Like The Lost Levels, All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. is a one-player game that can be played either as Mario or Luigi. Luigi has a higher jumping ability with less foot grip from that game as well. Eighteen levels are from Super Mario Bros., three are from The Lost Levels, and three are from VS. Super Mario Bros. In addition, one level has more enemies while another has a different puzzle solution.
The story is virtually the same as Super Mario Bros., with the exception of the stated location. In this game, Peach is the princess of the Viva Kingdom. She is still kidnapped by King Koopa, and Mario, or optionally his brother Luigi, has to travel through eight different worlds within the kingdom on the quest to rescue the princess.
As the game stems from The Lost Levels, the side-scrolling platforming gameplay is as responsive as always. Mario's jumping is the same as the original, so it is neither floaty nor abrupt. Luigi's controls take a little getting used to, as he slides on the ground a bit, but his higher jumps come in handy. Although it is built upon the physics of The Lost Levels, it is not as punishing as that game. There are no poison mushrooms or wind levels.
It is great that the game begins with the first level of Super Mario Bros., as that level is a master class on creating a tutorial level to ease the player into the game. This level begins with the easiest baddie to stomp. It contains each of the power-ups available in the game, a height-increasing mushroom, a flower that bestows the power of fireballs, a star that grants invincibility, and a 1-UP mushroom that gives an extra life. Like all games in the Super Mario series, collecting one hundred coins also earns an extra life.
All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. also keeps the incremental levels that teach the player what to expect as the game gets harder. The aforementioned tutorial level is followed by an underground level, an above-ground level, and a castle level. The castle levels are puzzle levels where the correct path gives a chime while the incorrect path sounds out a buzzer. Like all of the games based on Super Mario Bros., the first seven levels feature a false King Koopa, and the eighth features the real thing. Instead of Mushroom Retainers, there are seven personalities from the mid-1980s era of All Night Nippon. One of these celebrities also replaces the easiest enemies, the goombas. Another replaces the piranha plants that sometimes come out of the pipes. After defeating the real Bowser in the fourth level of the eighth world, the Princess is saved.
All-Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. is a fun remix of the various games based on the original Super Mario Bros. The replacement of enemies with Japanese personalities is a little jarring, but the replacement of the Mushroom Retainers is actually pretty cute. Due to licensing issues, it's not likely that Nintendo will re-release this game digitally, but it's not really a game worth tracking down unless you actually own a Family Computer Disk System.
Final verdict:
4 out of 5
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Review | Punch-Out!! Review |