This is another one of my favorite video games of all time, this game is a timeless classic that has not just revolutionized platform action genre of video games but changed our perspective in how video games were made and played forever.
Believe it or not this is the very first video game I played, I was about 5 or 6 years old; every time we went to the video arcade, I played this game every chance I could get. I just absolute fell in love with this because it was nothing I've ever seen before and had just about everything I could ever want in a game.
And once I got the NES console of my own, I played the heck out of the game, it really made the experience all the more awesome because I had the video game at my home and can play it any time I wanted and as much as I wanted; let alone getting that console and game with it truly changed my life forever as it really set my on the road to being a gamer as well as game collecting. Even today as an adult I still play this game, which shows how timeless it truly is.
There is so much to love about this game. The graphical presentation was great for it's time and still looks good today. I feel this game is one of the prime examples in using graphic presentation the right way and for the right reasons. I really love the amount of detail from the presentation, from how well designed the characters are down to the background which presented an entire world. But also made it feel like you were playing a cartoon show, which makes sense as 80's cartoon shows were one of the big things of that decade.
Music is just excellent and timeless as you can probably get them as your ringtone or even hear numerous remixes. From that theme song which always makes me think about Mario every time I hear it, the underground, under water, and the final castles which always had music that really made you feel a sense of dread and danger and for good reason.
But of course, what really sold this is he gameplay is just excellent, there were plenty of platform action games before like the arcade games, "Donkey Kong". But the thing about that game and others where they were contained action as they all took place in one arena.
This game was much different as it was more than just going from point A to B in one area but a whole piece of land and more and more after it, which made this game feel like you really were on an adventure. Each of the levels and stages are always different which all contain a different challenge, you truly never really what to expect.
And to me that was just part of the joy of the game to have different experiences and play through them. Like the underwater level, which was really cool, I always love underwater where your always trying to avoid those squids or bird like fish. Then there are the castle levels which are the trickiest, I'll admit as a kid made me nervous because by their nature their death traps designed to kill you.
The game's difficulty isn't too hard but it's not that easy, I really like the difficulty in this game where it's actually balanced where at first it's not so hard but as you progress the game gets a little more challenging and tricky, which really tests your actions, reactions, and wits. It's true there are no continues but that's because by it's nature the game is actually not too long, you can zip by each of the levels once you get them all down, the ability to acquire extra lives, or if you know the secrets you can win the game really fast.
I really love how each of the levels also contain secrets from those question blocks even hidden ones which always contain points or even power up. Like the mushroom that can make you grow bigger, which is just a device to give you another life in the game. The star which gives you temporary invincibility. But my absolute favorite is the Fire Flower, which is awesome as your almost unstoppable, you can wield and throw fireballs at about any opponent including the end boss on each of the worlds.
There is a very good variety of enemies which always change the more you progress and get more dangerous. Like the Gombas whom are evil walking mushrooms. Thought two I've always was the most concerned about was this turtle that was flying on a cloud and kept dropping red turtles that were armed with nasty spikes, those things made me nervous because they were really hard to kill, except if you have a fire flower or even if possible a turtle shell. And of course, Koopa himself which was Bowser's name at the time (I still don't understand the need to change the name), him always shooting out fireballs. The only ways to beat him are with the fire flower or to somehow find a way past him to get to the axe to chop the bridge down which gets tricky further on.
And of course, Mario himself whom is pretty much whom Mickey Mouse is to the Disney Company. He was one of the very first video game protagonists ever and he's still endeared even today. This video game protagonist was truly special because this is not a protagonist with muscle, but one that was from the blue-collar end of things as he's wearing that plumping uniform. This made him relatable because he was the average joe that was chosen to save both the princess and the fantasy realm, it really shows how anyone can be a hero.
This vintage classic just like Mario himself is timeless fun.
Rating: 4 stars
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