The e-Reader was an interesting and quirky peripheral for the Game Boy Advance. It seems like it never quite reached its full potential, but the idea of scanning cards into games to get additional content was a fairly novel idea at the time. In a sense, it could even be viewed as DLC before the concept had really caught on. For example, there were several stages added to Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 by e-Reader cards, that were otherwise inaccessible.
Though it has yet to appear in any other Virtual Console game, it seems that e-Reader content will be supported in the impending Japanese release of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. Apparently, all the levels from the cards will be available from the get-go on the data select screen. It remains to be seen whether this will be the case when the game inevitably arrives on western virtual consoles, or whether e-Reader content for other games will start to appear, but only time will tell.
What do you think? Did you ever play these levels back on the original release? Do you think we'll see more e-Reader content in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source nintendoeverything.com, via nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 50
I've dreamed about this making it to the US with the e-Reader levels. I might as well buy SMB3 some more.
This is pretty cool. I hope this happens in other games too, although SMA4 was arguably the best use of it. I bet that guy who recreated these levels in Mario maker is pretty mad, or at least sad, right now, I know I would be.
That would be awesome! I didn't have an e-reader so I never got to play those special levels.
That's interesting, I don't really plan to buy more GBA games on the WiiU, but hopefully if they ever offer them on a portable system they'll keep the extra content.
@ParkaTron maybe omitting the "I'm first" portion of the comment would help.
@Morpheel Done! I think I gonna stop doing that, it's starting to get embarrassing.
Didn't someone make the e-Reader levels on Super Mario Maker? All the same, I had an e-Reader, but I was more interested in the NES games. I think I had all of them except Urban Champion.
Awesome! I was really hoping that SMA4 would feature the e-Reader levels on the Virtual Console version, since a lot of the extra levels are very unique and fun, as well as being one of the main selling points for the GBA version of SMB3. I hope we get e-Reader levels in the West too!
@ParkaTron i highly doubt it. He made those as an homage because he liked them. There are a lot of things in Nintendos past that they don't revisit (like Geno until recently). Im sure he'll be happy they'll be widely available in an easy to use format.
@chiefeagle02
There's videos for most of the levels in the e-reader game in Super Mario Maker, but the mechanics are different, so a lot of things had to be changed.
https://youtu.be/5QD-nFyJBpw?list=PLfC_xCvRTPtlwLpCaZHseUglZsfZYqdGg
If NoA does this; day 1.
Awesome. I'm still annoyed a lot of e reader cards never saw release.
This was one of my favorite games on the GBA,can't wait till this game is available for download in the US.
Europe is going to get the worst version twice in a row. unless they offer the US version as an import. i wouldn't imagine Mario Advance 4 to be that text heavy, probably be criminal to lose those levels for 3 or so other languages. Now the important thing to wonder is if Nintendo is releasing all of them in their current form or are they going to unearth unreleased stages and convert them into an american state.
Aware that the European version of Mario Advance 4 just locked E-reader out, but could be enabled with a corrupted save, but you have to question how much different bytes there are between the US and EU versions of the game alone. own an E-Reader in real life and those US R/S Pokemon cards scanned in perfectly for the EU version of Ruby and Sapphire.
Now only if Nintendo enabled Link Cable support and maybe GBA(like) support for GB/GBC games so that people can get stuff like the secret shop rings in Oracle of Seasons/Ages or that secret Tinkerbat form in Shantae.
I wouldn't buy it if it didn't include those levels. I would be thrilled if it included the missing US levels from where they stopped producing the cards.
@Plucky We're already getting all the US releases of NES and SNES games, so I'm optimistic.
e-reader content as Virtual Console DLC?
I hope we get e-reader content for MMZ3!
Yes I want this, bring this to NA. Would really love to try all those e-Reader levels and new power-ups.
If this comes to the US I might just buy it since about every year me and my friend 100% SMB3 and we found the gba port is the most convenient. If they added the e-reader levels that would be a huge plus since I never got to play them since I never had a e-reader.
Lovely stuff. It'd be great to see more of the obscure stuff like this. Next: BS Super Mario USA and other Satellaview content!
