Mario Clash

is a 1995 action video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy. It is the first stereoscopic 3D Mario game, and is based on Mario Bros. The game got mixed reception.

Gameplay
Mario Clash is a 3D reimagining of the original Mario Bros. arcade game. The player's goal is to knock all the enemies off of ledges. Players control Mario to do that. Mario can travel to the background and from the background by jumping forward or backward. The enemies travel between the foreground and the background through different pipes. Each level has a different set of pipes, platforms, and enemies. The game has 99 levels, although the player can only choose to start on one of the first forty of them. The game does not allow players to save their progress through the games, or save their high scores, once the game is turned off.

Some enemies, such as the Koopa Troopas, can be jumped on, causing them to hide in their shell. After they start hiding, Mario has to grab the shell and throw it at enemies that he cannot jump on. Some enemies can only be defeated if Mario throws a shell from one plane into another, and some other enemies may have defenses up that prevent them from being damaged. If an enemy walks into Mario, or Mario jumps on an enemy he cannot jump on, he will lose a life. The game is over if Mario runs out of lives. The game utilizes a scoring system, and a level has to be completed in a specific amount of time. Defeating multiple enemies in a row with a Koopa Troopa shell results in more points earned. Players can use a mushroom item which, when touched, starts Fever Time. Fever Time allows Mario to defeat enemies with defenses.Nintendo Power Vol.75, Mario Clash, August 1995, p. 28

Development
Mario Clash was developed by Nintendo R&D1, with director Gunpei Yokoi. This was the same team that developed the Virtual Boy itself. Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the Mario series' creators, helped make the game. The game was originally developed as a remake of the original Mario Bros., and was titled Mario Bros. VB.

Reception

The game received mixed reception when it was released. Almost all of GameFan Magazines staff chose Mario Clash as their favorite Virtual Boy game because of its combination of platform gameplay with 3D effects. One reviewer praised the game's 3D effects, while both reviewers thought that it became tedious over time. GamePros brief review praised how the game used the Virtual Boy's 3D feature. Electronic Gaming Monthlys four reviewers were divided: Andrew Baran and Mike Desmond complained that the game's control was loose, making it harder to jump on enemies, and thought that the game is "okay" but becomes boring after a short while, whereas Mark Lefebvre and Sushi-X thought that the simple gameplay is addictive and that the game makes perfect use of the Virtual Boy hardware.

Reviews written years later were also mixed. Nintendo Life thought that the game's sprites were "boring" and "flat," and criticized the game's lack of a save function. However, they did think that players would find it challenging if they kept playing for long enough. GamesRadar praised the game for its variety of level designs. Official Nintendo Magazine called it a "fun little game", but criticized the Virtual Boy hardware for causing headaches during gameplay. UGO Networks' Marissa Meli felt that the game's font made it look rushed. UGO Networks also, in a different article, said that Mario Clash was the low point of the Mario series. Allgame's Scott Alan Marriott said the 3D design gives the game more depth than the original Mario Bros., but also said that the gameplay is repetitive. IGN called it a somewhat clever game but complained about the lack of a save feature for high scores, the Virtual Boy's "awkward" controller, and the console's red-and-black display. They also felt it "underrated". 

Several critics have suggested that Mario Clash should have been remade on the Nintendo 3DS. IGN named it one of the five 3D games of Nintendo's past that were most deserving of a rerelease on the 3DS, and 1UP.com staff said that it was a good game that would be made better on the 3DS.

Notes

References

Category:1995 video games
Category:Virtual Boy games
Category:Mario video games