I’m impressed by how thorough and detailed this review is. I was so engaged by the review, that I forgot this review was 49 minutes long. And you weren’t afraid to say the remakes were an improvement over the original. Much like how the AVGN went original and took the conspiracy route with Super Mario Bros. 3, you took this game that’s been praised by hundreds of thousands, and did your own way of reviewing it. Which isn’t an easy task that I appreciate greatly. I’m also happy that you touched upon the negatives like the auto scroll levels, and I’m especially happy you talked about the E-Reader levels, and not holding back at how unfair the e reader levels tend to be, which not many reviewers talk about, but when one rarely does, they only mention how much of a fail the E-Reader was at the time. Overall, one of the best Super Mario Bros. 3 reviews I have ever watched.
Thanks! I think people who grew up with the originals tend to dominate discourse about the game and as someone who thinks the gba versions don’t get nearly enough attention, I wanted to give them a spotlight, both the good and bad, and offer a fair comparison between every version. Glad you enjoyed it!
I would love for someone to bake a cake off the eight world teams in this game. Also, one of my marketing strategies is to have RUclips channels promoted on channels that aren’t relevant to them like, for example, a channel about baking could bake a cake based on your RUclips logo, what flavor would it be?
SMB3 is a game you can play when you have nothing else to play and it never gets boring, as someone who never grew up with the NES, i can confirm this game is a timeless masterpiece and i think it's even better than Mario 64
Never really thought about it but yeah haha over my life, this game has been the most consistent "can't choose a game, what's something simple to hop in to have fun with" choice for me. For NES games, Contra comes close, especially if I'm with a friend.
Somehow I truly like the NES graphics better because of how crisp it is with its black lines that makes it cartoony, and the colors are more extreme that it resembles some geometric modern art from the 1950s.
Yeah for me, this is the most beautiful 2d retro game. I don't know why, there are many good looking SNES and Genesis games but smb3 has this perfectly styled colorful look. Maybe All Stars is better? But hard for me to appreciate objectively due to preferring the fuller NES sound.
@@lightfeather9953 I was a bit young to own an actual SNES but I’d just say it’s different. That being said it having multiple games in the collection makes all of them share the same art style which homogenized them and made each Mario entry less distinct if you don’t play the original
The only other game with enough hype to rival FFVII in my lifetime was Mario 3. It's hard to describe just how massive the anticipation was for this release, my Dad even spoke about buying me this at the time for my birthday, he had zero interest in video games but he knew about Mario 3. Cheers.
28:14 WHAT?! THAT EXISTS?! I've played this game so many times for years (and have even used a Super Leaf in that exact spot to fly) and have never seen that P-switch once, had no idea it existed. Wow.
Nostalgia as a factor will always defeat re-releases. It may look better, have better quality music…but it doesn’t transform me back being 8 years old in 1991, waking up early to play SM3. For some, this isn’t a factor. But I’d wager a significant portion of gamers will always prefer a game as it was in their younger days vs. with improvements.
This is probably the best review of Mario 3 on the internet. I don't think I'm saying this without hyperbole either, you didn't cover the level design in depth as much as I wish you did, but you did pretty much everything else justice, especially the two other versions of the game and actually gave thoughts on how good the e-reader levels were. Also, I wish the footage wasn't as blurry, it worked against you when you wanted to point out the difference in Sprites between Mario wearing and not wearing gloves. It's a shame this video hasn't gotten more attention.
That's a huge honor to hear that! Definitely agree on the video (and audio) quality, as my video upscaling capabilities for original hardware improved pretty much right after I finished this marathon. Some day I'd like to remaster these Mario videos with higher quality footage, improved audio, and better writing to reflect how my style and opinions have evolved, but at the moment I'm focusing more on new videos.
Playing this game for the 1st time when it came out, it felt game changing ... extremely well-made mechanics, completely fresh and new atmosphere, excellent music, wonderful enemies ... only a handful of games had that feel for me, like the 1st Borderlands, 1st Bioshock, etc. Very rare feeling in gaming experience something fresh and new, yet extremely well made.
This is like the Pokemon Ruby of Mario, perfect vanilla Masterpiece, BANGER Music and Iconic characters. I never grew up with the NES era but Mario 3 is my favorite 2D mario game
On another note, I played this a few days ago, and it felt so good to relive that nostalgia, even if there were a few weak parts *cough* Ice World *cough* Truly a legacy that is hard to match these days
I love well done autoscroll levels. As I played these games a lot, having to wait force me to explore more and appreciate it instead of rushing through it like other levels.
Excellent breakdown of SMB3. I myself am partial to the OG NES version, which was my introduction to the game over 30 years ago as a 10 year old. Nostalgia aside, it remains my favorite version for the following reasons: *The soundtrack. That chip tune music was flawless, and I especially love how sinister the fortress and airship themes sounded on NES. The music on the SNES and GBA versions were too “cute”. And the remakes butchered the World 7 theme! *Visuals. For an 8 bit game, a premium was placed on singularity of level detail I love how on NES each airship had its own individual color and some sky’s were bright, some were dark, some were dreary looking, there was variety. On SNES and GBA all airships are brown and the sky is dark and stormy. It gets monotonous. Again, the remakes looked too cute at times. The stark black background and solemn grey blocks of world 2 fortress on NES is way more menacing than the more ornate backdrop of the remakes.
