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File:7baf41391616c543b4926f417c8c1c236944b3af 00.gif

Mario from the game.

Super Mario Bros. 3 (JP) (often known as Mario 3, SMB3, or Super Mario 3) is the third game in the Mario series. The game was released in 1988, and was developed and published by Nintendo.

This game is the second best selling NES game, right after Super Mario Bros.The game is a return to traditions after the very different Super Mario Bros. 2.

The game was the first in the series to give Mario the ability to fly via the Tanooki Suit or the Super Leaf. It is one of the most popular games on the Wii's Virtual Console, available for 500 Wii Points via a Nintendo Points Card or on the eShop for $5.00. It was previewed in a scene from the 1989 movie, The Wizard.

Plot

Smb3cast

Artwork used as the cover art for the game's Japanese release.

Mario and Luigi are out and about in the Mushroom Kingdom. Traveling in the worlds, Mario and Luigi are asked for help by a Toad who serves the king. The servant pleas for Mario and Luigi help as the king as the land's magic wand had been stolen and the king transformed into an animal. Agreeing to help, our heroes stumble upon an airship.

Climbing upon the anchor of the flying vessel, they fought to the cabin of the ship and discovers the thief who stole the magic wand. One of Bowser's eight children, a Koopaling, Larry Koopa. They defeat the Koopaling and returns the magic wand to the king transforming him back to his normal state.

But the adventure is far from over. Mario and Luigi must traverse across seven kingdoms of the Mushroom World in order to defeat the Koopas and restore order to the lands. While they were out adventuring, Bowser takes advantage of the time to kidnap Princess Peach and take her to his castle in Dark Land.

Characters

Playable

The two playable characters, Mario and Luigi, are almost identical other than the change in color palates.

  • Mario - The main hero of the game.
  • Luigi - Mario's slightly younger but taller, brother.

Non-Playable

  • Princess Peach - The princess who gets kidnapped by the evil King Koopa after completing Pipe Land.
  • Bowser - The Koopa King who kidnaps Peach and tries to defeat Mario and/or Luigi. At the end of the game, Mario or Luigi defeats the Koopa army and send King Koopa through an endless pit. Then, either brother goes in and saves Princess Peach.
  • Toad - The mushroom-like human from the mushroom people, known as Toad, who helps Mario and/or Luigi on his quest to save Princess Peach by giving him various items. Some even serve a Mushroom, a Fire Flower, a Racoon Leaf, a Frog Suit, a Tanooki Suit, and a Hammer Suit.

The Kings

The following is a list of the King's transformations that they take over once a Koopa Kid curses him.

King of Original Version All Stars/SMA4 Reward
World 1: Grass Land Dog Cobrat P-Wing
World 2: Desert Land Spider Hoopster Jugem's cloud
World 3: Water Land Spike (enemy) Dino Rhino Music Box
World 4: Giant Land Unknown Dinosaur Donkey Kong Jr. P-Wing
World 5: Sky Land Pteradactyl-like bird Albatoss Jugem's cloud
World 6: Ice Land Seal Monty Mole P-Wing
World 7: Pipe Land Piranha Plant Yoshi None

Enemies

Goombas

Image Name
Goomba (Super Mario Bros 3) Goomba
MicroGoomba Microgoomba
Paragoomba1 Paragoomba
Minigoomba Pile Driver Micro-Goomba

Troopas

Image Name
Koopatroopag Koopa Troopa
Parakoopa Koopa Paratroopa
Rocky Wrench (Super Mario Bros 3) Rocky Wrench
Spike Spike

Beetles

Image Name
Busterbeetlethrow Buster Beetle
Buzzybeetle Buzzy Beetle
Parabeetle Parabeetle

Piranha Plants

Image Name
Muncher Sprite (Super Mario Bros. 3) Muncher
Nipperplant Nipper Plants
Piranhaplantsprite Piranha Plant (Green)
File:PiranhaPlant.gif Piranha Plant (Red)
Patooie Ptooie
World 1-1 Venus Fire Trap - Super Mario Bros. 3 Venus Fire Trap (Red)
GreenVFT Venus Fire Trap (Green)

Lakitu

Image Name
Lakitu (Super Mario Bros 3) Lakitu
Spiny Spiny
File:Spiny egg.gif Spiny Egg (red and green)

Hammer Brothers

Image Name
Boomerangbro Boomerang Bros.
Hammerbro1 Hammer Bros.
Firebro Fire Bros.
Sledgebro Sledge Bros.

