Retro Review: Super Mario Bros. Deluxe

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Platforms: Game Boy Color, Virtual Console (3DS)
Players: 1-2

Long before remasters were a common thing, there was Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. The original Super Mario Bros. hardly needs an introduction. It was a pioneer in platform style video games, and video games in general. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe is a re-release of the game with some enhancements and extra features for the Game Boy Color.

To begin with, the classic 1985 game is included in its entirety. It’s a straightforward platforming game which helped to define the genre. Your objective is to move Mario from left to right while jumping to avoid obstacles. At its core, it is as simple as that. The real joy in the game comes from the clever level design, offering enough variety in a short amount of time to leave the player satisfied with the overall experience. Being an NES game originally with no saving option, the game can be run through in 2-3 hours. There are 8 worlds, each with 4 stages. For being so old, the game holds up quite well. It presents a progressive level of challenge as you continue through the game, slowly introducing the player to new concepts until it culminates in the ultimate challenge within the final world. One of the things I like the most about the game is that there are generally a couple of options to how you can approach progressing through each level, yielding different rewards. There are even shortcuts you can take if you want to speed up the process.

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Let's be honest though, if you are playing video games you probably know plenty about the original Super Mario Bros. already. So instead, let's talk about what the Game Boy Color’s deluxe version brings to the table. There are minor graphical updates, which mostly involve added animations or smoothed out animations. Super Mario Bros. has a very distinctive yet simple art style, which holds up quite well to this day and doesn’t lose any of its value on the Game Boy Color. Some sound effects have been added in order to keep it more engaging and 'modern'. The controls are also designed to be tighter, allowing for more precise control than the original offered. Finally, due to the size of the GBC's screen the whole viewing area is diminished slightly. You can press up or down at any time to scroll to the parts of the screen you can't see. This is a slight annoyance, especially when trying to speed through stages, but is an understandable compromise due to the screen size.

The hard mode from the original game is also included. At any point, you can save the game in one of up to 3 save slots, so that you can jump back into the game at the same stage you left off at. Be warned: if you come back later your score will reset. This is also a bit of a downside, because the score is really the only thing to shoot to improve. This means that you are forced to play the game in one sitting if you want to get a new high score. The game being relatively short helps alleviate this a bit, but it's still a poor design choice in the grand scheme of things.

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There is also a VS. Mode where you can link up with another player and race through the stage for the best time and score (similar to what some of the Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog games did). You can also unlock the ability to do a solo VS. Mode, which involves racing against a Boo of varying difficulty. There is a 'Records' screen to view high scores; there is also an Albums section where you can view unlocked images (which can be printed if you own the Game Boy Printer); there is a Toy Box where you can view a calendar and mark dates, view your fortune and also unlock a couple other features (all of which can be printed using the printer accessory as well).

To top it off, there are a couple of features which I found especially exciting. The first is a Challenge mode. This mode allows you to select any stage from the main game to play for a high score with the addition of hidden special red coins or a Yoshi egg. This adds a whole new dynamic to the main game, since you will be actively searching for collectibles rather than just trying to gather as many coins and power-ups as you can as you progress. The other bonus feature can be unlocked by hitting a specific score in the main game. Once you hit this score, you unlock the ability to play the original Super Mario Bros. 2 (in America, referred to as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels or in this game as Super Mario Bros: For Super Players). The sequel presents a much higher challenge and adds some new dynamics to the level design that will surely test even the best players of the first game. While this sounds amazing, it’s unfortunate that they chose to include the Super Mario All-Stars version of the game. This means that some things are toned down to make the game more accessible, and the final secret world was removed. That being said, it’s still nice that an entire second game is included as an unlockable.

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Despite the minor flaws that come with this release, I'd still call this the definitive release of the original Super Mario Bros. It is packed full of features, and does the best job of preserving the original game while still updating it to be a bit better. If you haven't played the game before I can highly recommend this version. It is an important piece of gaming history, and now with it being on the 3DS Virtual Console it's easy to get a hold of. In short, get it and play it! Especially, if like me, you hadn't played it before.

NOTE: If you plan on playing this game on the 3DS via the Virtual Console, please note that all multiplayer features are disabled. The printer function is, of course, disabled as well. The tradeoff is that you can use the Restore Point feature to save at any moment. Besides these difference, it functions identically to the GBC original.

- Teepu (Bowser05)

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Graphics: AMAZING
Sound: PERFECT
Gameplay: PERFECT
Value: PERFECT
 
OVERALL: PERFECT

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