Super Mario Bros. News
May2020
Random Do You Know About Super Mario Bros.' Secret Game Over Continue Trick?
Mind-blowing
The original Super Mario Bros. turns 35 this year, but despite its age, the sheer number of people who have played it over the years, and the legendary status it has earned over time, one quirky little secret still blows the minds of its fans to this day. As was the norm back then, losing all of your lives in Mario's classic NES outing...
April2020
Random Of Course Someone's Made Super Mario Bros. 1-1 In Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Every pixel of the classic level returns
We've seen so many wonderful designs from Animal Crossing: New Horizons players over the past few weeks, so it's only right that one of Nintendo's most iconic level designs joins the list. Yes, a Japanese player named だいち has transformed their once peaceful island into a world of bricks, Goombas and...
December2019
News Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto Honoured By His Hometown In Japan
One of four citizens recognised
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto is a living legend and an individual responsible for many of the most famous video game series of all time. He currently acts as a 'Creative Fellow' at the Japanese company and passes his ideas and knowledge onto the next generation of video game designers. Now, Miyamoto has been...
November2019
Poll Box Art Brawl #15 - Super Mario Bros.
Obscure Japanese platformer
Welcome back to Box Art Brawl, the ongoing series where we examine three video game cover variants from across the globe and vote to find out which won is the toppermost of the poppermost. Last week we looked deep into the eyes of cinematic sci-fi platformer Flashback. It was decided that the Japanese variant, with its...
September2019
Anniversary The Original Super Mario Bros. Launched On NES 34 Years Ago Today
Feeling old yet?
The original Super Mario Bros., one of the most celebrated and adored video games in history, was first released 34 years ago today, on 13th September 1985. It was on this day that the game launched for Nintendo's Famicom console in Japan, a system which would soon go on to release as the NES or 'Nintendo Entertainment System'...
August2019
News Sonic Comic Writer Reveals Old Super Mario Bros. Comic Pitch
"Luigi calls it quits"
American comic writer Ian Flynn might well be best known for his work with the Sonic the Hedgehog series, but if things had have happened slightly differently, he could have ended up working on some Mario projects, too. Flynn was the chief writer of Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog series, starting the role in 2006 and...
News This Super Mario Maker 2 Level Flips An Old Classic On Its Head
On the up and up
How many times have you played through the opening level of Super Mario Bros. on the NES? Considering how many systems it has been released on over the years, we're willing to be that it's more than just a handful. World 1-1 lays down the foundations for what has become one of the most famous video game franchises of all time, and...
June2019
News Super Mario Battle Royale Game Receives Takedown Notice From Nintendo
Surprise, surprise...
Earlier this week, we found out about a free-to-play fan-made 'Mario Royale' online game, allowing roughly 75 players to jump into a single level at the same time and race to the flagpole. Obviously, we've seen Nintendo take swift action against projects that 'borrow' assets and code in the past, and sure enough, the creator...
News Fan Makes Free-To-Play Super Mario Battle Royale, And It's Surprisingly Great
Well, while it lasts
The battle royale genre comes in all shapes and sizes - it might have been made popular by shooters like PUBG and Fortnite, but Tetris 99 showed that it can also be successful in completely unexpected ways. Reinforcing that point with style is 'Mario Royale', a fan-made, free-to-play online game which has multiple players all...
April2019
Video Fans Reimagine Super Mario Bros.' Iconic First Level In Ten Different Game Genres
Super Mario Royale?
For many of us, Super Mario Bros.' World 1-1 level is permanently etched onto the back of our eyelids. Who could forget that iconic start - Question Mark Block, row of blocks with Goomba underneath, Warp Pipe, and so on? Magical. Anyway, before we get too misty-eyed, it's time to think about how that level might play out if it...
News Remarkable Commodore 64 Port Of Super Mario Bros. Attracts Nintendo's Watchful Eye
Completed fan project seven years in the pipeline gets taken down
Last week a truly remarkable programming feat came to light with the release of Super Mario Bros. 64, a port of the original NES Super Mario Bros. for the Commodore 64. Seven years in the making, it came courtesy of programmer and fan ZeroPaige. It's a painstaking recreation that...
February2019
News Near Mint Condition Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Sells At Auction For More Than $100,000
The first six-figure video game sale
A certified near mint condition copy of the timeless NES classic Super Mario Bros. has sold for $100,150 USD at an auction. This makes it the first-ever video game to sell for six-figures. The reason it fetched such a high price is linked to the rarity. Between 1985 and 1986 in New York and L.A. at test market...
