Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 for Game Boy Advance (GBA)

There are a lot of different things in my life that I don't remember, but there's also a lot of stuff that I do remember. I remember my first lost tooth, I was running down a hallway in my grandparent's house, I tripped on something and fell into the wall at the end of the hallway knocking out my first tooth. I don't remember my first steps, all though evidence shows that they weren't too graceful, but I do remember the first time I ran, which was five feet before I fell and hit my head on the corner of a half-wall. I was a very clumsy child, which was probably precedent for me not remembering different stuff, but there is one thing I remember for sure. It's that Super Mario Bros. 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the very first video game I have ever beaten, and it's been the video game that I've beaten last as of this writing. Mario Bros 3. for the NES was one of the best selling video games of all time (even though Halo has crushed that), and it was also the most liked out of the three Mario games on the system.

As it has been a popular thing to do lately, at least in Nintendo's eyes, they've been remaking, or simply prettifying old game, and re-releasing them on the Gameboy Advance for $30. Well, obviously nobody really cares much, because they still sell very well, and it was only a matter of time before Super Mario Advance 4: Mario Bros 3 came out. I have to admit that even though being able to play the best Mario when you're not at home (or even at home for that matter), either I've progressively gotten bad at the game through the years, or it was easier to play with the NES controller than it was to with the small GBA SP. I took me forever to beat it, and there was one level that it took me no less than 100 times to finally beat because I screwed up one way or another.

For all three people that don't know, Mario Bros 3. is one of, if not the best side-scrolling platform games ever made. I don't know that I could call it my favorite game of all time, but I wouldn't think twice about it being the best side-scrolling platform game ever made. I'm sure many would like to agree with me. This game is so fun, and it was the ultimate time waster when I had extra time to burn. As is most platform games, Mario Bros. 3 has a simple, yet colorful storyline. Bowser has kidnapped Princess Peach once again, and has turned the kings of the 7 kingdoms into different animals, and has each of his son's controlling one of the kingdoms. Mario, the big soft, plump, kind hearted little plumber he is, decides to save the Princess, as well as returning the king's to their normal selves along the way.

Side-scrolling games are simple, yet fun and complex at the same time, making for some fun times. After the atrocious Mario 2, this game gives fresh gameplay that just keeps me coming back for more, all 8 levels that the game has were fun. I could play maybe 5 minutes of Mario 2, be bored and quit. With Mario 3, I could play all day and not be bored. Mario 3 introduces the Tanooki suit, as well as the frog suit for easy underwater swimming, plus old favorite power-ups such as the flower for fire spitting plumbers. Mushroom heads are back, as well as turtles and fire spitting (and annoying I might add) flowers that caused me un-necessary anger towards my GBA SP, and sweaty palms from nervousness of whether or not I was going to die by one for the next billionth time.

The gameplay hasn't aged one bit, thank goodness, but the graphics have gotten anything but worse. With the GBA's color capability, Mario 3 now looks even more colorful than it already did on the NES, though the picture isn't as stretched as it was because of the TV with the NES. The gameplay is fast and furious, and will keep your thumb tapping that jump button like you've got a twitch (mine have twitched while I'm trying to write as a spasm from playing this game).

The sound, even on the little speaker in the center of the GBA SP, or the little speaker on the side of the regular GBA, is a little better than the original. The Mario Bros theme has got to be one of the most recognized tunes in the world, and I couldn't help but turn everything else down so that I could hear the game's music. Even if I were playing it during a class, I'd turn it up just to where I could hear it. It's the type of sound that gets you into the game. Come on, how can you play Mario without those classic tunes beating in the background, it puts you in the mood.

Overall, if any game was to be remade and re-released onto the GBA (which seems to be every old classic now), then this would be the only real one that would matter. But of course it seems that Nintendo is the only company that can release the same game over and over 10 times on different platforms and still make profit from them, they've brought back all of the earlier Mario's, as well as a bunch of other classics of the era. I paid full price of $34.99 for this, which was right when it came out, but to save other people money, I suggest that you try and find it for under $25.00 (which is what GBA games should be anyway, $25 or less, unfortunately they don't see that way, jerks).

happy gaming