Mario Bros.
マリオブラザーズ
- Year
- 1986
- Developer
- Nintendo R&D1
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Platform
- FC / NES
- Hardware
- Family Computer (8-bit)
- Genre
- Arcade Action
- Players
- 1-2 players (co-op)
- Controls
- D-pad + A (jump) / B (kick)
- Series
- Mario series
Gameplay Screenshots
About This Game
Mario Bros. is the arcade game that gave Mario his name and his brother, and the NES conversion is a fixed-screen action game about clearing a set of platforms rather than travelling through them.
The mechanic is the one the series kept: enemies walk along the floor, you hit the platform from below to flip them onto their backs, and then you kick them off the screen before they right themselves. Adding to that - and this is what makes the game what it is - shells and fireballs start bouncing around, so the arena becomes progressively more hostile the longer a round lasts. Two-player co-operative play is where the design really lands: you can flip an enemy for your partner to kick, or accidentally kill them with a badly aimed shell.
- Fixed-screen platforming - hit from below, kick off the screen
- Shell and fireball hazards that accumulate during a round
- Two-player simultaneous co-op with friendly-fire shells
- Later reused in Super Mario Bros. 3 as a two-player battle mode
Version History
- Arcade original1983
Nintendo's coin-op, Mario's first named appearance.
- Famicom Japanese version1983-09-09
Japanese console release.
- NES US version1986-06
The version on this page, part of the NES Black Box line.
Tips & Strategy
Do not chase the last enemy
Rounds end when the screen is clear, but the final enemy moves faster. Position under it and let it walk to you.
Kick sideways, not upwards
A walking enemy can be kicked horizontally with no setup. Using the flip costs the time a shell needs to spawn.
Clear shells before the last enemy
A bouncing shell is the usual cause of a lost life on an easy round. Deal with it before finishing the screen.
Split the screen in co-op
Each player taking one half stops you both chasing the same enemy into the same shell.
Download Resources
Resource packs for this game are provided through the button below.
⬇ Coming soon