end of my innocence.

I will never forget when my cousin got this for his birthday. We didn't even eat the cake and ran straight to the Nintendo with a magic excitement. We used to get in trouble for sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night just to play. So many amazing memories and still play it to this day.

I have fond childhood memories playing this on the Super Mario All Stars collection

One of the best games I've ever played. After 30+ years, it still gives me hours of fun and enjoyment.

I remember getting the cloud and still pressing A to enter the level. It tooks years to accidentally realize what the cloud did 😅

This game was so important to my childhood. Killer work dude

Imagine you buy tickets for a play. You sit down in your seat and the curtain rises. The play is just some Italian guy running to the right jumping on turtles 😂

I feel almost silly pointing this out, but I'm glad you noted that the 'koopalings' used to actually be Bowser's kids... hence, they were originally called the "koopa kids", at least until Bowser Jr. was officially introduced.

Great video; thanks for making it. Fun fact: in the original Japanese release, getting hit while powered up as Raccoon or Fire Mario will take you all the way back down to small Mario. After 30+ years of playing SMB3, I appreciate the extra challenge, so that's my preferred version these days. Give it a shot sometime if you're interested. ✨

Goat of the gaming industry in my opinion

Also: the powerups. Mario had more mobility with racoon and frog mario, and secret powerups like tanooki hammer bros suits were exciting to find.

Mario 3 is the first video game I ever played. It was in 1990 and I was two years old.

"Let's jump right in" at 4 minutes into the video is pretty funny

As a romhacker of this game, it is the gift that keeps on giving.

One thing I just learned about this game recently was that the memory card game was actually supposed to be a lot more random, like shuffled cards, but because of some coding error, there ended up being only 8 variations of the cards. Nintendo Power later published the 8 different possible screenshots in their Mario 3 strategy guide.

I think it's really interesting how all the classic level tropes seen in basically every game today (desert world, ice world, sky world, etc.) all originated from this game. like, they're so common it feels like it's just human nature to make associations like that, but nope. it all started here.

"What's So Great About Super Mario Bros 3?" - Music - Graphics - Power-ups

Great video! New subscriber here by the way. For me SMB3 is the best 2D platform game of all time and my personal favorite game of all time. SMB3 is the blueprint of all the mario games right now and here's the reason why. 1. The very first Mario to introduce a real adventure by offering 8 unique world maps with mini bosses and main bosses. 2. Mario can use multiple power ups like Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, Starman, Super Leaf(Raccoon), Tanooki Suit, Frog Suit, Hammer Suit and Goomba Shoe. 3. Bowser is very intimidating and the very first time that you will face him one on one with a menacing stage soundtrack. I have the japanese version of the game and I would say it's much harder because you will turn to smaller like the original if you touch an enemy. By the way Super Mario World is also good but the game depends too much on Yoshi with only a few power ups.

I was hoping the video would shed some light on what technology advancements or add-ons to the cartridge made this big leap forward possible in such a short time period.

I remember being in awe when this came out. Just felt epic and really well developed. It’s still a gorgeous game to look at with lots of charm. I’ll always look on this game fondly, despite not actually technically finishing it for various reasons that I won’t get into here

Still the best Mario game to this day, and in my top 3 videos games of all time alongside OG RE4 and Super Metroid. A masterclass in game design.

It basically improved upon the formula of the original Super Mario Bros. by improving what already worked while expanding upon the game world, adding different worlds, items and an impressive and varied roster of enemies. It wasn't just about reaching the end of the stage before the timer ran out anymore; with SMB3 exploration and discovery became a much bigger part of the Mario formula.

All these years of watching retro game docs and I never once remembered them saying that SMB3 was meant to be a stage play. Thats AWESOME and certainly does help to explain the various hanging platforms, curtains, and the tragedy of kidnapping. 😂❤

9:04 In the Japanese release of the game, taking damage always brings the player to the "Small Mario" state, like in the original game.

That was one of the defining games of my childhood, and I must've watched the Wizard at least 50 times. The music for both give me a heavy nostalgic feeling.

I actually like this one more than World, to be honest. It's an actual challenge. And the art style of the Snes version is *chef's kiss*.

