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Garr's Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
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| [January 27, 2007 09:58:41 PM]
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Gamelog on Super Mario Bros. 3 from classics list due 1/31/07 session 2
Start Time: 3:00
End Time: 4:00
After playing a second time I began to question the game-world that Mario comes from and I realized the whole setting is rather strange. Mario is a jumping plumber, Peach keeps getting kidnapped by a dinosaur, toad is a mushroom head character, and who knows about the rest of the enemies. It made me wonder why this game is so good and critically acclaimed and the only why I could reason with it is that the mix between perfect game design and a completely fictional (that no one can question or relate to) makes a great game. The fact that nothing is believable makes the game more enjoyable then playing as a solider fighting real enemies. The fact that a fat plumber is the hero just makes the game more enjoyable. Also, the game is designed really well and counts on very few rules which makes for a game of emergence. Each player can get a different experience from playing the game because there are different routes , jumps, abilities and actions that take place even with the linear travel across the level. I like to jump on the guys with the turtle shells even if it doesn’t help me because it’s a strangely fun action. Someone else may go for all the coins where most levels I don’t go at all out of my way for them. Easy to play but definitely hard to master.
As I mentioned Mario 3 doesn’t seem to have a strong story involved because there are few “cutscenes” in the game and you aren’t really giving goals or objectives. Though this is normally a bad element in the game, in Mario’s case its just a new way of proceeding using spatial segmentation rather than narrative, but the game value is still present.
Overall I was able to get a reasonable ways through the game but it was still hard for me even though there is only two bottoms needing to be pushed. I got mildly frustrated with slipping off moving platforms but it didn’t stop me from trying a few more times until I got through the level and then there is a sense of accomplishment. That is the second most rewarding part in Mario, the feeling of delayed gratification which is right behind jumping on a goomba.
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| [January 27, 2007 05:22:24 PM]
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Gamelog on Super Mario Bros. 3 from classics list due 1/31/07
Start Time: 1:40
End Time: 2:35
I decided to play Mario Bros. 3 because it is considered by many to be the best game of all time and after only fifteen to twenty minutes I can see why it is so often praised. I have played Super Mario 3 when I was young but coming back after many years I realized there is a lot I have forgot. Like most NES games Super Mario 3 is very unforgiving. I spent a few minutes on the first level just trying to get a grasp on the feel of the controls and how you can make longer jumps by holding the run botton and jumoing but you have a better chance of sliding off the edge. I found that the fear of slipping off the platforms was so great that I didn't explore the levels much but instead proceeded to the end as quickly as possible.
Mario 3 is very reliant on gameplay rather than story since I only found out that the king lost his wand and returning it to him returned him to his natural form. Even without a serious story to drive the player on it still keeps the player very interested throughout play. I fdound that the challenged offered by each new platform is very addicting to try to master. For example, the third level starts the moving platforms that if you run too fast to jump on the you usually go right off the edge and it took me a few times to get it. The design of reasonable but yet substantial challenges is excellently created by this game that is more than fifteen years old. The level design is perfect in the combo of flow of levels working in the strange Mario world and the difficult but do-able challenges made by platformer placement and enemy occurance. The game keeps the player interest because even when I was frustrated from falling off the edge I was still very satisfied by jumping on a goomba and having it flatten under Mario. The whole experience is enjoyable.
The sound is also very well placed in that the perfect little tune comes on when you fall off the edge or the suspense music in the castle. The music is very good but it is a bit short sided in the way that its not always presentd or noticeable. I wouldn't normally draw attension to the music but after playing super mario world and mario 64 I can tell that it was greatly improved in later games by adding more dynamic music and sound effects.
The character Mario is as loveable and random as ever. I'm quite confused why there is a plummer jumping around everywhere, but his ability to get bigger and /or throw fire or grow a tail is quite fun. I think Mario is a very enjoyable character even in his early days of Mario 3. The way he jumps around very bounce and has a smile all the time makes the character dsomeone you can get attached to. His abilities are great too, I found that once I got his tail to make him float I was much more careful not to get hurt because the ability makes jumping to platforms much easier.
I'm going to continue with my next session the report back.
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Garr's Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
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Current Status: Stopped playing - Something better came along
GameLog started on: Thursday 25 January, 2007
GameLog closed on: Saturday 3 February, 2007 |
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