:Mario Bros.

File:Mario Bros. Gameplay.gif is about to defeat a Shellcreeper (arcade).]]

Mario Bros. features two plumbers,{{cite web |title=Mario Bros. at Nintendo – Wii – Virtual Console |url=https://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole/games/detail/AN20FWaWbXNL-oWwUHwK0sMxrfq_plpD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731211605/http://www.nintendo.com/wii/virtualconsole/games/detail/AN20FWaWbXNL-oWwUHwK0sMxrfq_plpD |archive-date=July 31, 2008 |publisher=Nintendo.com |access-date=October 1, 2008}} Italian brothers Mario and Luigi, having to investigate the sewers after strange creatures have been appearing down there.{{cite book |last=Sheff |first=David |author-link=David Sheff |title=Game Over Press Start to Continue |publisher=Cyberactive Media Group |year=1999 |isbn=0-9669617-0-6 |page=56}} The objective of the game is to defeat all of the enemies in each phase. The mechanics of Mario Bros. involve only running and jumping.{{Cite book |last=Ryan |first=Jeff |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1k-6ksl3uLsC&dq=mario+sidestepper&pg=PT36 |title=Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America |date=2011-08-04 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-101-51763-5 |language=en |chapter=4- Mario's Early Years |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228081021/https://books.google.com/books?id=1k-6ksl3uLsC&dq=mario+sidestepper&pg=PT36 |url-status=live}} Unlike future Mario games, players cannot jump on enemies and squash them, unless they were already turned on their back.{{Cite book |last=Schartmann |first=Andrew |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5W6BwAAQBAJ&dq=mario+bros+1983+fireballs&pg=PT29 |title=Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack |date=2015-05-21 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-62892-855-6 |language=en |chapter=1-2 Mario Grows Up |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228081019/https://books.google.com/books?id=k5W6BwAAQBAJ&dq=mario+bros+1983+fireballs&pg=PT29 |url-status=live}} Each phase is a series of platforms with pipes at each corner of the screen, along with an object called a "POW" block in the center. Phases use wraparound, meaning that enemies and players that go off to one side will reappear on the opposite side.{{Cite book |last=Altice |first=Nathan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1r34DwAAQBAJ&dq=wraparound+mario+bros&pg=PA359 |title=I Am Error: The Nintendo Family Computer / Entertainment System Platform |date=2017-09-08 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-53454-3 |pages=359 |language=en |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228081019/https://books.google.com/books?id=1r34DwAAQBAJ&dq=wraparound+mario+bros&pg=PA359 |url-status=live}} Points are scored for defeating enemies and collecting the bonus coins that emerge from the pipes afterward.{{Cite web |last=Gach |first=Ethan |date=2020-05-06 |title=Mario Bros. Masters Set New Arcade High Score While Stuck At Home |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/05/mario-bros-masters-set-new-arcade-high-score-while-stuck-at-home/ |access-date=2023-09-13 |website=Kotaku Australia |language=en-AU |archive-date=September 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929101247/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/05/mario-bros-masters-set-new-arcade-high-score-while-stuck-at-home/ |url-status=dead}}

Enemies are defeated by kicking them over once they have been flipped on their back. This is accomplished by hitting the platform the enemy is on directly beneath them. If the player allows too much time to pass after doing this the enemy will flip itself back over and recover.

There are four enemies which emerge from the pipes:

1. Shellcreeper;{{Cite book |last=Barton |first=Matt |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RlWXDwAAQBAJ&dq=mario+bros+Shellcreeper&pg=PT230 |title=Vintage Games 2.0: An Insider Look at the Most Influential Games of All Time |date=2019-05-08 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-000-00776-3 |language=en |chapter=18}}
2. Sidestepper;
3. Fighter Fly, which moves by jumping and can only be flipped when it is touching a platform
4. Slipice, which turns platforms into slippery ice.{{Cite book |last=Weiss |first=Brett |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F01wiUr9LKQC&dq=Slipice+mario+bros&pg=PT51 |title=Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988: A Complete Reference Guide |date=2012-11-12 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0141-0 |language=en}}

A fifth enemy, fireballs, floats around the screen instead of sticking to platforms.{{Cite book |last=Lendino |first=Jamie |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3bREAAAQBAJ&dq=mario+bros+floating+fireball&pg=PT195 |title=Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation |date=2023-08-17 |publisher=Steel Gear Press |isbn=978-1-957932-04-0 |language=en |chapter=9: Games M-P |access-date=October 6, 2023 |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228081020/https://books.google.com/books?id=X3bREAAAQBAJ&dq=mario+bros+floating+fireball&pg=PT195 |url-status=live}} The "POW" block flips all enemies touching a platform or the floor when activated, but can only be used three times before disappearing. The game additionally contains bonus rounds. In later rounds, icicles begin to form on the underside of the platforms and fall off.

