Super Mario Bros. on the NES was intended to be an ultra-accessible game, playable by children and adults alike. If you didnt touch the games manual, Nintendo were successful in their attempts to create this easily approachable, inoffensive game about a kindly Italian plumber trying to save the Mushroom people from the black magic of the Koopa. Thankfully most of us were unable to read/unborn back in 1985 and so were unable to uncover the dark secrets hidden in the manual. Reading the game manual reveals that the peace-loving people of the Mushroom Kingdom were turned into the bricks we see littering the land of Super Mario Bros. by the malevolent clan of turtles. These are, of course, the bricks which Mario smashes scores of throughout the game to unlock such powers as Magic Mushroom, Fire Flower and Starman. Suddenly our loveable plumber seems like a ruthless tyrant willing to sacrifice innocent lives in order to receive a small boost to his arsenal of powers. Surely the red overall-sporting hero we have been supporting for nearly thirty years is no better than the Koopa he has devoted his life to fighting?
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
