At this point, I'm sure most of us are aware of just how dire the video game market was back in the old days. While the Atari 2600 was a very important and legendary console that's rightfully looked back fondly, the games only sometimes followed suit; and unlike the Nintendo Wii and DS, this was something the 2600 could NOT afford. This was all evident with the video game crash of 1982. Some blame games like the disastrous port of "Pac-Man" or the poor movie tie-in which was the infamous "ET: Extra Terrestrial" for Atari 2600 (which, despite it being poor, really isn't as bad as people say it was, in my opinion), but the real blame came from 2 things.
One being hardware limitations, as the 2600, despite it being awesome, was undoubtedly very simple compared to anything afterwards. This made any and all games naturally constrained from really being anything all too special, which was fine in the late '70s, but when there's virtually no improvements to future games afterwards, it got stale quick. This transitions to the second thing, which was the overbearing quantity. To put it simply, there were way too many games for the console, and not enough of them were any good. Mix that with the fact that the 2600 was the first ever mainstream video game console to take itself seriously, and it's no wonder people thought it was all a passing fad at the end of the day.
But in 1985, that all changed. Nintendo, formerly a card/toy company, not only threw their hat in the ring, but did a perfect job at it, as the Nintendo Entertainment System (or the NES) took everything Atari failed at, and made one of the best video game consoles of all time; all while geniusly marketing it as an entertainment system to help consumers trust that video games are awesome after all. Of course, that would only mean so much if the showcase game wasn't great.
And great it was. "Super Mario Bros" is, without a doubt, the most important video game of all time, as it not only showcased how great a game could be with properly great vision, but also how great it could be when it's properly using the hardware it's running on. Putting aside the hardware logistics that helped this game even more, the game itself is an absolute joy. With excellent and iconic level design, responsive and fun gameplay, visuals that, while not the best we would see on the console, are much more full of life than any video game beforehand, and the iconic and forever memorable music, this game ticks every box, and would act as an essential pillar for video games as a whole for the rest of time; as evident by the fact that it's still infinitely fun and charming to this day-a moniker no other video game beforehand could use.
Really, there's not much to complain about here. Some could make the argument that this game has aged, and is not as amazing as the famous plumber's future installments, but considering how this not only saved the industry, but also perfects the notion of enjoying expansive games that keeps the player hooked from start to finish even to this day, this game deserves nothing less than all of the credit. If you haven't played this yet (for some reason), I implore you to do so. Even for how slightly basic it is compared to later games, it's an important part of video game culture, and a still incredibly fun reminder on how amazing games can get once the guys behind really know what they're doing.
One being hardware limitations, as the 2600, despite it being awesome, was undoubtedly very simple compared to anything afterwards. This made any and all games naturally constrained from really being anything all too special, which was fine in the late '70s, but when there's virtually no improvements to future games afterwards, it got stale quick. This transitions to the second thing, which was the overbearing quantity. To put it simply, there were way too many games for the console, and not enough of them were any good. Mix that with the fact that the 2600 was the first ever mainstream video game console to take itself seriously, and it's no wonder people thought it was all a passing fad at the end of the day.
But in 1985, that all changed. Nintendo, formerly a card/toy company, not only threw their hat in the ring, but did a perfect job at it, as the Nintendo Entertainment System (or the NES) took everything Atari failed at, and made one of the best video game consoles of all time; all while geniusly marketing it as an entertainment system to help consumers trust that video games are awesome after all. Of course, that would only mean so much if the showcase game wasn't great.
And great it was. "Super Mario Bros" is, without a doubt, the most important video game of all time, as it not only showcased how great a game could be with properly great vision, but also how great it could be when it's properly using the hardware it's running on. Putting aside the hardware logistics that helped this game even more, the game itself is an absolute joy. With excellent and iconic level design, responsive and fun gameplay, visuals that, while not the best we would see on the console, are much more full of life than any video game beforehand, and the iconic and forever memorable music, this game ticks every box, and would act as an essential pillar for video games as a whole for the rest of time; as evident by the fact that it's still infinitely fun and charming to this day-a moniker no other video game beforehand could use.
Really, there's not much to complain about here. Some could make the argument that this game has aged, and is not as amazing as the famous plumber's future installments, but considering how this not only saved the industry, but also perfects the notion of enjoying expansive games that keeps the player hooked from start to finish even to this day, this game deserves nothing less than all of the credit. If you haven't played this yet (for some reason), I implore you to do so. Even for how slightly basic it is compared to later games, it's an important part of video game culture, and a still incredibly fun reminder on how amazing games can get once the guys behind really know what they're doing.