Super Mario Advance
Reviewed by James Wardle
The Nintendo had Mario, The Gameboy had Mario World
2, and Gameboy Color had Wario Land 2 DX (That counts
as a Mario game right?) and Gameboy Advance has Super
Mario Advance. This is simpley two games in one, the
first been Super Mario Brothers 2, which was out for
Nintendo, and the other been Mario Brothers.
Super Mario Brothers 2 was the "oddball" of the
family, it introduced a few things, but many key
elements to a Maruio game wasn't there, like the
legend Goomba, the "?" blocks and super
transformations (E.G Fire Mario, or flying cat
Mario)I would list more, but they'll be potential
spoilers. However, Super Mario Brothers 2 introduced
Shyguys and the enemy Birdo. You don't jump on enemys
to kill them in this game, you have to PICK THEM UP
and throw it to another enemy
Mario Brothers is a small areana with several, long
platforms and some pipes. Enemys walk out of the
pipes, and the play must guide Mario and jump on the
platform BELOW them to dispatch the enemy, you need
to use some good jumping and tactical skills to beat this one.
Graphics - 9.5 :
Super Mario Brothers 2 : Just like the NES version.
The background is quite detailed. The characters are
made perfectly. There is no "blocky" graphics in
this game (except for the Lego like stages of course
^_^). Nintendo have done a good feature in this game,
known as the rotation feature, which just sures off
the Gameboy Advances rotation skills.
Mario Brothers : These are updated to match todays
Gameboy Advances standers, but its no Rayman Advance.
The enemys are done nicely, but the backgrounds just
seem....to be there, nothing special in the
backgrounds, but still great graphics.
Sound and Music - 10
Super Mario Brothers 2 : Splended sound, and
hilarious voices. The only downer is Toads voise.
Toad is cheesy, but it does get trapped in the
Gameboy Advance, making it come out as a deep
screech. The music is cute, and does not get annoying
unlike some games *cough* 102 Dalamations *cough*. A
great touch.
Mario Brothers : Mario Brothers has some good music,
most of it sounds like music from arcade machines,
like the crane game or penny slots.
Gameplay - 10 :
Super Mario Brothers 2 : Like I said, this is the
"oddball" of the family. You can take a ride on
enemys by jumping ion them, and by pressing "B" you
can pick them and by pressing "B" you can throw
them. The characters, you have a choice of four are :
the main character Mario, his lanky brother Luigi,
the Princess herself, Peach and little Toad, all
having their strenghs and weakness'.
The characters can dig in the desert, which is a bit
like the classic game, " Dig Dug". Boss battles can
proove difficult, but it all comes to the character
you choose. For example, if you have to throw a bomb
to an boss a little bit away, Toad will be able to
get there fast, but Peach will take a bit longer.
On the ground of the levels, are these weeds /
Turnips (stop laughing ;)), these can be thrown at
enemys, some weeds are hearts which can fill up
you're health bar, and the others are prizes like
stopping enemys for 15 seconds, or bombs. The best
one though, is a RED potion. You can throw these and
a door appears, if you enter the door you do into
"another" world which is the "mirror" mode of the
screen you was currently on, in here you can get
Coins and mushrooms, which increase the max health by 1.
At the end of the level, if you got some coins, you
can have a go on the Mario Slot Machine, which
basically is a slot machine, where you can win 1-UP's.
Scattered throughout the level are these red coins,
there are 5 in all and you must get them to get a
higher precentage mark. This adds difficult,
exploration and frustration to the gameplay, you'll
be spending weeks trying to get every coin and secret.
Mario Brothers : If any of you own the game called
"Bonks", Mario Brothers is like that. There are
several platforms and enemys. If you are on the
platform directly below them, you can jump up and
knock them over, then you need to collect the nemy to
get rid of them for that level.
After every few levels, you have a mini game, where
you have to collect ALL the coins in a matter of
seconds, this is hard when you have "icey" levels.
Mario Brothers has two modes, a "Classic" and a
"Battle". Classic is the original game, which i
explained above, and Battle is the multiplayer
version, where you can battle other players, whilst
sticking on task (killing enemys).
Replaybility - 10 :
Super Mario Brothers 2 : Plenty of replaybilty here.
Plenty to see and do int his world, and Peach can
reach hard to reach areas. After you have completed
the game, you have another challenge, I am not
telling you what, as its a suprise.
Mario brothers : The single player mode gets boring
after a bit, and is frustrating when you are on a
high level, die and back to the very first. At least
there is a multiplayer mode, which is fun.
Multiplayer - 8 :
Super Mario Brothers : none....unfortinatley
Mario Brothers : A battle mode, which you must take
care of other players, AND destroying enemys. Doesn't
seem bad, but it is great, and worth shelling out for
a link cable.
Overall - 10 : Super Mario Advance is one great port.
I suggest buying it now. The Gameboy Advance has some
great entertainment, but you're going to have to wait
for Mario Super Circuit (Mario Kart Advance) for
something really special. Needless to say, Buy this
for great entertainment and challenge.