This is a game that I can say while challenging at times doesn't feel outright cruel or unfair. It's one of those games that with a first time playthrough it can be challenging but as you learn the levels more the game becomes easier as you know what to expect. That's part of the fun of this game. And the levels are at a good enough length that they don't overstay their welcome. This is also one of the more accessible 2-D Mario games when it comes to 100%. 100% completion of SMB3 (according to it's GBA remake anyway) is simply beating all levels in all the worlds. A level is simply anything that consists of some sort of challenge including the enemy courses that are found moving about the map. Because of this Toad Houses and Spade Panels do not count towards completion. Because of this this is a very accessible game to 100%. It's simply a matter of learning the layouts of the levels to get the most optimal path through them without losing a life. Each level tries something new as well introducing creative ideas that challenge the player. For an instance this game probably has one of the best first stages in the game. It is quite open ended for a first level. There are places you can explore everywhere. You can take to the sky with the leaf and find clouds as well as a pipe to a bonus room but if you stick to the ground you can still find some goodies by hitting a switch to turn a bunch of blocks into coins. There are options. Part of the fun I think of this game just comes from exploring these levels and finding everything. And even taking every path possible through them to see what you could find.
My first experience with SMB3 was in a bowling alley in a town most of you have never heard of. It was in a Playchoice cabinet before it was released on console and while the Wizard was being advertised but didn't premiere yet. In short this felt like some outlaw experience I never knew existed. I thought when I saw it it was some bootleg that somehow made it onto nintendo hardware, at least until I actually played it, because how could I not. Once I started playing it, everything fell into place and I felt at least a bit naughty playing a game that as far as I knew, really was an outlaw experience. But it was just too good not to be official so I got a thrill.
SMB3 is a game that anyone any age can play and have fun. If your a casual or a hardcore gamer you can enjoy it. The replay value is just insane. Ive played it once a year for over 30 years and still have fun playing it. Revolutionary for it time. There aren't many games you can say that about. To me its the GOAT! You have to play the OG NES version, its the best. It has a certain charm that the graphically superior SNES and GBA versions dont have.
It's kinda cool how one of the remakes was how you first played this masterpiece. I played this game over and over when I was 10, 11 and somehow it never got old. Part of it was being forced to start at the beginning, so I'd be working out the strategy to progress, save items, and survive to the end. PS I had a glitch in my SNES that let me change powerups by hitting select, at any time, on the SMB3 all stars. It had to be my SNES because I replaced it recently and the same cart doesn't do that.
You forgot about the secret ghost ship and all those extra levels on the gba game are actually unused and unfinished levels still found inside the nes smb3 rom You are absolutely correct,you painted mario 3 exactly how I feel about it,to me it is the best 2d mario game,smw is good but not as good as smb3
Ok ill watch 1 video, so far you dont have that memorable vocal presence but thats ok you can manage it ... your content and editing is nice, the background music is something others dont use much...not being a hater, decent work keep it up. Excited to see whats next-siskel ebert
I always loved how strange and magical the cave levels looked in the original, so I can't stand what the remakes did to them. It was a totally unnecessary change.
While I agree with your general claim that the SNES graphics are better than the NES ones, I think there are a couple issues brought about by that version. Firstly, the NES version's backgrounds were consistent within each world but distinct between worlds. Each world had its own sky background color. The SNES version changes this so that the backgrounds are based more around what type of level you're playing. Sky levels look similar, airship levels look similar, water levels look similar, etc. This makes the worlds feel far less like distinct worlds in my opinion. The second issue is that it feels less like a play. I wish they could have had more detailed backgrounds while keeping some of the cloud and similar sprites in the original. I also find it annoying how the question blocks are no longer nailed down; that fit the play aesthetic perfectly. While it isn't a huge deal, I also think some of their choices, like changing Bob-ombs from black to blue and Bloopers from white to pink, are stupid and make them less threatening. Otherwise the SNES graphics are definitely an improvement!
The Left Bros version of Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES has the same names for the worlds in the credits sequence as the snes and gba versions. The Left Bros version was an earlier version of the game, with the right bros version (the version you used for the nes in the video) being a later revision which changed the names.
35:01 What's goin on here? I went back to see if Mario was invincible but he wasn't. I also thought maybe the Dry Bones' crushed form fell down due to a Donut Block falling but that wasn't the case either. So, how did Mario manage to eliminate the usually only partially beatable enemy?
Yeah wait what the heck? I have no clue how that happened. It seems like maybe the block being about to fall doesn't have collision with the collapsed dry bones. It's the only explanation I can think of. I would go back and check the footage but unfortunately I don't have it any more.
I swore SMB3 had a stand alone cartridge on SNES before the all stars.. the 8bit was favored because the 16 bit one patched out some of the “bugs” like the level where the sun was chasing you, there was a glitch spot at the end you couldn’t to in the 16 bit. There were a few more things like this that people favored the 8 bit. I don’t think i realized that sun could be beaten by throwing a shell at it, until i watched this video.
The giant sprites in World 4 in the NES version being just chunky blown up versions of the low resolution sprites, was EXACTLY what was cool about them. I don't wanna see polished, completely separate giant sprites. Where's the imagination in that?
I guess they look unique but the entire world looks inconsistent. You could also say it’s more imaginative to have the unique 16 bit sprites since special care was put into them to make them look unique which better develops the atmosphere of the world. I wouldn’t call the NES one imaginative. It was the best they could do on limited hardware but nowadays the different pixel densities look inconsistent.
