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Jan 14th, 2008 at 03:00:30 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Second entry--
Gameplay:
I haven't grown bored of SMB3 yet. It's still ridiculously entertaining and fun. There are always small little things within levels to make things interesting, like when you're in 'Giant Land' (World 4), and everything is huge, but you can enter "doors" (little black rectangles... I guess they're supposed to be doors) to make everything normal-sized again.
I still find the most interesting part of the game to be the different forms you can take (frog, raccoon, etc.) It was a really innovative idea to implement into a Mario game, and they make things so much easier. How annoying are water levels, swimming incredibly slowly.... until you put on the frog suit? After that, everything goes by so much more quickly; what a relief. Water levels can tend to be a little tedious in these sorts of games (I know they slightly irritate me in Super Mario Galaxy), but SMB3 sidesteps this by allowing an easier alternative.
Being the raccoon is always fun, too. You get to fly, in any case; what's more fun than that? I'm still stuck on trying to figure out who decided that raccoons can fly, but... I guess I'll let it slide.
This game isn't incredibly difficult, in my opinion. I think it has the right amount of challenge and ease. There are certain times that are frustrating, mostly dealing with jumping/timing, but that's all part of the fun.
Design:
Like most Mario games, the worlds are divided by type (Grass Land, Water Land, etc.), and, for the most part, they tend not to stray very far from the typical SMB game, except in their utilization of the different Mario forms. The levels aren't too terribly similar to each other, though, which helps it from being too repetitive or "just another Super Mario Brothers game." The levels are usually pretty interesting and just challenging enough to keep you interested.
The tone of the game overall is pretty happy and carefree (except, of course, in the fortresses, where everything is dark and scary and full of fire), created by the use of light colors and enemies that are too cute to seem very "evil." Not that you should let that stop you from stomping on their heads, of course. It's a pretty silly game; playing it makes me smile, which is always a good thing.
I do get annoyed with the dialogue when you save a king, though: it's always the same exact thing over and over (just like when you used to always get a "The princess is in another castle!"), but at least it's a rather short segment and not paragraphs of text or anything. Other than that, I have few complaints with this game, though whether that is due to my nostalgia of playing this at 6 or so or because it truly is a good game, I might be unfit to say. I'd like to say that it's because it's an amazingly awesome game, though, so I shall :)
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Jan 13th, 2008 at 17:47:19 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Summary:
You play Mario (duh) and have to make your way through worlds in a typical Mario fashion (except in this game you can turn into not only Fire Mario but also Raccoon Mario, Tanooki Mario, and Frog Mario) until you get to the fortresses at the end in which you have to kill the Koopalings in order get magic wands to save the kings that have been transformed by Bowser. What, no princess to save? I wish. Of course she pops up much later in the game, but whatever.
Gameplay:
I remember this was always my favorite Super Mario Bros. game as a kid, but I couldn't remember much about it other than the fact that you could turn into a raccoon and fly (though this really makes no sense whatsoever). Curious as to whether my love of this game was restricted to simple adorability or actual gameplay, I figured that I would play it again to find out.
First off, the music is incredible. I fell in love with this game all over again just from hearing it. I mean, I know it's basically just a re-hash of the old music, but there are some differences (or my memory is fuzzy). It's a little funky and has some interesting experiments in dissonance that I really appreciate.
The levels are set out in a series of lines that you travel along to get to your next destination: either a level, fortress/mini-fortress, pipe, or a Toad-house. The inclusion of Toad houses are a fun addition, I think, not only allowing you to acquire more items but also breaking up the typical level-level-level progression that these games tend to have.
The story is so-so, though I really appreciate not having to hear about another princess that has to be saved for most of the game. It's not like I'd really be playing Mario games for some superb story or anything. It's just a really fun game to play, and the story is almost nonexistent except to give you some semblance of order.
As far as a two-player game goes, I didn't have anyone around to try it out with (or, at least, anyone who liked video games; my roommate came in once and just looked at me kind of strangely because she hates video games), though I suppose I could have tried it out by playing both players. I'm sure it's just as fun as one-player is, maybe even more when you have someone to make fun of.
All in all, I had a very enjoyable hour or so playing through this very nostalgic game. I really love being able to turn into different animals (and not simply for cute-factor, though the cuteness cannot be denied... except that the frog suit looks like a "onesie" and that's slightly frightening). It really adds a more enjoyable experience to the game, as it allows you many more options than simply "jump up and hit this box." I could play this forever.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Jan 13th, 2008 at 18:42:55.
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