One life is lost whenever the player touches an un-flipped enemy, fireball, or fully formed icicle. The game ends when all lives are lost.

File: Shigeru Miyamoto GDC 2007.jpg (pictured) and Gunpei Yokoi collaborated on the design of Mario Bros.]]

Mario Bros. was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, two of the lead developers for the video game Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong, Mario dies if he falls too far. For Mario Bros., Yokoi suggested to Miyamoto that Mario should be able to fall from any height, which Miyamoto was not sure of, thinking that it would make it "not much of a game". He eventually agreed, thinking it would be okay for him to have some superhuman abilities. He designed a prototype that had Mario "jumping and bouncing around", which he was satisfied with. The element of combating enemies from below was introduced after Yokoi suggested it, observing that it would work since there were multiple floors, but it proved to be too easy to eliminate enemies this way, which the developers fixed by requiring players to touch the enemies after they've been flipped to defeat them. This was also how they introduced the turtle as an enemy, which they conceived as an enemy that could only be hit from below.{{Cite web |url=http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/nsmb/vol1_page1.jsp |title=Wii.com – Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii |access-date=December 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091128002528/http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks/nsmb/vol1_page1.jsp |archive-date=November 28, 2009 |url-status=live}} Because of Mario's appearance in Donkey Kong with overalls, a hat, and a thick moustache, Miyamoto thought that he should be a plumber as opposed to a carpenter, and designed this game to reflect that.{{cite web|title=IGN Presents The History of Super Mario Bros. |url=http://games.ign.com/articles/833/833615p1.html |date=November 8, 2007 |website=IGN |access-date=September 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723144458/http://games.ign.com/articles/833/833615p1.html |archive-date=July 23, 2008}} Another contributing factor was the game's setting: it was a large network of giant pipes, so they felt a change in occupation was necessary for him. The game's music was composed by Yukio Kaneoka.{{cite AV media notes|url=http://vgmdb.net/album/404|title=Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1|year=2004|publisher=Scitron Digital Contents Inc.|access-date=August 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202033612/http://vgmdb.net/album/404|archive-date=December 2, 2010|url-status=live}}

A popular story of how Mario went from Jumpman to Mario is that an Italian American landlord, Mario Segale, had barged in on Nintendo of America (NOA)'s staff to demand rent, and they decided to name Jumpman after him.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/obituaries/mario-segale-dies-super-mario.html|date=November 2, 2018|title=Mario Segale, Developer Who Inspired Nintendo to Name Super Mario, Dies at 84|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227175918/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/obituaries/mario-segale-dies-super-mario.html|archive-date=February 27, 2019|url-status=live|last1=Zraick|first1=Karen}} This story is contradicted by former NOA warehouse manager Don James, who has stated that he and then-NOA president Minoru Arakawa named the character after Segale as a joke because Segale was so reclusive that none of the employees had ever met him.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2012/02/gamelife-podcast-episode-18/ |title=Game Life Podcast: When Jay Mohr Met Tomonobu Itagaki |first=Chris |last=Kohler |magazine=Wired |date=February 17, 2012 |access-date=September 28, 2024 |archive-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417022605/https://www.wired.com/2012/02/gamelife-podcast-episode-18/ |quote="And so we thought, 'This guy [Segale] is a recluse. No one's ever actually met him.' So we thought, 'Wouldn't it be a great joke if we named this character Mario?' And so we said, 'That's great,' and we sent a telex to Japan, and that's how Mario got his name."}} Interview with Don James starts at 51:16. Quotation occurs at 52:00.{{cite web |date=June 14, 2018 |title=Nintendo Treehouse Live - E3 2018 - Arcade Archives Donkey Kong, Sky Skipper |website=YouTube |publisher=Nintendo Everything |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CizC6MqyiJM&t=138s |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2024 |archive-date=October 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231003035157/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CizC6MqyiJM |quote="Mr. Arakawa, who was the president, and myself looked at the character, and we had a landlord that happened to be named Mario as well, and we'd never met the guy, so we thought it'd be funny to name this main character Mario after our landlord in Southcenter. And that's actually how Mario got his name."}} Quotation occurs at 2:25. Miyamoto also felt that the best setting for this game was New York due to its labyrinthine subterranean network of sewage pipes. The pipes were inspired by several manga, which Miyamoto states feature waste grounds with pipes lying around. In this game, they were used in a way to allow the enemies to enter and exit the stage through them to avoid getting enemies piled up on the bottom of the stage. The green coloring of the pipes, which Nintendo late president Satoru Iwata called an uncommon color, came from Miyamoto having a limited color palette and wanting to keep things colorful. He added that green was the best because it worked well when two shades of it were combined.

