'' (sometimes referred to as '''''Mario 3''''' or '''''Super Mario 3''''') was the last major Mario Video Game made for the Nintendo Family Computer (in Japan ) and the Nintendo Entertainment System (in North America and Europe ). It was released on October 23 , 1988 in Japan , February 12 , 1990 in the United States , and August 29 , 1991 in Europe . It was directed by Shigeru Miyamoto , and the music was composed by Koji Kondo .
It features the first appearances of Bowser 's children. Mario and Luigi have to save seven kingdoms of the Mushroom World from the Koopa Kid s (or Koopalings) by recovering the Magic Wand s that they stole from the seven kings, and also save Princess Toadstool from the clutches of King Bowser.
Although widely regarded as being the best-selling video game of all time, the original ''.
The game play is a return to the style of ''Super Mario Bros.'' after the vast departure of the North American version of '' Super Mario Bros. 2 ''. The heroes can again jump on many enemies to destroy them, as well as take on many different forms by acquiring special items.
However, despite the familiar gameplay, ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' is still a different game from its predecessor. More puzzles, enemies and secret areas were added to enhance difficulty.
Rather than simply move forward in the game in a linear fashion, Mario travels the Mushroom Kingdom via a map, which often splits into different paths, giving the player more of a choice of which levels to play. While on this map, Mario can acquire special items through " Toad Houses" and battles with Hammer Brothers , which are saved in an inventory, and can be used in between levels.
Furthermore, smaller mechanics are changed. For instance, as in ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' but not the original ''Super Mario Bros.'', the player can travel backwards in a level in case they had missed a special area or item. ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' introduced the further ability of the screen to scroll diagonally (in ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', it can sometimes scroll vertically and sometimes scroll horizontally, but never in both manners at once).
Also, due to the increased difficulty, a luxury was given to the player, in the U.S. and European releases: if he had one of the "special" powers - Fire Mario, '' for the Game Boy Advance .
Note that the original NES release included the Japanese names, with the exception of "Castle of Koopa", which was changed to "Dark Dark Land", similar to the 'Dark Dark World' of Super Mario 64 . It was a re-release that came out slightly later that initially changed the names. The Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance versions also use the original names with the exception of World 3 and World 8. In both the SNES and GBA version, "Ocean Side" was changed to "Sea Side", even in the Japanese version. In the English SNES version, "Kuppa" in World 8 is changed to "Koopa", which is the more common spelling. The English GBA version renames World 8 to the generic "Bowser's Castle".
If Warp Zone is excluded as a set of stages, the entire game has a total of 90 accessible levels (as well as fifteen "lost levels"). It is therefore considered one of the largest classic games of all time, having more than the 32 levels of '''' (''Super Mario Bros. 2'' in Japan), and more than the 72 of '' Super Mario World '' (it is often mistakenly assumed that SMW has 96 stages, but that number includes the 24 secret exits in the game).
Like the original '' Super Mario Bros. '', Mario can use several different items to give him power-ups. These are acquired through various points in levels, Toad Houses, Princess Peach 's letters and other events.
Items that returned from ''Super Mario Bros.'':
- : Mario gains temporary invincibility. He is impervious to death by any means except lava, bottomless pits and getting stuck in a scrolling-screen level.
- : Mario doubles in size, can break bricks by hitting them from below, and can take one hit without dying.
- : As Fire Mario, he can throw fireballs that bounce across the ground.
- ''''s'' e-Reader function also came with four 1-Up e-Cards - one for a single 1-Up Mushroom (only acquirable through Wal-Mart ), another for a 5-Up Mushroom, another for a 10-Up Mushroom, and a special promotional card, the 100-Up Mushroom.
- : Worth one hundred points apiece. Collect one hundred for an extra life.
Items and forms new to ''Super Mario Bros. 3'':
- : A Super Leaf gives Mario Raccoon ears and a tail he can use to bat enemies. This Power-up , like the "Tanooki" suit, is based on the mythical Japanese Tanuki . By wagging his tail, Mario can descend slowly from a jump and by getting a running start, Mario can fly briefly.
- : Movement on land is hindered, but swimming is greatly facilitated and accelerated. Also allows Mario to swim against the current and into secret underwater pipes.
