The Man Behind Sega's Wonder Boy Series Hates The Controls In Super Mario Bros.

Oh My God, Finally somebody gets it! Seriously, I've played a lot of platformers, and Mario's controls throw me off every time...

(That said, Wonderboy's controls aren't super tight either, at least in the Monster World ones like Dragon's Trap. (Never played the first Wonderboy) i do find them a bit easier to get used to, especially by Monster World IV, but they're still not games I can easily jump into without messing with the controls for a while)

NO! Mario is the definition of control...

lol wut

Even today Mario's control scheme sucks. Holding Y to run, whilst leaning on B to jump?! Use a shoulder button run, like Rayman Legends did, for god's sake.

@CanisWolfred did you play it when it came out?

I had no problem playing this game at 4 and never ever once thought the controls were bad.

If you play the game on an hd TV it makes it seem horrible. The TV lag ruins the controls. On a sdtv the game is perfection.

Super Mario Bros. controls beautifully. If he wants to see a game with bad controls, he should play Ice Climbers.

Note: I like Ice Climbers, but I hate how you can't turn mid air (It's okay in the Mario Bros arcade game, because you have enough room to get a running start) and I hate how you just fall through the platforms sometimes.

I can only find this comment hilarious, since the Wonder Boy/Adventure Island games are hardly the paragon of control and gameplay mechanics.

I would argue that SMB controls better than SMB3.

"He has a different opinion than me?! How dare him?"

Also: SMB is still my favourite Mario game. It's just so pure and simple. (And no, it's not nostalgia, I started to play Mario just a couple of years ago, I only had MD and PS as a kid)

Oh man, I couldn't disagree more. Mario is like THE definitive example of intuitive and responsive controls. Especially later games with the diamond face buttons, the way your thumb fits over Y for running and B for jumping is perfection.

It's also important to note that most platformers of the time used Up on the D-Pad to jump... which is a horrible idea and everyone who does it should feel ashamed of themselves. Yes, even Smash.

Just talking big in front of all his Sega buddies. He would never say that to Miyamoto's face.

My first long-term Mario game was World, and I thought that was rather tight. Going back and playing the original on the NES was indeed frustrating for me. Still, I can't think of too many ways to improve it with the limited button inputs. I think it was Mario's inertia that bugged me.

I swear he's saying this just to grab attention.

I think SMB revolutionized play controls. That said, when SMB 2 came out, I remember thinking it was even better. Yeah, the throwing fruit part didn't go over well, but it fixed a few minor problems with SMB's controls. From SMB2 onward, Mario was pretty much the go-to series for perfect controls.

I guess you can call me biased because it was the first game I actually remember playing, but Super Mario Bros. is what defines side-scrolling controls for me. It's always been my standard. With that said, I respect his views on the matter. I can see how the controls would be frustrating for newcomers.

curious to know what controls he would have preferred with SMB... you got a D-pad, A, B, Start and select..... there isn't much to switch around.

A guy who made a very average game criticising a genuine classic, ok then.

I hope that's just from bad translating, but it seems a bit weird he would state that the game had a very bad control system (as if it were fact), instead of just voicing his opinion how he feels about the control system.

Huh, inspired by SMB but hates the controls. Of course the controls in SMB pretty much defines the platformers of today, oh well, I can't speak for everyone.

It's understandable what he's saying. The initial delay and the inertia of Mario's start, full speed and then stop is challenging. But this seemed to have proved more thrilling to most people than frustrating, making it the success that a side scrolling Mario Bros. became. But the frustration can be there in that type of mechanic, similar to Ghost's n' Goblins challenging jumping.

The controls of Super Mario defined plat forming. He used his dislike of a platforms play control to define his game and evolve it. That's genius if you ask me. Both control are good. Don't hate on him that is what drove his creativity.

I like the controls in SMB but I can see how others did not. They have gotten tighter in other mario games so while not hated they must have been hard to get used to for some players.

I gotta agree with him. Super Mario Bros. controls only felt right to me in Super Mario World and beyond. Personally, I think Mario World had the best control scheme and feel, period.

Um Mario is perfect control, now I do understand that smb1 is the worst of the Mario games, bit it's still very good. Mario 3 and the Nsmb are my favorite controls.

Gotta admit, I agree. The New Super Mario Bros. games control beautifully, but the original... not so much in my opinion.
Never played Wonder Boy, so can't say how those controls are for myself.

