Mario Brothers (1983) - Why Don't People Like It as Much as "Super Mario Brothers"?

[ColecoFan1981]

How many of you are actually fanatics of Mario and Luigi's first game together -- you know, the self explanatory Mario Brothers (1983)?

I can see this doesn't really have any fan credibility as its ultimate successor, 1985's "Super Mario Brothers," and part of the reason the '83 title was not successful was due to it being released on the verge of the video game crash.

The original console and computer ports were:
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Atari 800XL and compatibles (400, 800, 600XL, 65XE, 130XE)
Apple II (unfinished and unreleased)
Commodore 64 (finished but not released)
Nintendo FamiCom (1983) / NES (1986)

It was released by Nintendo for its NES system in June 1986 (in Japan, for the FamiCom, 9/9/83). Its sole (audio) weakness was its title theme, which sounds like a reverse-engineered (or "Jimmy Hart version" or "Ice Ice Baby") version of Petula Clark's 1964 hit "Downtown." I'm fine with that Mozart "A Little Night Music" piece.

~Ben

[bigbacon]

there was also an atari 7800 version

[sloan]

I don't like it as well as SMB due to it being a single screen game, opposed to the scrolling worlds of the SMB platformer. To me, SMB just holds my interest much longer due to there being a variety of worlds to explore.

[Atarileaf]

I like it infinitely BETTER than SMB and its mainly BECAUSE its a one-screen game. Simple arcade fun, no princesses or bowser or magic mushrooms or any of that other stuff. Just a great classic arcade game. This and the original Donkey Kong games is when Mario peaked IMO.

[Atarileaf]

there was also an atari 7800 version

Yep, a pretty good version too. I'd love to find the Atari XE version but that ones hard to find and kinda rare.

[bigbacon]

it probably doesn't get what it deserves because of the single screen. By the time of the crash, I think single screen games were becoming well, old.

[Polygon]

I don't like it as well as SMB due to it being a single screen game, opposed to the scrolling worlds of the SMB platformer. To me, SMB just holds my interest much longer due to there being a variety of worlds to explore.

I would say that's probably the reason I don't like it as much. However, I love both games.


it probably doesn't get what it deserves because of the single screen. By the time of the crash, I think single screen games were becoming well, old.

An interesting theory, but it doesn't hold up as there are single screen games that are very popular. Games like Bubble Bobble and Bomberman come to mind.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

I NEVER liked the original Mario Bros. game, I found it fairly boring and I'd much rather play any of the Super Mario games as opposed to this. No disrespect to those who liked this title though, I did know many who enjoyed the 2P aspect of Mario Bros. and I actually know people who still play it to this day.

[bigbacon]

I would say that's probably the reason I don't like it as much. However, I love both games.



An interesting theory, but it doesn't hold up as there are single screen games that are very popular. Games like Bubble Bobble and Bomberman come to mind.


Bubble is single screen, but it changes. To me that isn't so much single screen. Single screen to me is Pacman, mario bros, things like that.

[Graham Mitchell]

Mario bros. was the first video game I ever played and loved. Now I own the cabinet, so I'm a huge fan of it.

[Tanooki]

I think just because SMB set itself apart for what that game really is when it both hit the NES and as VS SMB in the arcade which was different and more challenging. It probably just comes down to personal taste really and not some conspiracy theory. I do very clearly remember people hating on Mario Bros but there was a similar theme to that, playing with a dick. Tell me none of you who've played this game hasn't played with a dick who will hit the POW block or the ground under the platform as you try and kick the enemy to get points and end up getting bit in the ass and losing a life for some dicks personal enjoyment? I remember plenty of people at a boys n girls club back in the 90s getting pissed and walking away over it not to return finding comfort in stuff like Ghosts n Goblins of all things and Super Dodgeball.

[frogofdeath]

The original console and computer ports were:
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Atari 800XL and compatibles (400, 800, 600XL, 65XE, 130XE)
Apple II (unfinished and unreleased)
Commodore 64 (finished but not released)

I've definitely played an Apple II version. We had it on a good ol floppy, as well as a port of Donkey Kong and some other game that currently escapes my memory.

The game itself is alright, but not nearly as entertaining as other early arcade games (Donkey Kong, QBert, PacMan, etc...).

