Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Nintendo's 1990 platformer for the NES, Super Mario Bros. 3.

The video shows the entire game without the use of warp zones.

Super Mario Bros. 3 was released to a level of hype and anticipation never before seen for a video game, and anyone that set foot in America in late 1989/early 1990 would have found it impossible to avoid encountering Mario in one form or another. Mario 2 was still recent and mega popular, and the dude's mug adorned every conceivable bit of sponsored merchandise under the sun. You could eat Nintendo cereal from a Mario bowl in your Mario jammies on Saturday morning as you watched the Mario TV show, and during commercials, you'd see commercials for The Wizard, the new Fred Savage/Christian Slater/Beau Bridges movie that was to be the ultimate marketing vehicle to introduce... you guessed it! Super Mario Bros. 3!

It was an incredible cultural phenomenon. Mario commanded more recognition and respect than Mickey, Bart, Ariel... pretty much any icon of the time. Well, maybe with the exception of Batman. Batman was probably a fairly close tie.

The marketing campaign had an absurd amount of cash backing it, and it worked. Everyone knew Mario, and every kid either had an NES or was more than likely willing to go to unspeakable lengths to get one. But the hype train can only get you so far, and more than one game has suffocated under the weight of its own hype.

But then again, this is Mario. And somehow, Mario 3 actually surpassed everybody's expectations. It won pretty much ever award ever, it was sold out everywhere for several months after it was released, and it even tended to be exempt from the scorn of "that kid" on the playground who liked to hate on what everyone else liked. It was a master work, and everyone damn well knew it.

It wasn't just that it was an amazing show of how impossibly far Nintendo had pushed the already then ancient hardware - it was (and that's despite the game being nearly eighteen months old when it was released in the US!) - but the gameplay was revolutionary. About as much so as Super Mario Bros. was when it became the de facto standard for action games a few years earlier.

There are 90 stages (!) crammed into the game's 384K rom, split across eight themed worlds overflowing with secrets to uncover. Mario also has a load of new awesome power-ups: you can now fly as a raccoon, swim as a frog, become an invulnerable statue of an apparently castrated tanuki, or... wear a turtle shell as a mallet-wielding mountaineer? Huh? It's all awesome, but it does occasionally make you question the sanity of the creators.

It's wide open to play however you like, too. If you want to make a mad, underequipped dash for Bowser's front lines, just find a few warp whistles and head to World 8! If you prefer to take your time exploring, there is no end to things you'll find with an even minimal bit of effort - coin caches, ghost mushroom houses, secret blocks that allow access to new areas of a level - there's a lot of replayability here. It's too bad they didn't bother including a battery for game saves, but really, that's the only legit criticism I can level at Super Mario Bros. 3.

The controls are still the gold standard for platformers, and that difficulty curve is great. Everyone can finish World 1, but clearing Worlds 6 and 7 without warping is still worthy of whatever the real life equivalent of a PSN trophy might be. I still vividly remember the sheer rage I felt as a kid trying to beat 7-7, and 6-5 wasn't far behind it. The game becomes really difficult toward the end, but it was always fair. And sometimes infuriating. But as many of us I'm sure have proven over the years, it just takes practice. However much.

And finally, what a memorable sense of personality this game has! Everything, from the intro to the enemy animations to the sampled bongos and steel drums, is vibrant and eminently likable. Did anyone else ever pick up on the different ways the game plays up the idea of a "stage"? The intro curtain, the platforms bolted to the backdrops, or the "fade to black" at the end of each area?

The attention to detail was unprecedented, especially given the scope of the game. It might be hard to imagine if you haven't played it, but even with so much crammed in, nothing here is fiiller.

What else is there to say? If you credit Super Mario Bros. with saving video games, then it only seems right that Super Mario Bros. 3 be recognized as the game that would show the way toward the future of gaming. Nintendo has done a lot of miraculous things over the years, but to manage both of those achievements within a single console generation is a feat among feats.

