High Score Club Week 3: Mario Bros.!

[Ze_ro]

Important note: This weeks competition is over. If you still wish to discuss Mario Bros, then feel free to do so, but no further scores will be accepted. Thanks to everyone for all their contributions! Please join in on the latest High Score Club competition!

 

Grab your tools, and get ready to do some plumbing (which in this case involves knocking turtles over, and kicking them around), because this weeks game is Mario Bros.!

 

Game Information
Game	Mario Bros.
Left Difficulty	Not Applicable
Right Difficulty	Not Applicable
Game Mode	Game 1: 1 Player, Fireballs, 5 Lives
Chosen By	Stingray

 

Remember that we're playing the 2600 version here. Even though there are better versions of this game available on other systems, please only submit scores from the Atari 2600 version of Mario Bros.

 

Post your scores right here in this thread, and I will add them to the list. Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode and difficulty settings as shown above so that your scores will be consistent with everyone elses. The deadline for posting scores will be approximately Sunday, April 25th at midnight (CST). In case you haven't already done so, please read the High Score Club rules.

 

In case you don't have a copy of this game, feel free to visit AtariAge's Profile Page for this game, where you can not only find the ROM, but also a typed copy of the manual, reviews, screenshots, and other information.

 

If you are not a member of the High Score Club, but would like to be, then all you have to do is post a reply saying so, and I'll add you to the list!

 

Next week's game will be chosen by jeepnut24. Please send me a private message with your choice as soon as possible jeepnut24! (Already Done)

 

Scores for This Game	Current Rankings
High Score Club:

• 
  [*]688,800 (the 5th ghost)

[+10]
[*]398,400 (Stingray) [+8]
[*]355,100 (sku_u) [+7]
[*]237,300 (bobafett07728) [+6]
[*]236,400 (StanJr) [+5]
[*]228,000 (DeV0) [+4]
[*]223,100 (Ze_ro) [+3]
[*]214,400 (Keir) [+2]
[*]208,400 (taxman) [+1]
[*]203,800 (Kepone)
[*]170,000 (jedijeff)
[*]164,000 (Chris++)
[*]158,300 (Christophero Sly)
[*]156,800 (Saldo)
[*]153,800 (video game addict)
[*]151,000 (shining slade)
[*]148,000 (HermChase)
[*]146,900 (LU8)
[*]140,800 (InanimateCarbonRod)
[*]139,200 (stayrunner)
[*]128,200 (gamerz)
[*]127,400 (bjk7382)
[*]114,100 (Saikyo)
[*]108,000 (Kurushimi)
[*]106,800 (moycon)
[*]102,900 (Shannon)
[*]102,300 (chrisbid)
[*]102,200 (Robert M)
[*]101,400 (mikeftrevino)
[*]101,000 (pitfallaimee)
[*]98,200 (Numan)
[*]96,800 (pmpddytim)
[*]91,800 (fsuinnc)
[*]89,800 (LarcenTyler)
[*]85,400 (xmetalhedx)
[*]83,700 (Kialan)
[*]83,300 (Goochman)
[*]77,300 (homerwannabee)
[*]71,500 (gospeedde)
[*]70,900 (Scooterb23)
[*]70,200 (intvgene)
[*]64,500 (Dan Iacovelli)
[*]64,400 (Happy_Dude)
[*]58,600 (Gamemaster_ca_2003)
[*]57,700 (Adrian M)
[*]32,800 (hobbles)
[*]28,000 (iguana)
[*]28,000 (128bytes)
[*]20,000 (maibock)

• 
  

Statistics:

• Mean: 161,994
  [*]Std. Deviation: 26,398
  [*]Total Score: 8,099,700
  • 
    

Best Tips:

• 
  

TwinGalaxies Top 3:

• 1,677,400 (Todd Rogers)
  [*]1,005,600 (Kevin Herbert)
  [*]304,300 (Jim Zawada)
  • 
    [*]the 5th ghost

