What's your favorite Super Mario Bros?

[Andromeda Stardust]

Dumping on the US SMB2 is a product of Internet Revisionist History. The game was amazing in its day and it's still amazing. I don't understand the weird hipstery need to act like the game is "beneath" you just because it had a unique origin. Do these same people deny Ms. PAC man is a real PAC man game?

My experience is that second entries in a series often screw with the formula a bit, not to say that the second in a series is necessarily bad, just that deviations are not always as well received. Then a third entry comes out that returns to it's roots and makes everything about the original great again.

 

SMB

SMB2*

SMB3

 

Castlevania

Castlevania II*

Castlevania III

 

Legend of Zelda

Adventures of Link*

Link to the Past

 

And 3D analogs:

 

Super Mario 64

Super Mario Sunshine**

 

Ocarina of Time

Majora's Mask**

 

*oddball of the series (not necessarily bad) with different mechanics to the original

**seems Nintendo went away from the "open world" aesthetics somewhat with recent outings, with Sunshine and Majora's being open but different mechanics to the original. Like their 2D counterparts, the second 3D Mario/Zelda entries have a "black sheep" reputation through the years.

 

Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey for the Switch seem to be the first true "open world" spiritual successors of OOT and M64, some 20 years in the making. Galaxy series, Wind Waker, Twiight Princess, and Skyward Sword all relied on some gimmicky mechanic much like Sunshine/Majora's did, making Odyssey/BOTW the true spiritual sequels. 3D Land/World weren't bad, but heavily relied on grid based mechanics much like NSBM, feeling like glorified obstacle courses.

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

Super Mario 64. That's definitely my favorite. When I got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas at launch, that's the game I got with it. Yes, I like the other ones but SM64 is very sentimental to me and then one I had the most fun with. My buddies and I played the hell out of it back in the day. Those 3d worlds were ground breaking at the time and it still never gets old to me. There's a ton of replayability and I'll run through it every couple years or so. If you ever get an interest in watching speedruns, be sure to check out SM64 for some intense entertainment.

My second pick would have been SMB1.

[Gentlegamer]

My favorite is SMB2, it has great personality and I like how unique it is. While there's no power ups like other Mario games, the different characters gives variety and strategy on how to approach the levels. Thankfully you're not required to finish all the levels with each character like Doki Doki Panic.

[+Gemintronic]

Time limits are very annoying to me. So, SMB 2 (Doki Doki Panic) is the one for me.

[Omega-TI]

Super TI Mario Brothers

(For the TI-99/4A of course)

 

This in my opinion is the best port EVER for the TI-99/4A, but it requires the F18A video enhancement which over half of the active TI community has, and more are obtaining. It's become the 'new standard' for the TI.

[zzip]

I actually never really liked the original game even though I was the right age at the time to go bananas for it. I didn't like the secrets aspect and thought they just should have made a game you could sit there and play without looking for warp zones and magic beanstalks. It felt unfair to me instead of impressive.

 

Fast forward and I appreciate the original game, but don't enjoy it very much. I forced myself to play 3 using savestaes to give myself the right to comment on it, and it is a longer version of the original, so not my thing.

 

Galaxy on the other hand was really a great game with lots of opportunity to avoid frustration while still allowing a player to dig deeper if they wanted. I think it is really quite a masterpiece and represents the "alternative" style of games that Nintendo can offer when at their best. The problem of course is that it wasn't particularly innovative since many elements are also present in 64 AND it just isn't what the consumer is looking for, so it will be judged in the future by comparing it to Halo, GTA, Assassin's Creed, and Fallout.

 

Anyway, I think Galaxy is great, so I voted for it. I own Galaxy 2, but haven't played it enough to consider it. I Still have AC, Fallout, and Halo games to play too!

 

I hated the originals too. My reasons were at the time, all my friends were getting NESs and playing the game. Prior to SMB, playing video games at a friends house normally meant 3 lives and your done, and you pass the controller. SMB was the first game I noticed that allowed infinite continues and you could easily build up extra lives by collecting enough coin. So this meant I'd sit around watching someone else playing SMB forever because they had tons of free lives and infinite continues. So I associated SMB with sitting around being bored.

 

Not only that, I had 16-bit gaming on my ST at the time, and NES felt like a step back, so I was never a fan of the console.

[Tanooki]

Dumping on the US SMB2 is a product of Internet Revisionist History. The game was amazing in its day and it's still amazing. I don't understand the weird hipstery need to act like the game is "beneath" you just because it had a unique origin. Do these same people deny Ms. PAC man is a real PAC man game?

