Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe’s guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo’s download service. Written by Sam C Gittins

Once again we have the one game that's probably the most synonymous with Nintendo since when they first ventured into the gaming business. Anyway enough from me and on with the game!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Super Mario Bros.

Price: GB £3.49, EU €3.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Released: 1987
System: NES

If you need telling what this is about then chances are you're in the wrong place because Super Mario Bros is not only the title that's most synonymous with Nintendo but it's also one of the single most important and influential videogames of all time. It's an epic tale about a pair of Italian plumbers who are tasked with rescuing Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom from the clutches of the evil Bowser; journey through eight worlds as you stomp on the heads of your enemies including slow-moving Goombas, Piranha Plants potted in warp-pipes plus troops of tricky turtles known as Koopa Troopas whose shells can be a weapon used by or inadvertently against you, at the end of each world you'll do battle with the evil Koopa King himself only to find almost every time that 'the Princess is in another castle' welcome to Mario and Luigi's world.

Every level is carefully crafted resulting in something that is such a joy to play every step of the way even though the premise is fairly simple, you start off small but by jumping under special '?' blocks you can obtain a Mushroom which will make you double in size which makes stomping on enemies easier while giving you the added ability to bash regular blocks in; a Fire-Flower can also be gained which grants you a projectile attack at the press of a button which can be especially useful. Holding down on the 'B' buttons also allows you to run which you'll find yourself doing almost constantly especially during some of the trickier jumps so adopting a way of constantly pressing in the run button while intermittently being able to press 'A' to jump is essential to your survival, you will still end up falling down holes as you learn new levels however but this never feels like the fault of the controls as the d-pad always responds how you'd expect it to so if you do end up dying then you can take some small comfort in the fact that it was probably your own fault.

Perhaps most impressive is how the game always encourages you to explore as the first time you try to go down one of the many warp-pipes only to have it actually work is a special moment indeed, it's in doing this that you'll reach bonus areas which contain extra coins which can be collected up two one hundred to form an extra life; you can collect these using other methods too such as chain-killing multiple enemies with a shell or by simply getting your score to a certain point which you'll want to do as lives are much needed throughout especially in some of the later levels when you're faced with such delights as Hammer Bros and Lakitu both of whom take delight in throwing projectiles in your general direction. One particular stand-out moment for me is how in the underground stages the game actually allows you to bash through the blocks at the top of the screen which lets you run across the top within the space usually reserved just for the score, it's something that the game evidently encourages you to do though as by doing this you can reach secret warps  which will allow you to skip whole worlds; note that while you're certainly going to be trying this at some point when advancing straight so say... world four you will notice quite a ramp up in the difficulty which seems to serve as lesson learned for 'cheating' the game even though it allows you to.

Visually the game is of course dated after some twenty-five years but they have an undeniable charm to them, the colour palette with its simple contrasting colours which never clash is a truly bold statement of how something so simple can work so well and even retain a great deal of appeal as even today it's a look which remains iconic. On the audio front it's near impossible for me to pick fault because everything is so perfect from the satisfying stomp sound of an enemies demise to the playful jingle of a block being milked for coins; lest I forget the spectacular theme itself which is quite simple unforgettable and will always remain one of the most recognisable tunes ever created which more than serves its purpose as it completely draws you into the game itself, remaining embedded into your memory forever for all the right reasons.

While there have been many games which have attempted to replicate the feeling within this monumental title none have ever quite managed to match it because this is quite simply one of the best platformers ever created which has left a lasting legacy of gold crafted by the gods of gaming. Not only did Nintendo do themselves proud in creating Super Mario Bros but they also inspired generations of gamers across all ages who still regard this game so highly after all these years; there can be no truer testament to a title than this as it has more than stood the test of time and if you happen to be reading this having not played the game yet then please do so because this is as essential as it gets.  

Verdict: Super Mario Bros is the single most brilliant game ever made.  

That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!

I would like to dedicate this edition of VC Weekly to Hiroshi Yamauchi who sadly passed away only yesterday, he was the Executive Producer for Super Mario Bros along with many other titles and is the man who is largely responsible for creating the company that we still know and love today in addition to helping shape an entire industry. I'd like to personally thank you for your contribution to videogames and the childhoods of many gamers, myself included... RIP.