Introduction

Super Mario Bros is one of the first games to come out on the NES and is all about an Italian plumber called Mario, which has to fight level after level of Goombas and other weird enemies to save Princess Peach from Bowser.

Graphics

Well, what can I say; they were good for their time and look top spec for what the console can do and are quite detailed.  The characters also look detailed and is really fitting with the game genre and with that the background looks really nice and amazing for what the NES is capable of.

Furthermore it looks really colourful and vibrant which gives it a nice effect even though the colours are limiting and does it some favours as it looks imaginary which perfectly fits everything in the game and looks fantastic.  In the end it all works swell and looks awesome if you're not too engrossed in the game.

Sound

Its got a really nice theme tune for the outside levels which is very catchy and very well known to every single gamer, but the underground and castle music is dull and a bit boring, but on a good point it suits where you're in.  Then again it's repetitive and doesn't have the same flare as the other music.

The sound effects are amazing for the console and there's quite a bit of variety in it from the smashing of a brick, to the collecting of an item.  Overall, the music and sound form together really well like peas in a pod and compliment each other well.

Gameplay

Well, the game is very simple, you play as Mario and you have to travel from one side of the level to the other, jumping on enemy's heads along the way.  You also have to collect coins in order to get a higher score, 100 coins giving you an extra life that's is handy for harder levels to come.

There are quite clever secret areas, giving you the advantage of skipping half the level or some extra items, which are a nice touch and make you adventure more in the level.  For example if you get to the top line of blocks in the underground parts and avoid the tube at the end, there's a warp zone that will take you to higher levels.

The items don't have much variety, but for a game of this type and genre you wouldn't want any more and add a really nice charm to it.  A mushroom makes you bigger, a star makes you temporarily invincible and flower gives you the ability to throw fireballs.

There's also a 2-player mode where one players Mario and the others Luigi and you take it in turns going as far as you can until you lose a life, then it's the other player's turn.  It's nice and it's an addition, but simultaneous play would have been better.

 The levels vary and have different things about them as you could be swimming in the sea, avoiding leaping fish and running as fast as you can, avoiding the spiky turtles falling from the sky which adds more elements to the game and adds interest and variety so it never seems that boring.  On the whole, it's a great experience and it's really enjoyable.

Overall

Ups: Mario's first outing, looked good for its time, awesome music, and awesome, varied gameplay.

Downs: No simultaneous 2-player mode and the game might get a bit tedious after a while.

Everything is really good about the game and is really unique from the others so if you're looking for a booster in your NES collection, want to see the game that started it all, or want to see what you missed in 1984, get it quick because its creeping up in price. – 9/10