Recently I’ve been addicted to a little Flash Game I discovered while searching the net, and I thought I’d share it. The game is called Super Mario Bros. Crossover, and it’s a non-profit Fan Game that aims to answer the very question I asked in the title: What would the first Super Mario Bros. game have been like if OTHER Nintendo characters had been the star?
SMB Crossover takes the original Super Mario Bros. game and twists it up a little. As well as Mario, you can play every level with other famous Nintendo characters like Mega Man, Samus (from Metroid), Link, Simon (from Castlevania) and many more, each of which offers a unique play style. According to the developer, SMB Crossover “exists as a tribute to classic video games and celebrates the games and characters that many of us grew up playing. It gives attention to our gaming roots and serves as a reminder that games do not have to be complicated to be fun. It is not intended to inhibit the copyright holders of the original games it is based on in any way.”
The game faithfully recreates the original Super Mario Bros. completely and accurately, with only small changes here and there to adapt for the new characters’ styles. However, larger changes are also available in the form of unlockable cheats, which become available when you complete the game once; and options such as removing the timer. The game also has a difficulty select at the start, and there’s five difficulty levels – Medium, which faithfully recreates the original game; Super Easy and Easy, which slow down the action and give fewer and easier enemies, for those new to Mario games; Hard, which gives the same harder challenge you’d get after completing the original Super Mario Bros. once (otherwise known as the Star Levels); and Extreme which gives the hardest challenge of all. There’s lots of options too, and there’s even unlockable cheats if you complete the game once. The best thing about SMB Crossover though is that it’s constantly updated, and the developer is keen to hear people’s ideas, some of which may actually end up into future versions of the game.
SMB Crossover in my opinion wins a thumbs-up from me simply because it’s a novel idea that has actually turned out to work amazingly well; and the nostalgia value and the nods to gaming history just make it a treat for retroheads; while the challenge of playing Mario with someone like Mega Man has enough humour value to entertain any Nintendo fan. I implore everyone to try this game at least once!
Play the latest version: http://supermariobroscrossover.com/