It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this game. For those unaware, there indeed is an arcade version of the original Super Mario Bros. video game. While mainly a gimmick by Nintendo to try and sell more NES systems, the arcade version is somewhat different from its home counterpart.
STORY: Bowser kidnaps Princess. Mario saves Princess, repeat… you know, this story was concocted and puked out so many times through the franchise’s long run that it is already getting stale even when reviewing a game which originated the storyline. 5/10
GRAPHICS: If you’ve played SMB1 on the original NES, don’t expect much of a difference in terms of the graphics department. You still have the same blocks, same goombas, same Mario, same everything… alright, there’s a new typeface in this game, but besides that, it’s essentially the same. 8/10
SOUND: I think Nintendo got lazy when they were doing this game. Either that or it was a marketing ploy to get people frustrated with spending money on a difficult arcadegame to go out and buy an NES, which had a version of the very same game that was generally EASIER… the sound and music is classic and similar to what you would hear on the NES original. Nothing really enhanced, but what did you expect? 8/10
GAMEPLAY: Once again, control is tight and responsive. Although I’ll never get used to playing a Mario game with an actual joystick as opposed to a digital control pad, it doesn’t really hamper the experience. The game retains the 2-player alternating mode, which is alright. 8/10
CHALLENGE: Here is where things change. In terms of level design, they took a bunch of levels from both the original SMB game and the Japanese SMB2 (a.k.a. The Lost Levels) game, put them in a ”hard” mode of sorts and created a game with them. That alone makes for a decent challenge, but to further complicate matters, there are certain changes made in some levels to make them harder and different (i.e. a block missing, a block added, minor stuff like that.) Mazes have somewhat different paths now and well… it’s tougher. It’s not exactly SMB2 Japan tough, but it’s close enough. 8/10
REPLAY VALUE: The mentality of arcade games is that you’d play for points. When Nintendo came along, you’d played until you won. The game has very little replay value, particularly because almost everyone had an NES at the time and would rather play plain old SMB at home, where they could sit down if they wanted to… and the game’s easier. Still, it has one thing SMB doesn’t have… a fairly decent ending. That’s not saying much. 3/10
OVERALL: Like SMB2 Japan, the actual arcade game is hard to find and so is the emulated version. In the end though, despite its variety, it is still essentially SMB1 and you’re better off with the NES version. However, it’s worth a look if you’re curious. 7/10
dtm666 