This week, Nintendo announced a 99-player version of F-Zero that you can download right now. That's cool, but you know what they did not announce? That's right, this is another week with no new classic Nintendo Switch Online games. Thankfully, we still have a lot of 8- and 16-bit games to cover in the review crew, including the three games we're to talk about today – Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3. There's no question that these three games are genuine hits, but are they worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, The Games Machine, Computer & Video Games and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. So, go and make sure you're stocked up on mushrooms and have that tanooki suit ready, because this is another high-flying episode of Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew!


If you grew up in the 1980s, then I don't need to tell you how big of a deal Super Mario was. Hell, here we are, nearly fourty years later, and the Super Mario Bros. movie was one of the biggest money-makers of the year. Mario was not only a system seller for Nintendo, but he also pulled America's video games industry out of the void that was the Great Games Crash. He was a video game superstar, to the point where he got his own movie, TV show and even breakfast cereal. He was so big that Sega spend the entire second-half of the 1980s trying to come up with a competing mascot. But, look, I get it, we all know how big Super Mario Bros. was when it came to selling home consoles, but what did the critics think of this seminal platformer?

If you've watched this show before, then you already know that getting reviews from the mid-1980s is a little tricky, since the few magazines of the time didn't have proper, scored takes. But once again, the British press comes through. Going back to 1987, The Games Machine said that to play Super Mario Bros. is to get hooked. “Simple to understand, it is therefore easy to play. Nintendo's small-sized controller takes some getting used to, but perseverance reaps its own reward, because the graphics and sound are splendid, combining to make a game that is colourful, jolly and in places pleasantly frustrating as you try to work out the best route round a problem.” The Games Machine gave Mario an 89%.

Before you get heated about the low score, it's worth mentioning that most of the other critics gave this game a near perfect score. For example, you saw Computer & Video Games give Super Mario Bros. a 95%, which just so happens to be the exact same score you saw in Nintendo Magazine System. But if you're looking for a higher number, then let's check in with ACE magazine and their ridiculous one-thousand-point scale. Giving it a 955, they called Mario “the undisputed king of cutesy platform-style arcade adventures. It looks dead simple as Princess Daisy pleads ‘Save me Mario, save me' at the beginning. But simple it certainly is not – with eight levels, each containing four separate worlds to be explored. The game is crammed with levels, warps and hidden treats such that you never tire of playing.”

All in all, this is pretty much what I expected out of the Super Mario reviews. This was a great first entry that everybody liked, some more than others. Let's see if the same can be said about the sequel.

When it came to releasing a sequel to the mega-popular Super Mario Bros., Nintendo had a choice to make. They could release the Japanese sequel (a substantially more difficult carbon copy of the original game) or they could turn an entire unrelated game into the next Mario installment. They chose the latter, giving Americans a version of Super Mario Bros. 2 that barely resembled the first game. Looking back now, Nintendo made the right choice. While the gameplay is a bit different, the core platforming is still in place and the dream world is a lot more colorful and fun than Mario's so-called “Lost Levels.” But that's my opinion, let's see what the critics said back when Super Mario Bros. 2 first came out.

In the case of The Games Machine, they liked this sequel even more than the original. “To say that Super Mario Bros. 2 is playable is like saying the Cray X-MP is quite a fast machine – the game redefines the word playable and is far and away a major leap over the original. It's involved, deceptively tricky, has major improvements in the graphics and sonics league, and, most importantly of all, is superlative fun to play.” They gave it a 92%, up from the 89% they gave Super Mario's first outing.

Believe it or not, this was one of the game's lower scores. We saw Nintendo Magazine System give the sequel a 96% in a capsule review in their first issue, while it landed at 910 on ACE's ridiculous one-thousand-point scale. Of course, the highest score came from Computer & Video Games, who gave it a 97% and called it “a stunning sequel which oozes class and playability. The best Nintendo game yet released – miss it at your peril.” They explained that “what makes Super Mario Bros 2 so great is its playability. It packs in it a multitude of surprises and unusual features, and combines it with challenging and unbelievably addictive gameplay. The difficulty level is set exactly right, allowing you to get just a little bit further every go, but with eight big and tough worlds to conquer, there's more than just a fortnight's play here – we're talking months to discover all the secrets of Super Mario Bros 2.”

