Live Magazine September 2014 Volume 9/2014 | Page 26

SUPER
MARIO 3

Super Mario 3 was the 8 bit AAA title
that still amazes gamers today. After the thrill of playing Super Mario
Brothers on our NES and seeing all
those fancy scrolling levels, the average Nintendo punter was a Mario
fan. After the slapped together version of Super Mario 2 ( a reskinned
version of Doki Doki Panic on the
Famicom) gamers were wondering
wha t the moustached plumber had
up his sleeve.
Mario 3 brought the series to new
dizzying heights, with the Plumber
returning to form. We had Tanuki
suits which made us fly, Overworld
maps, mini games, magic flutes and
hours of sublime platforming entertainment. The tight controls that just
felt right, the rich colourful sprites

and worlds, the cheery music. It
looked all shiny and different, but it
felt so familiar.

Mario 3 delivered, and it still delivers
to this day. Players all over the world
are still finding new things in the
game, secret areas, bizarre glitches
or just trying to be the quickest in the
world finishing the game via speedrunning.
The anticipation for this game was
huge too. We all were treated to its
first appearance in the movie (Advertisement more like it…cough…) The
Wizard. A film that had the protagonists competing in a tournament of
the new mysterious game….Super
Mario 3! Such was Nintendos cunning, to unveil its new AAA game via

SPECIAL REPORT: aaa games

a movie!! Aside from the main game
the film was littered with Nintendo
paraphernalia, power gloves, Nintendo Playchoice arcade cabs…you
name it, it was there. But the spotlight was of course on Mario 3. Gamers flocked to the cinemas to see the
latest incarnation of their hero. They
“oohed and aahed” as the “mute
gaming kid” in the film somehow
was a genius at the game and oddly
knew how to get the warp whistle on
his first try of the game…. So aside
from a sub-par film, we ran out of the
cinemas and began the “begging of
the parents” for a copy of the game.
Mario was back, and in style, and
as per usual, setting the benchmark
and innovating to keep gamers, and
other developers on their toes.

Written by Tim Arnold

www.stickytriggerentertainment.com