In terms of how Mario controls, then somewhat, in terms of B to run and A to jump, I disagree. My reasoning is that I played New Super Mario Bros. Wii, before I played Mario 1, so I'm just comparing it to that...

The controls were never a problem for me even at the age of 2

For me personally, small Mario in SMB3 was the most exciting controls of the 2D games.

He is basically critisizing the Bible of videogame controls.

@River3636 While I agree that SMB's controls had a MAJOR effort in defining what a platformer WAS, I don't agree that it defined ALL platformers. It may have defined TWITCH platformers, but not all of them. There are many different types of platformers around.

Cool interview, but I find SMB to have very tight controls. Wonder Boy on the other hand... I think jumping over holes is harder than it should, even though i kind of like the game the controls aren´t what I enjoy about it.

It may be one of those things that just works for some people and not for others. I always had trouble with it. I had to be very methodical about using the controls, whereas others could just pick it up and go along with no trouble. For me, a game like Rayman Legends is a lot more intuitive, where I can make quick turns and not even really think about the controller as I'm playing. With Mario, it's just not as comfortable an experience.

That being said, I've never played Wonder Boy and thus can't comment on whether or not I agree with this guy's particular idea of what good controls and movement are.

@NinjaWaddleDee Yes. I know, but SMB is what it is and that is a juggernaut of popularity . What if there was no SMB. Would there be a Wonderboy or a Sonic? Would there be a Galaxy? I never said All.

Super Mario Bros. controls just fine, the game is all about jumping and platforming and you have the B button to charge up for speed and use power-up and the A button to jump. It could be a little weird at first for those people who started gaming before 1984 but it works. I could see why the guy didn't like it considering it's not his game to begin with. Also with every Mario games made, the jumping and platforming had improve over time, it started with Donkey Kong then on to Mario Bros. and finally Super Mario Bros. Remember in Donkey Kong, Mario can't drop down from a 2 ft fall to the ground or else he's dead, that became an improvement in Super Mario Bros. Now he could fall from high up without dying.

Even today he's disgusted by those,.....those!.....PLUMBERS!

This is like the creator of Message From Space criticizing Star Wars.

Also, I love the physics in Mario. The inertia has always felt really intuitive to me and made the game much more thrilling. I wouldn't enjoy that kind of mechanic in another game, like let's say Zelda, but it just felt right in Mario.

I was under the impression that everyone knew that the only way to properly play any mario game is to hold down the run button at all times...it's a game about momentum and exploration once you get, 'up there' after all.

But who am i to talk when someone from sega thinks their game, which no ones ever heard of or even talks about, is hands down better than the game that made nintendo, mario, nes and videogames synonymous with one another. When i hear wonderboy, i think of tenacious d or a kid that really likes bread. When i hear mario, i think of mario mario, and luigi mario.

Ooh and several sequels to wonderboy that no ones ever heard of, too. You know whos had a lot of sequels? Megaman. You know who else? Sonic. How are those two doing right now? Oh? So how's wonderboy doing, then?

Marios still the only platformer that matters. With rayman in distant, far away second and lbp in father away third.

SMB controls are somewhat clumsy but it is easy to learn them. Some think happened with lots of 2D platforms back in the day. Latest Mario games have smoother controls. However, even though The Dragon's Trap is one of my favourite games ever, it is not that the controls were perfect (in the Game Gear version anyway).

I find that most people claiming that SMB's controls were bad weren't very good at the game. Most people jumped into them in early childhood and started having fun right away.

IMO it's pretty much true, Wonderboy had better controls compared with the NES mario bros game at the time.

@audiobrainiac lol

Get good. That's pretty much all I can say.

I never had problems with the controls when I was playing this as a kid, but going back to it, yeah, the physics seem a little off. That artwork makes me feel very nostalgic though.

At the very least, he tried to play it. Devs today really don't have the time to play games but rather observe them. While his words may make sense now, I doubt that it would've made sense back then. I mean, Its Mario! When was the last time a Mario game....no....wait.... a SUPER MARIO game turned out bad? (not counting the CDI games and the ones Nintendo wasn't in charge of.)

Galaxy was a great game and people still have so much of hate for that game!

I agree. I disslike the controls in SMB. But I love them in any other Mario Game. In SMB Mario accelerate to slow and you have no real control over Mario while jumping. In every other game the movements are great, but the controls in SMB just feels slow and somewhat clunky.