 

Well said and I entirely agree. Nintendo seemingly has always held a special place for the game aside from Miyamoto preferring it. The first self published guide on the game series wasn't SMB1 it was #2 as a 2 part stand alone thrown into a NP subscription. Much of the designs of the game were lifted and maintained to date as were some characters. When they went about doing the GBA, they skipped #1 and went to #2 for Super Mario Advance. And personally speaking I think they were idiots not maintaining the sprite values of that game in the sequel as it was a huge step ugly ways backwards. You go from a rounded well drawn and sprite animated cartoon Mario/Luigi character that looked like the old cartoon stuff (Super Mario Super Show) to this flat, no detail black dot beedy eyed carbon copy Mario/Luigi with no personality. Not sure what they were thinking with that.

 

They really do need to bring the bosses of that game including Wart back in some modern game.

[BassGuitari]

Dumping on the US SMB2 is a product of Internet Revisionist History. The game was amazing in its day and it's still amazing. I don't understand the weird hipstery need to act like the game is "beneath" you just because it had a unique origin. Do these same people deny Ms. PAC man is a real PAC man game?

Well, you know how it is. The contrarian view is always the more interesting one. I even had friends in college about 10 years ago whose favorite was actually SMB2 precisely because it was the weird one in the series and everyone else liked SMB3. Again, contrarians.

 

I get the sense there's even a little of that going on here; SMB2 is currently leading both 3 and World, which I find dubious--as popular and well-liked as SMB2 was, I didn't know anybody BITD who liked it more than 3 or World. OTOH, tastes can change over time--I know World was my favorite when I was a kid (or at least neck and neck with the original, or the All-Stars version) but now I prefer the original. And--except for Doki Doki Panic, of course--there really isn't another game quite like SMB2 (which is a great game anyway, if I've been unclear), so I can see the appeal there.

 

FWIW I've never heard anyone argue that SMB2 is "beneath" them (which would be a weird, illogical, and nonsensical argument anyway), but I've definitely heard of Young Turk Retrogamers looking down their noses at it for not being a "real" Mario game, like it's illegitimate or somehow a lesser title because it was adapted from another game.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Time limits are very annoying to me. So, SMB 2 (Doki Doki Panic) is the one for me.

I have found the time limits in most 2D Mario games to be fairly liberal. With the 2D games you're not really pressed for time unless you're checking every nook and cranny in the level for secrets without the benefit of a guide. Some of the castles however that rely on puzzle mechanic, you can easily run out of time if you're not careful.

 

I'm glad in general most 3D games did not have time limits however, though 3D Land and 3D World were an exception, being modeled after NSMB. I love open world exploration because I get lost in the stage and sometimes just stumble upon stuff that the developers threw in. It's why I loved 64 and Sunshine so much, though the Galaxies are still my fav because who doesn't want to just long jump off a ledge and practically go into orbit?

 

Also back to the Zelda analog, the 72-hour time limit (one hour in game was one minute IRL I believe) was why I just couldn't get into Majora's Mask. The damned time limit is unfair, even in the 3DS remake. I can't explore and find stuff for myself but gotta go by the guide and run like hell from point A to point B. Part of the joy of playing a game is finding stuff for myself, only consulting the guide when I get stuck, and I couldn't do that with Majora's.

[Gentlegamer]

 

They really do need to bring the bosses of that game including Wart back in some modern game.

 

But it was just a dream.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

But it was just a dream.

Wart would still make a ickass boss in a modern Mario game. But Nintendo seems hell bent on pimping out the Koopalings in every game now.

[Agamon]

My ranking is

 

1. SMW

2. SMB3

3. SMB

4. SM64

5. SMB2

 

I never played SML, as I never owned a GB as a kid (I should give it a go now that I can). SMB2 wasn't bad game back in the day, it was just an oddity. Even as a kid, it made me scratch my head. I played a bit of each of the newer games, but none of them really grabbed me.

[Silverfleet]

For me, it's all about the first four games. The original is still great. It's so simple, yet challenging at the same time. The 2nd (US version) was so different at the time from other platformers, but it was, and still is, a classic. The third introduced world maps, crazy themed worlds (giant world FTMFW!!!) and nails it on every level. But for me, the ultimate SMB game is Super Mario World.

 

It was the perfect pack-in title for the then-new SNES. It was HUGE, and the secrets kept me playing for months. It was the first game that I ever "one hundred percented". The introduction of Yoshi the Disposable Dinosaur added another element to the gameplay. It's always fun to pick this one up and get a solid playthrough going.

 

I'll be honest: the 3D games really don't do it for me. Mario 64 has the charm, but I always found the gameplay lacking, as I'm not a huge fan of 3D platformers. It's not a bad gaame, but it's not my favorite. The newer Wii and DS 2D games were good, but don't have the same feel and magic that the older games did. I tried playing Sunshine for the first time recently, and it did nothing for me. I have Galaxy sitting on the shelf, still sealed. I've heard great things about it. Hopefully I like that one.

[Joe C.]

Super Mario 2. Loved using Toad while digging!!

[Gentlegamer]

For me, it's all about the first four games. The original is still great. It's so simple, yet challenging at the same time. The 2nd (US version) was so different at the time from other platformers, but it was, and still is, a classic. The third introduced world maps, crazy themed worlds (giant world FTMFW!!!) and nails it on every level. But for me, the ultimate SMB game is Super Mario World.