@@PixelPowerstar When I said "Where's the imagination?" I wasn't referring to how imaginative it was on the part of the game makers but rather the imagination that it sparks in the player. Mario games should never look or feel "real" (whatever that means) and the giant pixelated sprites is, for me, an extension of the weirdness of the Super Mario universe. The weirder and more inconsistent the better. Having large pixelated sprites alongside normal smooth ones in the same level? Awesome.
@@SummerBayJournal I see what you mean now, my bad. However, I must respectfully disagree. While I agree that Mario does not need to be realistic, I don't think that's the problem between the two versions. I'd also like to quibble with your use of "real". While yes, Mario does not need to resemble the real world, I think believability is an important factor in any visual medium that depicts a world and characters, which includes visual consistency. I think there are ways to evoke imagination (like the subtle stage theming embedded in the levels) and there's benefits to abstraction to develop identity. But one major part of Mario 3 is how it tries to expand on its world, characters, and environments. Visuals that are not believable (not necessarily not realistic) are visually jarring, thus taking away from the world that is being portrayed. I do not think that Mario is a game that the player needs to imagine what they are looking at either. I think that this game is a major step forward in visual worldbuilding for the series, which substitutes imagination for immersion, enhancing the experience. Requiring the player to stop and think about a sprite inconsistency in a fast-paced platformer is jarring and removes them from the experience. The 16 bit version irons out the inconsistencies, gives the game a richer sense of color, and uses more detail to create believability and visual appeal. This pushes the game forward stylistically and does not take away anything for me. The only example where I could say that the 16 bit version takes away the imagination would be World 9 in the 16 bit version of the Lost Levels. It reuses assets that take away from the abstract and surreal style of the Famicom version. But that game is surreal and abstract whereas Mario 3 is more grounded and believable, so its an upgrade rather than a downgrade.
I don't understand the disliking of the e-Reader levels. You literally got like 40-50% additional content compared to vanilla SMB3 since vanilla has 90 levels and there are 33 e-Reader levels (excluding the first five levels since they're SMB1 rehashes). 33 is 36.7% of 90 but, like you said, the levels are a bit longer so you probably end up getting an experience that's about 40-50% as long as regular SMB3 from the e-Reader levels. I'm not solely arguing quantity as their basis for worthiness either. The new gimmicks were quirky, fun, and interesting imo.
They're super interesting and I love how many new ideas they bring, it's just that large, nonlinear levels with collectables that you have to get in 1 go on a short time limit with no checkpoints doesn't work with Mario 3, making a select few of them really annoying. On their own as side content they're what make the GBA my favorite version but as Mario 3 levels they don't meet the same quality as what's in the main game and are limited by not being in something like Mario World or NSMB DS with checkpoints and a better system for collectibles. They don't bring down the game at all for me, but they could have been better is all with some simple fixes.
@@PixelPowerstarWhen it comes to your criticisms towards this game like (some of) the visuals of the NES version (which makes sense, but I love how they look in their own ways, especially the SNES version which would inspire Luigi’s Adventure OSE and other Super Mario World hacks to look as great as they are with its style and substance), the 16-bit music of the SNES version (I personally really love the soundtracks of every version of SMB3 except for the bootleg version for the GBC but then again, while it's unofficial, it's still the only version of SMB3, even when compared to the hacks with non-custom music, which sucks the most, so I felt like sticking up to how the music of SMB3 for all versions sound) and the e-Reader levels of SMA4, and with that said, I will also applaud ExoParadigmGamer (via ROR: Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES Vs GBA) and AntDude for having a blast with world e no matter what. Maybe the levels themselves aren’t the best for completionists, but l think they are better for casual runs, which is a very similar charm to Pac-Man World 2 for sixth-gen home consoles even though the Super Mario Advance Games have 2D gameplay, which like with the originals, are platforming bliss), I will praise just about everything Mario 3 in general has to offer to the high heavens for more reasons than just nostalgia for a game pretty much everyone praises the living daylights out of.
I will never forget my cousin getting this for his birthday. We completely skipped the cake. What kid does that? We would sneak down in the middle of the night just to play it. You seem a bit pretentious but you're obviously younger and didn't experience this in the moment. And it's ok. You're forgiven.
World 8's autoscrollers aren't bad (the airship is great, and hard as hell too), but there are too many of them. I wish there were more stages like the numerical levels. Still, not a bad world. I really love all autoscrollers in Mario 3 from before World 8. The two autoscrollers from World 5 are the best ones! This game is awesome, with worlds 5 and 6 being its absolute peak in level design!
