Simple to pick up. Very hard to put down. I’m probably the only freak on the planet who prefers Mario Bros to Donkey Kong.

What struck me about this game is how the gimmicks are introduced with the same process that future Mario games would use. The game slowly drip feeds you more obstacles and enemies but teaches you how they work without telling you straight up (at least in the NES version, on arcade cabinets the game has little movies introducing the enemies).

I wish the game had a tad bit more in the way of variety, at least in Donkey Kong there are three different levels. Even then, this game is loads of fun and really embodies the arcade spirit of getting better through trial and error.

mario is a plumber, and in this game you can surely tell that fact, since the heroic mario must rid the sewers of the cute shellcreepers, sidesteppers, and fighter flies. despite their cuteness, they are quite deadly, yet still no match for one or two jumps from below and a swift kick. collecting the coins that slide along the ground at times is fun, and so is creating piles of stunned enemies to hit them in a row for lots of points. the bonus stages are a nice reprieve from the dangers as well. i can only imagine this game would be even better with a luigi by my side, but alas! anyway, controls are great, visuals are nice, sound effects are pleasant, including the little jingles and such, and when things get hard, its exhilarating! would recommend 100%

My favorite bit of trivia about Mario Brothers is that apparently Mario surviving from falling from the platforms was considered a “super power.” I don’t know, I think it’s just charming that their line of logic in that period of time and development followed that dying from missing a jump was the assumption. Miyamoto thought the game would be too easy and had to be convinced otherwise.

Thank god he was, because fall damage on top of the awkward controls and slippery momentum would have made this already very frustrating game unplayable.

Played on a whim and had a good amount of fun with! I just did 23 phases since I read up that the game only had about 22 unique ones throughout, and it was cool seeing Mario's first debut kicking Koopas to the curb in the sewers. I know people don't like the fact you can't change direction midjump in this game, which was definitely due to this being one of their first games, but I personally like the challenge. It makes having to time your jumps a lot more tougher but rewarding as well, giving the game more of a skill ceiling and pushing you to improve. It was also cool seeing how the Mario Bros. stage in Smash references this one to the letter, I have more respect for it now (even if I still don't like it in that game). All in all a fun short time.