Fortress

Image Name
Boodiddley Boo
Drybonessmash Dry Bones
Hotfoot Hot Foot
Smas-smb3 w1-fortress podoboo Podoboo
Smas-smb3 w8-fortress b4 Roto Disc
Stretch Stretch
Thwompp Thwomp

Water

Image Name
CheepCheepRed Cheep Cheep (Red)
Cheep-Cheep (Spuer Mario Bros 3) copy Cheep Cheep (Green)
Cheep-Cheep (Spuer Mario Bros 3)-1 Cheep Cheep (Blue)
Baby Cheep (Super Mario Bros 3) Baby Cheep
Big Bertha (Super Mario Bros 3) Big Bertha
Blooper (Super Mario Bros 3) Blooper
Blooper Nanny (Super Mario Bros 3) Blooper Nanny
Boss Bass (Super Mario Bros 3) Boss Bass
Jelectro (Super Mario Bros 3) Jelectro
Lava Lotus (Super Mario Bros 3) Lava Lotus
Spiny Cheep (Super Mario Bros 3) Spiny Cheep-Cheep

Artillery

Image Name
Bomb-omb (Super Mario Bros 3) Bomb-omb
Bullet Bill (Super Mario Bros 3) Bullet Bill
Missile Bill (Super Mario Bros 3) Missile Bill
Chain Chomp (Super Mario Bros 3) Chain Chomp
Fire Chomper (Super Mario Bros 3) Fire Chomp

Bosses

Image Name
BoomBoomNormal Boom Boom
Boom Boom (Super Mario Bros 3) copy Boom Boom (Grey)
Bowser (Super Mario Bros 3) Bowser
File:Iggy Koopa (Super Mario Bros 3).gif Iggy Koopa
Morton Koopa (Super Mario Bros 3) Morton Koopa Jr.
Roy Koopa (Super Mario Bros 3) Roy Koopa
Lemmy Koopa (Super Mario Bros 3) Lemmy Koopa
Larry koopa sprite Larry Koopa
Wendy koopa sprite Wendy O. Koopa
Ludwig sprite Ludwig von Koopa

Worlds


In the game, there are a total of eight worlds and a single Warp Zone which allows access to certain worlds, depending on the location. The Warp Zone is considered as the ninth world. Some of the world's names were changed with the release of various versions and remakes. Nintendo Power issues 4 and 13 even gave the eight worlds nicknames.

Stages

World

Japanese Release

North American Release Level Map
World 1
SMB3 World 1 (Grass Land)
Grass Land Grass Land World 1-1 SMB3 World 1-1
World 1-2 SMB3 World 1-2
World 1-3 SMB3 World 1-3
World 1-4 SMB3 World 1-4
World 1-Fortress SMB3 World 1-Fortress
World 1-5 SMB3 World 1-5
World 1-6 SMB3 World 1-6
World 1-Airship SMB3 World 1-Airship
World 2
SMB3 World 2 (Desert Land)
Desert Hill Desert Land World 2-1 SMB3 World 2-1
World 2-2 SMB3 World 2-2
World 2-Fortress SMB3 World 2-Fortress
World 2-3 SMB3 World 2-3
World 2-Quicksand SMB3 World 2-Quicksand
World 2-4 SMB3 World 2-4
World 2-5 SMB3 World 2-5
World 2-Pyramid SMB3 World 2-Pyramid
World 2-Airship SMB3 World 2-Airship
World 3
SMB3 World 3 (Water Land)
Ocean Side Water Land World 3-1 SMB3 World 3-1
World 3-2 SMB3 World 3-2
World 3-3 SMB3 World 3-3
World 3-Fortress #1 SMB3 World 3-Fortress 1
World 3-4 SMB3 World 3-4
World 3-5 SMB3 World 3-5
World 3-6 SMB3 World 3-6
World 3-7 SMB3 World 3-7
World 3-Fortress #2 SMB3 World 3-Fortress 2
World 3-8 SMB3 World 3-8
World 3-9 SMB3 World 3-9
World 3-Airship SMB3 World 3-Airship
World 4
SMB3 World 4 (Giant Land)
Big Island Giant Land World 4-1 SMB3 World 4-1
World 4-2 SMB3 World 4-2
World 4-3 SMB3 World 4-3
World 4-Fortress #1 SMB3 World 4-Fortress 1
World 4-4 SMB3 World 4-4
World 4-5 SMB3 World 4-5
World 4-6 SMB3 World 4-6
World 4-Fortress #2 SMB3 World 4-Fortress 2
World 4-Airship SMB3 World 4-Airship
World 5
SMB3 World 5 (Water Land)
The Sky Sky Land World 5-1 SMB3 World 5-1
World 5-2 SMB3 World 5-2
World 5-3 SMB3 World 5-3
World 5-Fortress #1 SMB3 World 5-Fortress 1
World 5-Tower SMB3 World 5-Tower
World 5-Pipe SMB3 World 5-Pipe
World 5-4 SMB3 World 5-4
World 5-5 SMB3 World 5-5
World 5-6 SMB3 World 5-6
World 5-7 SMB3 World 5-7
World 5-Fortress #2 SMB3 World 5-Fortress 2
World 5-8 SMB3 World 5-8
World 5-9 SMB3 World 5-9
World 5-Airship SMB3 World 5-Airship
World 6
SMB3 World 6 (Ice Land)
Iced Land Ice Land World 6-1 SMB3 World 6-1
World 6-2 SMB3 World 6-2
World 6-3 SMB3 World 6-3
World 6-Fortress #1 SMB3 World 6-Fortress 1
World 6-4 SMB3 World 6-4
World 6-5 SMB3 World 6-5
World 6-6 SMB3 World 6-6
World 6-7 SMB3 World 6-7
World 6-Fortress #2 SMB3 World 6-Fortress 2
World 6-8 SMB3 World 6-8
World 6-9 SMB3 World 6-9
World 6-10 SMB3 World 6-10
World 6-Fortress #3 SMB3 World 6-Fortress 3
World 6-Airship SMB3 World 6-Airship
World 7
SMB3 World 7 (Pipe Land)