- : Allows Mario to fly, just like Raccoon Mario; Mario can also become a statue of Jizo while in this form, rendering him temporarily invincible by pressing ''down'' and ''B''. This suit is based on the mythical Japanese beast, the Tanuki . "Statue Mario" can be activated in midair and thus stomp many enemies that cannot normally be defeated, such as Boos and Thwomps. "Statue Mario" can also defeat enemies that take multiple hits, such as Koopas, in one stomp.
- : Mario can throw hammers, just like the Hammer Brothers. (The hammers are far more powerful than fireballs, as they pass through walls, and virtually any enemy can be killed by them.) Also, when crouching, Mario retreats into a shell, rendering him invincible to fireball attacks from above.
both Goombas and Mario.]]
- (or '''Kuribo's Shoe''', after Goomba's Japanese name): A giant, green boot, Mario can jump inside and stomp on Piranha Plants and Spinys to kill them, and walk across Munchers (long rows of indestructible Piranha Plants). His jumping ability is also augmented. This is available only in level 5-3, and is lost when the player clears the level. The only way to acquire this item is to punch the block the Shoe-wearing Goomba is standing on from underneath to force it out; stomping the Goomba will make both Goomba and Shoe fall off the screen.
- : Short for "Power Wing", the P-Wing turns Mario into Raccoon Mario and, for one level, keeps his power meter (normally filled by a running start) constantly filled. Its most basic use is allowing the player to fly over entire levels unthreatened. If Mario is hit by an enemy while in P-wing state, he will lose both the Raccoon power and the filled power meter. If Mario completes the level without taking a hit, he loses the P-Wing power in the next level but retains the Raccoon power.
- (after Lakitu's Japanese name) (Map-only item): Using this item changes Mario's icon on the world map into a Lakitu cloud. Mario may now move past one uncompleted level. If Mario dies in the next attempted level, he will be sent to the previously completed spot on the world map, and the Lakitu's Cloud will have been wasted. However, should Mario have to travel through a world-map pipe to reach the level after the skipped level, Mario will only be sent back to the exit pipe. Levels which the player automatically enters simply by passing over them on the map, such as Hammer Bros. battles and the tanks in World 8, cannot be bypassed by Lakitu's Cloud; Mario enters the level anyway, and the item is wasted.
- : (Map-only item) Using a Magic Whistle takes Mario to the Warp Zone (World 9) map, where he must then choose a world to warp to. There are three Magic Whistles to be acquired in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'': one in 1-3, one in World 1 Minifortress, and one in a World 2 Fire Brothers duel. Using the whistle from World 1 allows access to Worlds 2, 3 and 4, using it in Worlds 2 through 6 allows access to worlds 5, 6 and 7 and using the whistle in Worlds 7 or 8 or the Warp Zone (World 9) allows access to World 8. Using a whistle in Warp Zone (World 9) instantly transports you to World 8 regardless of your previous world.
- : (Map-only item) Anchors can be found on the white Airships that appear when the player collects a certain number of coins in a certain level, and in even-numbered worlds' hidden white Toad houses. When a player dies while attempting to complete a Koopaling Airship level, it relocates itself to a random vacant spot on the world map. If a player has skipped a level in the world (using Lakitu's Cloud or otherwise), he might find the Airship's new location inaccessible. Using an Anchor prevents the Airship from relocating. This is especially useful in World 5, where a bug occasionally causes the Airship to "hide" in the sky above the ground-levels, where it is inaccessible from either the ground or the clouds. Here, one can use the anchor to keep the Airship from permanently "hiding" in this area, where it would essentially end the game by making itself impossible to reach.
- : (Map-only item) This item changes the overworld music to a different theme, a shortened version of the original Super Mario Bros. theme, and puts all the Hammer Bros. on the map to sleep for several turns, causing them to remain in the same place on the map. Mario can walk past the Hammer Bros. while they sleep without fighting them.
- : (Map-only item) This hammer can break impassable stones on the world map. In World 2, this tool is necessary to gain one of the three aforementioned "Warp Whistles". A buzzer will sound if Mario attempts to use a hammer at a place without a rock.
Note that the only purpose of World 9 is to get you to other worlds, and players can only get to it by using one of the Warp Whistles.
With its expansive gameplay, ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' is often considered Nintendo's masterpiece for the NES, and is routinely voted one of the Greatest Video Games Of All Time . It sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, a record at the time for video games that were sold separately from their consoles.
