Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: Super Mario Bros.
Insert Quarter: A History of Fan-Made Mario Games
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
There’s no reason to hide it, Mario Maker is one of my most anticipated games for 2015. The ability to create my own Mario courses (and play courses created by others) has got me giddy with excitement. Writing for Joystiq, Lawrence Bonk has revealed that he’s just as giddy as I am. He is so giddy that he dove into the shadowy world of unauthorized ROM hacks of Super Mario Bros. and other games in the series. These fan-made creations are sometimes scary, but they’re always interesting:
Of course, long before there were dedicated toolsets, there was the humble game ROM. In addition to allowing people to finally brag about beating Ghosts N’ Goblins, NES game ROMs had/have the added bonus of being fairly easy to manipulate. What better title to screw around with than the original Super Mario Bros.? It didn’t have too many sprites and, oh yeah, there’s that whole “pretty much defined video games for an entire generation” thing.
The full article is available for your perusal at Joystiq.
Posted in Insert Quarter, Retro, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Maker
Nintendo Download: Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, Duck Hunt, Super Mario World, more
Exactly 26 years ago, I unwrapped an NES “Action Set” complete with the original Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. This Christmas, Nintendo wants to recreate one of my earliest childhood memories by adding Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, a Game Boy Color port of the original Super Mario adventure, to the 3DS eShop and Duck Hunt to the Wii U eShop. Someone tell the Duck Hunt Dog that I will have the last laugh this year…
Two other Nintendo classics are now available to download today, both on the Wii U eShop. Mario Party Advance was the first Mario Party to be released for a Nintendo handheld. And Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 brought Super Mario World, possibly the greatest Super Mario game ever, to the Game Boy Advance when it was originally released.
Also available this week is the Wii U debut of WayForward’s strong>Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse. Already available for the 3DS, Wii U owners can now take control of the feisty genie in her latest side-scrolling adventure.
More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Duck Hunt, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, Super Mario Bros.
Watch someone beat Super Mario Bros. in a world record 4 minutes and 57 seconds
This is just unbelievable. Someone named “Blubbler” has just set a new world record for an “Any Percentage” Super Mario Bros. speedrun. Are you ready for this? Blubbler was able to beat the game in four minutes and 57.69 seconds. I’ll say it again… unbelievable!
The previous world record was 4:58.09 by “Andrewg.”
Blubbler’s world record run required pixel-perfect movements and you can read up on some of these tricks and glitches at the Speed Demos Archive. Seriously, I am blown away. It’s just an amazing bit of platforming.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
Next 33 1/3 book will focus on Super Mario Bros. soundtrack
33 1/3 is a book series by Bloomsbury Publishing that focuses on albums by all manner of artists, including The Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, The Who, and more. There are 96 books in the series so far, and they’re about to announce 14 more, to be released in 2015 and 2016.
Today, they made an exciting announcement: they’ll be releasing a book in the series about Koji Kondo’s Super Mario Bros. score!
Author Andrew Schartmann takes us through the various external factors (e.g., advances in technology, Nintendo’s marketing tactics) that coalesced into a ripe environment in which Kondo’s musical experiments could thrive. He then delves into the music itself, searching for reasons why our hearts still dance to the “primitive” 8-bit tunes of a bygone era.
Schartmann is no stranger to writing about Nintendo’s famous 8-bit scores – he’s the author of last year’s Maestro Mario: How Nintendo Transformed Videogame Music into an Art. His 33 1/3 title will be out in May 2015.
Posted in Etcetera, News
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo Download: Zelda: Wind Waker HD, Scribblenauts DC, Super Mario Bros., a lot more
Nintendo plans to add a bunch of new games to the DSiWare Shop, 3DS eShop, and Wii U eShop over the next few days, including one of the most acclaimed GameCube games ever and everybody’s favorite NES game.