I could understand the original donkey kong games and mario bros, but super mario bros was spot on.
Having your thumb on the run button and wresting over the jump button made sense too, you have no need to lift your thumb to press jump simply because your thumb is there allready. It made for much more precise play.

The controls in SMB are pristine. Untouchable. Genre defining. Like many have said on here, I never had a problem with the controls even at the age of 2 or 3.

umm, if you find the controls in super mario bros to be weird and the movement is off, maybe you should just put down the controller, cause you really suck at gaming

Super Mario Bros. made me the gamer I am today. The controls of SMB 3 on the other hand are junk.

::: Looks at sales of SMB::::
::: Looks at sales of Wonder Boy:::

Yeah, I think he's alone on the tree branch... If SMB had terrible controls, Mario would have never became as popular as he did. Now he's pretty much the mascot of video games in general. SMB was the first platformer that I can recall that mimicked gravity a bit. When Mario jumps, his rate of ascend slows down as he reaches the top of his jump, and then starts to speed up on the way back down..... It was so simple, but brilliant. After playing platformers with stiff jumping, playing SMB felt so natural. Which thats what increased SMB's ability to immerse you into the world no other game of its time.

@RedBlueSpot Nice avatar haha

For a minute I thought it said Smash Bros. lol

...So why is this newsworthy again?

While don't agree with what he's saying, I think some of you guys are taking this a bit too seriously. It's his own opinion.

@andyg1971 Several of the Wonder Boy games are classics in their own right, they just don't get the attention or the cult following that other games like Mother tend to get.

But Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap blows Zelda II out of the water in terms of quality, and Wonder oy in Monster World and Monster World IV are some of the best action-adventure games not only on the Genesis, but across all 16-bit consoles.

Wonder Boy made the concept of a Zelda II game work when even Nintendo failed. In fact, they were building on Metroid's formula and improving it years before Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night even came out.

Are there some ok Wonder Boy games? Yes, the first one and the arcade one were generic platformers while Monster Land has some issues due to being an arcade game.

But Wonder Boy had some classic games that still stand up very well. What hurt the series was the fact that Sega never promoted it as much as the other games they published and even many Sega fans ignore the series for other games that Sega made.

But as someone who has played most of the Wonder Boy games, I will argue that they are classc games, and some of the best action adventure games ever made. Plus, they did what Nintendo themselves never could. They made the Zelda II formula work and made it better.

It seems like maybe he dislikes the inertia in Mario perhaps?

For a second I got my Wonder Boy confused with Alex Kidd, the game that used the same control scheme of SMB, just switched which A and B did so it was B and A

What? Most platformers don't have as slick controls as Super Mario Bros 1.
I dont like stiff controls like in Giana Sisters.

I liked the controls in the first ever Wonderboy (Arcade) thou, and its similar to Super Mario Bros. Why bashing Mario then?

He can bash Mario all he want, but the world obviously digged the controls which is proven by sales and reputation.

Them's fighting words. Solution, a NSMB style New Wonderboy and we can see what's is what.

Plus we get a new Wonderboy out of it.

You know people, you can also hold down X to run and A to jump. I have been doing that for a long time. Feels much better.

FInally someone else that agrees. And he doesnt meant the hardware controls. Im sure its the actual game controls.

SMB have this weird physics when running and jumping.

This is more noticeable in SMAS for the SNES. Where they even glitched Mario when he was moving and broke a brick.

I don't mind, everybody has their tastes. Although, I think he didn't achieve those tight controls he strived for with Adventure Island.

@DarkCoolEdge That is a port though.

Arcade Wonderboy with a microswitched joystick controls fine.

When it came out it was ok, I don't remember anything better at the time this came out

@Ootfan98 Arcade Ghosts n Goblins has perfect controls as well. (Same year).

@RainbowGazelle He was referring to the NES version of Mario.

@unrandomsam In the arcades, I'm sure there were lots of games which played better, but at home I don't think there was much

Aww, poor little guy. Couldn't you get past the first castle?

@RainbowGazelle - Yes, because the NES had shoulder buttons....

@BarryDunne I said shoulder button to run, not jump. Try actually reading comments before answering them.
@sagen I'm talking about today's Mario games. Same advice as above.
@Unit_DTH And I'm talking about today's games.

