Collection essentials #447: Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (GBC)

What we have here is, basically, a port of the original Super Mario Bros. from 1985, along with its originally-Japan-exclusive sequel known in the west as Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels (which has to be unlocked and is not available to play right out of the box). And what’s cool is that this is not just a straight port to give players the ability to play it on the go, as a whole bunch of bonus features and modes were thrown in to make this a sweeter package. 

The thing I have to mention first is the zoomed-in perspective. The Game Boy Color’s screen is, of course, quite small. When shrinking down a game meant for a larger display like a TV screen, sometimes this is a bit of an issue. Sometimes a developer has to decide whether they want to let the sprites be very small, or whether to “zoom in” so the sprites look roughly the same size as if you were playing on a TV, with the tradeoff that you can’t see as much of what’s going on. They opted for the latter in this case. It doesn’t ruin the experience or anything, but it does prevent me from saying this is the best version of Super Mario Bros. I would have liked the option to pick between zoomed-in or zoomed-out. One thing that is nice is the ability to save your game at any time, which is perfect for a portable title like this.

In addition to the two main games included here, there are a couple cool new bonus play modes. There’s a challenge mode, where you choose a level and then you’re tasked with finding some hidden coins and an egg that aren’t normally there, also going for a high score. There’s a “You vs. Boo” mode where the player has to race against a Boo to the finish in special levels featuring blocks that must routinely be hit in order to make obstacles vanish. A similar race mode is available for two players if you link two Game Boys together.

Little bonus features include an album with various medals and artwork that the player can unlock after certain achievements. Many things can be printed out onto small pieces of sticker paper using the Game Boy Printer accessory. The toy box contains even more images that can be printed, plus “fortune teller” and calendar accessories, and a hint feature for the challenge mode.

As a kid, I do believe it was my cousins PJ and Eric who had this game. I think I borrowed it from them for a while and did most of what there is to do, and liked it a lot. I owned (and still own) a Game Boy Printer so I was able to put it to some use. This may not be the optimal way to play Super Mario Bros. 1, but if you love the game (and who doesn’t?) and are hungry for more, this release is worth a look. It’s a nice title to have in the Game Boy Color library and a worthy collection essential.