Mario Bros. introduced Mario's brother, Luigi, who was created for the multiplayer mode by doing a palette swap of Mario. The two-player mode and several aspects of gameplay were inspired by Joust.{{cite book |last=Fox |first=Matt |title=The Video Games Guide |publisher=Boxtree Ltd |year=2006 |isbn=0-7522-2625-8 |pages=261–262}} To date, Mario Bros. has been released for more than a dozen platforms.{{cite web | url=http://toadscastle.net/list-games.html | publisher=Toad's Castle | author=Eric Marcarelli | title=Every Mario Game | access-date=October 1, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014064028/http://www.toadscastle.net/list-games.html | archive-date=October 14, 2008 | url-status=live}} The first movement from Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik is used at the start of the game.{{cite news|title=Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix|url=http://www.nindb.net/game/ddr-mario-mix.html|access-date=September 26, 2008|work=NinDB|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100619110057/http://nindb.net/game/ddr-mario-mix.html|archive-date=June 19, 2010}} This song has been used in later video games, including Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.{{cite web|title=Full Song List with Secret Songs – Smash Bros. DOJO!! |url=http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/music/music24_list.html |date=April 3, 2008 |publisher=Nintendo |access-date=September 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101032549/http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/music/music24_list.html |archive-date=November 1, 2012}}

File:Mario Bros. cabinet at PAX East 2014.png of Mario Bros.]]

The arcade game was released in 1983, but there are conflicting release dates. Game Machine magazine reported that the game made its North American debut at the AMOA show during March 25–27 and entered mass-production in Japan on June 21.{{cite magazine|title=Overseas Readers Column|magazine=Game Machine|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|issue=216|date=July 15, 1983|page=38|lang=ja|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19830715p.pdf#page=20|access-date=May 20, 2021|archive-date=April 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405200126/https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19830715p.pdf#page=20|url-status=live}} The book Arcade TV Game List (2006), authored by Masumi Akagi and published by the Amusement News Agency, lists the release dates as March 1983 in North America and June 1983 in Japan.{{cite book |last1=Akagi |first1=Masumi |title=アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) |trans-title=Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005) |date=October 13, 2006 |publisher=Amusement News Agency |language=ja |location=Japan |isbn=978-4990251215 |pages=57, 128 |url=https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n58}} Former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said in a 2013 Nintendo Direct presentation that the game was first released in Japan on July 6, 1983.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cntz1GyM1Bs|title=Nintendo Direct 2.14.2013|work=Nintendo YouTube|publisher=YouTube|date=February 14, 2013|access-date=February 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215184305/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cntz1GyM1Bs|archive-date=February 15, 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/happy-30th-birthday-to-video-gamings-most-famous-broth-779535652 |title=Happy 30th Birthday to Video Gaming's Most Famous Brother |last=Good |first=Owen |date=July 6, 2013 |website=Kotaku |publisher=Gizmodo Media Group |access-date=March 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308165058/https://kotaku.com/happy-30th-birthday-to-video-gamings-most-famous-broth-779535652 |archive-date=March 8, 2018 |url-status=live}}

Upon release, Mario Bros. was initially labeled as being the third game in the Donkey Kong series. For home video game conversions, Nintendo held the rights to the game in Japan, while licensing the overseas rights to Atari, Inc.{{cite magazine|title=Overseas Readers Column: Nintendo Licensed "Mario Brothers" To Atari Inc. For Home Video|date=August 15, 1983|url=https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19830815p.pdf#page=15|magazine=Game Machine|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|issue=218|page=28|lang=ja|access-date=May 20, 2021|archive-date=October 23, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023064052/https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19830815p.pdf#page=15|url-status=live}}