I really don't understand this Renaissance the 2nd "Mario" game is having. Everything I see on YT talks about how great or logical it was. When it came out literally everyone I knew, knew it wasn't a real Mario game, instead being a reskinned Doki Doki Panic, hated it, hated the reskin, and didn't buy it (although we all played it at some point, usually renting it). If people like it, that's fine, that's their opinion. I just have no idea when that happened. It's like I got moved to a different timeline or something. Lol
I wasn't aware that it was having a renaissance, but if I had to guess, it's probably due to people who grew up with versions that released without the context of it being a reskinned game gaining more of a dominant voice on the internet. Since these games have been rereleased so many times, there are like 3 different decades someone could have grown up with them under a different context. For example, I had the GBA version and while I could tell it was different from the other Mario games and didn't like it that much, I would have never known it was a reskin of a different game until years later when it was a common piece of internet trivia. However, when I played it, all I saw was that it was the weird 2D Mario game with characters like Shy Guy and Birdo that also appeared in the other Mario games that were released at the time. The fact that it and Yoshis Island made up half of the Mario Advance collection also made more non traditional gameplay feel less out of place alongside Mario 3 and Mario World, even though you could still tell that those were the "real" Mario games I think it mostly just comes down to generational differences. 2010s era reviews were mostly dominated by people who grew up in the NES era so the reskin narrative became ingrained in the game's identity because it was relevant to them. But now we're seeing younger generations who had a different experience with the game sharing their perspectives, which may be one that is separated from knowing the history of the game or that there was another Mario sequel exclusive to Japan, and those people may be more willing to take the game for what it is. However, an even younger generation who first saw the game through those 2010s youtube reviews that talked about it being a reskin who may want to try the game on virtual console or NSO or something would have the game's reputation as just a reskin as their first impression, so it would kind of wrap back around. It's mostly a matter of perspective and how you experienced the game.
Pixel Powerstar. Wrong. absolutely none of the levels are underdone and there are absolutely no boring or tedious levels anywhere in the game whatsoever. It is 100% THE PERFECT VIDEO GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even though I grew up with the GBA version, I actually prefer the NES version because its movement and physics feel better and more satisfying to control in that version, plus it's the most challenging version of the game and I like how its artstyle looks like a 1950s cartoon.
I might talk about it someday but since this marathon was about the mainline 2D Mario games, it wouldn’t be fair to review Yoshi’s Island as a sequel and compare it to Mario World than to talk about it as it’s own game since it would just highlight all my issues with the game. I might talk about it at some point on its own in the future though.
Honestly. Looking back at the level design, don't you think it could've been better? I die many times an I always think I'm bad at the game-apparently level design is unpredictable when you've barely played the game in long periods of time.
I have it #2 of the old school Marios: it was super fun, but all of the powerups make it too easy. Also, W8 seems underdeveloped. I think SMW was better for these reasons. You cannot just load up on powerups and the later game is completely done. The sound on SMA annoys me, but I did grow up with the original! But, you noticed that, too, though you said you did not grow up with it...
SMW has some problems, it was too easy and short and it feels too much like a kid's game, i know that's what it is but SMB3 didn't feel like a kids game that much, still a 2nd when ranking all 2d Mario games, SMB3 is perfectly the best 2d Mario game, if someone asks Me what Mario game to start with, i'll tell them to start with SMB3
@@SMCwasTaken SMB3 was far easier. Even if you point to the cape and Yoshi, there are still hard areas and very hard areas where they do you no good or it's very hard with them(like the secret Fortress in Bowser land). And, SMB3 has the powerup collections(×28), so many 1UPs, and the levels are not nearly as hard as SMW in total! 7-7 is a hard level, but--if you are big--you'll pass it. That's if you cannot do it any other way. Then, every other level a power-up will help you beat it. SMW is not that easy. In addition, both are fun. SMBW is funner, though...Then, there's the 70s hippy levels: most of which are harder than SMB3 hardest levels! And, some of the castles and fortresses are harder than anything ON SMB3!
I’m impressed by how thorough and detailed this review is. I was so engaged by the review, that I forgot this review was 49 minutes long. And you weren’t afraid to say the remakes were an improvement over the original.
Much like how the AVGN went original and took the conspiracy route with Super Mario Bros. 3, you took this game that’s been praised by hundreds of thousands, and did your own way of reviewing it. Which isn’t an easy task that I appreciate greatly.
I’m also happy that you touched upon the negatives like the auto scroll levels, and I’m especially happy you talked about the E-Reader levels, and not holding back at how unfair the e reader levels tend to be, which not many reviewers talk about, but when one rarely does, they only mention how much of a fail the E-Reader was at the time.
Overall, one of the best Super Mario Bros. 3 reviews I have ever watched.
Thanks! I think people who grew up with the originals tend to dominate discourse about the game and as someone who thinks the gba versions don’t get nearly enough attention, I wanted to give them a spotlight, both the good and bad, and offer a fair comparison between every version. Glad you enjoyed it!
I would love for someone to bake a cake off the eight world teams in this game. Also, one of my marketing strategies is to have RUclips channels promoted on channels that aren’t relevant to them like, for example, a channel about baking could bake a cake based on your RUclips logo, what flavor would it be?
SMB3 is a game you can play when you have nothing else to play and it never gets boring, as someone who never grew up with the NES, i can confirm this game is a timeless masterpiece and i think it's even better than Mario 64
Agree!
Mario 64 was not very good though thanks to the camera
Totally agree when I have nothing to do I play this game 😂👍🏻
Never really thought about it but yeah haha over my life, this game has been the most consistent "can't choose a game, what's something simple to hop in to have fun with" choice for me. For NES games, Contra comes close, especially if I'm with a friend.
This is probably my second favorite 2D platformer behind Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze.
I think my personal best of all time is probably Only Up. Second is Terraria
Somehow I truly like the NES graphics better because of how crisp it is with its black lines that makes it cartoony, and the colors are more extreme that it resembles some geometric modern art from the 1950s.