@BarryDunne No need to laugh at me twice in one comment.

'Lol' must stand for something else then.

Ugh. The analog feeling of jumping in Super Mario Bros. that came from how long you held down the jump button destroyed anything before it and most things after it. Sure, certain kinds of games took a different and successful approach, but the idea of a control scheme that can be skillfully mastered is what made the old classics (SMB, Metroid, even Bionic Commando) so satisfying.

Anyway, I don't disparage this guy. WonderBoy games were cool. Just the control was noticeably clunky by itself so he kinda failed in that goal for me at least. It was the other features of the games that made them fun.

@RainbowGazelle For the record, I also think the run button should be a shoulder button, now, though. I often hold the controller so I can use two fingers rather than a thumb to press the buttons and really it could be more comfortable. Problem is Wonder Boy emerged in a shoulder-button-less environment like Mario did.

Super Mario Bros. was also the game that made playing platform games in the arcade seem backwards (even though it debuted in the arcades in the US) because they were all so simple and boring.

@Dipper723 Ice climber was frustrating but I enjoy the jumping games that don't allow midair correction, too — Castlevania. I think Ice Climber was so frustrating because the vertical jump was just so slow, long, and moved so little to the side that it was infuriating to watch your mistake play out on the screen. lol. I do wish someone would take that concept to a new level now. Maybe throw in some voxel building/destroying like Minecraft to the action and modernize many aspects. There's a lot of charm to that game and it sticks with me even though it had so many big faults.

Whoa. To me, Super Mario Bros.'s controls is best of the best. They are incredibly tight. Hell, I don't even like Super Mario World's controls.

I have yet to play a Mario game where I questioned the controls. Everyone has an opinion, I suppose. Mario's controls were always spot on for me. I could say this guy is hatin but I won't bother.

Some people say Mario is perfect control, but that seems like it is going too far. It's very good. Mr. Nishizawa doesn't say SMB is bad. He disliked the way the game controlled. He's entitled to that and it's a fair criticism. I've always found I'd take longer to get used to the Mario games when I'd revisit them than other games. No reason anyone should take it personally. What may feel perfect to one man might seem off to another.

I was planning to read up on and play the Wonder Boy games soon. In fact, I just acquired Bikkuriman World, which was a re-skinned PC Engine port of one of those games and a PCE launch title I believe.

Them's fightin' words, sonny!

'It inspired me to make my own game, subsequently realizing that it's really hard to make a game that controls well.'
Is how this SHOULD have read.
Due to terrible controls, I've never found reason to play through any Wonder Boy games (a series milked early that died after about a decade) versus finishing Mario and Mario 3 a combined 11 times (a series going on 30+ years in the west).

Well, it's hard to take this as anything but either a guy's opinion, which he's entitled to, or rocking the boat to make people remember that "Hey, that guy existed!"

But I will say this... if he's referring to that Japanese version of SMB with the improved color palette and different controls, I can't help but slightly agree. That's pretty much slow and unplayable compared to the original. It seems to share these physics with the All-Stars SNES version as well.

I hate the controls in Super Mario World. I'm absolutely awful at that game.

Super Mario Bros. controls are far from perfect. They are... barely fine. If they were perfect they would've left them the way they were in Super Mario Bros. 3. Can you imagine playing Super Mario Bros. 3's worlds/stages with the original controls? The horror!!

Opinions are like kittens.

I can agree at least. The controls in Super Mario Bros. games have improved a lot over the years. The first one feels very stiff and sluggish to me.

I feel this game often gets a free pass and plenty of praise because of its historical significance. Personally, I don't find it very much fun, and I think it's been improved upon by just about every Mario game since. Especially SMB3.

@Sherman Exactly.

Ive never played the first Wonderboy game in the arcade, but I do find the NES game's Mario to be a bit 'slipply'... I know most wont agree, but I prefer Super Mario Land, maybe as I played it so much when it came out.
Wonderboy 2 and 3 the Dragons Trap were great games on the Master System, its a shame the series is no more, and that Wii Ware Wonderboy game was pretty bad.

Sorry but i played Wonder Boy, it feels worse than Super Mario Brothers controls.. at least to me anyhow.

@ACK Opinions are like kittens. You want to go against them but you can't. They're just too cute. oh wait that doesn't make sense

I agree that the first Mario gave doesn't control the best. Which is to be expected being the first game and all. But its about a million times better than Wonder Boy's. At least it didn't have a power up that actually made the game less controllable.

