Super Mario Bros. 3 scores 9/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
8-Bit Poetry for Nintendo's Masterpiece!
by Simon Larocca·April 6, 2025
Video games that made history. Often what makes the difference, between personal taste and the actual value of a game, is the number shown on our identity card. As the years pass and technologies change, it is no longer just a matter of graphical power, because the criteria for judgment change, the type of stories told, and many other elements. However, there are titles so immense that they cannot be classified according to normal standards.
Super Mario Bros 3, perhaps the most melodious swan song for NES, is one of these.
Il battage publicity was clamorous, worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster: considering that it was released in Japan at the end of the Eighties and in Europe a full three years later, in 1991, Super Mario Bros 3 was endowed with a legendary aura that transformed it from a mere commercial product into a cult phenomenon.
Mario and Luigi return with a refreshed graphical look, the explosion of colors that envelops the game’s eight worlds is a feast for the eyes, as is the sound department, packed full of hits still used today in reels and social media content dedicated to retro gaming.
Rigorously 2D, it is the last of the 8-bit saga and represents the conclusion of the first trilogy. Dealing with the terrible Bowser and his evil offspring (but who is the mother?! I keep asking myself), Mario will have to make his way through worlds of land, water, and sky, snatching elusive stars and leaves capable of transforming him into a flying raccoon so as to unlock new areas of the game and collect coins: the transformations in SM3 are exceptional and will often make the difference between game over and level-completion success!
As always, the absent-minded Princess Peach is nowhere to be found, but she’s not the only problem we’ll have to deal with: the villain’s children have stolen the scepters of the rulers who govern the various regions of the Mushroom Kingdom and, not content with that, have turned them into animals.
Fun and drama run on the same tracks, all in Nintendo style. Being an old-school platformer, you will absolutely have to master timing and the “dash + jump” combo in order to overcome the levels that, from the second world onward, will put your patience to the test, as well as the structural integrity of your gamepad and the walls of your living room! Because let’s face it: who among you has never hurled some under-18-forbidden insults while playing the “Evil Sun” level, with its habit of spinning into you and burning your plumber overalls? Don’t worry, in any case: the Fire Flower that lets you shoot fireballs, or the original Frog Suit that will make you swim through aquatic levels as well as, if not better than, Federica Pellegrini, are just some of the power-ups you can collect.
Worth noting is the presence of minigames, which from this title onward will become a constant; from the good old Memory to the minigame in which we have to reassemble a picture broken into three parts by pressing the button at the right moment, and whose success will guarantee you eternal satisfaction, I assure you.
The introduction of a whole series of technical improvements makes the level design superb: never before had such harmony in structural architecture been seen within a game that soon abandoned the confines of the television screen to even arrive in the cinema. Ah yes, fun fact: Super Mario Bros 3 is in fact nothing more than the final test that the protagonists of the film “The Wizard” will have to face in order to achieve victory.
Ore and hours spent jumping, falling and failing, then starting over and trying again, jumping, not falling and not failing. The essence of a platform title in its purest genuineness: this is the wonderful legacy that Super Mario Bros 3 has left us.
It is 2025 and even today Shigeru Miyamoto's masterpiece continues to be a source of inspiration for young game designers.
This, in my house, is called greatness.
9
Pro
Fun levels, colorful and varied settings, carefully crafted down to the smallest detail, and secrets to discover with every jump!
Miyamoto-san’s inspired hand here leaves an indelible mark on players’ hearts: everything exudes passion in SM3
Mario Procione is the quintessential video game icon of those golden years: a shining example of how a power-up can be useful as well as stylish (if only some soulslikes would learn this lesson…)
Contro
The lack of a save point or a password provided by Nintendo at the end of each tough level remains the game’s only real “flaw.” Otherwise, I love you so much, Super Mario Bros. 3
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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