Well put
I always thought all stars was better but i gotta go back and think of your post on the nes version
Yeah for me, this is the most beautiful 2d retro game. I don't know why, there are many good looking SNES and Genesis games but smb3 has this perfectly styled colorful look.
Maybe All Stars is better? But hard for me to appreciate objectively due to preferring the fuller NES sound.
@@lightfeather9953 I was a bit young to own an actual SNES but I’d just say it’s different. That being said it having multiple games in the collection makes all of them share the same art style which homogenized them and made each Mario entry less distinct if you don’t play the original
This is an amazing review! Very in-depth and well thought-out! It’s *criminal* that you only have 1.01K Subs!
The only other game with enough hype to rival FFVII in my lifetime was Mario 3.
It's hard to describe just how massive the anticipation was for this release, my Dad even spoke about buying me this at the time for my birthday, he had zero interest in video games but he knew about Mario 3.
Cheers.
I love the way you used the original SNES resolution and visuals or at least made it look like that for the video. Feels so much more nostalgic :)
That was just composite video. Nowadays I have a scaler so I’d never make it look like that now
SMB3 is basically an 8 bit SNES game, so yeah, all it needed was a new coat of paint and it held up against any other 16 bit platformer
Still the best Mario game to this day, and in my top 3 videos games of all time alongside OG RE4 and Super Metroid. A masterclass in game design.
28:14 WHAT?! THAT EXISTS?! I've played this game so many times for years (and have even used a Super Leaf in that exact spot to fly) and have never seen that P-switch once, had no idea it existed. Wow.
Same, dude.
Nostalgia as a factor will always defeat re-releases. It may look better, have better quality music…but it doesn’t transform me back being 8 years old in 1991, waking up early to play SM3. For some, this isn’t a factor. But I’d wager a significant portion of gamers will always prefer a game as it was in their younger days vs. with improvements.
Well said. The OG NES version has a certain charm the others dont have.
The SNES version was released only a couple of years after the original so nostalgia wasn't a factor when remaking.
This is probably the best review of Mario 3 on the internet. I don't think I'm saying this without hyperbole either, you didn't cover the level design in depth as much as I wish you did, but you did pretty much everything else justice, especially the two other versions of the game and actually gave thoughts on how good the e-reader levels were. Also, I wish the footage wasn't as blurry, it worked against you when you wanted to point out the difference in Sprites between Mario wearing and not wearing gloves. It's a shame this video hasn't gotten more attention.
That's a huge honor to hear that! Definitely agree on the video (and audio) quality, as my video upscaling capabilities for original hardware improved pretty much right after I finished this marathon. Some day I'd like to remaster these Mario videos with higher quality footage, improved audio, and better writing to reflect how my style and opinions have evolved, but at the moment I'm focusing more on new videos.
@@PixelPowerstar Best of luck, I'm sure you'll make more great work going forward :)
Playing this game for the 1st time when it came out, it felt game changing ... extremely well-made mechanics, completely fresh and new atmosphere, excellent music, wonderful enemies ... only a handful of games had that feel for me, like the 1st Borderlands, 1st Bioshock, etc. Very rare feeling in gaming experience something fresh and new, yet extremely well made.
This is like the Pokemon Ruby of Mario, perfect vanilla Masterpiece, BANGER Music and Iconic characters. I never grew up with the NES era but Mario 3 is my favorite 2D mario game
SMB3 and SMW are the GOAT.
It annoys me that the channels that actually put time and effort into their videos barely get exposed
On another note, I played this a few days ago, and it felt so good to relive that nostalgia, even if there were a few weak parts *cough* Ice World *cough*
Truly a legacy that is hard to match these days
Ice Land is one of the most fun lands.
@@aaronflowers8881 To each their own, man
I love well done autoscroll levels. As I played these games a lot, having to wait force me to explore more and appreciate it instead of rushing through it like other levels.
E-Reader levels now available for Nintendo Switch GBA expansion pack.
Excellent breakdown of SMB3.
I myself am partial to the OG NES version, which was my introduction to the game over 30 years ago as a 10 year old.
Nostalgia aside, it remains my favorite version for the following reasons:
*The soundtrack. That chip tune music was flawless, and I especially love how sinister the fortress and airship themes sounded on NES. The music on the SNES and GBA versions were too “cute”. And the remakes butchered the World 7 theme!
*Visuals. For an 8 bit game, a premium was placed on singularity of level detail I love how on NES each airship had its own individual color and some sky’s were bright, some were dark, some were dreary looking, there was variety. On SNES and GBA all airships are brown and the sky is dark and stormy. It gets monotonous. Again, the remakes looked too cute at times.
The stark black background and solemn grey blocks of world 2 fortress on NES is way more menacing than the more ornate backdrop of the remakes.
