Reviews

Super Mario Bros.

—Overview—
Super Mario Bros. is Mario's first side-scrolling adventure. Lots of new skills are introduced here, like swimming, fireball throwing, etc. Mario can now defeat enemies by jumping on them, and there are many power-ups to aid him in his quest. The Super Mushroom changes Mario into Super Mario. As Super Mario, he can now break blocks by hitting them from underneath. Getting touched by an enemy will change him back to normal (Small) Mario, instead of taking a life away. The Fire Flower gives Mario the ability to shoot fireballs. A powerful item for Mario, but he earns less points for fireballing an enemy compared to stomping on them.

—Objective—
Save Princess Toadstool.

—Strategy—
Try smashing blocks everywhere; there are lots of hidden 10-Coin Blocks. Invisible blocks containing coins or 1-Ups are scattered throughout the levels.
If Super or Fiery Mario gets hit by an enemy, he will be invincible for a few seconds as he reverts to normal (Small) Mario. Take advantage of this.

—Tips and Tricks—

• If you touch the flagpole when the last digit of the timer is a 1, 3, or 6, fireworks will go off, giving you 500 points each. The number of fireworks you get matches the last digit on the timer.
• Kill Bowser with fireballs to earn 5,000 points.
• Kick turtle shells and/or jump on many enemies in a row. Point value goes up for each enemy you hit in a row; after 8,000 points you start getting 1-Ups.
• Warp Zones
• World 1-2 - Use the lifts after the Red Koopa Troopa to jump on the "ceiling" of the level. Continue right to find the Warp Zone, where you can warp to Worlds 2, 3, or 4.
• World 4-2 -
  1. There are many places where you can get on the ceiling and go all the way to the right á la World 1-2) to find the Warp Zone to World 5.
  2. After the part with the 3 Goombas and seven [?] blocks, there will be a pit. In the first of the three blocks on the other side is a vine which takes to Warp Zone, but there are four invisible blocks under it, that when hit in the wrong order can make access to the vine impossible for Super or Fiery Mario. Get to the other side and stand on the last block before the pit, on the ground. Jump to hit the first invisible block. Next, go two blocks to the right and jump to hit the second invisible block. Move one more block to the right, and jump again. Now, use the third and second blocks as steps to hit all 3 blocks above you. The one all the way on the right should is the vine. Now if you want an extra coin, drop down and jump up between the first and second invisible blocks to reveal yet another invisible block.
• Be Small and Fiery Mario - This is a cool trick, but is rather difficult to pull off. Being either Super or Fiery Mario, get behind Bowser and let him walk towards you. Jump, and try to land on the Axe and Bowser at the same time. You will defeat Bowser and move on as Super Mario. In the next World, the next powerup you'll get is a Mushroom, which will make Mario small. Next item you'll get is a Fire Flower, which will turn you Fiery, but you will remain small. Pretty spiffy eh?
• The Minus World - A hidden, infinite water level, only accessible through World 1-2. Here's what you do: As Super Mario, get all the way to the green pipe at the end of 1-2. Stand on top of the pipe and smash the blocks above you. Do not smash the very last block on the right. Now, stand on the end of the pipe and face left. Jump straight up, then press and hold Right on the controller. What you are trying to do here is jump through the bottom left corner of the block backwards. If you do it just right, Mario will slide through the block and be pulled through the wall. Once you see Mario going through the wall, go down the first pipe before it says "WELCOME TO WARP ZONE." You will not come out in 4-1, but in -1. Yes, that's right, -1. World -1 is just like 2-2, but the pipe at the end takes you back to the beginning. You cannot beat -1, but it does give you lots of swimming pratice :)

—Pros—
Very addictive.

—Cons—
Keeping the continue code a secret probably lessened the replay value for certain players.