The Best Nintendo Game Every Year 1983 - 2024
40. 1985 - Super Mario Bros.
If Donkey Kong was the hop and 1983’s first leading outing Mario Bros was the skip, then 1985’s Super Mario Bros was the gigantic leap for Nintendo’s moustachioed main man. There aren’t really enough superlatives to explain how important the game was.
Most versions of the Famicom’s Western redesign, the Nintendo Entertainment System, came packed with Super Mario Bros. This meant it had the responsibility of washing the low bar of quality from the late 70s and early 80s out of the memories of consumers whilst introducing a new world of gaming as designed by Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto.
World 1-1 taught players everything they needed to know as they navigated - for the first time ever - a world that scrolled by as they moved forwards. With simple but clean graphics and instantly catchy music, Super Mario Bros. was more than just a score-chasing arcade game. It was an obstacle course of challenge and wonder, continuously surprising players with new stage gimmicks and hidden secrets, that the whole family could partake in.