Let’s start with today’s additions to Nintendo’s download services. The NES classic Super Mario Bros. is now available on the Wii U eShop, but the real action is on the 3DS. Nintendo’s handheld will receive Star Wars Pinball, Solomon’s Key, Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi, Rage of the Gladiator, AiRace Speed, Mahjong 3D: Essentials, and Shifting World today. There’s a little something for everyone there including a few puzzles games, a great fantasy fighter, a romantic RPG, and a racer. If you’re still rocking a DSi, two interactive stories (Tales to Enjoy! The Ugly Duckling and Tales to Enjoy! Three Little Pigs) were also added to the DSiWare Shop today.
So what else can we look forward to? Tomorrow, Nintendo will add The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD to the Wii U eShop, a full two weeks before its disc-based debut. And on Tuesday, Wii U and 3DS owners will be able to go on a superheroic adventure with Superman, Batman, and hundreds of other DC characters in Scribblenauts Unmasked. Finally, FIFA 14 will also be added to the 3DS eShop on Tuesday.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged FIFA 14, Scribblenauts Unmasked, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Wario Land goes for the gold in this week’s Nintendo Download
With the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games less than 24 hours away, the big game in this week’s Nintendo Download is very fitting. The Olympics are all about the quest for the gold medal and the Game Boy classic, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, is also all about the desire for gold. Though, in this case, Wario is looking for a giant gold statue instead of a tiny medal.
Wario’s first starring role in a game is also one-half of this week’s entry in Nintendo’s “8-Bit Summer.” Mario’s evil twin is joined by the Game Boy puzzler Mole Mania on the 3DS eShop.
Hit the jump for a look at the rest of the games in this week’s Nintendo Download as well a pair of 3DS eShop deals. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
PBS thinks Super Mario Bros. is a surreal work of art
PBS launched their latest online venture, the PBS Idea Channel, on Wednesday. Hosted by Mike Rugnetta, the channel attempts to answer all those crazy questions you get in your head. And believe it or not, the debut question was “Is Super Mario Bros. a piece of surrealist artwork?”
Rugnetta makes the point that when viewed from outside the influence of the series, a flower that lets you spit fire after you eat it, giant walking mushrooms, and a dinosaur that lays eggs is just INSANE! Except, it’s not…
“Spitting” fire was just a euphemism we kids came up with in the 80s. The canon depiction of a Fire Flower has always shown Mario throwing fireballs after touching it. Weird sure, but not as weird as Rugnetta wants to claim. Goombas (and other made up species that the host cites like the Hammer Bros. and Latiku) can be traced back to the zaniness found in Looney Tunes cartoons and Dr. Seuss books. I mean, is a Goomba all that different from The Lorax? As for Yoshi and his egg-laying, well, dinosaurs do lay eggs! It was even a major plot point in Jurassic Park.
Rugnetta does make one good point, and that is that surrealism is everywhere nowadays. Mario is a bit surreal, but most of the weirdness in the Mushroom Kingdom makes perfect sense… except for Birdo.
Posted in Etcetera, News
Tagged Super Mario Bros.
“The Art of Video Games” opens in March at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Starting March 16th, the Smithsonian American Art Museum will be showcasing the forty year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on visual effects and technology. It will feature some of the most influential artists and designers in the industry, and games for twenty gaming systems.
Chris Melissinos, the curator of the exhibition, worked with the public and an advisory group of people from varying fields within the video game industry to select the 80 games included in the exhibition.
Five games will be featured to show player interaction with virtual worlds, and highlight design innovations that set the standards for the games that came after them. These games are Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and Flower.
The exhibition will start with “Game Fest”, a three-day festival which will feature panel discussions, movie screenings, and live bands.
“The Art of Video Games” will run from March 16th through September 30th, and will travel to ten cities in the US following it’s presentation in Washington DC. For more information, visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s web site.
Posted in Etcetera, News
Tagged Flower, Myst, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., The Secret of Monkey Island