I always loved SMB3 the most. SMW just felt like a graphical upgrade, whereas SMB3 felt like an actual generational leap over SMB

It's worth noting that the US version of SMB2 still worked and wasn't really questioned too much until the release of SMB3 and SMW. That's because the only precedent for SMB2 was SMB1, so it's not fans had an idea of what Mario was 'supposed' to be. Once SMB3 and SMW came out, SMB2 started standing out retroactively as rather odd among Mario fans. The vast majority of us had no idea it wasn't even a 'real' Mario game until like 2010, because I got in a lot of arguments telling people SMB2 sucked before someone told me it actually wasn't even a real Mario game.

I still remember getting this game for Christmas the year it came out (I specifically asked for it). It was somewhat uncommon for me to actually get stuff I asked for for Christmas, lol. That year made up for it! I can't tell you how many hours I must have blown on that game. It just felt perfect. It had everything great about the first couple of games and added in stuff we never imagined. It was about as close to perfect as a game like that could get at the time. Perfect controls, great music, fun power-ups, somewhat non-linear play that allowed you to choose your own path, secrets galore, etc. It not only lived up to the massive hype that existed prior to its release, it blew it away. I still have my old copy of the game!

I played SMB3 a lot on my Wii when I was a kid, I liked it but never understood why so many people really loved it. Seeing the amount of new stuff it added to the Mario series is insane, now I can totally understand why it was so good

This channel still needs a well deserved blow-up! Anyway great video covering an all time classic and arguably the GOAT? gg

One of the best games ever, happy to still have my NES and a copy. Played this game pre human consciousness, and played it for 15 years on and off. I remember when I finally beat the game fully after struggling for years as a kid, I was so happy!

Not to underplay the incredible game SMB3 was, but I always felt it was more of a evolution than a revolution, considering a lot, if not most, of the mechanics were already introduced in SMB2. For example larger levels with scrolling in every direction (even focussing on vertical levels here and there), different abilities in the form of the different characters but also universally (like picking up stuff and enemies), having multiple bosses and mini bosses before meeting Wart in the very last level, multiple paths, prominent chapter themes and of course much improved graphics over the first. That all doesn't underplay how great SMB3 was, but it's not like all it's much claimed "revolutionary" elements were new to the series.

This is a game I always enjoyed a lot but I didn't exactly understand why it was so beloved outside of the historical context and just generally being great. As someone who has played a lot of platformers, some games like Mystical Ninja Goemon or certain Mega Man titles are really out there and inventive with the level design, so I saw this game as a bit "plain" by comparison. This video does a great job of establishing that this game really did have a lot of innovations; it's just that they are so natural and standard by this point that it's quite hard to notice them. Overworld maps, themed worlds, sloped platforms, auto scrolling levels, and many more are all things I never really considered because they are just that deeply baked into what makes a Mario game, or a platformer in general.

I was talking with my wife last night, because she asked me; "what was so fascinating about Mario 3." I shared that when I played this game. We did not have "save slots, or memory cards." We used our brains in order to remember every detail in the game to finish it. I still know where every whistle is, how to go behind white blocks and the screen. And how to complete this game by memory. Super Mario 3 is a pure gamers game from my youth. Today I blaze through a lot of these modern games with ease.

Good Video. 6:47 You missed a few coins. No "Shop of Strange and Wonderful Things" for you. Lol

9:04 if I’m not mistaken, the one hit to base form from Super Mario Bros (1) makes a return in Super Mario Bros 3 Japanese version, and was changed to revert to Super instead of base form in the other versions, such as the North American release

I was one of the first kids in the US to get to play Super Mario Bros 3. As a kid from China moved in down the street in late 1988 or early 1989. And he had a weird Mario game on a weird system where Mario could fly. I told all the kids at school about it, but no one believed me. Then later on everyone got to see the game in The Wizard movie. Years later I learned that kid had a Famicom with the Japanese version of Mario 3 that was released in 1988. Mario 3 is still my favorite game of all time ever since I first played it. As Mario 1 blew me away, but Mario 3 blew me away even more. Though, I can totally get a kid today thinking Mario 3 is lame or whatever as they weren't there in the time it was released as it was revolutionary.

I agree with the statement of how SMB3 doesn't even look like its on the same console as SMB1. The same effect goes with the first Kirby Adventures in Dreamland game. That game was so well done!