Mario Bros. was ported by other companies to the Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 7800,{{Cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/atari7800/action/mariobros/index.html |title=Listing at GameSpot.com |access-date=November 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804205246/http://www.gamespot.com/atari7800/action/mariobros/index.html |archive-date=August 4, 2009 |url-status=live}} Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. The Commodore 64 has two versions: an Atarisoft port which was not commercially released{{cite web|title=Interview with Gregg Tavares|url=http://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_gregg_tavares.html|access-date=January 7, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314150427/http://www.digitpress.com/library/interviews/interview_gregg_tavares.html|archive-date=March 14, 2013|url-status=live}} and a 1986 version by Ocean Software. The Atari 8-bit computer version by Sculptured Software is the only home port which includes the falling icicles. An Apple II version was never commercially released,{{cite web|title=Interview with Jimmy Huey|url=http://my.stratos.net/~hewston95/RTM09/RTM09.html|access-date=January 7, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527013444/http://my.stratos.net/~hewston95/RTM09/RTM09.html|archive-date=May 27, 2013}} but copies of it appear to exist.{{cite web|title=Emulation of Apple IIgs port on Internet Archive|url=https://archive.org/details/a2_Mario_Bros._19xx_Atari_cr_202_Alliance_p}}

A port by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in North America in June 1986. Another NES port was released in August 1993 exclusively in Germany as part of the Classic Series.{{cite web|title=Mario Bros.|url=https://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563439-mario-bros/data|website=GameFAQs|access-date=August 20, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821045801/https://www.gamefaqs.com/nes/563439-mario-bros/data|archive-date=August 21, 2017|url-status=live}}

A port for NEC's PC-8001, unrelated to the Hudson Soft-developed Mario Bros. Special and Punch Ball Mario Bros., was developed by MISA and published by Westside Soft House in 1984.{{cite web|title=「スペシャル」「パンチボール」じゃない元祖「マリオブラザーズ」が、パソコンに移植されていた！|url=https://akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/column/retrosoft/1127363.html|website=akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp|date=June 19, 2018 |access-date=August 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110141805/https://akiba-pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/column/retrosoft/1127363.html|language=ja|archive-date=January 10, 2024|url-status=live}}

A modified version titled {{Anchor|Kaettekita Mario Bros.}}{{Nihongo foot|Kaettekita Mario Bros.,|帰ってきたマリオブラザーズ|Kaette kita Mario Burazāzu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} was released only in Japan on November 30, 1988, for the Famicom Disk System through the Disk Writer service.{{cite web | title=Obscure Mario Bros. Famicom Disk System Game Gets Translated Into English | first=Gonçalo | last=Lopes | date=May 24, 2016 | work=NintendoLife | url=https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/05/obscure_mario_bros_famicom_disk_system_game_gets_translated_into_english | access-date=July 29, 2019 | archive-date=July 29, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729205419/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/05/obscure_mario_bros_famicom_disk_system_game_gets_translated_into_english | url-status=live}}

In Taiwan and Mainland China, the game is sometimes nicknamed as Pipeline (管道) or Mr. Mary (瑪莉) due to the fact that pirated copies of this game were distributed widely, and pirate companies could not use the real name of the game and characters to bypass copyright.{{ref needed|date=September 2024}}

The NES version of Mario Bros. was ported via the Virtual Console service in North America, Australia, Europe and Japan for the Wii,{{cite web|title=Mario Bros. (Virtual Console)|url=http://wii.ign.com/objects/864/864232.html|website=IGN|access-date=September 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126183624/http://wii.ign.com/objects/864/864232.html|archive-date=January 26, 2009|url-status=dead}} Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/4ag6RvH5Q4UOf-jz7eJWulKEG9TihnzT |title=Mario Bros. For Nintendo 3DS – Nintendo Game Details |access-date=July 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525204943/https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/4ag6RvH5Q4UOf-jz7eJWulKEG9TihnzT |archive-date=May 25, 2018 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nintendo.com/en_CA/games/detail/steaDexI7H4v0UEWC20wW3alYYaGW5bz |title=Mario Bros. For Wii U – Nintendo Game Details |access-date=December 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216032059/https://www.nintendo.com/en_CA/games/detail/steaDexI7H4v0UEWC20wW3alYYaGW5bz |archive-date=December 16, 2018 |url-status=live}} The original arcade version of Mario Bros. was released in September 2017 for the Nintendo Switch as part of the Arcade Archives series.{{cite web|title=Why does Mario Bros. cost $8 on the Nintendo Switch eShop?|url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/27/16374274/nintendo-switch-mario-bros-arcade-archives-price|website=Polygon|date=September 27, 2017|access-date=September 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929171037/https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/27/16374274/nintendo-switch-mario-bros-arcade-archives-price|archive-date=September 29, 2017|url-status=live}} The NES version was a launch title for the Nintendo Classics service.{{Cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/13/17856798/nintendo-switch-online-nes-games-list|title=Nintendo Switch Online has these 20 classic NES games|last=Good|first=Owen S.|date=September 13, 2018|website=Polygon|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331150838/https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/13/17856798/nintendo-switch-online-nes-games-list|archive-date=March 31, 2019|url-status=live}}

