Super Mario Bros. Deluxe

Pros • It's in glorious color • extras like hidden printable pictures, and the Toy Box • all the great 8-bit sounds and music • Full Version of original NES classic • history lesson on the go • Challenge and two-player linked Vs. modes	Cons • we've all played it • the control is a little less precise than the later Mario games
Bottom Line To play Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on your Game Boy Color is akin to sitting down with a DVD reissue of Casablanca. They’ve made ‘em better since then but man, they came awfully close to perfection the first time around, didn’t they? The gameplay of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe is so obvious, so absolutely ubiquitous, it almost feels like parody. Hey, haven’t I seen these flying turtles, exploding blocks and sliding platforms a million times before? Yes. Yes you have. The only thing is, and you have to constantly remind yourself of this while playing the game, this is the first time that all of these Mario-centric elements came together to create a cohesive and extremely lengthy action-adventure. At the time of Super Mario Bros.’ release, no one was sure that Miyamoto’s playfulness would inspire the entire videogame industry to adopt his work as the platform game bible. Hell, at the time, nervous executives weren’t even sure if part two of this videogame fad was going to last at all.

People always ask me if I get sick and tired of “Miyamoto this” and “Miyamoto that.” I can’t tell you how many smarmy PlayStation-devoted gamers have come up and needled me. “Are you in love with Shigeru Miyamoto,” they ask? I also get, “What’s the deal with you and that Nintendo-guy?” Or, better still, “Did you shave your mustache, Mario?”

Hey, I can take a joke. I’m not that sensitive. I know that what these people are saying is that they completely understand my fascination with all things Miyamotan. After all, he’s simply the best videogame designer in the world and he has been since practically the first day he sat down at his desk to think up Donkey Kong. Shigeru Miyamoto is an artist that has ALWAYS thought out of the box. He has ALWAYS stretched boundaries. He has ALWAYS innovated. And he has ALWAYS produced quality software. If you need proof, take a look at his 1985 masterpiece, Super Mario Bros..

What’s that you say? You can’t find your dusty old NES at the bottom of your videogame system-packed closet? No problem. Nintendo, the company that seems ready to seize on any recycling opportunity, has generously updated Miyamoto’s original 8-bit marvel for its brand new Game Boy Color. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe is the new moniker for this mini-cart. Slap this puppy into your portable and you’re on an instant flight path to a simpler time.

GOLDEN AGE GAMING

The gameplay of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe is so obvious, so absolutely ubiquitous, it almost feels like parody. Hey, haven’t I seen these flying turtles, exploding blocks and sliding platforms a million times before? Yes. Yes you have. The only thing is, and you have to constantly remind yourself of this while playing the game, this is the first time that all of these Mario-centric elements came together to create a cohesive and extremely lengthy action-adventure.

At the time of Super Mario Bros.’ release, no one was sure that Miyamoto’s playfulness would inspire the entire videogame industry to adopt his work as the platform game bible. Hell, at the time, nervous executives weren’t even sure if part two of this videogame fad was going to last at all.

The brilliance of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe is that the cart cleverly recaptures that same sense of wonder that first time players of the original must have felt. The packaging and manual for the new game are brilliant. Terrific cartoon imagery of Mario and the rest of the cast in the game are juxtaposed against screen shots of the primitive looking game. The graphics of this 8-bit title aren’t that impressive (even by Game Boy standards) but the illustrations clearly suggest that this Mario adventure feels like all of the other Marios that have come since.

That’s the real significance of this cartridge. Here’s a fifteen year-old game that pretty much offers up the same kinds of puzzles and challenges that platform games have been offering since it’s original release. Does this game play better than all of the action-adventure platformers that have come and gone in the years following its introduction? No. Certainly Miyamoto’s own NES sequels to this title are far superior. And almost every developer of 8- and 16-bit side scrolling software brought some innovation to the mix.

To play Super Mario Bros. Deluxe on your Game Boy Color is akin to sitting down with a DVD reissue of Casablanca. They’ve made ‘em better since then but man, they came awfully close to perfection the first time around, didn’t they?

PRIMITIVE MAGIC

In terms of what’s available on the Super Mario Bros. Deluxe cartridge, look for a recreation of the full original game, with some hidden surprises (think images to print out with your Game Boy Printer).

There’s also a Challenge mode that lets you go back and race through the levels you’ve cleared. Except this time you only have one life and you have to clear the level as fast as possible, while hunting for bonus prizes like red coins and Yoshi eggs. Two players can also link up and enter into a Vs. competition. (a visit with Luigi!)

In addition, there are a number of goodies available in a section of the cart called the Toy Box. Click into here and you can cycle through dozens of pre-drawn Nintendo icons, play around with a fully working calendar and even have your fortune read.

Is the cartridge worth your $30 investment? Absolutely. The gameplay, while aged and familiar, is still extremely engaging. Younger gamers, who maybe weren’t around the first time Mario took over the world, will find that this adventure, despite its rudimentary appearance, is just as much fun as the Mario games they may be more familiar with. Miyamoto knew what he was doing.

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