Gallery Check Out This Rare Super Mario Artwork From The 1980s
A blast from the past
The Nintendo preservation experts at Forest of Illusion have shared some interesting Super Mario artwork, apparently dating back to the 1980s. The artwork was featured in an issue of Televi-Kun, which was a Japanese magazine for children. According to the source, the artwork was never featured in any other released media...
December2018
Random Chinese Developer Found Selling Super Mario Bros. ROM On Microsoft's Digital Store
Big trouble
Digital storefronts are certified platforms allowing users to buy safe and legitimate content. Due to sheer amount of programs, apps and games approved for these platforms on a daily basis, sometimes there can be oversights. According to a tweet on the Chinese Nintendo Twitter account, there's been a big one in China. The local...
October2018
Random This Marimba Rendition Of The Super Mario Bros. Theme Is Utter Perfection
Do do do, dodo, do, doooo
The Super Mario Bros. Theme, or 'Overworld Theme', has gone from being just one of six tracks in the original Super Mario Bros., to becoming the theme of the entire series, one of the most instantly recognisable pieces of music in Nintendo's entire library, and arguably one of the most - if not the most - iconic tracks in...
September2018
News Speedrunner Beats Super Mario Bros. In 4 Minutes 55 Seconds To Claim World Record
A near-perfect run
Chances are you've probably played Super Mario Bros. - the classic NES title that helped catapult the little platforming plumber into stardom has been available to play on so many different consoles at this point that we've actually lost count. It's even available on the Switch thanks to the recent addition of NES games in the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (September 22nd)
Here are our picks, but what are yours?
It's the weekend! This wonderful time of the week means that the hard-working members of team Nintendo Life are all heading off to play some of those video game things we all love (while keeping several eyes on the site to make sure it doesn't explode, of course). This week, some of the team are off to EGX,...
Soapbox Why I'm Not Excited About Playing NES Games On The Nintendo Switch
All NES'ed out
Soapbox features enable our individual writers to voice their own opinions on hot topics, opinions that may not necessarily be the voice of the site. In this piece, Nintendo Life Operations Director Darren Calvert admits that he's not in the least bit excited about the prospect of playing NES games again in 2018... They say that...
August2018
Random A 1990 TV Interview With Shigeru Miyamoto Talks About Nintendo's Work Culture
A resurfaced treasure
We've seen Shigeru Miyamoto's ever-beaming self quite a lot over recent years, often during big events such as E3 where he's essentially presented as the face of Nintendo and an all-round gaming icon, but we don't often get the chance to see him in his younger days. Thanks to this rediscovered interview with the BBC,...
Random Nintendo Finally Confirms The Correct Pronunciation For 'NES'
Take your bets
One debate that has been present for decades now across social media, on Nintendo Life's very own comment sections, and even in - you know - real life communication, is the correct pronunciation of 'NES'. Yes, the NES, or Nintendo Entertainment System, is home to the beginnings of so many classic Nintendo franchises like Super Mario...
January2018
Video West Ham United Fans Welcome New Player João Mario With Open 8-Bit Arms
The Portuguese playmaker gets a really unusual tribute
When a Premier League side signs a new player - especially one as capped and experienced as Portuguese midfielder João Mario - fans often find unusual ways to welcome the new footballing talent. And when that player happens to share a name with a certain mustachioed plumber, well you can...
July2017
Random Sealed Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Fetches Over $30,000 On eBay
Who needs two kidneys anyway
When you think of rare and collectable NES games, chances are Super Mario Bros. is the last thing that springs to mind. It's one of the most common NES releases in existence, and logic would dictate that on the secondary market, it's not worth a great deal - even in exceptional condition. However, a sealed copy of the...
June2017
Video Man Plays Super Mario Bros. In Augmented Reality, Puzzles Bystanders
For science!
People are doing some pretty amazing things with Microsoft's Hololens headset, but Abhishek Singh deserves additional praise for his efforts. Not only has he recreated the first level of Super Mario Bros. in augmented reality, he even dressed up as the famous plumber and tested the stage out in New York's crowded Central...
January2017
Video The Surprising Origins of the Wii Virtual Console Super Mario Bros. ROM
Claims and evidence that it was lifted from the internet
Here's an interesting topic to get debate going - what if Nintendo lifted a ROM of Super Mario Bros. from the internet and then repurposed it for the Wii Virtual Console a decade ago? It would certainly put Nintendo's policies against emulators in the spotlight. That's the claim made in a...
November2016
News Composer Koji Kondo Talks Super Mario And Zelda In Freshly Translated 2001 Interview
"The jumping sound was even used on a TV quiz show"
Some of Nintendo's most iconic tunes were created by Koji Kondo, making the Japanese composer one of the most listened-to artists in the world - even if people don't necessarily know his name. A 2001 interview with Kondo - taken from Game Maestro Vol. 3 - has been freshly translated into English...
