All these years and I actually never played super mario bros from start to finish, without world warping, until today.
First off, I feel that giving a score to this game is impossible, so I won't. This game has grown to be bigger than just a game, its DNA is in everything we play today, it's what most people think of when you ask them to think of a videogame.
I could list flaws and imperfections in this game, but that would be pointless. If you read a book about game design you can spot lots of creaking old joints in this elderly game. But pointing them out would feel unfair, because this is the game that wrote that book, so to speak.
So I'll just leave some random thoughts about things that caught my attention. First off, it's really short. I was done in an evening. Second, it's hard, and difficulty (and scarcity of lives) is the only thing that made this game somewhat long when it came out.
Its difficulty is also quite devious, since the difficulty curve feels quite nice and continuous, but it really spikes in world 8, maximising the time one would waste by getting a game over and starting over. But that's just how games had to be back then, you couldn't market a full price game that you could play through in one session.
Mario's controls feel very distinct. He's weighty and a bit slippery, his jump arc is very stiff, but he has a bit of wiggle room for course correction in midair. This makes you ponder how to tackle each jump, and adds a level of complexity to even the simple task of clearing a gap. I prefer the more carefree controls of later games, SMB3 especially, don't get me wrong. But SMB1's 1 approach is quite deliberate and gives it a distinct feel.
It's great to see how much of the design philosophy of this game permeates Nintendo even today. It's also nice to see that even such a revered game has at least some horrible ideas (the whole concept of hammer bros, and hammer-throwing bowser, mainly. Oh, and looping puzzle sections in bowser levels!)
Anyway, I'm just rambling. My advice is: play this game at least once in your life, use save states if you have to. If anything, it has great historical value that gives quite a bit of insight about how games are designed even today.
First off, I feel that giving a score to this game is impossible, so I won't. This game has grown to be bigger than just a game, its DNA is in everything we play today, it's what most people think of when you ask them to think of a videogame.
I could list flaws and imperfections in this game, but that would be pointless. If you read a book about game design you can spot lots of creaking old joints in this elderly game. But pointing them out would feel unfair, because this is the game that wrote that book, so to speak.
So I'll just leave some random thoughts about things that caught my attention. First off, it's really short. I was done in an evening. Second, it's hard, and difficulty (and scarcity of lives) is the only thing that made this game somewhat long when it came out.
Its difficulty is also quite devious, since the difficulty curve feels quite nice and continuous, but it really spikes in world 8, maximising the time one would waste by getting a game over and starting over. But that's just how games had to be back then, you couldn't market a full price game that you could play through in one session.
Mario's controls feel very distinct. He's weighty and a bit slippery, his jump arc is very stiff, but he has a bit of wiggle room for course correction in midair. This makes you ponder how to tackle each jump, and adds a level of complexity to even the simple task of clearing a gap. I prefer the more carefree controls of later games, SMB3 especially, don't get me wrong. But SMB1's 1 approach is quite deliberate and gives it a distinct feel.
It's great to see how much of the design philosophy of this game permeates Nintendo even today. It's also nice to see that even such a revered game has at least some horrible ideas (the whole concept of hammer bros, and hammer-throwing bowser, mainly. Oh, and looping puzzle sections in bowser levels!)
Anyway, I'm just rambling. My advice is: play this game at least once in your life, use save states if you have to. If anything, it has great historical value that gives quite a bit of insight about how games are designed even today.