Re-Playing: 'Super Mario Bros.'

By Chase Koeneke
Nov. 11, 2008

There's an interesting trend in video games these days: They're easy. And that's not me being cocky about my "skillz." It's just the truth. Oh sure, you'll still die while playing "Halo" or "Mass Effect," but how many times have you had to start from the very beginning after some Grunt miraculously stuck you in the leg? I thought as much.

If you go back to the mid- to late-'80s, you'll find a plethora of games that had people playing the first level many, many more times than the last one. Games like "Contra," "Megaman" and "Sonic The Hedgehog." Games where a "Game Over" didn't take you to your last saved point but sent you packing back to World 1-1 or the Green Hill Zone. These games were hard, too. They were tests of wits and patience. You had to know what the characters were capable of and how they moved, or else you'd be falling down the nearest bottomless pit.

The poster child for games that would dismantle you and then laugh as you crawled into a corner and cried was undoubtedly "Super Mario Bros." How many times were you doing so well just to have a stray goomba come out of nowhere? How many times did your heart sink mid-jump, seeing a piranha plant emerge from its pipe? This game frustrated the hell out of you, but did it ever make you want to stop playing? As my granny would say, "El wrongo" (and that's Spanish for 'no').

Because when you saw fireworks at the end of the first level or finally got across that insane Cheep Cheep bridge, what did you do? You told all your friends about it at school the next day. And that's what "Super Mario Bros." is all about. It isn't about the gameplay, or the music or the power-ups (though all of them revolutionized the gaming industry). It's the satisfaction you got from overcoming that cloud-driving Lakitu and his infinite supply of stalagmite-toting turtles. It's the competition you had with your friends to see who could save the princess first. It's arguing with the people on the couch about who has to be Luigi.

"SMB" is not so much a game as it is an experience. It has transcended gaming culture and become a part of popular culture. You can find people beat-boxing its theme song on YouTube. Kids now recognize Mario more than they recognize Mickey Mouse. That's something no other character can boast.

So I urge you, play this gem again. Dust off your old Nintendo Entertainment System and blow into that cartridge one more time. If you don't have an NES anymore, they're easy to find. Slackers has 'em cheap, just take a short walk to Broadway. I guarantee you'll have a ball reliving the classics with your friends. If you don't have any friends or just don't want to mess with old equipment, you can play it over the Internet. Try nintendo8.com. A keyboard really doesn't do the game justice, but remember: You're not in it for the game. You're in it for the memories, the nostalgia, the experience.

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