Nintendo included Mario Bros. as a bonus in a number of releases, including Super Mario Bros. 3 in the form of a two-player minigame,{{cite book|author=Nintendo|url=https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAACE.pdf|title=Super Mario Bros. 3 manual|year=1988|version=Nintendo Entertainment System|section=pg. 27|access-date=February 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105110431/https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAACE.pdf|archive-date=November 5, 2019|url-status=live}} and as a single-player mode in the Game Boy Advance's Super Mario Advance series as well as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.{{cite web|title=Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Guide – Mario Bros. Classic |url=http://uk.guides.ign.com/guides/550433/page_6.html |website=IGN |access-date=October 11, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224224949/http://uk.guides.ign.com/guides/550433/page_6.html |archive-date=February 24, 2009}} The NES version is included as a piece of furniture in Animal Crossing for the GameCube, along with many other NES games, though this one requires the use of a Nintendo e-Reader and a North America-exclusive Animal Crossing e-Card.{{cite web|title=NES games|url=http://animalcrossing.planets.gamespy.com/ac-nes-mario.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411095104/http://animalcrossing.planets.gamespy.com/ac-nes-mario.shtml |archive-date=April 11, 2008|publisher=The Animal Forest|access-date=September 26, 2008}}

In 2004, Namco released an arcade cabinet containing Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. and Mario Bros. The latter was altered for the vertical screen used by the other games, with the visible play area cropped on the sides.{{Cite web |title=Namco's new 3-in-1 retro cabinet featuring Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros. |url=https://www.engadget.com/2004-10-15-namcos-new-3-in-1-retro-cabinet-featuring-donkey-kong-donkey.html |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=Engadget |date=August 8, 2019 |language=en-US |archive-date=September 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908012001/https://www.engadget.com/2004-10-15-namcos-new-3-in-1-retro-cabinet-featuring-donkey-kong-donkey.html |url-status=live}}

{{Video game reviews

| NES = true

| GBA = true

| WII = true

| A2600 = true

| CVG_NES = 83%{{cite journal |title=Complete Games Guide |journal=Computer and Video Games |date=October 16, 1989 |issue=Complete Guide to Consoles |pages=46–77 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/9/98/CompleteGuideToConsoles_UK_01.pdf#page=46 |access-date=August 1, 2021 |archive-date=June 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611004221/https://retrocdn.net/images/9/98/CompleteGuideToConsoles_UK_01.pdf#page=46 |url-status=live}}

| CVG_A2600 = 82%

| GSpot_WII = 4.9/10

| IGN_GBA = 6/10 (e-Reader)

| IGN_WII = 4.5/10

| rev1 = Mean Machines

| rev1_NES = 80%{{cite magazine |title=Mean Machines |magazine=Computer and Video Games |date=October 15, 1988 |issue=85 (November 1988) |pages=130–1 |url=https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-085/page/n129/mode/2up}}

| Allgame_NES = 4.5/5{{Cite web |last=Brett Alan Weiss |title=Mario Bros. (NES) Review |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=9418&tab=review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114213900/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=9418&tab=review |archive-date=November 14, 2014 |access-date=December 3, 2022 |website=Allgame}}

| rev3 = Power Unlimited

| rev3_NES = 80%{{cite web |date=November 1994 |title=Power Unlimited Game Database |url=http://www.powerweb.nl/database/img/index.php?page=database&&query%5border%5d=datum&ending=ASC&query%5bstart%5d=80 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031019204506/http://www.powerweb.nl/database/img/index.php?page=database&&query%5border%5d=datum&ending=ASC&query%5bstart%5d=80 |archivedate=October 19, 2003 |accessdate=December 3, 2022 |website=powerweb.nl |language=nl}}