My most dog-eared copy of Nintendo Power was the SMB 3 special. I wasn't old or skilled enough yet to beat the game, but I could sure memorize all the secrets to the point that, by the time I was an adult, I could blow through without a continue and with all stages beaten. 15 years later, I heard a friend playing 1-1 on his laptop. I wasn't even looking at the screen and juat said "run full speed and hit the end box on the corner and you'll get a star every time". Then it was "Duck on the white platform for 5 seconds then run behind the end of the level". Dude thought I was a savant because I was pointing out tricks by hearing the level music and guessing where he was at. Just well studied I guess.

I think just seeing a Nintendo game on the big screen just sent it into the stratosphere. The Wizard just signified the new way to market a product within a product. The anxiety created after Mario 3 showed up on the screen and the Host said "VIDEO ARMAGEDDON" sent us into a frenzy....Just like the ending of Back to the Future 1...ROADS, WE DON'T NEED ROADS...then the movie ends and we're like "PART 2 BETTER BE COMING OUT NEXT WEEK!" Mario 3 is just one of those caught commercial moments in time...it's a product just like when the iphone came out and changed the world.

I Hope u see this comment. Ur channel, ur channel idea and the structure u gave ur channel is sooooo well made

My favorite video game of all time. I've been playing every day for about 2 weeks. I've been playing since Christmas 1990. I love this game.

Digging through Nintendo history lately I’m still gobsmacked how I forget this was NES and not SNES. All three of the first entries were unbelievably fun, but this 3 could have been the perfect “we never need another Super Mario Brothers.” Perfection.

Really solid channel! Starting to go through your videos, good info, great narration, really glad I found the channel

I'm a hugr Mario fan Mario Bros 3. Even as a grow man with a house and a mortgage I still cosplay as Mario and play all the games. But Mario Bros 3 has consistantly remained my favorite title in the entire series since I was a little kid. It's the pinnacle of gaming perfection.

Seeing the Giant World for the first time was an absolute highlight in my gaming childhood. It made me happy! such a joyful and exciting experience. couldn't beat World 8 back then though :D

SMB3 was a great game, but I wouldn't call it the first platformer to allow for selecting levels or the first to display changing environments. Mega Man immediately comes to mind as an example of a platformer that did both, and I'm fairly sure if I thought about it for more than a few seconds, I could come up with more. 8 Eyes, for another example of the former. I still remember having to go out of town to even find the game, though. My dad was on a business trip to Atlanta at the time, and we somehow got word that Target (which we didn't even have at home at the time) should be getting a shipment in one morning while we were there. Sure enough, we managed to land a copy right in the middle of it being extraordinarily difficult to find in stock. (I was fairly lucky as a kid in finding games that were hard to find; similar stories with Zelda II and Ocarina of Time, too, though I got those locally.)

3:13 -- I got my own copy of SMB3 for my 11th b-day in 1991 and with this movie (I refuse to watch the Academy Awards ever since The Wizard got completely snubbed on Oscar night) and other things, there is NO WAY this kind of hype, excitement, and magic could ever be replicated in this modern Internet/social media world. After all, this movie was the first time the US got to see a preview of SMB3 which had already been out in Japan well over a year prior.

So, a bit of context should be given for how the NES Mario games differ. Super Mario Bros was *not* a killer app for the Famicom. It was its swan song. The Famicom was only envisioned to play stage-based arcade games with a bit of scrolling. It could use 32kB of program code, and 8kB of graphical tiles. That was it, that was a game had to fit in. And SMB1 was to be the last major title for the Famicom, as Nintendo switched development entirely towards the Famicom Disk System. This is where both Super Mario Bros 2s come in. Those were Disk System games, where "Lost Levels" was a quick sequel, and DDP had started as a pitch for a Mario game, but was instead a sponsored tie-in game to Dream Factory. By the time the NES was being put together, however, Nintendo had soured on the disk system, and the development of enhancement chips for the cartridges made it possible to fit even larger games than was possible with the Disk System, including vast expansions to the graphics system with the addition of character RAM and bank switching. This "system", a Famicom/NES expanded far beyond its original design specs, was what gave rise to SMB3.

I love Mario 3! It’s my favorite 2D platformer, and I’m getting the All Star edition for the Wii!❤️🖤

"Yugem's cloud" lol

The only thing that makes me sad about watching this channel is that I've watched so much in such a short amount of time that I'm nearing the end of content to watch. Love your videos!

