Has a 2D Mario ever been bad?
I have to say, SMB3 was in fact my first game.
And I still hold it to be a great, revolutionary game. This remake on the GBA features much better graphics without feeling like it's taking the nostalgia away. At the same time the new audio, such as Mario's voice, make playing as him feel less like he's a robot, cold and unfeeling. He says "Here we go!" when the level starts, and "Mama mia!" when he dies. But the music is overall a highlight. I'm not one to really bust on the Super Mario Bros. series, but I will say the music could be a little less recycled. Not from original to port. I mean the music feels too similar, and there's little distinction between the different tunes. Does this take away from the happy, upbeat feel of a level's tune? Not in the slightest.
My personal favorite feature of this game was the wide array of power-ups. You can fly with the Super Leaf, spit fire with the Fire Flower, and even toss some hammers with the Hammer Suit. There's a good 10-15 power-ups ready for use, and these are stored in an inventory you can access while on the World Map.
The World Map is a simple feature, and at the same time very user-friendly. Some may argue it was unnecessary, and while that's a tad true, I think the maps worked very well. There's special spots to get helpful goodies on the maps, like houses with power-ups, and cards where you can play a game of Memory and try to earn some bonus coins and items.
But of course, the big thing here is the platforming itself. Addicting, albeit simple, levels are all over the place. To my knowledge I believe there were a good 70 levels or far more, and another 25-35 or far more help places. The levels, with so much abundance, can allow for almost endless fun. The astronomical amount of levels are split into 8 Worlds, each with a different theme. Each World becomes harder than the last, and there's no quick spike in difficulty.
Between the simple yet catchy music, the addicting level design, and the variety of power-ups, you'll be able to have your GBA on for hours playing this one game. 15 years later and still SMB proves it is the pinnacle in platforming.