Here's to Mario on his 35th birthday. Well done, bro.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

[charliehilbrant]

I remember hearing and watching my little sister play this non-stop. She’s no longer with us but listening to this reminds me of a happier time. Thank you.

[NintendoComplete]

Still now it's hard to believe that Nintendo managed to push the NES this hard, but they were right to settle for nothing less than the very best. The result was a game that defined its generation.

[marcelotakahashi]

I just adore this game with all my heart! Every year I have to do at last one playthrough and I always discover something new. Can't believe it's already past 30 years. Happy 35th birthday Super Mario!!!

[lunitaproductions]

My dad's friend is obsessed with this game, when he play it he feels like a kid again

[susanfit]

Super Mario Bros. 3 is simply the best video game I’ve ever played on any video game system or arcade machine. It's still playable today as it was in the 90's. I have this on my Nintendo NES, I played the Super Mario All-Stars version on the Super NES years ago, as well as the Game Boy Advance port in the 2000's.

[GayorgVonTrapp]

The ending was quite emotional with that music and then the curtain comes down. Masterpiece of a game from start to finish.

[XxSailorScoutxX]

THIS is my favorite video game of ALL TIME.

Well done!

[Blueflag]

That sun level is the bane of my existence. It always manage to hit me no matter how hard i tried to avoid

[markmitchell]

0:40 Grass Land
14:15 Desert Land
32:12 Water Land
54:09 Giant Land
1:13:21 Sky Land
1:37:11 Ice Land
2:04:12 Pipe Land
2:32:56 Dark Land

[reggiecollier]

Best mario game ever made still to this day hands down classic

[bll]

This game brought out so many good memories as a little kid back then. This game is one of my all time Mario game Series and on of my favorite games of all time. This was a game changer IMO. To finding all the whistle s warps, to getting through that pipe level on world 7 which was a pure pain in the ass, 😂 to a nice sweet ending. This game is a landmark for me and it hold up. Glad to see you playing this legendary game.

[mariusamber]

To think this game came out in 1988 in Japan... it's still as playable today as it was back then. That is a testament to how timeless it really is. The only console game from that era more or less (say, '88-'90) in this style that comes close is Wonder Boy 3 on the SMS IMO. Well done indeed, 3 must be a lucky number!

[yusakug]

Yep, I paid to see the 1989 movie The Wizard to get hyped for this. I also remember how shocked I was when I first experienced Giant World, with the massive Koopas and Goombas. A good friend of mine who lived across the street happened to come over while I was playing that world the first time, and he thought the entire game was like that with massive enemies. When you consider this game came out in 1988 in Japan, it really is amazing what they were able to do with the Famicom back then.

[bobbysingh]

countless hours of pure joy
plenty of easter eggs
infinite times replay value
90 stages

all under 400KB

8-bit revolution, and especially this Mario game will forever be the impossible project for the rest of human days.

[bronysimpson]

Super Mario Bros 3 is my childhood from the early/mid 1990's. though I never owned the game back then, there were some occasions on which I did play it, and I enjoyed every last minute of it. I didn't even own a copy of the game until 2008.

[BurniceWhiteZenless]

This game has aged amazingly, especially for the NES!

[GayorgVonTrapp]

The fiery sun at 21:22 bore more than the brunt of my anger and tourrettes outbursts. The music of that level provided a fun backdrop to my uncontrolled anger.

[mattsneed]

The movie The Wizard will always be the reason for Super Mario Brothers

[Peter_Morris]

I can still remember the hype! The commercial with the kids shouting, then it zoomed out to show Mario’s face on the world. It was awesome. My kids were super pumped when they learned about Breath of the Wild 2, and I was trying to explain the hype for Mario 3. But I think you just had to be there. They just kind of looked at me funny.

[RetroJaden]

Even though i play this game via the fun sized Super-Mario All Stars, This is be one of the best NES Games.