Play Super Mario Bros
Next: Super Mario Bros 2.
Super Mario Bros.! We’re talking the OG here, the absolute legend that Nintendo dropped on us way back in 1985. They really hit it out of the park with this one, didn’t they? You’re Mario, this little Italian plumber dude with a mustache (or his slightly taller brother Luigi if you’re playing with a friend in two-player mode), and you’re off on this epic quest through the wacky and wonderful Mushroom Kingdom. Your main mission, the one that started it all? You gotta rescue Princess Toadstool from that big, spiky-shelled, fire-breathing baddie, Bowser. Classic good versus evil stuff!
The game’s all about that side-scrolling platform action, right? You’re running and jumping your way through these brilliantly designed levels, which are absolutely packed with tricky obstacles, all sorts of memorable enemies like Goombas and Koopa Troopas, and those awesome power-ups that change everything. You’re exploring all kinds of different places, from creepy underground tunnels to weird, watery underwater stages, all while grabbing shiny coins and bopping bad guys on the head. And when they introduced game-changing stuff like the Super Mushroom that makes Mario grow big, or the Fire Flower that lets you shoot fireballs? That was mind-blowing stuff back then!
Super Mario Bros. was just so incredibly innovative with its design, and the gameplay was so ridiculously fun and engaging, it basically set the gold standard for what platformer games could be. It pretty much single-handedly made the whole genre super popular across the globe. Its legacy is absolutely insane; you can see its influence in the countless sequels, spin-offs, and even other games that came later. Mario became a total video game icon, a household name, and it all kicked off right here with this masterpiece.