October2016
News The Speedrun World Record for Super Mario Bros. Has Been Broken Again
Call Miyamoto!
It's hard to believe, but even to this day, speedrunners are still competing over the crown for the fastest Super Mario Bros. run yet. The record has been going down, millisecond by millisecond, for years now, and a recent twitch streamer just set it a bit lower. The record was previously set at 4:57.194 by Kosmicd12 on 3rd October,...
August2016
News Luxury Watchmaker Romain Jerome Shows Off Super Mario Watch At Mitsukoshi's Annual Watch Fair
Time to move
Nihombashi Mitsukoshi's Annual Watch Fair offers a platform for the world's best timepiece makers to show off their most outlandish or eye-catching creations, and this year is no exception. Now in its 19th year, the fair started yesterday and is host to seriously impressive examples of watchmaking, but for Nintendo fans Romain Jerome's...
Video Exploring The Funky Inspiration for the Super Mario Bros. Underground Theme
Time to dig out a record from 1979
The music in Super Mario Bros. is just about as iconic as it gets in gaming, with gamers of various ages and types familiar with the soundtrack. The underground theme is one of the most well-known, with a funky bass beat kicking it off. Our buddies from The Centre for Computing History in Cambridge (England)...
July2016
Random Miyamoto "Flattered" By Super Mario Tribute In Mickey Mouse Cartoon
"We finally got a cameo together"
Back in 2013, Disney published a new Mickey Mouse cartoon entitled Tokyo Go, which shows the famous rodent running into some bother when he accidentally boards the wrong Japanese bullet train. The animated short is typically slick and amusing, but stands out for its use of iconic sound effects. Not only does it...
June2016
Video See How Easy It Is To Turn Your Favourite NES Games Into 3D With 3DNES
You might need a bit of patience
We recently brought you news of a project called 3DNES, which had the ambitious goal of allowing you to convert your favourite NES games into 3D. Since then the project has moved on a bit and our chums over at Eurogamer have spent a bit of time playing around with it to see how easy it is to use in practice. It...
April2016
Video The Super Mario Bros. Speedrun World Record Has Been Broken Again
A whole 387 milliseconds faster than the last one
The world of speedrunning is one that is endlessly fascinating. People spend hours at a time practicing movements until they're pixel perfect, all in an effort to shave fragments of a second off of the currently standing best time. Super Mario Bros. is a popular game for speedrunners to challenge,...
February2016
Video Check Out This Amazing Blindfolded Completion of Super Mario Bros.
Three months of practice, cleared in less than 15 minutes
We've seen some hugely impressive speedruns and game clearance feats in recent times, whether it's beating games with unconventional controllers, clearing multiple games at once or setting record times. Blindfolded runs are also fantastic to watch, and Japanese YouTuber...
January2016
Random Oslo's City Hall Is Playing The Super Mario Bros. Theme
The bells! The bells!
The Super Mario Bros. theme has become quite famous since its inception back in 1985 - hum it to pretty much any person on the face of the planet and there's a good chance that they'll recognise it. If you needed any more confirmation of its fame, then check out the video below. The building is Oslo City Hall in Norway, and as...
Live Enjoy Nearly 12 Hours of Classic Mario and Legend of Zelda Gaming from Awesome Games Done Quick
Super Mario Bros.! Ocarina of Time! Super Mario Galaxy! More!
We're coming towards the end of Awesome Games Done Quick, which is a shame, but it's gearing up for a wonderful finale. The final 24 hours feature plenty of goodies, a number of which are Nintendo classics. This time around we have nearly 12 hours of classic Mario and Zelda gaming; this...
December2015
Random Disney Engineers Play NES Classics In Innovative Fashion
8-bit, 8-player, 8-projector madness!
Disney has always been known for its innovative flare, including within the videogame industry through its licenses and Disney Infinity titles. However, Disney Infinity is not the topic of discussion here, for the Disney Research team has revolutionised a way of revisiting NES classics in the form of...
Random The Super Mario Bros. Ground Theme Has Actual Lyrics
You don't have to just hum it anymore!
Super Mario Bros. was a trailblazer for video games in numerous ways, one of which was the iconic soundtrack that backed the whole game. Particularly, the original "World 1-1" theme has passed on into legend at this point; arguably one of the most recognizable tunes in gaming and one that has been remixed...
November2015
Random Check Out the Most Expensive Super Mario Watch in the World
It only costs as much as a new car
As some of you watch connoisseurs may be aware, Romain Jerome is a fine watch manufacturer that develops wristwatches for rich people. After all, nothing says "I make way more money than you," like a handmade watch crafted from crocodile skin, parts of the original Apollo 11 space shuttle, ISS spacesuit fibres, and...
