Super Mario Bros

***Super Mario Bros.*** is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo that was released for the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. This game began the shift from single-screen gameplay to side-scrolling platformer levels. Despite not being the first game in the *Mario* franchise, it is the most iconic and introduced a variety of series staples such as power-ups, classic enemies, and the usual task of the player having to rescue Princess Peachl from Bowser.

The creation of *Super Mario Bros.* kicked off an entire series of *Super Mario*platformer titles. Its success is what made the whole genre popular and helped the North American gaming industry revive after the 1983 video game crash. In addition, it was largely responsible for the initial success of the NES console, with which it was bundled a launch title. With over 40 million copies sold worldwide, *Super Mario Bros.* remained the best selling title for nearly three decades, until it was surpassed by *Wii Sports*.

There is a heavy dispute over the North American release date for the game, as different sources providing different dates with no room for verification. Despite this complication, Nintendo officially states the release as October 18, 1985.[1]

## Plot

> *One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin.*
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The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Peach, the daughter of the Mushroom King. However, she is presently in the clutches of the great Koopa turtle king.

Mario, the hero of this story heard about the Mushroom People's plight and sets out on a quest to free the Mushroom Princess from the evil Koopa and restore the fallen kingdom of the Mushroom People. You are Mario! It's up to you to save the Mushroom People from the black magic of the Koopa!

## Gameplay

The player takes control of Mario, or Luigi in the case of the second player, and must reach the end of the level, defeating enemies and collecting power-ups along the way. The player can jump on enemies to defeat them. Goombas will die after being stomped on once, but Koopas will hide in their shells, forcing the player to hit them once more. This sends their shells speeding off along the ground. This can be used to kill other enemies if launched in the right direction, but can harm or kill the player as well.

Powerups in the game are hidden inside coin boxes, which require the player to hit the box to acquire its contents, A Mushroom will make Mario grow in size and allow him to take an extra hit from enemies. A Fire Flower will change the colour of Mario's attire to white and grant him the ability to shoot fireballs, which bounce on the ground and kill all enemies in 1 hit, except for Buzzy Beetles and Bowser. Bowser takes multiple fireballs to kill and Buzzy Beetles cannot be harmed by fireballs.

The goal is to reach the end of the level and take down Bowser's flag risen above the castle. In the Zone 4 stages, the player must reach the bridge at the end and fight Bowser, who can killed by fireballs or dropped into the lava pit below the bridge by removing the hammer behind Bowser supporting the bridge. The Bowsers that the player fights from World 1 to 7 are Fake Bowsers. The real Bowser is encountered only at World 8-4, the final level in the game.

After defeating a Fake Bowser at the end of a World, the player will proceed to the back of the castle, where a Toad is found being held captive. He will thank the player for saving him and inform the player that the princess is in another castle. The player will then advance to the next world.

After defeating Bowser at the end of World 8, the player will find Princess Toadstool at the back of the castle, who thanks Mario for saving her. The game ends and the player is given the choice to replay the game in a higher difficulty.

## Characters

#### Main and Supporting

* Mario
* Luigi
* Princess Toadstool
* Mushroom Retainer

#### Enemies

* Blooper
* Bill Blaster
* Bullet Bill
* Buzzy Beetle
* Cheep-Cheep
* Firebar
* Goomba
* Hammer Bro.
* Koopa Paratroopa
* Koopa Troopa
* Lakitu
* Piranha Plant
* Podoboo
* Spiny
* Spiny Egg

#### Bosses

* Fake Bowser (Worlds 1 through 7)
* King Bowser Koopa final boss (World 8)

### Challenge Mode

After Mario or Luigi completes the game, a harder version of the game is unlocked with the following major changes:

* The level names will be changed to a "Star 1-1" in contrast to the regular "1-1"
* All Goombas will turn into Buzzy Beetles.
* All of the enemies walk faster.
* Firebars can be in any possible location.
* All "harder" versions of each level will be played instead (World 5-3 is a harder version of World 1-3; in the harder version, 1-3 and 5-3 are the same level).

### Music

The music in *Super Mario Bros.* is played on a synthesizer, much like most NES games. The game is known for its over world theme, which has become a staple of the series.

## Development

### Limitations

In 1991, Shigeru Miyamoto explained about the limitations in creating Mario: "We had to work under technical constraints including the number of pixels and number of colors the Famicom can display. There are many reasons why we drew him the way we did. We gave him a mustache rather than a mouth because that showed up better. We gave him a hat rather than hair because that looked better, too. Mario wears overalls because that shows the movement of his arms, and he's wearing white gloves because the white contrasts better with the colored backgrounds. These are the technical reasons we made him look the way he does."

Due to the limitations of memory, Luigi is a palette swap of the Mario sprite. This means that there was not any need for all those new frames of animation.