Yes. Yesss. Oh Yesss indeed please! I've always wanted to play these levels ever since I saw footage of the cape feather from World and the vegetable picking from Mario 2! Put the E-Levels on and shut up and take my money!
Amazing! The only one I've never been able to play was one of the Japanese promo levels. The rest were available through a dot code printer at least, but soooo tricky to get to work.
I don't know how they'd all work when the regular cart only holds 32 levels at a time. And hopefully they include the power-ups and switches, too.
Well, this was OBVIOUSLY the only right way to handle this release. Which of course means I half expected Nintendo to screw it up and have been pleasantly surprised. I'm sure that whenever it gets around to releasing here, we'll get the levels also because it just makes even less sense than NoA normally does otherwise.
Very nice. Would provide a nice value for those of us who have already downloaded NES Super Mario 3.
Now all that are missing are Super Mario All Stars and Zelda Link to the Past / Four Swords GBA on Wii U VC.
I'm one of the few people with SMA4 with all e-reader levels installed. Those are some of the most fun levels I have ever played. The cartridge has been sitting around for years. I keep meaning to sell it, but never get around to it.
Please, please be true.
Sure, I'd pick it up again if it had this feature.
If the English release doesn't at least have the E-Reader levels that we got I'll be insanely salty. Not only are they hard to find, but they are difficult to emulate too.
Even through emulation, it's not the simplest thing to get these levels on so they deffo had to tinker around the original ROM to make these available. I'm glad Nintendo is more open to these sort of hacking these days!
Even though I already own Mario 3 many times, I would buy this game to get those E-reader levels. If NOA feels like releasing it, of course.
I have the Advance cartridge for this game and play it on my SP sometimes but I don't have an E-Reader so I've never been able to play those levels.
Curious to see if these levels make it to Europe because we never got the e-Reader over here. Such a shame
This is awesome. Always wanted to play those levels... How many are there?
This is awesome! Now, while they're at it, if they could just find a way to bring back the multiplayer functionality in games like Kirby and The Amazing Mirror...
@Churchy
Oh heck yes! I'd love to see Zelda: Ancient Stone Tablets get here too!
@SmaMan I'd forgotten about that! It'd be great to see it.
Yes please! I will buy this if they include it!
I have only played them in an emulator, which I personally hate playing platformers there.
These levels are the best I have ever played from a 2D Mario game.
Simply put, they are excellent designed, have more stuff, and the most fun thing is finding all the Advance coins and the e Coins the level has to offer.
IMO, disregard the game itself, buying this for the levels is enough (32 well made levels)
However, I wonder WHICH levels will they include.
SMA4 save file is designed to only hold 32 levels in total, and they are 37 in total.
The one I played didn't had Mad Dash! and the classic SMB1 levels, but it had the other 32 levels, including the promo ones.
@FernandoMachado Actually the levels are stored in the save file. The game itself isn't touched.
They should simply include a save file with all levels pre-loaded
@sketchturner 37, which 4 are remakes of the first world of SMB1.
However, the save file of the game can only contain 32 levels max, so I doubt the remake levels along with another level won't be in.
I forgot all about that thing. I know I had one, but i hardly remember what it did
I'm a sucker for these 16-bit graphics and the interface is much cleaner on GBA compared to the All-Stars release. This is certainly the definitive version of SMB3.
Today I learned Japan got a neater logo then we did.
Ah yes, my first ever GBA game :')
I would love to see this get a release in the states. I never got to play the e-reader levels!
@Spin It has always been like this, with all the 'Mario Advance" re-releases.
Japan got the better title screens than the rest of the world.
@Gridatttack They probably didn't want to go to all the effort of re-drawing all that pixel art.
To be honest, I don't remember the e-Reader at all. Everybody had a GBA when I was a kid, but I first heard about the e-Reader only a couple years ago. Wonder why it never caught on.
I really, really wish I had a chance to play these levels. Never got to experience them, sadly, but they seem fun from the looks of it. Shame that the extra work by the developers couldn't have been enjoyed by many due to technical limitations and what not, but now is the chance to make this accessible. I mean, if I were to create a product, I'd want to share it with everyone possible.
Please come to the west...
Hopefully they do the same here!
any news on the european release date
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