Super Mario Bros. 3 takes this franchise to the next level. Not only does this set the groundwork for most future Mario platformers, it is able to stand on its own as THE Mario NES game. I really enjoy the first Mario, but even that one can sometimes feel a little more like an arcade game than console. This one however feels like a console game. With the heavy amounts of extra things like minigames and rewards to the world map, it's shocking that this came out on the NES. It does have that NES feel while also standing the test of time and feeling like a game that would feel welcome coming out today. I have some criticisms like the entirety of World 6 was pretty weak to me. I hated the blue and white striped backgrounds and there were too many autoscroll levels. World 8's autoscroll levels with the tanks sucked too, but other than that the levels were fantastic. There was a lot of variety and each world has a specific trait to it. It's rare now to find a platformer like that, and Mario 3 did it in the 80s. While I don't think Mario 3 is a perfect game like some do, I sure as heck find it close to that as its a phenomenal platformer that was groundbreaking and stands the test of time!

A very good Mario platformer but not my favorite of those first four. It has amazing levels and a lot of great bosses, but it has it's problems. I think some of the levels are very short and it takes too long to start getting more challenging. Those first 4 levels are a breeze with how easy and short they are, then you start getting a bit of a challenge in world 5. I also HATED the side scrolling. The side scrolling is super slow and most of the time I was standing there doing nothing because I was waiting for the screen to move. I also thought that the fortress boss (the guy who drops the question mark ball) was too repetitive and they didn't need that many fortresses for this game. Despite all that it's very fun. The worlds are all unique and Bowser's minions are awesome. It's a lot of fun to get through and the Bowser boss fight is very clever. The end is extremely redeeming when you beat the game, even though it's pretty easy. I like it, just not as much as a lot of other people.

GRADE
B+

Wow. I really enjoyed the first Mario. It was a lot of fun to playthrough and I return to it quite a bit. Super Mario Bros 2 on the other hand wasn't very good and I had to abandon it. This one though was a very very fun playthrough. I loved all 8 worlds -some more than others- as they provided a bunch of fun in each of them. They all provide the same platform adventure with great enemies and power-ups but they are each unique in their own way to make it fresh and new for each world. My favorite world was probably World 4 or 5. The game is very memorable as well. I remember playing so many levels throughout the past days. I also thought the design in this game was really good. The maps for each world were good and I liked how you moved on them. It didn't take forever at all like New Super Mario Bros Wii. The graphics in this game are also phenomenal. This is probably my favorite platform Mario and I heard Super Mario World is even better so let's see!

GRADE
A+