[XYXZYZ]

The first time I played Mario Bros. was at some place in Louisiana, I think. It must have been 1988 or 1989, I loved Super Mario Bros. but had never even heard of the original game. So I dropped my quarter and... WTF. It just made me want to play Super Mario Bros., actually.

[treismac]

I've got love for Mario Bros. but there is nothing in my heart for that game like there is for Super Mario Bros. Back in the day, I played the game mostly on the 2600 then the Commodore 64. This game, Donkey Kong, and, to a lesser extent, Popeye made Nintendo's name stick in the mind of pre-NES me. I've got the NES version now, and I mean to pick up the 7800 version eventually. One day I'd like to play Mario Bros. with my son.

It is worth noting that Kaettekita Mario Bros. on the Famicom Disk System is where it's at. Improved graphics and the ability to change direction midair makes all the difference in the world.

[homerhomer]

Some of my opinions why SMB was bigger than the original MB

Why Super Mario did well.
SMB - Was a fresh new game, not that game you played in the arcades like 4 years ago
SMB - Was newer technology (Music while playing, Scrolling platformer, Amazing graphics)
SMB - Advanced story not familiar in console video games

Why Mario Bros didn't do so well
MB - Looked old compared to the new gen of NES games coming out,
MB - Was marketed part of the "Classic Series"
MB - Was not arcade perfect, SMB's graphics were, levels changed but who notices that?
MB - When the NES REALLY took off 88-90, the original Mario Bros was pretty old

BTW - I have the Original Mario Bros and I think it's great. Would love to get my hands on the Euro version though.

[FoxNtd]

Between the two SMB is better but Mario Bros. is still pretty good. I just wish there were more cycles of level patterns after Stage 9. It just stays the same forever even past 100 stages where the counter sort of rolls over.



It is worth noting that Kaettekita Mario Bros. on the Famicom Disk System is where it's at. Improved graphics and the ability to change direction midair makes all the difference in the world.

Yes!! After finding out about it I eventually found a copy of this gem and I must say that revised control scheme is very nice, but it's certainly countered by how much harder the game became. The invisible bonus stages are amusing and trying to keep tabs on those icicles dropping from platforms really makes the challenge soar. I used to be decent at regular Mario Bros. but the Return version kicks my ass. XD

[Aussie2B]

I do very clearly remember people hating on Mario Bros but there was a similar theme to that, playing with a dick.

Man, I totally read that in a different way from how you intended, haha.

Anyway, back when Super Mario Bros. 3 was first released, I was obsessed with the competitive 2-player Mario Bros.-style battles, more so than the main game, actually. Granted, I wasn't that great at clearing the stages back then. In time, I grew to love SMB3 as a single-player game, and while I do enjoy Mario Bros., I probably would place most Super Mario Bros. games above it.

I do think it's really cool that Mario Clash is based on Mario Bros., though, and it makes me sad that it wasn't more popular. It was an innovative and fun take on the old formula, but I think at that point in time in the mid 90s, the average Nintendo fan probably had little to no exposure to Mario prior to Super Mario Bros. They probably had no idea what to make of it and didn't understand why it was an arcade-style game rather than a scrolling platformer.

[bb_hood]

Anyway, back when Super Mario Bros. 3 was first released, I was obsessed with the competitive 2-player Mario Bros.-style battles,

I was just gonna mention this! Yeah the 2-player battles can easily turn both players attention away from the main game. So much fun!

[ColecoFan1981]

I was just gonna mention this! Yeah the 2-player battles can easily turn both players attention away from the main game. So much fun!
We also got the MB bonus game within SMB3 after it was re-tooled for release on Super Mario All-Stars. When MB was re-tooled again for release on Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2, that version of MB found itself as the bonus game for every subsequent SMA release thereafter (SMA2: Super Mario World, SMA3: Yoshi's Island and SMA4: Super Mario Bros. 3) as well as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

The GBA version of MB (bar the NES Classics version, which of course is the NES version re-ported to GBA), in summary, had found itself attached as the bonus game to a total of five different Mario-related titles, which may (indirectly) explain why Nintendo of America did not release the original 8-bit MB for the GBA (the NES Classics Series).

~Ben

[The Adventurer]

Mario Bros. is no Donkey Kong.