Now, in case you're wondering, it was Mean Machines that ended up giving the game the lowest score, though you wouldn't know it based on the reviews. Giving it an 89%, Matt argued that Super Mario Bros. 2 is better than the original. “Cute and highly detailed characters and colourful backgrounds really make it look cartoony and fun, and the music and sound effects match the graphics for jolliness. But the gameplay's what's most important, and even in this respect, SMB2 tops the original. All the new characters and the new abilities add a further dimension to the original platform fun.”

In the end, nobody cared about the reskinning or drastic changes made to the gameplay, because Super Mario Bros. 2 is both fun and highly playable. Those are the points that kept coming up over and over again. And you know what? I have a hunch that trend will continue with Super Mario Bros. 3.

Look, I don't need to tell you that Super Mario Bros. 3 was popular. I know you; you know; everybody knows it. There was a whole commercial where the entire world was literally chanting his name, and, at the time, it definitely felt like that matched our reality. And to hype us up even more, The Wizard hit theaters with a message that nobody could dispute – Super Mario Bros. 3 is the best competitive video game ever made. Okay, maybe The Wizard lied to us, but Super Mario Bros. 3 was such a big deal that it made is completely forget about that 16-bit console war that was ramping up. With warp whistles, crazy suits and so many weird secrets to uncover that Nintendo Power dedicated a whole issue to it, Super Mario Bros. 3 was a pop culture phenomenon.

Now, I bet you're expecting me to say that the critics at the time gushed about the game in breathlessly hyperbolic reviews. And ... you would be right. That's exactly what happened. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game an average score of 9 out of 10, which may not sound like much, but tied the game with Mega Man 3, Ninja Spirit and Strider as the magazine's second-best reviewed game of the year. Steve called it “the largest, most detailed, graphically superb, audio enhanced, three-meg masterpiece loaded with perfect power-ups and extraordinary execution, most fun-to-play game I've seen on the Nintendo. This is one of the few games that comes close to a perfect ‘10' rating.” Ed agreed, arguing that “Nintendo has done the impossible. They created a game as close to perfection as you can get. Take the best from Super Mario Bros., add the changing personalities of Super Mario Bros. 2, and beef it up with 3 meg of power, hundreds of secrets, and hidden items, and you get the best game ever made for the NES.”

Before we talk about the highest scores, I first want to draw your attention to what I feel is the most surprising score. It comes from Nintendo Power, who gave Super Mario Bros. 3 a 4.5 out of 5, putting it below Ninja Gaiden II and Castlevania III as the magazine's third-best reviewed game of 1990. Of course, this was a time when Nintendo Power's reviews were basically multi-page strategy guides so they didn't bother expanding on the opinions, but I felt like it was worth mentioning anyway.

If you're looking for the truly high scores, then we need to take a trip to Britain. That's where you're going to find pretty much every publication giving Mario 3 a score of 98%, including both Mean Machines and Nintendo Magazine System. This was also the score you saw at Computer & Video Games, which concluded that it was “the best game ever.” “Honestly, Super Mario Bros. 3 is so astoundingly brilliant in every way, shape and form, I'm sorely tempted to go out and buy a Nintendo simply for this cartridge. Graphically, it's untouchable. Sound is incredible. The instantly recognizable Mario effects make an appearance along with some great new ones. There is so much to collect, so much to kill, so many locations to find and explore, it's a puzzle as to how the creators had the imagination to come up with a game quite like this, let alone cram it all into one cartridge. What else can be said about this, the game to beat all games? Simply this – Super Mario Bros. 3 is one in a million, the Mona Lisa of video gaming. To compare it to anything else would be an insult.”

It's true, Super Mario Bros. 3 was a landmark game that has withstood the test of time. No matter how bad things get, I always know that I'm going to have a great time with this game, and that's what makes it a true classic. So, if you're the one person who hasn't played Super Mario Bros. 3, then get on it. You won't be disappointed.