}}

Mario Bros. was initially a modest success in arcades,{{cite web|title=IGN Presents The History of Super Mario Bros. |url=http://games.ign.com/articles/833/833615p1.html |date=November 8, 2007 |website=IGN |access-date=September 26, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723144458/http://games.ign.com/articles/833/833615p1.html |archive-date=July 23, 2008}} with an estimated 2,000 arcade cabinets sold in the United States by July 1983.{{cite news |last1=Fujihara |first1=Mary |title=Inter Office Memo: Coin-Op Product Sales |url=http://www.atarigames.com/pdffiles/salesestimates1.pdf |publisher=Atari, Inc. |date=July 25, 1983 |access-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020200920/http://www.atarigames.com/pdffiles/salesestimates1.pdf |url-status=dead}} It went on to be highly successful in American arcades.{{cite news |last1=McGill |first1=Douglas C. |title=Nintendo Scores Big |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/04/business/nintendo-scores-big.html |access-date=September 13, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=December 4, 1988 |archive-date=July 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715052111/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/04/business/nintendo-scores-big.html |url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |title=News Bulletin: NBA Jam Sets Earnings Mark |magazine=Play Meter |date=January 1994 |volume=20 |issue=1 |page=3 |url=https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-20-number-1-january-1994/Play%20Meter%20-%20Volume%2020%2C%20Number%201%20-%20January%201994/page/n2}} In Japan, Game Machine listed Mario Bros. on their July 15, 1983, issue as being the third most-successful new table arcade unit of the month.{{cite magazine|title=Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 – テーブル型新製品 (New Videos-Table Type)|magazine=Game Machine|issue=216|publisher=Amusement Press, Inc.|date=July 15, 1983|page=37|lang=ja}} In the United States, Nintendo sold 3,800 Mario Bros. arcade cabinets.{{cite web|last=Fujihara|first=Mary|title=Inter Office Memo|url=http://www.atarigames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49:atari-sales-estimates-for-other-manufactures-2&catid=5:atari-inter-office-memos&Itemid=5|publisher=Atari|access-date=March 18, 2012|date=November 2, 1983|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120084707/http://www.atarigames.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49:atari-sales-estimates-for-other-manufactures-2&catid=5:atari-inter-office-memos&Itemid=5|archive-date=January 20, 2013|url-status=live}} The arcade cabinets have since become mildly rare and hard to find.{{cite book | title = Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games | first = David | last = Ellis | chapter = Arcade Classics | page = [https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/391 391] | publisher = Random House | isbn = 0-375-72038-3 | year = 2004 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi | url = https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/391}} Despite being released during the video game crash of 1983, the arcade game was not affected. Video game author Dave Ellis considers it one of the more memorable classic games.{{cite book | title = Official Price Guide to Classic Video Games | first = David | last = Ellis | page = [https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/9 9] | chapter = A Brief History of Video Games | publisher = Random House | isbn = 0-375-72038-3 | year = 2004 | chapter-url-access = registration | chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi | url = https://archive.org/details/officialpricegui00davi/page/9}} To date in Japan, the Famicom version of Mario Bros. has sold more than 1.63 million copies, and the Famicom Mini re-release has sold more than 90,000 copies.{{cite web |title=The Magic Box – Japan Platinum Chart Games. |url=http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml |publisher=The Magic Box |access-date=September 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810010607/http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-JPPlatinum.shtml |archive-date=August 10, 2011 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Nintendojofr|url=http://www.nintendojofr.com/redaction/editoriaux/?id=aVAd |date=September 26, 2006 |publisher=Nintendojo |access-date=October 9, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080730022258/http://www.nintendojofr.com/redaction/editoriaux/?id=aVAd |archive-date = July 30, 2008}} The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) version went on to sell 2.28 million cartridges worldwide.{{cite book |title=CESA Games White Papers |publisher=Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association}} The Atari 2600 version also sold 1.59 million cartridges, making it one of the bestselling games of 1983.{{cite web |url=http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/04/the-best-video-games-to-come-out-every-year-since-the-atari-2600/duck-hunt |title=1984: Duck Hunt – The Best Selling Video Game Of Every Year Since 1977 |last=Welch |first=Hanuman |website=Complex |date=April 23, 2013 |access-date=April 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424174120/http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/04/the-best-video-games-to-come-out-every-year-since-the-atari-2600/duck-hunt |archive-date=April 24, 2017 |url-status=live}} This brings total Atari 2600, NES and Famicom Mini cartridge sales to {{nowrap|{{#expr:2.28+1.59+0.09}} million}} units sold worldwide.