Well the inertia in Super Mario Bros is a little heavy but in Super Mario World the controls are basically perfect (and pretty much the same is true of Super Mario Bros 3 too). No platform game to date has bettered the feel of running and jumping around is Super Mario World.

To be brutally honest, i also hate the original SMB controll / physics behaviour. Far to slippery and weighted.
If it comes to 2D Mario games, SMW is the pinacle of platformer controlls. Though to be fair, everything from SMB3 onwards was pretty much spot on.

Maybe the first Super mario bros, but other than that, this really just sounds pathetic.

@RainbowGazelle
That's why you use A and X, feels much better on the gamepad, a d maybe 3ds.

Now is when he says this? The controls were always fine to me as a grew up with platformers

I found the original one a little off, but not crippling. From the sequel (USA) on, I found it fine.

It was excellent for its time and it still holds up well. Wonder Boy's controls were a lot more frustrating to me.

of cousre a sega worker is gonna bash the controls of an NES game. there paid to say these things

Awhile back I was on a Super Mario Bros addiction and was obsessed with trying to attain the top high score I could by playing through the game. I even wrote the scores down on a notecard and had seperate lists for how high of a score I got by beating the game and how high a score I got before I lost. Needless to say this was certainly one of those games that you had to play alot to truly come to grips with the controls for the game as the physics for this particular Mario game are unlike any other, and that just makes victory that much sweeter!

Wow! Sombody from Sega doesn't like how a Nintendo game controls, what a shock! Of course he doesnt.

@SahashraLA Many of the Wonder Boy games were good, the series vanished mostly because Sega never bothered promoting any of the games. But Wonder Boy III: Dragon's Trap, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and Monster World IV are some of the best action-adventure games of their era, and did the Zelda II style of gameplay better then Nintendo did.

As for the controls, the only three games where the control feels loose is the first Wonder Boy, the arcade version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land, and Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair. Those games also have a common tie of being arcade games.

But for the other games, I think the controls are pretty good.

@JudgeMethos About the only Mario games where I hated the controls were the ones on the Wii, and that's because Nintendo had an obsession with shoving motion controls into games even when they made no sense. I know people praise the Galaxy games, but me flicking a Wiimote to make Mario jump will never feel as natural as using a normal controller and pushing a button. I'll be honest, the control scheme is a lot of the reason why I never got into either Galaxy game.

New Super Mario Bros Wii was better, because you could ignore the motion controls if you wanted, but it was still annoying to have to flick a controller to make Mario Spin Jump.

That's why I love the Mario games on the Wii U, Nintendo finally got the message and offer control options for people who don't want control gimmicks like motion and touch screens for every single game.

@Sherman I have the feeling that the issue with the first Super Mario Bros is not so much the controls, but the physics engine and Mario's inertia in the game. The later Mario games give the player more control over Mario's jumps, and he stops on a dime if the player need him to.

With the first SMB, Mario does not have as much control in the air as he gets in later games, and when a player stops him when he is running, he slides a bit before he fully stops. Meaning Mario often goes into pits, enemies, and other things in SMB that he would never hit in later Mario games.

It does not make the game bad or take away the importance of the game, but I do feel that Mario lacks the precise control that he gains in later games. Of course, it's better then most other characters of that era.

His opinion is proven wrong by history. The game could not be a big hit without tight controls. Like any game, you have to learn how it flows, but for a platformer, it's hard to top. For those who have only played it outside the original NES or the SNES All Stars, try it on that. I don't know about the wii u, but the original wii motes from the wii have a lag that the NES/SNES controllers dont. Via a wiimote, I'm not very good...give me an NES controller, and the game is much easier, as if I was ten again. I'll actually be playing smb tonight with my fiancee for some retro fun!

@Dipper723
Totally...played that one via remix and the controls BLOW!

@Poketendo @StuOH

LOL!!! Our he's simply jealous of Miyamoto a la Salieri with Mozart.

Says Sega. Oh yeah and Sega, how good have YOUR games been in the past 10 years?