Pipe Maze

Pipe Land World 7-1 SMB3 World 7-1
World 7-2 SMB3 World 7-2
World 7-3 SMB3 World 7-3
World 7-4 SMB3 World 7-4
World 7-5 SMB3 World 7-5
World 7-Piranha Plant #1 SMB3 World 7-Piranha Plant 1
World 7-Fortress #1 SMB3 World 7-Fortress 1
World 7-6 SMB3 World 7-6
World 7-7 SMB3 World 7-7
World 7-8 SMB3 World 7-8
World 7-9 SMB3 World 7-9
World 7-Fortress #2 SMB3 World 7-Fortress 2
World 7-Piranha Plant #2 SMB3 World 7-Piranha Plant 2
World 7-Airship SMB3 World 7-Airship
World 8
SMB3 World 8 (Dark Land)
Castle Of Koopa Dark Land World 8-Big Tank SMB3 World 8-Tank 1
World 8-Navy SMB3 World 8-Navy
World 8-Hand Trap #1 SMB3 World 8-Hand Trap 1
World 8-Hand Trap #2 SMB3 World 8-Hand Trap 2
World 8-Hand Trap #3 SMB3 World 8-Hand Trap 3
World 8-Airships SMB3 World 8-Air Force
World 8-1 SMB3 World 8-1
World 8-2 SMB3 World 8-2
World 8-Fortresss SMB3 World 8-Fortress
World 8-Super Tank SMB3 World 8-Tank 2
World 8-Bowser's Castle (Final stage) SMB3 World 8-Bowser's Castle