Several months before its North American release, a "sneak peek" of sorts was given to the American public in the movie '' The Wizard '' ( 1989 ), where the game was featured as the final lap of a video game competition. Additionally, the game appears in the feature film '' Beethoven '', in which two of the dog's owners are seen simultaneously playing the game, which is possible only during two player "challenge" scenes. The game also makes a cameo appearance in the movie " 3 Ninjas ", in the scene where the kids are in their room before their parent alarm goes off.
In Japan, there was a trilogy of OVA s depicting characters from the game acting out Japanese folk tales. DiC Entertainment also produced a Saturday Morning Cartoon titled ''The Adventures Of Super Mario Bros. 3'' , a follow-up to their previous animated Mario series.
In 2003, a gamer named Morimoto beat SMB3 in slightly over 11 minutes, using warp whistles to skip through most of the game and taking advantage of various glitches (see video at He used an emulator to record his work and undo his mistakes, which made some viewers of the video question whether it was a worthy accomplishment. On his [http://web.archive.org/web/20040602222741/http://soramimi.egoism.jp/emu.htm website (in Japanese), (in English) he mentions it was played mostly Frame By Frame , thus essentially pausing many times to perform perfect moves. However, most viewers agreed that it was an impressive sight regardless, and the video rejuvenated an interest in the classic game. The video also inspired a lot of similar emulator video-recording on various games, known as Tool-assisted Speedruns (see Tool Assisted Console Game Movies ); SMB3 itself has had that run improve by about 30 seconds.
While ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' was in development in North America, rather than directly porting the exact game code, Nintendo of America took the time to alter the game by enhancing it somewhat and adjusting the difficulty by either adding or removing some elements of the game. The following is a mostly complete list of differences between the U.S. and Japanese versions of ''Super Mario Bros. 3''.
- When a level is selected on the Map screen, the screen fades out to black. However, there is an extra fade-in to the level in the Japanese version; this fade-in was omitted from the U.S. version.
- In the World 1 Fortress at the end of the room with the falling spiked ceiling, four higher spikes are located below and to the right of the lower two. In the U.S. version these four spikes were removed, the wall was extended two blocks to the left, and the door that goes to Boom-Boom's room was moved one block to the right.
- In the Japanese version, the castle throne room has three columns, the column shadows are to the right of the columns, the column beside the King is behind the stairs, Mario begins the level standing on the left side of the screen, the edge of the throne and tops of the stairs are light blue, the stairs are shorter, and the background is greenish-blue. In the U.S. version there are only two columns, the column shadows were switched to the left, the column beside the King is in front, the chair edges and tops of the stairs are gold, the triangles in the background are a different size, Mario begins near the center of the screen, Toad has moved back a little, the stairs are longer, and the background color has changed colors slightly to light blue.
- Like the original ''Super Mario Brothers'', Mario will go revert to small Mario after taking a hit, no matter what power-up he has in the Japanese version. In the U.S. version, if Mario has a Fire Flower, Raccoon Leaf, Goomba's Shoe, or any other suit and takes a hit, he will return to being Super Mario rather than small Mario. (This change later found its way into the Game Boy Advance remake of '' Super Mario World ''.)
- At the end of World 5-1, in the Japanese version, Mario reaches a wall with a pipe sticking out of it. Mario must enter this pipe to reach a different part of the level containing the goal card. In the U.S. version, the end of World 5-1 now contains no wall or any pipe. The dark ending portion of the level was moved to the spot previously occupied by the wall. This particular change was made in response to an unusual but harmless Glitch that occurred when Mario reached the area containing the goal in the Japanese version and proceeded to fly over the left-hand wall in this area. More details regarding this glitch can be found at The Mushroom Kingdom .
- In the Japanese version, the Kuribo's Shoe will turn red if Mario runs into an enemy, and Mario will be reduced to small Mario if he is Super, Fiery, Raccoon, or is wearing any of the suits. When Mario runs into an enemy in the U.S. version, he will still remain in the power-up condition he had when he got into the shoe. Also, the shoe does fly off, but does not turn red.