October2015
Video Speedrunner Sets New World Record for Super Mario Bros.
Clocking in milliseconds quicker than the previous record
The competitive speedrunning scene makes you look at games you thought you were familiar with in a whole different light. It can be remarkable to see the kinds of exploits and techniques that certain people have discovered and employed in order to shave just a few more milliseconds off of...
September2015
News Decade-Old Japanese Shigeru Miyamoto Interview Shows How Super Mario Bros. Helped Save the NES
Miyamoto-san also shared his love of Bluegrass music
In the past month a lot of focus has been on the 30th Anniversary for Super Mario, a major landmark joined by the release of Super Mario Maker on Wii U. There have been plenty of interviews and events, but it can be interesting to look back at previous anniversaries to see what was different or,...
Plus plenty of insight from the current day designers
In honour of Super Mario's 30th Anniversary, Nintendo of America has released a neat 'Special Interview' video featuring Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka talking about development of the original Super Mario Bros. and also Super Mario Maker. Though the bulk of the video is from a modern day...
Video Get Into the Anniversary Spirit With This Retro Mario 3DS HOME Theme
Yes please, Nintendo
The 3DS HOME Theme shop in Japan has plenty of additions every week, a number of which will never make it to the West. Some feature boy and girl bands, amazingly, while others are for titles that haven't been localised yet, but can sure be pretty to look at. This is an example that we think will make it to the West though, as...
Video Watch Miyamoto And Tezuka Pick Apart The Iconic Opening Level Of Super Mario Bros.
World 1-1 walkthrough by the guys who made it happen
As you may well have seen, Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka recently visited the UK and were kind enough to spend some time not only with us, but also with our friends over at Eurogamer. While we decided to have a good old-fashioned music session with the two legends, Eurogamer spent its time...
August2015
Mario Memories Conquering the First Level in Super Mario Bros.
"I had a sense of fear about progressing further into the first level"
In this series of 30 daily articles celebrating the upcoming 30th Anniversary of Super Mario, various members of the Nintendo Life extended family will share their memories and thoughts on the iconic franchise. This time we have news writer, reviewer and Australian Correspondent...
Mario Memories The Creative Joy of Childhood and Super Mario Maker as a Modern-Day Roll of Paper
Mario Maker is for all the kids who will look back 20 years from now
In this series of 30 daily articles celebrating the upcoming 30th Anniversary of Super Mario, various members of the Nintendo Life extended family will share their memories and thoughts on the iconic franchise. Next up is Nintendo Life veteran and Noiseless Chatter master Philip J...
Mario History Super Mario Bros. - 1985
Changing the gaming industry forever
In this series of articles we'll write about one Mario game every day for 30 days, each representing a different year as part of our Super Mario 30th Anniversary celebrations. To paraphrase the great poet Dylan Thomas, for this run of articles celebrating the Super Mario franchise we will begin at the...
July2015
News Mattel Is Releasing Mario Themed Hot Wheels Racers
Lead the way
As of late, Nintendo has been collaborating with a wide variety of companies to help increase its brand exposure. Just last week, for example, it announced a special partnership with social media giant, Facebook, to promote the upcoming Wii U title, Super Mario Maker. This week, news has surfaced via Brazillian toy site T-Hunted, that...
June2015
News Nintendo Wants You To Celebrate Super Mario's 30th Birthday In The Name Of A Good Cause
Make a fool of yourself, help others
Whether it's through covering songs or acting like lunatic plumbers in public, the Super Mario series has inspired people to express their love in all kinds of ways. Nintendo's Digital Event wrapped up with an occasionally awkward but overall charming video compilation showcasing some silly examples, but it...
News Super Mario Bros. Inducted Into the World Video Game Hall of Fame
Along with Tetris and four other games
Not too long ago we told you about the World Video Game Hall of Fame, an initiative launched by the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. A committee of games writers, academics and industry veterans was formed to deliberate over what games would be admitted into the list, with an initial...
Book Review 33 1/3 - Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack
Going deep into the classics
The themes of Super Mario Bros. are such a prominent part of our culture that they're easily celebrated, but perhaps not so easy to truly appreciate. The tracks - especially the original Overworld/Ground Theme - pop up in so many places and are so readily playable in our heads that we can treat them as simpler and less...
May2015
News New Mac App Transforms Your Boring Work Into A Level From Super Mario Bros.
Warp out of boredom
Those of you currently in gainful employment which involves sitting behind a desk for most of your waking day will surely concur that staring endlessly at spreadsheets and graphs gets boring real quick. Thankfully, a solution may yet be at hand to resolve your workplace funk - and it involves Nintendo's famous mascot Mario,...
