Super Mario Bros. 3

This article is about the video game. For the remaster in Super Mario All-Stars, see Super Mario Bros. 3 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System). For other uses, see Super Mario Bros. 3 (disambiguation).

Super Mario Bros. 3
Developers	Nintendo EAD
Publishers	Nintendo
Franchise	Mario
Series	Super Mario
Original platform(s)	Family Computer, Nintendo Entertainment System
Ported to	Nintendo PlayChoice-10, Virtual Console (Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U), NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Classics
Release dates	Family Computer: October 23, 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System: February 12, 1990 1991 1991
Genre	Platforming
Players	1 (single-player), 2 (multiplayer)
Format	Cartridge

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a Mario game for the Nintendo Entertainment System and its Japanese counterpart, Family Computer. It is a 2D side-scrolling entry of the Super Mario series and one of the best-selling games on both platforms. Its predecessor is Super Mario Bros. 2, a Mario-themed conversion of Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, though in Japan, a different game of the same title is the previous game instead.

Americans first learned about Super Mario Bros. 3 in the 1989 film The Wizard, months before the game was released in the United States of America.

As a widely successful game, a lot of tie-in products based on Super Mario Bros. 3 were made. In North America, there was a Happy Meal promotion in 1990 with toys specifically based on the game. The largest tie-in product is the television show The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, produced by DiC Entertainment in the year 1990.

Super Mario Bros. 3 received two enhanced reissues over the years. The first reissue is a remastered version of the game included in Super Mario All-Stars, which released in 1993. The second reissue is Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003.

The original game was ported to the Virtual Console service on the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. It is also part of the Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Classics lineup on the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2.

Story

The backstory to Super Mario Bros. 3 is in the game's manual. Bowser has expanded upon his plot as he wants to not only take over Mushroom Kingdom but the seven kingdoms in the Mushroom World at large. Bowser's children, the Koopalings, each go into a kingdom, steal a King's magic wand, and use it to transform him into another creature. Mario and his younger brother Luigi begin their adventure to defeat the Koopalings and return the stolen magic wands to each King, freeing his kingdom.

Unlike Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Princess Toadstool is not kidnapped immediately, and she sometimes sends items to Mario and Luigi. She is kidnapped right before Mario and Luigi access the eighth and final world, Dark Land, which they learn of upon receiving a letter they get from Bowser.

Gameplay

Small Mario in the first level, World 1-1.

Super Mario Bros. 3 plays similarly to the first Super Mario Bros. but with some expansions, notably a complete world map, more enemies, and more power-ups.

The game is less linear than Super Mario Bros. On the world map, Mario or Luigi can choose which direction to go, and a level in some cases. Levels are accessed from numbered tiles on the map, and Mario or Luigi have to complete the level before they can progress beyond it. In some cases, if there is a forking path, Mario or Luigi can decide to skip a level entirely. The map also provides Mario or Luigi the opportunity to acquire power-up items in Toad Houses and by battling Hammer Bro in an Enemy Course, but after choosing an item in a Toad House or completing an Enemy Course, the player cannot access that area again. The world map also has an inventory from which the player can apply any power-up item that they have before entering a level.

The last destination of a world is a castle, where Mario or Luigi then goes on to an airship to fight one of the Koopalings in a room at the end. After defeating the Koopaling, Mario or Luigi recovers the magic wand and returns it to the King, returning him to normal.

There is a hidden minigame titled Mario Bros., a remake of the arcade game of the same title. It is exclusive to two-player mode, and it can be accessed by having Mario or Luigi go to where the other character is on the map and then pressing the A button. Whoever wins the mode is allowed a turn in the main game next.

Worlds

No.	Name	Description	Boss
1	Grass Land	A world consisting largely of simple outdoor levels.	Larry Koopa
2	Desert Land	Many of the levels take place in a desert.	Morton Koopa Jr.
3	Water Land	The levels take place either underwater or areas with large bodies of water.	Wendy O. Koopa
4	Giant Land	The levels feature giant enemies and objects.	Iggy Koopa
5	Sky Land	The first part takes place on ground level and the second part in the skies.	Roy Koopa
6	Ice Land	The levels take place in a snowy environment and feature slippery, icy terrain.	Lemmy Koopa
7	Pipe Land	The levels have several Warp Pipes, and the first one takes place in an underground network of them.	Ludwig von Koopa
8	Dark Land	The final world, Dark Land has some of the most hazard-filled levels, and some stages take place on the Koopa Troop's artillery.	Bowser
9	Warp Zone	It is not an actual world, despite being numbered one, and is for traveling between them instead, if Mario or Luigi has a Warp Whistle.	N/A

Power-ups

Super Mario Bros. 3 has all of the same power-ups as Super Mario Bros. while adding a few more.

Sprite	Name	Obtained	Description
	Small Mario/Luigi	Default	Small is the default form of Mario or Luigi. He also reverts to it if either he is hit in his Super form or loses a life. If an enemy or hazard hits Small Mario or Small Luigi even once, he loses a life.
	Super Mario/Luigi	Super Mushroom	Super is an upgrade over the Small form. All of the abilities are the same, except Mario or Luigi can now crouch, something that they could not do in the first Super Mario Bros.

Trivia

• Each of the Koopalings, with the exception of Larry and to a lesser extent Morton Koopa Jr., were named after musicians, with their designs containing similarities to their namesakes, like Roy Koopa wearing punk shades and Ludwig von Koopa having Beethoven's hairstyle.

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