A truly brilliant video, had me captivated throughout. Thank you ❤

Super Mario Bros. 2 my favorite of all Mario titles. They need to make a modern 3Dgame in the same Dream Universe. Different playable characters with different abilities, Wart, Shy Guys, vegetable pulling, Birdo and all the stuff that made that game phenomenal.

Nice video about a great game from my youth. Finished it at least several times back in the day, sometimes trying to make no noise while staying up late and playing the game. Of course the noise of the button presses would get noticed if all else was quiet. The first Super Mario Bros. really set a new standard for side-scrolling platformers and the sequels, mostly, kept raising it. Calling the third one King of 2D Platformers isn't undeserved, with NES Mario games usually having tight controls, but there's another series of games that mostly consists of side-scrolling 2D Platformers and the first one was released before the first Super Mario. Okay, it was released after the original Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, but those aren't side-scrollers and thus can never be Kings of the genre. A little joking aside, i'm talking about the Ghosts 'N Goblins series of Action-Platformers. Yeah the first one is a little rough around the edges and brutally hard, the NES port released later isn't that great, it's sequel i'm talking about, Ghouls 'N Ghosts. Still a fantastic game today, except for the diagonals in the Arcade version, and deserves to be "up there"! Edit: I'm not talking about Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts for the SNES, which is an entirely different game and iinferior in almost every way to the original, except for maybe some of the graphics and some of the music.

Don't forget the movie The Wizard very subtle product placement.

I think those are dancing bushes on the SMB3 world-1 overworld, not hills. In subsequent worlds, there continues to be dancing trees of various kinds.

Great video as always. I really need to sit down and beat this game haha

Ugh, just the small clip that you provided of the NES game Marble Madness instantly gave me PTSD!

Very nice to see this video made up about the game. Showing the other games definitely brings back nice memories. There is one series not mentioned that copies this Mario 3 game would be the Donkey Kong series.

As an adult, it’s wild to find out that the American Super Mario Bros 2 wasn’t developed as a Mario game by Nintendo. It felt like such a natural development, that it’s a little wild to think that the Japanese version went from SMB -> SMB2 (Lost Levels) and THEN this massive total overhaul to become SMB 3.

Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest is my personal favorite of the series because of the storyline. It feels like Simon is the main focus as opposed to hunting down Dracula in his 1st adventure. I still have hope that Simon's chapters will be adapted in animated or live form.

Fond memories, back in the day before online gaming guides I remember my older cousins telling us about the warp whistle and flying straight to world 6 (I believe) then getting absolutely destroyed by those levels because I was only 4 or 5

I was in the right age, as SMB3 came out. I knew SMB1 before, but this was WHOOAA! MINDBLOWING. The Manual alone, World Maps, Flutes, Bonus Games, a two Player Mode including a Mini Game. Such things we're never seen before. There is always the discussion if SMW or SMB3 is the superior game. For me it always was and will be SMB3. There were so much things about SMW I've missed. Organisation of Items, to less new Items, much less different game mechanics and much less interesting worlds. I always felt SMW was unfinished or rushed. The game felt more childish, and it was a lot easier in my opinion. The last world was forgettable and the last encounter with Bowser very boring. The Kooperlings repeated themselves in their attack patterns and didn't felt as threatening and unique as in the game before. And Sorry. I never really liked the music of SMW. It's always the same tune. Just variationy of the same melody. That felt cheap. Yoshi and the Spin Jump made the game to easy. The only invention I really liked in SMW was the connection of the world map and the finding of different exits to unlock new ways and levels. The only let down of SMB3 was the game was to long for a game, where you could not save. I needed months to finish the game. And as a completionist I always wanted to do EVERY single level. One Sunday I got up early and played the whole day until late evening to finish the game. In between I had to leave the console on. And at the end of the day I had big rings under my eyes.😂 (I knew the flutes and the warp zone, but I wanted to play the whole experience.) For me SMB3 always felt bigger, more adventurous, more adult. (Just the pimped up cool sounding underground theme) it felt like Mario. But bigger. Even the Mario Sprite looked more serious as in SMW. I never liked the cute approach in SMW that much. Maybe it is, because SMB3 came first and I was older a few years later as SMW came out. But SMW never had the Impact on me. I thought Yoshi's Island was the much more interesting and more fun game on the SNES. (another game I still adore and love to this day. Here the cuteness is so well done and stylish that it is almost an art form. SMW felt more like a child drawing) But SMB3 will always be in my heart. Great Game!