The NES and Atari versions of Mario Bros. received positive reviews from Computer and Video Games in 1989. They said the NES version is "incredibly good fun" especially in two-player mode, the Atari VCS version is "just as much fun" but with graphical restrictions, and the Atari 7800 version is slightly better.

The 2009 Virtual Console re-release of the NES version later received mixed reviews, but received positive reviews from gamers.{{cite web |title=Mario Bros. (Virtual Console) Review |url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/750/750161p1.html |date=December 8, 2006 |website=IGN |access-date=August 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091106174923/http://wii.ign.com/articles/750/750161p1.html |archive-date=November 6, 2009 |url-status=dead}} In a review of the Virtual Console release, GameSpot criticized the NES version for being a poor port of the arcade version and that retains all of the technical flaws found in this version.{{cite web |title=Mario Bros. (NES) |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mario-bros-review/1900-6162249/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706040649/http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mario-bros-review/1900-6162249/ |archive-date=July 6, 2015 |access-date=August 11, 2015 |website=GameSpot |quote=The NES version of Mario Bros. can be fun for a little while with two players, but it doesn't measure up to the seminal arcade hit it's based on.}} IGN complimented the Virtual Console version's gameplay, even though it was critical of Nintendo's decision to release an "inferior" NES port on the Virtual Console. IGN also agreed on the issue of the number of ports. They said that since most people have Mario Bros. on one of the Super Mario Advance games, this version is not worth 500 Wii Points. The Nintendo e-Reader version of Mario Bros. was slightly more well received by IGN, who praised the gameplay, but criticized it for lack of multiplayer and for not being worth the purchase because of the Super Mario Advance versions.{{cite web |title=Mario Bros.-e Review |url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/377/377503p1.html |date=November 15, 2002 |website=IGN |access-date=September 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205201157/http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/377/377503p1.html |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |url-status=live}}

The Super Mario Advance releases and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga all featured the same version of Mario Bros. (titled Mario Bros. Classic). The mode was first included in Super Mario Advance, and was praised for its simplicity and entertainment value.{{cite web|title=Super Mario Advance Review for Game Boy Color – Gaming Age |url=http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=gameboy&game=marioadvance |date=June 13, 2001 |publisher=Gaming Age |access-date=September 26, 2008 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209114923/http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/reviews/review.pl?sys=gameboy&game=marioadvance |archive-date=February 9, 2008}} IGN called this mode fun in its review of Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, but complained that it would have been nice if the developers had come up with a new game to replace it.{{cite web |title=Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World Review |url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/324/324423p1.html |date=February 11, 2002 |website=IGN |access-date=September 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926181350/http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/324/324423p1.html |archive-date=September 26, 2008 |url-status=live}} Their review of Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 criticizes it more so than in the review of Super Mario Advance 2 because Nintendo chose not to add multiplayer to any of the mini-games found in that game, sticking instead with an identical version of the Mario Bros. game found in previous versions.{{cite web |title=Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island |url=http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/371/371999p2.html |date=September 24, 2002 |website=IGN |access-date=September 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008182328/http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/371/371999p2.html |archive-date=October 8, 2008 |url-status=live}} GameSpot{{'}}s review of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 calls it a throwaway feature that could have simply been gutted.{{cite web |title=Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Review for Game Boy Advance |url=http://www.gamespot.com/gba/action/supermarioadvance4/review.html?page=2 |date=October 17, 2003 |website=GameSpot |access-date=September 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622170734/http://www.gamespot.com/super-mario-advance-4-super-mario-bros-3/reviews/super-mario-advance-4-super-mario-bros-3-6077002/?page=2 |archive-date=June 22, 2013 |url-status=live}} Other reviewers were not as negative on the feature's use in later Super Mario Advance games. Despite its use being criticized in most Super Mario Advance games, a GameSpy review called the version found in Super Mario Advance 2 a blast to play in multi-player because it only requires at least two Game Boy Advances, one copy of the game, and a link cable.{{cite web |title=Reviews: Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (GBA) |url=http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/february02/smwsma2gba/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409010039/http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/february02/smwsma2gba/ |archive-date=April 9, 2008 |publisher=GameSpy |access-date=September 26, 2008}}

Image:VB Mario Clash.png (1995) for the Virtual Boy]]