If the SNES version was more orchestral like Pokemon RSE then it would've been better
This is a game that I can say while challenging at times doesn't feel outright cruel or unfair. It's one of those games that with a first time playthrough it can be challenging but as you learn the levels more the game becomes easier as you know what to expect. That's part of the fun of this game. And the levels are at a good enough length that they don't overstay their welcome. This is also one of the more accessible 2-D Mario games when it comes to 100%. 100% completion of SMB3 (according to it's GBA remake anyway) is simply beating all levels in all the worlds. A level is simply anything that consists of some sort of challenge including the enemy courses that are found moving about the map. Because of this Toad Houses and Spade Panels do not count towards completion. Because of this this is a very accessible game to 100%. It's simply a matter of learning the layouts of the levels to get the most optimal path through them without losing a life. Each level tries something new as well introducing creative ideas that challenge the player. For an instance this game probably has one of the best first stages in the game. It is quite open ended for a first level. There are places you can explore everywhere. You can take to the sky with the leaf and find clouds as well as a pipe to a bonus room but if you stick to the ground you can still find some goodies by hitting a switch to turn a bunch of blocks into coins. There are options. Part of the fun I think of this game just comes from exploring these levels and finding everything. And even taking every path possible through them to see what you could find.
SUCH A QUALITY VIDEO OMG YOU DESERVE IT ALL
My first experience with SMB3 was in a bowling alley in a town most of you have never heard of. It was in a Playchoice cabinet before it was released on console and while the Wizard was being advertised but didn't premiere yet. In short this felt like some outlaw experience I never knew existed.
I thought when I saw it it was some bootleg that somehow made it onto nintendo hardware, at least until I actually played it, because how could I not.
Once I started playing it, everything fell into place and I felt at least a bit naughty playing a game that as far as I knew, really was an outlaw experience. But it was just too good not to be official so I got a thrill.
I'll take the NES LIbrary over the PS5 Library any day of the week.
SMB3 is a game that anyone any age can play and have fun. If your a casual or a hardcore gamer you can enjoy it. The replay value is just insane. Ive played it once a year for over 30 years and still have fun playing it. Revolutionary for it time. There aren't many games you can say that about. To me its the GOAT! You have to play the OG NES version, its the best. It has a certain charm that the graphically superior SNES and GBA versions dont have.
This review us very, very good. Please keep releasing content. Subbed.
Amazing video bro. I don’t like the game but I can tell you gonna have fire documentaries going forward.
The only thing the remakes didn’t beat the original in is the music, the og ost is the definition of you can’t beat the classics.
Just beat this game ♥️
I remember bringing my Nintendo and my SM3 cartridge to play on my 8th grade class computer in front of the whole class in May of 1990!
The angry sun i think is based off living in the south during the months of june,july and August
You think this game is a masterpiece??? Someone *CLEARLY* hasn’t played Mario’s Time Machine.
WAIT NO DANG IT YOU GOT ME
Well, time to take the review down. See you in three months for the Mario's Time Machine review!
Thanks for the review, I'll go back over three decades and consider getting it now!
It's kinda cool how one of the remakes was how you first played this masterpiece. I played this game over and over when I was 10, 11 and somehow it never got old. Part of it was being forced to start at the beginning, so I'd be working out the strategy to progress, save items, and survive to the end. PS I had a glitch in my SNES that let me change powerups by hitting select, at any time, on the SMB3 all stars. It had to be my SNES because I replaced it recently and the same cart doesn't do that.
You forgot about the secret ghost ship and all those extra levels on the gba game are actually unused and unfinished levels still found inside the nes smb3 rom
You are absolutely correct,you painted mario 3 exactly how I feel about it,to me it is the best 2d mario game,smw is good but not as good as smb3
Crazy that you don’t have more subs bro
Great job on this review Of Super Mario Bros 3! Keep up the good work with your Videos!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
I agree about the screen crunch. I've rarely had a problem with it
GBA version lets you play as Luigi, so that's my pick.
Ok ill watch 1 video, so far you dont have that memorable vocal presence but thats ok you can manage it ... your content and editing is nice, the background music is something others dont use much...not being a hater, decent work keep it up. Excited to see whats next-siskel ebert
I always loved how strange and magical the cave levels looked in the original, so I can't stand what the remakes did to them. It was a totally unnecessary change.
I love love loved this. Will probably watch again. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
While I agree with your general claim that the SNES graphics are better than the NES ones, I think there are a couple issues brought about by that version.
Firstly, the NES version's backgrounds were consistent within each world but distinct between worlds. Each world had its own sky background color. The SNES version changes this so that the backgrounds are based more around what type of level you're playing. Sky levels look similar, airship levels look similar, water levels look similar, etc. This makes the worlds feel far less like distinct worlds in my opinion.
The second issue is that it feels less like a play. I wish they could have had more detailed backgrounds while keeping some of the cloud and similar sprites in the original. I also find it annoying how the question blocks are no longer nailed down; that fit the play aesthetic perfectly.
While it isn't a huge deal, I also think some of their choices, like changing Bob-ombs from black to blue and Bloopers from white to pink, are stupid and make them less threatening.
Otherwise the SNES graphics are definitely an improvement!
I believe if you combined the P wing with it to Tanooki suit You combine both power ups! Very few people know that
WAIT REALLY? I never knew that! This really is the game that keeps on giving with new tiny details to find every time you play it.
If you're playing two player mode you can also give the second player your power ups from your inventory
Id love to see the Donkey Kong Country series covered!
The Left Bros version of Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES has the same names for the worlds in the credits sequence as the snes and gba versions. The Left Bros version was an earlier version of the game, with the right bros version (the version you used for the nes in the video) being a later revision which changed the names.
35:01 What's goin on here? I went back to see if Mario was invincible but he wasn't. I also thought maybe the Dry Bones' crushed form fell down due to a Donut Block falling but that wasn't the case either. So, how did Mario manage to eliminate the usually only partially beatable enemy?
