Played through the All-Stars version played via Nintendo Switch Online, it's been a long time since I last played through the entirety of the first Mario game, having last played the Deluxe edition via the 3DS Virtual Console. But with the 52 Game Challenge now here, this is the perfect chance for me to go through and play some of the earlier games in the series, especially since I haven't finished very much of the old school 2D Marios.

So what is there to say about Super Mario Bros? Unfortunately, not a whole lot. For as decent of a platformer it is, it's one of the most simplest platformers you can get - get to the end of the right screen, hit the flagpole, keep going until you hit a castle, take Bowser down a peg, and then rescue Princess Peach. That's pretty much all you get. Super Mario Bros was very much the first of it's kind when it came to introducing platformers to the NES, and really, gaming as a whole - and as such, it's a pretty simplistic game.

But I'd say there's a good enough reason why it stood the test of time no matter what. Even for the NES, the visuals and world of the Mushroom Kingdom is incredibly imaginative, and full of colour and fun locales to explore, even if those locales get repeated after awhile. The gameplay, while weighty and drifty at this point is still fairly fun to blitz through levels and deal with the game's platforming challenges, and even some of the hidden secrets like the now iconic Warp Zones hidden in the underground areas is a fun secret to find when you can.

I can't really say this is a game I'm eager to really revisit. Even with the All-Stars remake, once you finish the game once, you just kind of get your fill with it, which leads to the slightly more difficult second quest being fairly boring as a result as it's mostly going through the same levels with just some minor tweaks. It's unfortunately just some really bad padding, as was common of the era. But I still think this is a game that most everyone is obligated to give a try at some point in their life, if only to really see where this franchise and where platformers really got their start. 

However, I would say that - and hopefully Nintendo will do this at some point since the Advance series is on the GBA Online app - is to play the Deluxe edition of the game that was featured on GBC, and added a heap of new features, multiplayer, and even a map screen and save function for the original game. While the screen crunch that's present on the game is a notable downside, the heaps of new features and quality of life additions featured in Deluxe goes a long way to making the original Super Mario Bros a much more fun game.