[o.pwuaioc]

Mario Bros. is no Donkey Kong.

This. Mario Bros. is a good game, but it wasn't top tier arcade like Donkey Kong or Popeye. Super Mario Bros. though was innovative and a great game to boot. I like both, but I do like SMB much more.

[Scotterpop]

The original arcade Mario Bros. game practically defined my childhood! Whenever I'd get some spending money I'd head up to the local 7-11, buy a slurpee, a few comics, and spend the leftover change playing that game. Such great memories, which is why I have a real fondness for it. From an adult perspective I can appreciate it as a really well-made and challenging platformer. It takes quite a bit of practice to master its subtle jumping and sliding physics. It's definitely a game of skill and reflexes. A few years later when I got my first NES and Super Mario Bros., I loved that game also, but considered it more of an adventure game. You had an objective: to find and rescue the princess rather than simply clear the board of crabs, turtles and whatever those jumping fly things were. Consequently, I've always considered the name "Super Mario Bros." a bit of a misnomer, as Luigi doesn't actually appear in the game. But both are great games, it's just that SMB has so much more character and variety which is why it's the more famous game, and rightly so.

[JakeM]

A Gamespot writer compared the two games to the first two Street Fighter games, the first game was something, but then the second went so far and beyond it, no one could have seen it coming before they played. I like the first Mario bros game, its fun it you have a friend to play against and want some light fun, but the second has so many secrets to find and different ways to play, its more than classic.

[Collector_Gaming]

No matter what it still has the best commercial ever!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrT0XFZL0SQ

"Mario.... where are you?" hahaha

[otaku]

I don't believe I've ever played it and didn't realize it was a different game

[tom]

I'm with the guy above, Mario Bros is more fun than SMB. SMB is always the same, but MB in 2-player mode working together, excellent, my first game I scored million points with, well 999.999 on VCS.

[sloan]

I read some mention on this thread of Popeye being 'first tier' arcade game? Say what? I always considered Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Ms. Pac Man to be 'first tier' while games like Popeye and Mario Bros. not so much. I played them once in a while, but the DK, Galaga, and Pac Man games so much more.

[Urzu402]

The original Mario Bros gets repetitive real quick, while Super Mario bros is different and revolutionary from the normal games of the time.

[ApolloBoy]

The original console and computer ports were:
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Atari 800XL and compatibles (400, 800, 600XL, 65XE, 130XE)
Apple II (unfinished and unreleased)
Commodore 64 (finished but not released)
Why doesn't the Famicom version count as an "original" port, it was released at the same time as these other ports. Actually the Atari 8-bit version wouldn't count either since it was actually released in 1989 during the time of the XEGS. There was another version that was based on the 5200 port and planned for a 1984 release, but that never went through.

[Aussie2B]

I'm pretty lukewarm on Popeye myself. I'd take Mario Bros. over that.


Consequently, I've always considered the name "Super Mario Bros." a bit of a misnomer, as Luigi doesn't actually appear in the game.

Luigi is Player 2.

[Gamevet]

The original console and computer ports were:
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Atari 800XL and compatibles (400, 800, 600XL, 65XE, 130XE)
Apple II (unfinished and unreleased)
Commodore 64 (finished but not released)

It was released by Nintendo for its NES system in June 1986. Its sole (audio) weakness was its title theme, which sounds like a reverse-engineered (or "Jimmy Hart version" or "Ice Ice Baby") version of Petula Clark's 1964 hit "Downtown." I'm fine with that Mozart "A Little Night Music" piece.

~Ben

I've played the C-64 version quite a bit. It must have been leaked, or someone got their facts wrong about that Atarisoft version. I think the C-64 version was the best, until it came out for the NES.

This game may be the reason why Mario and Luigi were called plumbers.

[sloan]

Considering the size of the pipes in Mario Bros, I could understand pipe fitters, but not plumbers so much.

[ColecoFan1981]

Why doesn't the Famicom version count as an "original" port, it was released at the same time as these other ports. Actually the Atari 8-bit version wouldn't count either since it was actually released in 1989 during the time of the XEGS. There was another version that was based on the 5200 port and planned for a 1984 release, but that never went through.
Oh, I added that in the OP. Nintendo first released this game in Japan for its FamiCom console 9/9/83 and then to the American NES in June 1986, six months after SMB (and the NES itself) first went on real sales here.