[17 (12.87%)]
[*]jedijeff [16 (19.87%)]
[*]HermChase [13 (33.71%)]
[*]Ze_ro [12 (44.10%)]
[*]Christophero Sly [11 (26.52%)]
[*]taxman [8 (43.55%)]
[*]Stingray [8 (21.67%)]
[*]mikeftrevino [7 (26.75%)]
[*]Paul Slocum [6 (26.33%)]
[*]Saldo [4 (6.89%)]
[*]Kurushimi [3 (22.29%)]
[*]Chris++ [3 (6.87%)]
[*]InanimateCarbonRod [0 (15.67%)]
[*]fsuinnc [0 (12.95%)]
[*]bobafett07728 [0 (11.15%)]
[*]maibock [0 (9.59%)]
[*]Happy_Dude [0 (9.42%)]
[*]gamerz [0 (9.26%)]
[*]ScottHuggins [0 (9.16%)]
[*]Saikyo [0 (8.63%)]
[*]bjk7382 [0 (8.53%)]
[*]Goochman [0 (7.65%)]
[*]sku_u [0 (7.36%)]
[*]shining slade [0 (7.18%)]
[*]PaulEMoz [0 (6.97%)]
[*]StanJr [0 (6.80%)]
[*]Gamemaster_ca_2003 [0 (6.71%)]
[*]homerwannabee [0 (6.67%)]
[*]moycon [0 (6.39%)]
[*]pmpddytim [0 (4.25%)]
[*]Dan Iacovelli [0 (3.40%)]
[*]128bytes [0 (3.27%)]
[*]jeepnut24 [0 (3.26%)]
[*]Scooterb23 [0 (3.21%)]
[*]video game addict [0 (3.05%)]
[*]gospeedde [0 (2.16%)]
[*]lost child [0 (1.68%)]
[*]intvgene [0 (1.37%)]
[*]hobbles [0 (1.23%)]
[*]Nateo [0 (1.19%)]
[*]chadtower [0 (0.45%)]
[*]Adrian M [0 (0.37%)]
[*]Big Player [0 (0.01%)]
[*]Everyone Else [0 (0.00%)]

Member List

jeepnut24, Adrian M, the 5th ghost, johnnywc, jedijeff, maximebeauvais, bjk7382, HermChase, Goochman, NE146, Cootster, 128bytes, Kurushimi, liquid_sky, intvgene, ScottHuggins, InanimateCarbonRod, pmpddytim, Xot, Scooterb23, Dan Iacovelli, LarcenTyler, sku_u, Luigi301, Max-T, adams_ale, Saikyo, gamerz, Christophero Sly, Trooper, Nateo, homerwannabee, lost child, Happy_Dude, video game addict, Spirantho, bobafett07728, mikefrevino, Paul Slocum, fsuinnc, Gamemaster_ca_2003, Robert M, DeV0, Gateway, Mendon, Fretwobbler, PaulEMoz, killersquirel, shining slade, chadtower, gospeedde, stayrunner, Big Player, Swingtown, Chris++, hotpants, hobbles, Ze_ro, maibock, moycon, somePUNK, Saldo, Stingray, Kepone, xmetalhedx, chrisbid, Kialan, Jeffy Arensmeyer, Keir, ToddRogers, Numan, iguana

 

Scoring Points in Mario Bros.
Action	Point Value
Kicking a Pest Off a Floor	800 + Bonus Wafer released
Kicking SlipIce Off a Floor	800 + Bonus Wafer released
Collecting a Bonus Wafer	800
Collecting a Bonus Coin	800
Punching SlipIce From Below	500
An extra life is awarded every 20,000 points, up to a maximum of six lives (?)
Score Rolls? - Yes, after 999,900.

 

Hints and Tips

When the fireballs start going across without warning, stay at the top in the middle. It is pretty easy to stand on the top platform and drop down quickly when a fireball shoots across, also there is room to jump up quickly if needed. I would stay away from the sides of the screen in the higher levels because the fireball gives you no warning. (bjk7382)

In the first few levels, immediately run up to the third floor and sit below the opening in the top level. The turtles come out so slow that you can just sit here and pick them off without any trouble at all, and without missing any coins (yes, those square things are coins). This is probably a good place to sit most of the time, although in the later levels when things get tougher, you'll have better luck using the same tactic at the bottom of the screen instead, where you have more room to dodge the fireballs. Get rid of the POW block to give yourself more room. Keep in mind that at the bottom, you have to get a lot closer to the edges in order to flip enemies, which puts you in danger of getting hit by fireballs, so be careful! (Ze_ro)

