The game that started it all can't be nothing less than perfect.
Shigeru Miyamoto probably had no idea he was creating perfection when he invented his portly plumber character named Mario... but one single game would change his life, and Nintendo's future, forever.
Mario made his first appearance in Donkey Kong under the name "Jumpman" in Japan. Before crossing over to North America, Jumpman needed a new name, so Miyamoto renamed him Mario, which is actually the name of Mario Segali, the landlord of Nintendo's ancient New York offices.
After playing second fiddle to the big ape in Donkey Kong & Donkey Kong Jr., Mario was ready for his turn in the spotlight. In 1985, he did just that. In Super Mario Bros., he set off on his first adventure to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil lizard king Bowser, with a little help from his brother Luigi (hence the title).
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Super Mario Bros. would go on to sell millions of copies in North America and worldwide and would propel Nintendo into it's 10 year dominance in gaming consoles thus making Mario one of the most recognized characters in video game history.
Mario would go on to star in sequels to Super Mario Bros., some sports games, and would even make a cameo or two in other types of games, but none would be as original as his first original hit.
Gameplay was as easy as you could come by in a videogame. You moved Mario (or Luigi) from left to right on the screen, picking up coins and jumping on Koopalings' heads, to get to your ultimate goal: the castle where Princess Peach was held captive.
On your way to rescuing Peach, you could grab different power-ups to help you on your quest. The brown mushroom would make Mario grow taller, the green one would make him run faster and the red glowing flower would give him the ability to throw bouncing fireballs at his enemies.
You had 8 worlds, with 4 levels each, to discover... but naturally, everybody knew the secret of the Minus World, where you could teleport quickly in between levels.
The graphics were pretty sharp for a 2D platformer back in 1985. The colors were dazzling, the movements were fluid and the characters were very well represented. Super Mario Bros. was one of the best looking games on the NES at the time, which showed how much attention to detail this game was given.
The sound has to be the best feature about this game. The catchy background music is amongst the best ever made for any game. Even non hardcore gamers could easily recognize the game's main title when they hear it. It's the kind of music that gets inside your head and stays there for a long, long time. The sound effects themselves are easily recognizable, whether it's when Mario grabs a coin or jumps, you know which game it comes from instantly.
The value of this game is priceless. So many childhood memories flow into my mind when I talk (or write) about this game. Whether it's my dad trying to finish the game under a record amount of time, my sister doing the ever popular "infinite lives" trick, or even my mom grabbing the controller and giving the game a try (which, consequently, has never happened since, with any other game), Super Mario Bros. is a true testament on what videogames should be. Everybody loved Mario, everybody played it, whether they were 5 or 85 years old. That, my friends, is value.
Is Super Mario Bros. the best game ever made for the NES? Many people will debate that question. But there is no doubt in anybody's mind that Mario made Nintendo the success it is today. Without this game, there probably wouldn't be a Nintendo... and that is the reason why it deserves the perfect score it got.