Yeah wait what the heck? I have no clue how that happened. It seems like maybe the block being about to fall doesn't have collision with the collapsed dry bones. It's the only explanation I can think of. I would go back and check the footage but unfortunately I don't have it any more.
I swore SMB3 had a stand alone cartridge on SNES before the all stars.. the 8bit was favored because the 16 bit one patched out some of the “bugs” like the level where the sun was chasing you, there was a glitch spot at the end you couldn’t to in the 16 bit. There were a few more things like this that people favored the 8 bit. I don’t think i realized that sun could be beaten by throwing a shell at it, until i watched this video.
The giant sprites in World 4 in the NES version being just chunky blown up versions of the low resolution sprites, was EXACTLY what was cool about them. I don't wanna see polished, completely separate giant sprites. Where's the imagination in that?
I guess they look unique but the entire world looks inconsistent. You could also say it’s more imaginative to have the unique 16 bit sprites since special care was put into them to make them look unique which better develops the atmosphere of the world. I wouldn’t call the NES one imaginative. It was the best they could do on limited hardware but nowadays the different pixel densities look inconsistent.
@@PixelPowerstar When I said "Where's the imagination?" I wasn't referring to how imaginative it was on the part of the game makers but rather the imagination that it sparks in the player. Mario games should never look or feel "real" (whatever that means) and the giant pixelated sprites is, for me, an extension of the weirdness of the Super Mario universe. The weirder and more inconsistent the better. Having large pixelated sprites alongside normal smooth ones in the same level? Awesome.
@@SummerBayJournal I see what you mean now, my bad. However, I must respectfully disagree.
While I agree that Mario does not need to be realistic, I don't think that's the problem between the two versions. I'd also like to quibble with your use of "real". While yes, Mario does not need to resemble the real world, I think believability is an important factor in any visual medium that depicts a world and characters, which includes visual consistency. I think there are ways to evoke imagination (like the subtle stage theming embedded in the levels) and there's benefits to abstraction to develop identity. But one major part of Mario 3 is how it tries to expand on its world, characters, and environments. Visuals that are not believable (not necessarily not realistic) are visually jarring, thus taking away from the world that is being portrayed. I do not think that Mario is a game that the player needs to imagine what they are looking at either. I think that this game is a major step forward in visual worldbuilding for the series, which substitutes imagination for immersion, enhancing the experience. Requiring the player to stop and think about a sprite inconsistency in a fast-paced platformer is jarring and removes them from the experience. The 16 bit version irons out the inconsistencies, gives the game a richer sense of color, and uses more detail to create believability and visual appeal. This pushes the game forward stylistically and does not take away anything for me.
The only example where I could say that the 16 bit version takes away the imagination would be World 9 in the 16 bit version of the Lost Levels. It reuses assets that take away from the abstract and surreal style of the Famicom version. But that game is surreal and abstract whereas Mario 3 is more grounded and believable, so its an upgrade rather than a downgrade.
Music in beginning of video?
I don't understand the disliking of the e-Reader levels. You literally got like 40-50% additional content compared to vanilla SMB3 since vanilla has 90 levels and there are 33 e-Reader levels (excluding the first five levels since they're SMB1 rehashes). 33 is 36.7% of 90 but, like you said, the levels are a bit longer so you probably end up getting an experience that's about 40-50% as long as regular SMB3 from the e-Reader levels.
I'm not solely arguing quantity as their basis for worthiness either. The new gimmicks were quirky, fun, and interesting imo.
They're super interesting and I love how many new ideas they bring, it's just that large, nonlinear levels with collectables that you have to get in 1 go on a short time limit with no checkpoints doesn't work with Mario 3, making a select few of them really annoying. On their own as side content they're what make the GBA my favorite version but as Mario 3 levels they don't meet the same quality as what's in the main game and are limited by not being in something like Mario World or NSMB DS with checkpoints and a better system for collectibles. They don't bring down the game at all for me, but they could have been better is all with some simple fixes.
@@PixelPowerstarWhen it comes to your criticisms towards this game like (some of) the visuals of the NES version (which makes sense, but I love how they look in their own ways, especially the SNES version which would inspire Luigi’s Adventure OSE and other Super Mario World hacks to look as great as they are with its style and substance), the 16-bit music of the SNES version (I personally really love the soundtracks of every version of SMB3 except for the bootleg version for the GBC but then again, while it's unofficial, it's still the only version of SMB3, even when compared to the hacks with non-custom music, which sucks the most, so I felt like sticking up to how the music of SMB3 for all versions sound) and the e-Reader levels of SMA4, and with that said, I will also applaud ExoParadigmGamer (via ROR: Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES Vs GBA) and AntDude for having a blast with world e no matter what. Maybe the levels themselves aren’t the best for completionists, but l think they are better for casual runs, which is a very similar charm to Pac-Man World 2 for sixth-gen home consoles even though the Super Mario Advance Games have 2D gameplay, which like with the originals, are platforming bliss), I will praise just about everything Mario 3 in general has to offer to the high heavens for more reasons than just nostalgia for a game pretty much everyone praises the living daylights out of.
My favorite video game of all time.
I will never forget my cousin getting this for his birthday. We completely skipped the cake. What kid does that? We would sneak down in the middle of the night just to play it. You seem a bit pretentious but you're obviously younger and didn't experience this in the moment. And it's ok. You're forgiven.
