Super Mario Bros. 3 is one of the best Mario games around but what makes the game so great?
Number 1- Nintendo Flexing Its Creative Muscles
Number 1 might need a little explaining so here goes. Mario 3 needed to be better than Mario 1 and 2. It needed to have that extra something that got players excited to play it. It allowed Nintendo do experiment from the norm for Mario games and go that extra mile to make a great game. There were things in Mario 3 that hadn’t been seen before in Mario games, such as an Open World Map or Power-Suits. There were enemies that you wouldn’t expect to attack you, like the sun in the desert or Sledge Brothers. The Frog Suit, Hammer Brothers Suit, and Tanooki Suit are a great example of Mario 3 taking a chance on something and having it work. Nintendo doesn’t do this too often anymore, with the exceptions being Mario Galaxy Power-Ups and the custom item features of the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Nintendo knows what they do best and they work on just that, which I’m fine with. However, at the time of Mario 3, Nintendo needed to take those risks because they were still trying to brand who they were at the time. Did I mention the Kuribo’s Shoe? One level dedicated to being able to steal a Goomba or Kuribo’s Show and go through the level in it. Being able to jump on spikes and spiny enemies is a bonus. Super Mario 3 needed to be a home run and look; years later and we’re still talking about it. I think Nintendo did a good job, don’t you?
To conclude, Super Mario Brothers 3 needed to be different enough from Mario 1 and 2 to get people to notice it. If that meant going away from the Mario Norm, then so be it. Looking back, it was good for Nintendo to go away from what they knew at the time and