Here's the first Atari 8-bit computer port (1983) of Mario Brothers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3593Fl0iRs

The 5200 console version (1983):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41VnTgQmKTo

The XE-GS computer version (1988):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GokYbx7DmdE

I already realize that both the 5200 version and the first 8-bit computer version of MB are the same except the 5200 console version has, of course, the boot-up screen centric to all 5200 cartridge titles released by Atari.

~Ben

[Gamevet]

Here's the C-64 version of Mario Bros.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCtYtrTLR28

[MachineGex]

This game has provided our house with many epic battles. Fantastic two player game that is always exciting and different.

[Jorpho]

I would agree that the game gets a little repetitive in single-player mode, moreso than other similar single-player games.

By the way, was there ever an AtariSoft IBM-PC version? There were numerous AtariSoft ports back in the day, but it is unclear if Mario Bros was ever released or even developed.
(I asked about this six years ago (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?104811-Does-Atarisoft-PC-Mario-Bros-exist) and no one seemed to know for sure.)

No doubt if it ever existed, then as per the standard of IBM-PC games at the time, it was probably primitive and comparatively unplayable. Mario Bros. VGA, which appeared some time later, was entirely unofficial and unlicensed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxEpH_6hzZ4

[ApolloBoy]

Here's the first Atari 8-bit computer port (1983) of Mario Brothers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3593Fl0iRs
You should also mention that the first A8 port was actually never released, it was planned for a 1984 release but got canned in the midst of the Tramiel takeover. The XEGS version was therefore the only A8 port that saw a release.

[tom]

The C64 version was officially released in 1986 by UK company Ocean

[M.Buster2184]

I have to say, as previously mentioned, I think the reason SMB is more popular is due to the whole game. Bigger world to explore, plot(however basic it may be). Also by the mid/late 80s when games kept getting more involved, I think arcade style games were left in the dust. Though I will say I personally love the original Mario Bros. Of all the games at my local barcade, this is the one game I have to play everytime. Not terribly good, but good enough to get a high score (100,000+) every play.

[wiggyx]

An interesting theory, but it doesn't hold up as there are single screen games that are very popular. Games like Bubble Bobble and Bomberman come to mind.

There will always be exceptions. But generally speaking, single screen games had become passé.

[tom]

Lots of popular single screen games on Android and iOS nowadays

[Gamevet]

The C64 version was officially released in 1986 by UK company Ocean

It's unfortunate that the better version wasn't officially released. The Ocean version is pretty mediocre.

[goldenband]

I've never liked this game, not sure why. Much as I prefer the expansive, goal-driven gameplay of SMB, there are plenty of single-screen games I do enjoy (Asteroids, Frogger, Robotron, Qix, etc.), so it's not that.

I guess I just don't particularly enjoy the gameplay itself, for whatever reason.

[davidbrit2]

MB - Was not arcade perfect, SMB's graphics were, levels changed but who notices that?

Actually, the FC/NES version of SMB came first, and the "Vs." arcade version came later, as a sort of advertisement for the home version, so I'm told. The arcade version basically runs on NES hardware (with a modified color palette), and the modified stages were intended to add some variety for those who had played the home version.

[treismac]

Lots of popular single screen games on Android and iOS nowadays

This is, of course, due to the limitations of touch screen gaming and how simplistic, casual gaming, which is all the rage on these platforms, lends itself to single screen games. Also, these new games are quite different in many ways from the single screen Golden Age of Arcade games.

[wiggyx]

This is, of course, due to the limitations of touch screen gaming and how simplistic, casual gaming, which is all the rage on these platforms, lends itself to single screen games. Also, these new games are quite different in many ways from the single screen Golden Age of Arcade games.

Yes, this. Couldn't have said it better myself :)

Also, I was speaking in the context of the era in which MB and SMB were released. Everything is so different now. Side scrolling platformers are beyond passé as well at this point.

I strongly feel that SMB took advantage of the hardware and was a superior game as a result. The variety alone is enough to make me come back to it over and over. MB plays like so many one-screen games; beat level, number level changes, same shtick.