Warp Zone

World Second Release
World 9
SMB3 World 9 (Warp Zone)
Warp Zone

Items

  • 1-Up Mushroom - If Mario and Luigi find one of these green mushrooms, they gain an extra life.
  • 10 Coin Block - This block has ten coins inside of it, though they may wear out before Mario/Luigi is able to get all ten.
  • Anchor - The anchor stops an airship from moving around the world Mario and Luigi are on in case either one loses a life on the level.
  • Brick Block - A Brick Block is a block of shiny brown bricks. Underneath, this block can be broke by Super Mario/Super Luigi or by a Koopa shell if on the ground. This block is repeatedly seen throughout the game and may contain coin(s) inside. If a Brick Block isn't shiny, it is a Blockhopper or Microgoomba in disguise.
  • Fire Flower - Once Mario or Luigi turns in Super Mario/Super Luigi, one of them are able to find a Fire Flower in some blocks. If Mario or Luigi do find one, they are able to shoot fireballs from their hands. If hit, the brother turns to Super Mario/Super Luigi.
  • Frog Suit - Once Mario or Luigi has a Frog Suit on, they are able to swim quicker than normal and the enemies themselves. They also gain the ability to jump much higher on land, but with the sacrifice of their land speed slowed down.
  • Hammer - Mario or Luigi can use a hammer on the map to break rocks that block them from the other parts of the map.
  • Hammer Suit - The Hammer Suit is able to defeat enemies that can't be defeated by any other method, such as a Boo, a Stretch or a Thwomp.
  • Invisible Block - This block is invisible when sometimes suddenly appears when Mario or Luigi. This block sometimes also helps a brother get to a high area.
  • Jump Block - The Jump Block is a block with a music note on it. Once Mario or Luigi jumps on one, they are able to reach high areas inaccessible otherwise by the bounciness of the block.
  • Jugem's Cloud - On the map, Mario or Luigi can use Jugem's Cloud to skip a stage. However, if one dies in the next stage, the brother goes back to the last finished stage.
  • Music Box - If Mario or Luigi uses a Music Box, it puts the Hammer Bros. and Piranha Plants to sleep on the world map. This allows Mario and Luigi to walk safely past the foes without having to go in the stage to battle them.
  • P-Wing - A P-Wing allows Mario or Luigi to fly with a maximized power meter through the entire stage.
  • Starman - If Mario or Luigi finds a Starman, they become temporarily invincible. This item allows a brother to defeat and run through about every enemy but can still lose a life if they fall off the bottom of the screen or fall into lava.
  • Super Leaf - When Mario or Luigi find a Super Leaf, they are able to use the Tanooki Suit, which lets Mario or Luigi fly up in the air temporarily if enough speed is gained.
  • Super Mushroom - If the player is Small Mario/Small Luigi, he or she can find a Super Mushroom which makes Mario or Luigi bigger and stronger, letting them break blocks. If hit, the brother turns back to Small Mario.
  • Switch Block - Once Mario or Luigi jump on a switch block, the brother turns all the blocks in the stage to coins temporarily.
  • Tanooki Suit - If Mario or Luigi find a Tanooki Suit, the brother is able to do what the Super Leaf can, but with the addition of being able to turn into Statue Mario if Down is pressed on the D-Pad.
  • Vine - Once Mario or Luigi find a vine, the brother is able to go to higher areas in the sky.
  • Warp Whistle - Once Mario or Luigi finds one of the three Warp Whistles, the brother is able to go to a different world. Though, the world varies depending on the world the brother is in. The theme that plays is the same theme of the whistle in The Legend of Zelda
  • Kuribo's Shoe - Only found in World 5-3, Mario and Luigi can safely stomp on enemies and walk on Munchers after hitting a brick underneath it.

Development

Super Mario Bros. 3 was developed by Nintendo in Kyoto, Japan. The programmers used a tool called Character Generator Computer Aided Design, which contains all of the game's graphics that are used in the game. Only ten people were involved in the development of Super Mario Bros. 3. This game took went throughout two total years in development.

Re-releases

Remakes and re-releases of the game include:

Trivia

  • In certain areas through the game, there are coins in the shape of three, representing Super Mario Bros. 3. In Super Mario Advance 4, it was changed to a four.
  • If both players are standing on the START square in Multiplayer mode and player one presses the A button, both players enter a randomly-selected minigame. One of the minigames is based on the bonus stage from Mario Bros.
  • In Water Land, the island that the castle is on is in the shape of Japan and the castle is the location of Nintendo of Japan.
  • The game was featured on the cover of Nintendo Power's volume 11 in 1990. It also appeared on the cover of volume 13, which served as an almost-complete strategy guide.
  • The game won three awards in the 1990 Nintendo Power Awards: Best Theme and Fun, Best Play Control, and Best Overall NES Game.
  • The Overworld Theme is later used in Super Mario 3D Land.
  • The Water Land/Ocean Side map can be heard in the Great Fairy's Fountain and the File Select screen in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
  • The game was revealed (and heavily featured) in the 1989 film The Wizard.
  • The game was later represented in Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS as a "game-style", with the usual enemies, platforms, and Items that can be dragged an dropped.
  • In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Super Mario Bros. 3 appears as a stage transformation in the Super Mario Maker stage with similar platforms, a background, and music.

Legacy

In its NES iteration, the game sold 17.28 million, being the 3rd best selling game on the NES behind Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt, and the best unbundled one. It is also among the best selling games of all time

This is one of the 12 games featured in NES Remix 2.

Seven months after the North American release, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 debuted on television.

External links

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