Bionic Commando (NES) did the "hub world map" thing a year before Mario 3.

i think the one thing ypur video missed was the replayability of the game. besides getting 4 bars full of pwings upon beating it, you can play through it again and again and it never gets old, your interedt is always held. not many games ever made have that ability, but this glorious masterpiece does.

Mario 3 is basically a game made out of icons. 99.9% of the tiles in this game are icons. The ground, the blocks, the enemies, power ups, etc... even the world maps. They're all memorable icons that can be recognized when shown individually. Make a sticker, make a canvas, etc.. this game is IT.

I just looked it up and technically Bionic Commando also had an overworld map prior to SMB3. It was released in July 1988 in Japan as opposed to October 1988. Also an incredible and highly underrated game

I'm 40 yo, this wasn't the first game I ever played but was the first game that made me feel absolutely in love with gaming, till this day i compare every game to this ( not gameplay, or graphics wise but the feeling I get while playing)

Im 43 and i still remember the day i saw and played Mario 3 the first time

Because while games were bleeping and blooping this game was doing stuff that we didn't think the NES could handle like X & Y axis scrolling at the same time diagonally. And for the record, they may have been similar but Mario Bros. 2. USA is much better than Doki Doki Panic.

The only improvement I could think of is more hammer bros suits :)

The card flip game was a call back to Nintendo’s origins as a card company in the 1800’s

Uh, literally everything? It's a masterpiece in every way a game can be: audio, visual, and gameplay. Plus, the Hammer Bro. theme is a legitimate bop. And the power-ups are actually USEFUL, unlike some games I could mention (Candy Crush, I'm looking at you...)

Bro your videos are amazing you deserve more views and subscribers

This was the first game I played when I was really young, about 3 yearsold. It is still one of my favorite games (my favorite Mario game).

We all loved Marios new suits. Its also so fun, exciting and complex. Super Mario 3 is one of the greatest, most revolutionary games ever made

Mario 2 is a masterpiece as well

I got Mario 3 as a kid right after it came out. The new Mario Wonder on Switch is better than Mario 3 and Mario World on snes combined. The Nintendo Mario magic is back.

How did you overlook the hammerbrother transformation for mario when going over Mario's new powers? No mention of the P wing? The secret coin ship? The hidden white toad house? Have you played all the way through this game for yourself?

I’ll never forget sitting there with an unplugged player 2 controller while my older brother played, And he showed me the how to get the warp whistle on 1-3, long before the internet spoiled that. And since we played the All-Stars version on SNES, i blew my brothers mind when i was the one who figured out the Save & Quit trick to get a 2nd warp whistle. I was on world 8 in under 10 minutes. But i could never beat it though, not with only 3 lives. This will always be my favourite Mario game. It would sell gangbusters if they remastered it with the modern mario wonder art style.

Great coverage of (probably) one of the best games ever made! Such a solid game.

I remember all of these levels even though i havent played SMB3 in forever. What a great game!

Happy to be here before 15k subs. Hope you get over 100k!

Great video, subscribed.

Truly a benchmark game. Great video! :)

My childhood favourite!!

9 :14 NOT REALLY as this happens only in the American version of the game. In the OG Jp release, it was harder as you would've sent back to plain Mario regardless of the powerup.

Yet another banger video god bless

Holy smokes what is that intro jingle? It took me back in time to somewhere i just can't place...

The Wizard Now that really hyped up Mario 3 for alot us & still holds up against Super Mario world.

Mario 3: Lots of variety. Mario 4: Less variety, 16 bit, and you can SAVE! All Stars Mario 3 added a save, but the NES version had Warp Whistles to account for no saves.

Our playing style is so similar it was almost unsettling

The first time I played this game , I was astounded mesmerized and intrigued, I could not get enough ... hours and hours were wasted away playing this game as a young man.

Favorite game Ever. Smb3. Btw I’ve never played without constantly mashing the speed button

I still think it is the perfect video game. Everything since has to compare itself to this