Backlog Game Reviews 24: Super Mario Bros (Gameboy Advance)

                            

                                                        Hey there, and welcome to Backlog Game Reviews.

    Today's review will be over the Gameboy Advance version of Super Mario Bros. It was released on February 14^th, 2004 in Japan, June 7^th, 2004 in North America, and Europe on July 9^th, 2004. It was part of the classic NES series, known as the Famicom mini-series in Japan. These games were ports of various NES and Famicom games. Let's take a look and see how this compares to the original. But before we get into the review you can check out my review of the NES version of Super Mario Bros here: NES Super Mario Bros Review.

Mario vs Bowser.

   As far as the story goes there's nothing to say. It's the same as the NES, so you're not missing out on anything if this is the only version you have.

One of the many Toads captured by Bowser.

   Moving on to the gameplay it's largely unchanged. The only difference is that some extra features have been added. For example, you can now save your high score and there's a sleep mode, which allows you to put your Gameboy into a low power mode and the screen will turn dark. To turn it back on press the L button, R button, and select button at the same time. But don't turn the Gameboy off, you'll lose your progress if you do. This is a nice feature as it means you don't have to beat the game in one sitting, and it adds to the portability of the game.

To access this menu hit the L and R buttons at the same time.

   While everything else is more or less the same as the original, the graphics underwent some small changes. To fit the Gameboy's screen all of the sprites have been squished down. It's most noticeable when looking at Mario and Luigi, who in their smaller forms look like they don't have a neck, creating an off putting feeling.

Mario's head looks like it's attached directly to his body.

   When you get a mushroom and grow bigger they look better except for one problem, their mustache disappears. Once you notice it it's really distracting and hard to take your eyes off of it.

Without a mustache Mario's face looks strange.

   Moving onto the music, nothing has changed. No new songs were added, no songs were removed, and the sound quality is just as good as the originals.

    Besides the downgraded graphics, this is a solid port of the original Super Mario Bros. It's easy to play on the go, in part thanks to the sleep mode, and it's just as fun as the original. No matter what version you decide to play you're in for a good time.

    That’s all I have to say about this game. Thank you for reading. The next review will be over an SNES game. I hope to see you again here at Backlog Game Reviews.