Story

The story is just plain weird. There?s an Italian Plumber who lives in this strange world out to save a princess from an unknown enemy. Who knows why? I don?t know and I don?t care. All I know is that Mario lives in the coolest world out there!

Game play

Ah?the simple NES controller. It?s the best out there. Super Mario 3?s controls are short, sweet, and to the point. A is jump. B is to run fast. There are more moves that you can do but they require special suits to do so. I?ll talk about that later.

Powerups

What would Super Mario be without powerups? You start the game as a small midget Mario. But as the game progresses, you get bigger and stronger. You do this by hitting bricks with your head (yes, it is crazy). Sometimes, a powerup will come out of the top of the brick. If you catch it, you become better than before. There are usually 2-3 powerups throughout a level, so make sure you get them! Each one will help you in a specific way. If you touch an enemy, you lose that power, and become what you were before you got the powerup. If you get back down to midget Mario and you touch an enemy, you will die, so sometimes it?s good to have the powerup for safety purposes. Here is a list of the powerups you will encounter throughout the game:

White-red dotted mushroom:

Makes Mario twice his original size.

White-green dotted mushroom:

Extra life (a.k.a. 1 up)

Floating Ref Feather/green feather:

This cool powerup allows you to do many different things. 1. Kill things with your tail (press B) 2. Float to the ground (press A simultaneously to do this) 3. Fly for a short period of time (hold down B and run until the ?p? box at the bottom of the screen fills up. Then, jump into the air and press A simultaneously to fly)

Bouncing White Flashing Star:

This one is a little hard to catch, but it?s worth it. The star will give you invulnerability (except for falling into a bottomless pit) for a short period of time. It also changes the music to a faster, cooler beat.

Flower:

Lets you throw an unlimited supply of fire balls (press B, or press B simultaneously for a quick burst of fireballs) that will kill most enemies.

Frog Suit:

The frog suit lets Mario do a way cool jump and makes it easier to swim under water. However, the suit is very hard to control on land.

Bear Suit:

I don?t know what this suit is called, but it looks like a bear suit to me! Despite the looks, it does nothing that a bear does. It allows all the abilities of the red feather powerup, plus, it lets you turn into a statue, completely invulnerable to enemies for a short period of time (hold the down button on the D-pad and press B)

Special Powerups

These powerups are ?special.? They?re extremely rare. Here?s what I mean:

Cloud Face:

This powerup lets you skip a level and fight in the next one. The bad thing about it is that if you don?t beat the level, you?re sent back to the last level you beat and the powerup was for nothing.

P-Wing:

The P-Wing allows you to fly for an entire level, out of harm?s reach. It?s great for using levels that you?re stuck on.

Whistle:

There are only two whistles throughout the entire game and are extremely hard to find. ?One toot on this whistle will send you to a far away land.? That?s exactly what the whistle does. By using it, you can unlock a number of the worlds in Mario.

The Worlds

There are 8 worlds in Super Mario 3. Each has its own theme. As you discover new worlds, each will be more challenging than the last. Here is a list of worlds you will encounter:

World 1:

The easiest world of all. It doesn?t really have a theme.

World 2:

The desert world. It proves harder than the last, but is still pretty easy. You will face an angry sun, and jumping fire snakes.

World 3:

The Water world. The world makes sharks look like goldfish. Prepare to take a dip in the most dangerous waters ever!

World 4:

World of giants. Think you had things tough already? Try it with all the bad guys four times their original size! SCARY!

World 5:

The City in the Clouds. Pretty much like the first world, except a whole lot more difficult. This is one of the most fun worlds in Mario!

World 6:

The Ice Age. This world is hard (aren?t they all) because the entire world is covered in ice, making it difficult to run. Watch your step!

World 7:

Weird World. Don?t know who to explain this world. Let?s put it this: EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!

World 8:

Death Row. WARNING! Only extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely good Mario players should attempt this world. It is the definition of tough?and maybe suicide. You will lose lives like crazy just playing level one! And that?s if you survive the ships that you have to beat.

Bad Guys

Super Mario has proven to have some of the weirdest (yet interesting) bad guys of all time. You take on turtles, toads, fire breathing flowers, you name it. I know I?ve done two already but I?m going to do another list. This time of the bad guys you?ll encounter in the game:

Turtles:

These turtles can actually help you. Jumping on them forces them into their shell, then you get to play with them. Hold down B and touch the shelled turtle. By doing this you pick up the turtle. Release the B button to send it hurtling into enemies. There are three types of turtles. The regular green or red turtles, flying turtles, and skeleton turtles (you can?t kill them. Jumping on them crushes them, but in about five seconds they ?fix? themselves and get back up).

Toads:

These are probably the stupidest bad guys in the whole game. They simply walk along, waiting for you to squash them. They?re so dumb, they?ll even fall into bottomless pits without knowing it. Despite the fact that they are really stupid, there are different versions of the toads that are better than the originals. There are flying toads, and flying toads that drop little toads. Touching one of these bad boys makes it so that you can only jump about 2 feet in the air. It isn?t fun. Another version of the toad is one that hides in bricks. It?s impossible to distinguish them from a regular brick. Getting close to them makes the toad jump into the air. If you break brick it hides in by jumping on it, the toad dies.

Boss toad:

You fight the boss toad after making your way through the castles that you find in each world. They can be hard, and some of them even fly! Simply jump on their heads three times to make them explode into thin air.

Throwing guys:

There are a number of bad guys that throw things at you. They could throw hammers, or boomerangs, or fire balls. Don?t touch their objects of destruction or you die. They are hard to beat, especially when they come in pairs, so watch out of these guys.

Fire breathing plants:

These guys breathe fireballs at you.

Wand Carriers:

These guys are the bosses that you face after getting through the ship. They are the best of the best. Hit them three times on the head to beat them. After doing that, you get the magic wand and turn the king back into whatever stupid thing he was transformed into.

Graphics

The Mario 3 graphics has the NES cartoon feeling, though it proves to look better than most NES games.

Sound

Everyone knows the sound of Super Mario 3. From the BOING of Mario?s jump, to shrinking sound when he gets hit, to the classic Mario theme song. Everything?s the way we love it.

Appropriateness

The only thing I could find ?offensive? is that there?s magic in the game. It?s barely there though. The only place I hear it mentioned is when the little mushroom guy says, ?The King?s been transformed! Please find the MAGIC WAND so we can change him back!? But that?s it. A 2 year old could play this game for all I care it?s so clean!

Overall

A great game that every gamer has to play. Super Mario 3 (in my view) is the best Mario game ever and one of the greatest video games of all time! Enjoy!