Mario's controls are but a skill to be mastered

I have never been a big fan of the original Mario controls myself. I don't think it is a deal breaker by any means but it would be nice to have more precise controls. With that said, I find myself still playing the virtual console remakes and enjoying them immensely, so the games are still a ton of fun.

that must be miyamoto's artwork

Never had a problem with the controls

Is this a hate article? It's just some developer's opinion. Not exactly newsworthy. The only reason I can think of to post about it would be for clicks, in which case congrats, you got mine.

@Agent721 On a CRT ? That makes the most difference. All Stars or World on the Super Famicom or anything on the NTSCU Wii is pretty much just the same for me anyway. (I have specifically tested it).

Plus most people are going on the NES port of his not the Arcade which is the gold standard. (With a Arcade joystick as it was supposed to be played)

To each their own. There never has and never will be a game that appeals to absolutely everyone, no matter how good the game may be.

@Caryslan You hit the nail on the head. I mean, I still don't like the newer Mario games as much as the original, but I do like having the feeling of more control in them than in the original SMB (except for World, that one's just an enigma...). It's like how as good as the first Mega Man is, the not-so-spot-on controls really do make it harder to get into than its later brethren.

Also, I said Super Mario World's controls sucked before it was cool.

Only thing i can say about the controls that seemed off would be the running and jumping simultaneously, you'd over shoot it and there's really no way to correct it specially on smaller ledges.

Or the last part of the level when your trying to quickly jump up the last mountain of ledges in a hurry to reach the flag. Id get stuck sometimes and lose momentum. Minor stuff here folks other than that the game was golden for its time as it holds up well today. The dude didnt even really state what he didnt like though or did he ? Kinda vague let me read this article again lol

@Kobeskillz I also didn't think Rugratz in Paris on the Game Boy Color didn't have terrible controls when I was that age. Doesn't mean the controls were actually good. And for the record, I do have an actual NES hooked up to a CRT with a copy of SMB that I got for $5. I do like the game - it's the best 2D Mario in my opinion based purely on its pace and level design - but much like how I wouldn't call Monster Hunter's tedious controls good, or wouldn't call any aspect of Sonic Adventure's gameplay good despite having played through it so many times I could probably beat the game blindfolded, I'm not going to call the controls in SMB good simply because I'm willing to put up with its crappiness simply to get the good.

• pad move, A button jump.... What is there to hate exactly?

@ACK Opinions are needy and adorable? Or everyone wants one?

I see exactly what this guy is saying. I can't stand Mario's jump physics, primarily for the horizontal inertia. Did the game introduce some important control mechanics? Yes it did. Is the inertia out of whack? Completely. SMB was a big step in the right direction for platformers, but that doesn't mean that it holds up by today's standards. Just as Donkey Kong Country is no longer the pinnacle of game graphics, Super Mario Bros isn't the pinnacle of controls. We've learned and progressed, so there's no need to get uptight or attack someone when they point out that a game released over 25 years ago has aged.

Play controls at the time weren't as spot on as modern games...
I can't believe someone stated it should have used 'shoulder buttons to run'.
The NES pad had no shoulder buttons but Nintendo brought them to home gaming with the SNES. Back then, the NES pad was pretty freaking revolutionary and Mario helped lay groundwork for decades of platformers.
All that said, the Wonder Boy creator criticizing Mario titles is like Beta picking on VHS, Laserdisc throwing down with DVD and HD HDVD picking apart Blu-Ray. Mario won. Wonder Boy... not so much.

@RainbowGazelle Because Wii Remotes and NES controllers have shoulder buttons, am I right?

Mario, Bad Controls?-

what the hell is he on?

@DatFunkySmell But Gamepads and Wii U Controller Pros do, and Nintendo could at least bother to make use of them if they are the controllers you're playing with.

A lot of people claim not to have played the original Wonder Boy....have you ever played Adventure Island on NES? It's pretty much identical to Wonder Boy asides from the main sprite and music.

So that being said, people complaining about having to hold a button to run and lean their thumb onto jump....exactly the same on Wonder Boy, only with Wonder Boy if you're not holding down run then his jumps are always pathetic. As much as I enjoy the game, I find the controls a lot more infuriating than Mario's.

There's a reason Mario was a mega success and Wonder Boy/Adventure Island was only a minor one, but I still respect that they guy was driven to try and make a better game after playing Mario ....it just shows how seminal and influential Super Mario Bros really was.

Uh, Wonder Boy in Monster Land is nearly impossible to beat because of a long series of leapfrogging platforms you have to jump up right before the final boss that the controls are just too sluggish to accomplish without God's gift to timing.