 

It was the perfect pack-in title for the then-new SNES. It was HUGE, and the secrets kept me playing for months. It was the first game that I ever "one hundred percented". The introduction of Yoshi the Disposable Dinosaur added another element to the gameplay. It's always fun to pick this one up and get a solid playthrough going.

 

I'll be honest: the 3D games really don't do it for me. Mario 64 has the charm, but I always found the gameplay lacking, as I'm not a huge fan of 3D platformers. It's not a bad gaame, but it's not my favorite. The newer Wii and DS 2D games were good, but don't have the same feel and magic that the older games did. I tried playing Sunshine for the first time recently, and it did nothing for me. I have Galaxy sitting on the shelf, still sealed. I've heard great things about it. Hopefully I like that one.

 

GO PLAY SUPER MARIO GALAXY RIGHT THIS SECOND.

[godslabrat]

SMB3 usually dominates discussions like these. It's good to see other titles getting a respectable showing.

[mbd30]

I'd probably rate the original as the best. And the SNES games at least have a save feature.

 

SMB2 is also good but I don't think that it is quite as much fun as the original.

 

SMB3 (original cart played on a NES) is just too long to not have a save feature. I can only take so much Mario in one sitting. The warps are no substitute.

 

The 3D Marios, blech, who cares...

[BassGuitari]

SMB3 isn't my favorite overall but one thing I appreciate about it is that it really feels like an adventure. Once you get to about World 4, each world starts to somehow feel progressively further and further away from where you started back in World 1, if that makes any sense. When you get to World 7, you feel like you're sort of at the edge of the world; when you get to World 8, you've gone over that edge and you're now in Hell and there's a definite sense that you should not be there.

[Gentlegamer]

The auto scrolling airship levels in SMB3 is a fatal flaw, in my opinion.

[godslabrat]

The auto scrolling airship levels in SMB3 is a fatal flaw, in my opinion.

Really? Those levels are difficult, but by no means impossible or unplayable, IMO.

[Gentlegamer]

Really? Those levels are difficult, but by no means impossible or unplayable, IMO.

 

I just don't like them or find them fun at all.

[flashbackmatt]

I'd probably rate the original as the best. And the SNES games at least have a save feature.

 

SMB2 is also good but I don't think that it is quite as much fun as the original.

 

SMB3 (original cart played on a NES) is just too long to not have a save feature. I can only take so much Mario in one sitting. The warps are no substitute.

 

The 3D Marios, blech, who cares...

 

I feel the same about most of the 3D Mario titles, but 3D World is quite good. And I can't get into 64 or Galaxy

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

GO PLAY SUPER MARIO GALAXY RIGHT THIS SECOND.

x2

 

 

I just don't like them or find them fun at all.

Boss stages aren't meant to be "fun". That's what world's 1-7 are for. I'll admit that the endless gauntlet of airships on World 8 gets tiring though. So I was relieved when they did the whole carnival theme for the Bowser World in 3D World.

 

I don't mind the themed worlds of SMB3 but IMO Mario World does everything better. And if you need a save feature, try out SMAS.

 

 

 

I feel the same about most of the 3D Mario titles, but 3D World is quite good. And I can't get into 64 or Galaxy

Blasphemy! I'll admit 3D World is a fun game but it's sure as hell no Galaxy or SM64.

[Tanooki]

 

But it was just a dream.

 

I know, but I think I made a post before the one you last saw me make before that comment. Do some weird magikoopa attack on Mario, zap him and bring his nightmares to life. Move Wart, his goon squad of stage bosses, and various other creatures that never made it into future franchise titles (ninji, snifits, etc) into the 'real' Mario world. Have Koopa and Wart double team an attack on the mushroom kingdom. It could make for an epic adventure.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

 

Was the arcade cab much harder than the NES? Was it harder to gain extra lives?

Vs. Super Mario Bros is the arcade port of SMB. The levels are slightly harder with more pitfalls, more enemies, lesser time, and a few levels that came from the Lost Levels. Goombas replace koopas at the staircase in World 3-1 as well as the Buzzy Beetle in 7-1. But if you can do it right you can turtle hop the koopa at the staircase in 5-2. Once you keep hopping the turtle it accumulates points then after 8,000 you get a 1-Up and then it keeps tacking 8,000. I have a repro copy of it for the NES.

 

The first Super Mario Bros is my favorite bar none. The one that started it all and still a timeless classic 32 years later. The 2nd is a fun game despite it being the black sheep of the series. The 3rd is the most overrated in my honest opinion. Joe C. Nailed it with it being a chore playing it in one sitting and having no saves despite that you can do so in the All-Stars version. Super Mario World is well done and I enjoy a lot of the levels as they are fun to play plus the save feature. I don't like any of the 3D based games.