Anytime you kill an enemy (not counting the last one), a coin will come out of one of the pipes. Not only can you pick it up for extra points, but you can also collect it by hitting it from below the same way you would to an enemy. (Ze_ro)

Although you'd never know it from the graphics, the middle block at the bottom that you can't jump on is the "POW Block". If you hit this from below, it'll knock over everyone on the level (only one hit to crabs)... but you can only use it three times before it disappears entirely. Note that, like hitting anyone from below, if they are already knocked over, hitting the POW block will right them again. Also keep in mind that this only affects enemies while they're on the ground... so Fighterflies are immune while jumping, and any enemy is immune while falling from one floor to the other. (Ze_ro)

Remember that the sides of the screen wrap around, so if you run off the screen, you'll appear on the other side. This makes the bonus level a lot easier... just run to the left and jump to collect the two tokens on either side, then run over and jump straight up beside the POW block to collect one of the tokens, and then a diagonal jump to collect the next one while jumping up onto the next ledge, then jump again and wrap to the left to get both side tokens, and then use another wrap to get the two at the top. (Ze_ro)

Here's what the manual has to say about your enemies: Shellcreepers (Turtles): To eliminate a shellcreeper, hit it once from below, then kick it off the floor before it starts crawling again. [*]Sidesteppers (Crabs): Sidesteppers are harder to knock off. The first time you hit one, it becomes enrages and moves faster than before. Hit it again, and it will flip over [*]Fighterflies (Purple Flies): Fighterflies hop from one section of the floor to another; the only time you can flip one over is when its body is touching the floor. [*]Slipice (the Ice Monsters): In higher levels of game play you'll encounter Slipice, an evil iceman who can freeze floors into slippery ice (they'll turn blue). Prevent him from freezing floors by punching him from below. You may also kick Slipice when he's melting into the floor. [*]Fireballs: During the game you'll encounter blazing-hot fireballs that can fry Mario or Luigi to a crisp. Avoid fireballs by jumping over them, or jumping to another level. (the manual)

On the later levels (around level 9 or so), you can leave the last enemy to wander the level, and Slipice's will continuously enter the level. If you're patient, you can just avoid the last enemy and the fireball and keep killing Slipice's for 500 points a piece forever. In fact, on level 10, the fireballs will never even show up on the bottom level, so you can easily kill Slipice's without having to worry about anything other than the final enemy. (bjk7382, chrisbid) Please refrain from abusing this tactic to get high scores

Wait until the silpice starts melting then kick him doing so will give you an extra coin! (Saikyo)

I've noticed that there's never more than one enemy on a single floor, possibly due to the limits of the 2600. That's the reason why an enemy might backtrack while on a platform, or enemies might not come out of the pipes for a while. Use this knowledge to your advantage. (Kurushimi)

The main thing to remember is to stay near an open space so that if a fast fireball launches at you, you have somewhere to go. (after say level 12). And don't worry about the Slipices, let them freeze the whole screen, whoppity doo, kill them if you can, otherwise concentrate on dodging fireballs and killing critters. (StanJr)

If you are having trouble with the timing on those flies, especially when they are moving fast, wait until they are dropping to a lower level. Its easier to time when they will be hitting the ground, and you can turn them over a lot easier. Not much, but it may help. (bobafett07728)

In order to get out of the way of the fireball in the higher levels you always need to keep track of it. For example if you see the fireball about to go off the screen don't put yourself in a compromising situation where you could get caught if it comes out on your level. Once you see it on another level then you can run out and hit the enemies. (bjk7382)

When the fireballs just start firing at will, watch out for the one that starts out right behind you when you start the level. If you see it right behind you take a couple quick steps and imediately JUMP straight up to avoid it. When you get in the zone, rely on your peripheral vision to track the fireballs. (the 5th ghost)