[ColecoFan1981]

Having now realized there is no official early Atari 800XL port of Mario Bros., I'm wondering if those so-called "early Atari computer" or "Atari 800" versions of MB are those burned from the 5200 cartridge ROM?

~Ben

[Moo Cow]

...Did anyone else like being a dick and flipping the monsters back over right before your best friend jumped on them, or was that just me?

[ColecoFan1981]

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/115333-mario-bros-2007/

The 2007 fan hack of Mario Bros. for the XL computers combines the best of both worlds in regards to both the Atari 5200 and XEGS ports. The title screen is a hack of the 7800/XEGS ports, with the NES version's music. But beware, this does not totally make it look like the unreleased 1984 XL computer port.

~Ben

[treismac]

This baby just popped up on my facebook feed (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=624097127601602&set=a.549676938376955.131914.545707305440585&type=1&relevant_count):

https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/971225_624097127601602_466671451_n.jpg

I couldn't ever see paying $60 for it, though. :-/

[Kiddo]

There will always be exceptions. But generally speaking, single screen games had become passé.

IIRC the Famicom version of Bomberman wasn't single-screen anyway. Later games did that to streamline the multiplayer gameplay modes.

Bubble Bobble, meanwhile, had screens change at a rapid-pace compared to older arcade titles.

[BlastProcessing402]

I've played the C-64 version quite a bit. It must have been leaked, or someone got their facts wrong about that Atarisoft version. I think the C-64 version was the best, until it came out for the NES.

This game may be the reason why Mario and Luigi were called plumbers.

It is. Previously Mario/Jumpman had been considered a carpenter (why he had those hammers in Donkey Kong). Then in Mario Bros. his brother Luigi the plumber called him to help with the monsters coming out the pipes, and suddenly Mario was a plumber too.

[granz]

I did enjoy Mario Bros., but like many arcade games at the time, the content was pretty static. The only challenge came from increasingly faster and more aggressive enemies spawning in later rounds. It can be hard for games like this to keep my attention long enough for me to play all the way through. (assuming the game doesn't loop indefinitely)

SMB is likely more popular because of all the dynamic, side-scrolling worlds. Not only did you have to know how to defeat each of your enemies, but you had to surmount all sorts of environmental obstacles as well.

[Jorpho]

I seem to recall early screenshots of the Mario Brothers variant included with Super Mario Advance, in which multiple players were simultaneously fighting against Bowser. I was really intrigued that it looked like they were going to update the formula, but I guess it was not to be.

[offthechartsvideogames]

I can get down with some MB. Smashing turtles all day. When you think about it, the plot makes a little more sense. Turtles are clogging the pipes and Mario is a plumber. It's a little more realistic than some plumber saving the world and spitting fire.

[sloan]

I can get down with some MB. Smashing turtles all day. When you think about it, the plot makes a little more sense. Turtles are clogging the pipes and Mario is a plumber. It's a little more realistic than some plumber saving the world and spitting fire.

I did always wonder what illicit drugs the game programmers were on. Turtles coming out of pipes and plumbers spitting fire balls? Japanese have strange imaginations.

[ColecoFan1981]

I am wondering whether or not Yukio Kaneoka and Koji Kondo had ever admitted to using the Petula Clark tune for the title screen music?

Meaning, did they ever actually listen to "Downtown" before composing the music to this game? I wonder if the two ever had a copy of that song on a 45 or cassette, and sped it up for the game?

~Ben

[MetalFRO]

If this has been mentioned, I apologize, but I think the simplest answer is that Mario Bros. was continuing a trend of single-screen games, and Super Mario Bros. essentially blazed a trail for scrolling platform games. Had there been others previously? A few, but not to the degree that single-screen games had been in arcades and on home computers/consoles. Something early like Pitfall may have paved the way for the platformer formula that SMB employed, but it was really the first major release that took the scrolling aspect and made it a key element of the whole package. That, and the clever level design really helped it to stand on its own. Ultimately, comparing the 2 games is like comparing apples and watermelon, as they're from 2 different schools of design, so "better" is totally subjective. I do think Super Mario Bros. is the superior game, if only because there's much more to it and it's so well executed and original in its design and presentation that it eclipses the vision of the original by a wide margin. Much the same way that SMB3 eclipses SMB in terms of size, scope, presentation, and overall execution.