That's amusing considering that my biggest issue with Sega games in general are the controls always feel loose and over-responsive lending a feeling of always being slightly out of control. And in the Wonder Boy series specifically it is the lack of momentum that just seems wrong.

He must have made a mistake. It's MARIO BROS. NOT SUPER Mario Bros. that has horrible controls.

Yeah. That is what I meant more or less. @Caryslan

SMB's controls aren't that great, they got tightened up a lot in SMB3. Still plays well though.

I like the way Super Mario Bros controls, but Great Giana Sisters on Commodore64 always felt tighter and more responsive.
The Wonderboy arcade version is still amazing today, but only if you use Calamity's GroovyMAME and a CRT TV

@sdelfin Go grab New Adventure Island and Dragon's Trap asap, if you have a PC-Engine. Two timeless classics for that system. Also, play with an arcade stick and on a CRT for a lag-free experience.

What?! At least I passed SMB. Wonderboy was hell to play, with that skateboard and million bottomless chasms in that game, not too mention the controls were loose, lag was worse than Resident Evil Revelations Wii U aiming system (ok, not that bad, but pretty bad. lol).

SMB always feels little slippery but that's one reason why it's so fun to play. I'd say Contra has propably best controls of all NES games.

@Agent721
Only in the movie Amadeus. Didn't happen irl.

@Gryzor thanks for the recommendations. I figured it was about time to get more familiar with the Wonder Boy series. I've heard good things about New Adventure Island and it looks like my kind of game. I'll be on the lookout for those next time I search for HuCards.

i completely agree with this man, the controls feel very clunky and weighted.
i know, ima h8er4life

nintendo nerd: oh no! you arent a nintendo fan because you dont like the controls in one single nintendo game HATER! hate u 4 life!
me:... ooouuukkaaay..... walks away
nintendo nerd: but... your suppoesed to say im over reacting (0.0)

SMB3 is the only Mario I've stopped playing because I hated the way the controls felt.

I would argue that the controls for Super Mario Bros 1, 2 and World were all perfect, but Super Mario Bros 3 had the most slipperiest controls of them all. Mario felt like he was as light as air. Better than Mario 64 however where it feels like I'm trying to force a fat guy to walk. XD

I grew up with Atari, NES, SNES, and Gameboy. I played all the "retro" Marios when they first came out. And he's absolutely right. The first Super Mario Bros. has awkward controls! So does Super Mario Land for Gameboy. The jumping and friction just don't seem right. Controlling Mario in midair is weird, and sometimes you wind up jumping left while facing right. Precision jumps don't feel the same as the rest of the series.

The rest of the series (SMB2, SMB3, SMW, etc.) has excellent controls! Also, the Mario All Stars remake of SMB1 has improved controls. I don't know about the Gameboy Color remake. But the original SMB1 on NES was awkward.

@Ernest_The_Crab @Omarpixel9 Everyone is always giving them away.

Everyone its taste, but I think the Super Mario bros controls where (and still are) great! Many a old game feels stiff, but not Super Mario bros.

I never played Super Mario Bros. on the NES, but I did play the Virtual Console version. I can't say that I felt the controls were bad. They were actually really responsive to me. Mario gained momentum and I could run. Okay. Got it. Bring on the game. Unless you never get used to his momentum and slowing him down, I guess you could say you feel the game controlled poorly. For me, it didn't take me long to grow accustomed to slowing down or even jumping backwards to control Mario how I wanted to.

Extremely responsive game. Played it through to the end (thanks to restore points. maybe I'll try without them someday). Still working on Super Mario Bros. 2: Lost Levels.

Controls are better in later Mario games. Mario fails to jump at the edge of the platform more often in SMB1 and Lost Levels.

No bias

@cdude Yeah, I've witnessed a few noobs not playing it the proper way. You just know they haven't played SMB before. Holding down the run button is essential. The only time i would stop holding down the run button is when I have to do several smaller jumps in succession while holding forward. It just works.

In my opinion, the original Super Mario Bros for the NES or Famicom has the best control system of all platformers to this day! That could be that i'm a Mario fanboy but really, it's at least good controls right?

I actually agree with this. Nintendo worked way too hard to make the physics "realistic", and even today the 3D Mario games have the absolute worst control. Nintendo really should have taken a hint when people praised Mega Man's controls so much.