After so many levels, my strategy was to watch the fireballs, get to the edge of the 1st level on the LEFT side and wait for the enemy to make it's way to the 2nd level and hit it. After that the second enemy will usually be stuck on the top (3rd) level where you can easily pick him off. Then it's just a matter of staying in the middle area of the 2nd floor and taking care of the rest of the enemies while using your peripheral vision to track the fireballs. After awhile the fireballs become predictable and get easy to avoid. (the 5th ghost)

If Slipice manages to freeze the 1st floor, (it will always freeze it 1st), wait in the middle of the 2nd platform and if another Slipice gets to the 2nd floor, he will imediately start the freezing process. Just go over and kick him off (Unlike the Arcade version, you don't have to hit him from below), he's vurnerable while he's melting. (the 5th ghost)

After you die and get put at the top of the screen, don't push a direction or the button and you will be invincible until you are ready, or until the enemies have past (bjk7382)

Well this is a rather hard game unless you have a method. This is what i use for the harder levels 20 and above and i think i was making around 100k every 10 minutes i usually try to get up to the middle level on the left hand side then i wait till i can get a lobster to pass me i then keep bumping the freeze guys and the other less problematic enemies as long as you keep that lobster past you the rest are easier. Sometimes youll get over whelmed by the lobsters but always remember that if you die they turn around and head back to the other side if you dont drop right away. For the fire balls remember where they are coming out from and stay in the middle unless there are enemies coming for you. You can do a quick tap under the enemy and stun them when it comes near to the center and just before the fire ball reaches the center either if its on the top level or mid level you can either fall right back down or jump up to avoid the fireball. (ToddRogers)

Try to hit the enemies close to the edge of the platform making it quick to jump up and knock them off and quickly get back down to get in position to either dodge a fireball or get the next enemy out of the pipe. (the 5th ghost)

It's easier to jump over a fireball when you run TORWARDS it. Running away will just get you mowed down (unless there's a nearby ledge to jump to) (Saldo)

Also, I found that when things start getting fast (level 10 and up) get to an open spot below (so you can jump if need be) and sit and watch the fireballs because there is a pattern to which level they show up on. Once you have the pattern down you can predict when the fireball will show up on a particular level. (Saldo)

Here's a list of what enemies show up on the first 10 levels (feel free to add more to the list!), as well as the maximum point values you can get from each level (up until the Slipice's show up anyways), assuming you also get the coins each enemy gives up: 3x Shellcreepers (+4000pts) [*]6x Shellcreepers (+8800pts = 12,800pts) [*]Bonus Level (+6400pts = 19,200pts) [*]4x Sidesteppers (+5600pts = 24,800pts) [*]2x Shellcreepers, 4x Sidesteppers (+8800pts = 33,600pts) [*]4x Fighterflies (+5600pts = 39,200pts) [*]2x Sidesteppers, 4x Fighterflies (+8800pts = 48,000pts) [*]Bonus Level (+6400pts = 54,400pts) [*]2x Shellcreepers, 1x Fighterflies, + Slipices [*]4x Sidesteppers, 2x Fighterfies Note that it is at least somewhat random what order the enemies will appear in. Also note that the last enemy of the level is always a "fast" enemy (Although later on, all the enemies are fast all the time, so I'm not sure how this affects things). (Ze_ro)   Good luck everyone!   --Zero

Well for the safe bottoms ill have to take a look at one of my video tapes to see all i know is in some levels the Fire ball dont seem to bother you too much in the middle level if you somehow miss an enemy but only on certain waves. Some enemies are hard to kill if you have a bad joystick so thus the SlipIces on the harder stages come out and BTW there arent an infinate number of SlipIces they do stop after awhile of waiting if you are that bad at tying to kill an enemy "OR" you are point scabbing. (ToddRogers)

After you die, when you're sitting invincible on the top platform, you can actually jump to the left or right if you're really quick with the joystick. The timing is tricky, and since you're invincible anyways, you're probably better off just waiting until the coast is clear so you can drop down instead of jumping to the side, but it IS possible. If you jump to the left, you can land on the top level, but you can't reach it if you jump to the right. (Ze_ro)

Listen closely when you kick off an enemy, or hit a coin: sometimes you hear a double-click. When this happens it gives you twice the points. I don't know how it happens but it does from time to time (the 5th ghost)

[Ze_ro]

By the way, you may have noticed that there's a percentage next to the number of Fuji's in the "Current Standings"... Basically, this is the sum of all your scores for all the games, divided by the sum of the highest scores for each of the games. Unfortunately, this means that games that score really high values can affect this value a lot more than games with low scores*, and since Superman goes by time, I had to really mangle the numbers to get it to fit in, so don't put too much emphasis on these numbers. All I really use this value for is to break ties when it comes to the number of Fuji's people have.

