Unless you're actively looking to bulk up a GBA library, there's no chance you're going to start caring about Super Mario Advance 4. I'd just like to talk about some of the reasons I do.
This was Nintendo's last big swing on a GBA Mario platformer, and unlike Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island, the idea of Mario 3 running on it didn't seem like a massive technical achievement. This was the last mainline Mario game that was allowed to be a bit weird and lumpy, before the release of New Super Mario Bros brought in The Great Unification, and the character design style guide became gospel. Changes to Super Mario Bros 3 itself are fairly low-level and easy to overlook. It's the set of original e-Reader levels that get all the attention today. Some of the tweaks are welcome though.
Super Mario Advance 4 opens with a new animated introduction sequence that helps establish the scenario. Importantly, it clarifies something that many players misinterpreted about the original game - It's not a game about Princess Peach being kidnapped. Peach is actually your commanding officer in this game, sending Mario and Luigi off to help seven kings who have been transformed by the Koopalings. It isn't until World 8 that the old trope comes back in. A last minute twist that elevates the sense of peril. It's a significant distinction that Peach critics willfully ignore. She isn't a helpless damsel in this game, but a leader who actively fights Bowser's injustices. It just went tits up at the end, while she was so busy packing power-ups in handwritten letters.
This is also the sharpest Super Mario Bros 3 has looked. There's all sorts of smoke and mirrors to get this running on the NES, with the game performing arcane rituals on the right-hand of the screen to render each new tile in time. All-Stars always looked a bit misty and indistinct (though there's a chance this is associated with memories of lossy video signals, and I'm misjudging this). Advance 4 really pops with vivid colours and confident presentation. It's an ideal 3:2 sort-of-widescreen version of Mario 3.
The new Switch Online version also brings over one of the game's more obscure features. SMA4 was designed to utilise the Game Boy Player, and was one of a short list of titles to support rumble on GameCube controllers. This hasn't been overlooked by the new emulator's developers, and a Rumble toggle can be accessed via the main options screen. The game makes sparing use of it, generally only rumbling when Mario takes a hit, but if a Koopa Troopa is about to emerge from a shell you're holding, you'll get a wee jolt on the controller. It's a really welcome adjustment, particularly for those who haven't learned Mario 3's rhythms and timings by heart over years of familiarity.
Then we're back to the e-Reader levels. I think a lot of people give the wrong impression when discussing them. They're not a "secret new Mario game". They're largely a collection of novelties and experiments, but they're also an ideal curtain call for those who followed the Super Mario Advance series, incorporating features, enemies and power-ups from the previous three games. Some of them are bit more like proper Mario levels than what you'd find in an official Mario Maker campaign, but not always. They dedicate the first five spots on the list to remakes of SMB1 levels. The overriding mechanical distinction from the core campaign's levels are the e-Coins scattered throughout. A bit like the Yoshi eggs from Mario Advance 1, the Dragon Coins from Advance 2, or the red coins from the NSMB games. An additional level of challenge. There's no grand reward for collecting them all. It's just an extra tease for those who can't stop playing Mario. There's also original Toad Houses that unlock when you collect enough of them, presenting new mini-games to gain power-ups in. They're not brilliant, but a neat extra that they didn't have to go to the effort of designing, nonetheless.
Nobody's going to sell their copy of SMB3 for Advance 4, but it remains a worthwhile release for the most dedicated Mario fans, and a great choice for GBA owners. I'm very jealous of the generation who got to play fucking Mario 3 in the back of the car instead of Super Mario Land. You don't need any outside encouragement to determine whether or not you're going to play this. You already know.
This was Nintendo's last big swing on a GBA Mario platformer, and unlike Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island, the idea of Mario 3 running on it didn't seem like a massive technical achievement. This was the last mainline Mario game that was allowed to be a bit weird and lumpy, before the release of New Super Mario Bros brought in The Great Unification, and the character design style guide became gospel. Changes to Super Mario Bros 3 itself are fairly low-level and easy to overlook. It's the set of original e-Reader levels that get all the attention today. Some of the tweaks are welcome though.
Super Mario Advance 4 opens with a new animated introduction sequence that helps establish the scenario. Importantly, it clarifies something that many players misinterpreted about the original game - It's not a game about Princess Peach being kidnapped. Peach is actually your commanding officer in this game, sending Mario and Luigi off to help seven kings who have been transformed by the Koopalings. It isn't until World 8 that the old trope comes back in. A last minute twist that elevates the sense of peril. It's a significant distinction that Peach critics willfully ignore. She isn't a helpless damsel in this game, but a leader who actively fights Bowser's injustices. It just went tits up at the end, while she was so busy packing power-ups in handwritten letters.
This is also the sharpest Super Mario Bros 3 has looked. There's all sorts of smoke and mirrors to get this running on the NES, with the game performing arcane rituals on the right-hand of the screen to render each new tile in time. All-Stars always looked a bit misty and indistinct (though there's a chance this is associated with memories of lossy video signals, and I'm misjudging this). Advance 4 really pops with vivid colours and confident presentation. It's an ideal 3:2 sort-of-widescreen version of Mario 3.
The new Switch Online version also brings over one of the game's more obscure features. SMA4 was designed to utilise the Game Boy Player, and was one of a short list of titles to support rumble on GameCube controllers. This hasn't been overlooked by the new emulator's developers, and a Rumble toggle can be accessed via the main options screen. The game makes sparing use of it, generally only rumbling when Mario takes a hit, but if a Koopa Troopa is about to emerge from a shell you're holding, you'll get a wee jolt on the controller. It's a really welcome adjustment, particularly for those who haven't learned Mario 3's rhythms and timings by heart over years of familiarity.
Then we're back to the e-Reader levels. I think a lot of people give the wrong impression when discussing them. They're not a "secret new Mario game". They're largely a collection of novelties and experiments, but they're also an ideal curtain call for those who followed the Super Mario Advance series, incorporating features, enemies and power-ups from the previous three games. Some of them are bit more like proper Mario levels than what you'd find in an official Mario Maker campaign, but not always. They dedicate the first five spots on the list to remakes of SMB1 levels. The overriding mechanical distinction from the core campaign's levels are the e-Coins scattered throughout. A bit like the Yoshi eggs from Mario Advance 1, the Dragon Coins from Advance 2, or the red coins from the NSMB games. An additional level of challenge. There's no grand reward for collecting them all. It's just an extra tease for those who can't stop playing Mario. There's also original Toad Houses that unlock when you collect enough of them, presenting new mini-games to gain power-ups in. They're not brilliant, but a neat extra that they didn't have to go to the effort of designing, nonetheless.
Nobody's going to sell their copy of SMB3 for Advance 4, but it remains a worthwhile release for the most dedicated Mario fans, and a great choice for GBA owners. I'm very jealous of the generation who got to play fucking Mario 3 in the back of the car instead of Super Mario Land. You don't need any outside encouragement to determine whether or not you're going to play this. You already know.