Best game of all time
World 8's autoscrollers aren't bad (the airship is great, and hard as hell too), but there are too many of them. I wish there were more stages like the numerical levels. Still, not a bad world.
I really love all autoscrollers in Mario 3 from before World 8. The two autoscrollers from World 5 are the best ones!
This game is awesome, with worlds 5 and 6 being its absolute peak in level design!
I really don't understand this Renaissance the 2nd "Mario" game is having. Everything I see on YT talks about how great or logical it was. When it came out literally everyone I knew, knew it wasn't a real Mario game, instead being a reskinned Doki Doki Panic, hated it, hated the reskin, and didn't buy it (although we all played it at some point, usually renting it). If people like it, that's fine, that's their opinion. I just have no idea when that happened. It's like I got moved to a different timeline or something. Lol
I wasn't aware that it was having a renaissance, but if I had to guess, it's probably due to people who grew up with versions that released without the context of it being a reskinned game gaining more of a dominant voice on the internet. Since these games have been rereleased so many times, there are like 3 different decades someone could have grown up with them under a different context.
For example, I had the GBA version and while I could tell it was different from the other Mario games and didn't like it that much, I would have never known it was a reskin of a different game until years later when it was a common piece of internet trivia. However, when I played it, all I saw was that it was the weird 2D Mario game with characters like Shy Guy and Birdo that also appeared in the other Mario games that were released at the time. The fact that it and Yoshis Island made up half of the Mario Advance collection also made more non traditional gameplay feel less out of place alongside Mario 3 and Mario World, even though you could still tell that those were the "real" Mario games
I think it mostly just comes down to generational differences. 2010s era reviews were mostly dominated by people who grew up in the NES era so the reskin narrative became ingrained in the game's identity because it was relevant to them. But now we're seeing younger generations who had a different experience with the game sharing their perspectives, which may be one that is separated from knowing the history of the game or that there was another Mario sequel exclusive to Japan, and those people may be more willing to take the game for what it is. However, an even younger generation who first saw the game through those 2010s youtube reviews that talked about it being a reskin who may want to try the game on virtual console or NSO or something would have the game's reputation as just a reskin as their first impression, so it would kind of wrap back around. It's mostly a matter of perspective and how you experienced the game.
Pixel Powerstar. Wrong. absolutely none of the levels are underdone and there are absolutely no boring or tedious levels anywhere in the game whatsoever. It is 100% THE PERFECT VIDEO GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hehe... now we need a Black Mesa Review.. MWAHAHAHAHA- **cough cough cough cough** **cough** hah.
Maybe some day. I don’t consider myself well-versed enough in FPS design to offer any meaningful analysis that hasn’t already been said.
@@PixelPowerstar Alright, I'm gunna be praying for it🤞..... lol
only played the GBA version recently and got to say it is probably the best version to play at least nowadays
SNES version is better
Even though I grew up with the GBA version, I actually prefer the NES version because its movement and physics feel better and more satisfying to control in that version, plus it's the most challenging version of the game and I like how its artstyle looks like a 1950s cartoon.
Peak cinema
I think it's over hyped, though
I'm surprised you didn't review Yoshi's Island
I might talk about it someday but since this marathon was about the mainline 2D Mario games, it wouldn’t be fair to review Yoshi’s Island as a sequel and compare it to Mario World than to talk about it as it’s own game since it would just highlight all my issues with the game. I might talk about it at some point on its own in the future though.
why is this video and your channel so unpopular
Boost in algorithm
Great video, but the gamplay had me triggered. Was a 5 year old playing?
Yeah there was this guy named Norfar that provided some of the gameplay
@@PixelPowerstar 🤦♂️
Mario!
Collab!
🧡
Bro the all stars version looks so ugly imo
Honestly. Looking back at the level design, don't you think it could've been better? I die many times an I always think I'm bad at the game-apparently level design is unpredictable when you've barely played the game in long periods of time.
I love the NES graphics way more.
I have it #2 of the old school Marios: it was super fun, but all of the powerups make it too easy. Also, W8 seems underdeveloped. I think SMW was better for these reasons. You cannot just load up on powerups and the later game is completely done. The sound on SMA annoys me, but I did grow up with the original! But, you noticed that, too, though you said you did not grow up with it...
SMW has some problems, it was too easy and short and it feels too much like a kid's game, i know that's what it is but SMB3 didn't feel like a kids game that much, still a 2nd when ranking all 2d Mario games, SMB3 is perfectly the best 2d Mario game, if someone asks Me what Mario game to start with, i'll tell them to start with SMB3
@@SMCwasTaken SMB3 was far easier. Even if you point to the cape and Yoshi, there are still hard areas and very hard areas where they do you no good or it's very hard with them(like the secret Fortress in Bowser land). And, SMB3 has the powerup collections(×28), so many 1UPs, and the levels are not nearly as hard as SMW in total! 7-7 is a hard level, but--if you are big--you'll pass it. That's if you cannot do it any other way. Then, every other level a power-up will help you beat it. SMW is not that easy. In addition, both are fun. SMBW is funner, though...Then, there's the 70s hippy levels: most of which are harder than SMB3 hardest levels! And, some of the castles and fortresses are harder than anything ON SMB3!
can't enjoy other than original nes version's graphics
400th like