 

I hope this value encourages people to keep playing even if the top 10 seems out of reach, since if you skip a game or two, this value will start to drop (StanJr didn't submit a score for Circus Atari, so his percentile score is noticably lower than InanimateCarbonRod's for example). If people don't like this number, I could just as easily remove it from the list, although I'll still keep using it in the background to break ties in the rankings.

 

* - I might change the way this is handled later on, but the current method is fairly easy to do in a spreadsheet, so there you go.

 

--Zero

[bjk7382]

My first score is 78,300

 

I have gotten over 100k before this contest, but I will eventually get it again during this week.

[InanimateCarbonRod]

Oh no, another game that I have to play on Stella because I don't have the cart.

 

My Logitech Wingman Rumblepad is TOO responsive, last week my Superman was jumping all over the place and the arrow keys just don't cut it. Maybe I'll try that DirectPadPro joystick hack next.....

 

Jerry

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

23200 on my first try not bad for a start.

[Dan Iacovelli]

well, I had to play on the emulator again(next time somebody please pic a game I can play on an actualy 2600 )

anyways my best score is 9600

[Happy_Dude]

Hmmmm Which cart to play Red or Silver. Decisions, Decisions

1st score 21600.

[Happy_Dude]

2nd try 53800.

[Adrian M]

Ah! Finally, a game I'm semi-good at!

[Dan Iacovelli]

well, I had to play on the emulator again(next time somebody please pic  a game I can play on an actualy 2600 )

anyways my best score is 9600

 

new score 10,400

[Goochman]

31200

[homerwannabee]

This kind of bites. I do have one copy of this game. Sadly the one copy is sealed. If I break the seal I would lose one of the few sealed boxed games that I currently own. I also only have two sealed rarity 4 boxed games. Mario Bros. is definetly a cool choice, but the fact that this is a rarity 4 game means that not everyone is going to have it. I will probably be playing this game on an emulator.

[Kuddy]

I really like Mario Bros, so appropriately, my score is pretty high. I'll get back to you with something better.

 

So far I've had to buy every single game for the High Score club, and this is no exception. Promise me you will never pick Quadrun =(

[maibock]

lol I can't figure out what to do

 

my score = 0

 

I guess I'll have to resort to the manual

[maibock]

lol I can't figure out what to do    

 

my score = 0

 

I guess I'll have to resort to the manual

 

D'oh! There isn't a manual scan for this game

[maibock]

lol I can't figure out what to do    

 

my score = 0

 

I guess I'll have to resort to the manual

 

D'oh! There isn't a manual scan for this game

 

hurray! figured it out - carry on.

[Kuddy]

mai, you have to bump the enemies from underneath, then walk up to them to knock them off the level.

[homerwannabee]

ok after 6 tries my high score is 59900. Ok fellow Atariage members. The first spot that you will probably find extremly hard is the last Crab. From what I have found it is extremly hard if not impossible to hit this guy two times quickly in a row. The key is to hit him when he is on the top line and then run down bellow the first line to hit him a second time. Also the power bar in the middle is for knocking guys of their feet. Be sure to only use this when you find something extremly difficult like the last crab.

[Kuddy]

High score has been conquered:

[Saikyo]

Looks like you pipped me to the first place Kurushimi!

Well Done heres my score!

 

82,600

 

Im so glad a game has been chosen that im good at!

[Happy_Dude]

my current score is 64,400

[Saikyo]

FEAR ME I HAVE SCORED A BIG ONE!

 

103,600

 

That takes me into the lead!

[stayrunner]

58,300

 

This is a good game. Better than I thought it would be. Unless I can find the cart I'll have to continue to use Stella.

[xmetalhedx]

OK, id like to get in on this action.

My score so far is 30,400.

[Goochman]

Updae: 58600