- The first ship encountered at the beginning of World 8 has a small difference at the very end. In the Japanese version, if Mario drops into the mud and manages to do a trick to swim all the way to the right of the final pipe, he will not be able to get back up because the wall is a single block too high. A block was removed from the U.S. version, at the very top of the right wall. Thus, even if Mario falls into the mud, he will be able to get back up and continue on. However, this change was not done for the versions featured in '' Super Mario All-Stars '' or '' Super Mario Advance 4 ''.
In 1990, Id Software developed a PC version of ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', using a smooth scrolling engine they had created. They recreated the first level and sent a demo to Nintendo; however, Nintendo was not interested in entering the PC market. id Software foraged ahead, replacing Mario with Commander Keen .
See Also: Super Mario All-Stars
''Super Mario Bros. 3'' received a graphical and audio facelift for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) (and in Japan, the Super Famicom) in the '' Super Mario All-Stars '' (also ''Super Mario Collection'') cartridge of 1993 . On the Super NES version, the Spade panels on the map are animated. The action scene (numbered) panels sparkle. The airships have thunder effects and they are all the same color. The king transformations have also been changed, mostly to popular creatures from other SMB games. Most notably, the king of World 7 was transformed into a Yoshi in the Super Famicom/SNES version of the game, but he was transformed into a Piranha Plant in the Famicom/NES version. A save feature was also added for the Super Famicom/SNES version. For the aforementioned world name table, ''Super Mario All-Stars'' uses the original world names.
See Also: Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
A similar version appears on the ''. It includes the updated original '' Mario Bros. '' and the ability to connect with the link cable to battle against each other. Newly created levels based on ''Super Mario Bros. 3'', and demonstrations of how to complete certain levels can be downloaded through E-Reader cards. However, this feature wasn't very popular since the e-Reader had been discontinued in the U.S. not long after the game came out.
Although hinted at in an official Nintendo's Player's Guide, the wall jump exploit has obtained relatively little publicity over the years. The glitch occurs when Mario jumps towards a solid wall, touching it at a certain point in the arc so that he appears to temporarily pause in midair, as if stumbling onto some invisible foothold. Mario normally drops to the ground after this quick display, but it is possible to time a second jump off the non-existent foothold. This procedure, although difficult to successfully execute, can be used to scale large walls such as the one at the start of level 6-9. In theory, this glitch could be exploited to serve as a safety net in levels with instantly-fatal traps such as pits and lava. But due to the split-second precision required for the maneuver, only a genuine master would be able to utilize it to this degree.
- In outdoor levels where the scenery includes large colored blocks (such as levels 1 and 3 of World 1), keeping Mario crouched down on top of a ''white'' block for several seconds causes him to fall through the block. He now appears behind the scenery instead of in front of it. If this can be sustained until the end of level 1-3, Mario can walk right past the end to reach a hidden mushroom house.
- If the player completes a world while wearing a Frog suit, a Tanooki suit or a Hammer Brother suit, the king will say something different each time.
- The theme for the water world is actually the same theme used for most of the file select screens from the Legend of Zelda games.
- The king originally thanked the player by saying, "Thank Heavens!" This was removed in the '''' version and replaced with "Splendid!"
- The final island group in World 3 is shaped like the islands of Japan , with a gold coin in the approximate location of Tokyo and the castle in the approximate location of Kyoto , where Nintendo is based.
- The tune which plays when Mario uses the whistle is identical to the melody used for the Recorder in '' The Legend Of Zelda '', and in both games it summons a tornado that sweeps up the hero and dumps him elsewhere. Koji Kondo , composed the music for both franchises.
- ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' contains some dummy content that was created during the development process but removed from the final version. Using tools such as the Game Genie , it is possible to reveal this material. More information can be found at The Mushroom Kingdom .
- It's interesting to mention that Mario and Luigi don't appear to be wearing gloves except in most closeups. This was changed in ''Super Mario Advance 4''.
- Because of its popularity, many Rom Hack s have been done. {Link without Title}
- According to Nintendo Power , the first person to find all three magic whistles was Ryan L. Lawrence.
Producer: Shigeru Miyamoto
Executive Producer: Hiroshi Yamauchi
Director: Takashi Tezuka
Lead Designer: Allen Edwards
Project Leader: Thomas Kalinske
Programmers: Patrick Gilmore , Allen Edwards , Leslie Swan and Tim O'Leary
NOA Producer: Leslie Swan
NCL Producer: Noah Dudley
Produced and copyrighted by: Nintendo
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