9 curiosities in the 30 years of Super Mario Bros. 3

Released in Japan on October 23, 1988 for the late NES - or Nintendinho - Super Mario Bros. 3 is one of the biggest hits of the mustache plumber franchise, having sold over 17 million cartridges. Now for your 30th birthday, how about finding out some curiosities about this nostalgic title?

1. Play

Like every saga of success, Mario's is full of conspiracy theories. Interestingly, one involving Super Mario Bros. 3 was later confirmed by its creator: Shigeru Miyamoto said in 2015 that in fact the game would be a kind of play. For those who don't remember, the game starts with a red curtain opening and each phase ends with Mario going backstage. Even the shadow of some obstacles can be seen on the “wall” at the bottom of the stage!

2. The whistle that skips worlds

Warp Whistles are whistles that allow players to jump from one level to another effortlessly. For a long time, it was thought that it was only possible to go from level 1 straight to levels 2, 3 or 4, or to jump from levels 2, 3 or 4 to 5, 6 or 7 and also from level 7 to 8. However, there is a trick that allows you to go from level 1 to level 8 without any effort!

3. Secret Messages

The object of the game is to finish each world by rescuing Princess Peach and a magic wand that returns the king to his original form. When this happens, the king gives a generic thanks, which many do not even bother to read. But if you defeat Bowser with some kind of fantasy, thanks change: in case you end up with the frog outfit, for example, the king will offer to return the favor, using his magic wand to return the original form. from Mario.

4. Reference to The Legend of Zelda

Tanto Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda have a similar storyline: the hero (Mario / Link) having to rescue the princess (Peach / Zelda) from the villain (Bowser / Ganondorf). However, the similarities are even greater, as both titles are works by Shigeru Miyamoto. Mario's Warp Whistle whistle, for example, is identical to the Recorder that appears in Zelda. They even play the same tune!

5. Japanese game is harder

Enter the release of Super Mario Bros. 3 in Japan and the USA two years have passed. That was the time to ease the game's difficulty - the Japanese versions used to be much harder than Super Mario Bros. 2, for example, was not even cast on Yankee lands. Among the changes, for example, is that Mario, while with the power of the flower of fire and struck by an enemy, becomes the "big Mario" and later the "little Mario" if hit once more. In the Japanese version, even if the character has some superpower, he goes straight to the tiny version if hit the first time. The multi-stage layout has also been softened for the western audience.

6. Real Inspirations

The Boos, that is, the little ghosts, were inspired by developer Takashi Tezuka's wife, who was rather shy, but once exploded with anger over her husband's time working on the game. Thus, in the game, the ghosts are "peaceful" when faced by Mario or Luigi, but attack when he turns his back. Chain Chomp, the iron ball attached to a chain, was inspired by a dog that chased Shigeru Miyamoto as a child and was held in just the same way. But beware: Chain Chomp escapes after 49 attempts to break the chain!

7. Mario Centauro

Several new fantasies and powers have appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3: Some examples are the P-Wing, which allows uninterrupted flight, and the frog or hammer-throwing outfits. One thing that was almost implemented was an outfit that would turn Mario into a kind of centaur, half man and half horse. His powers were never delineated as the idea turned out not to succeed.

8. Map format

Some easter eggs are so visible that we often do not notice: have you noticed, for example, that the islands of World 7 seem to form the green tubes through which Mario enters? Already in World 3, when Mario boards a canoe until he reaches the final castle, the islands seem to mimic the map of Japan! This way, comparatively, it is as if the castle were located in the city of Kyoto, precisely the headquarters of Nintendo!

9. Super Mario Bros. 3 is NOT the third game in the series

In fact, the game was the fifth title in the plumber brothers saga to be released!

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