In 1984, Hudson Soft made two different games based on Mario Bros. {{nihongo foot|Mario Bros. Special|マリオブラザーズスペシャル|Mario Burazāzu Supesharu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is a reimagining with new phases and gameplay. {{nihongo foot|Punch Ball Mario Bros.|パンチボールマリオブラザーズ|Panchi Bōru Mario Burazāzu|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} includes a new gameplay mechanic: punching small balls to stun enemies.{{cite web|title=Virtually Overlooked: Punch Ball Mario Bros./Mario Bros. Special|url=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/virtually-overlooked-punch-ball-mario-bros-mario-bros-special|date=September 11, 2008|publisher=GameDaily|access-date=September 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628011226/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/09/11/virtually-overlooked-punch-ball-mario-bros-mario-bros-special|archive-date=June 28, 2011|url-status=live}} Both games were released for the PC-6001mkII,{{cite web|url=http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/hudsonmario/hudsonmario-old.htm|title=Hudson's Lost Mario Trilogy|date=August 2010|access-date=25 July 2024|publisher=Hardcore Gaming 101|last=Szczepaniak|first=John|archive-date=July 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725125315/http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/hudsonmario/hudsonmario-old.htm|url-status=live}} PC-8001mkII,{{cite web|url=https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2021/06/mario-bros-special-nec-pc-8001-tape-dump-and-scans/|title=Mario Bros. Special (NEC PC-8001) Tape Dump and Scans|last=Hubbard|first=Dustin+date=13 June 2021|access-date=25 July 2024|publisher=Gaming Alexandria|archive-date=July 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725125315/https://www.gamingalexandria.com/wp/2021/06/mario-bros-special-nec-pc-8001-tape-dump-and-scans/|url-status=live}} PC-8801, FM-7 and Sharp X1.

A version of the game was announced alongside the Virtual Boy hardware itself at Nintendo Space World 1994. Footage demonstrated showed a faithful recreation of the game, albeit with the Virtual Boy's trademark graphical qualities of monochrome red and black graphics and a slight stereoscopic 3D effect. Its demonstration was generally poorly received by video game publications, which lamented the selection of a decade-old game to demonstrate the technology of the new Virtual Boy hardware. Mario Bros. VB, as demonstrated, was never released, but some gameplay concepts were utilized in Mario Clash (1995), a much more creative reimagining of the original Mario Bros.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|294877556}} |last1=Rafferty |first1=Kevin |title=Super Mario takes leap into three dimensional space |newspaper=The Guardian |date=16 November 1994}}Electronic Gaming Monthly, January 1995, page 6Edge, February 1995, pages 10-11Electronic Gaming Monthly, January 1995, page 89{{cite web|title=Mario Clash|url=http://gameboy.ign.com/objects/006/006648.html|website=IGN|access-date=September 26, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006042122/http://gameboy.ign.com/objects/006/006648.html|archive-date=October 6, 2008|url-status=live}}

Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U contains a version of Mario Bros. starring Luigi: Luigi Bros. This version, based on the NES port and included as a part of the Year of Luigi celebrations, replaced Mario with Luigi in his modern color scheme; the second player's sprite retains the original Luigi colors.{{cite web |date=November 13, 2013 |title=Luigi Bros. unlockable, Rosalina playable in Super Mario 3D World |url=http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/13/5099884/super-mario-3d-world-luigi-bros-rosalina |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113194606/http://www.polygon.com/2013/11/13/5099884/super-mario-3d-world-luigi-bros-rosalina |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |access-date=November 13, 2013 |website=Polygon}}{{cite web |last=Buffa |first=Christopher |date=November 27, 2013 |title=Super Mario 3D World: How to Unlock Luigi Bros. |url=http://www.primagames.com/games/super-mario-3d-world/video/super-mario-3d-world-how-unlock-luigi-bros |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203065435/http://www.primagames.com/games/super-mario-3d-world/video/super-mario-3d-world-how-unlock-luigi-bros |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |access-date=January 4, 2014 |work=Prima Games |publisher=Random House}}

On October 16, 2015, Steve Kleisath obtained the world record for the arcade version at 5,424,920 points verified by Twin Galaxies.{{Cite web |url=https://www.twingalaxies.com/game/mario-bros/arcade |title=Mario Bros |access-date=October 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017203207/https://www.twingalaxies.com/game/mario-bros/arcade |archive-date=October 17, 2018 |url-status=live}}

{{Notelist|group=note}}

Japanese titles

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/mariobros/index.html}} {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/n08/fmk2/mariobro/index.html Official Nintendo Famicom Mini minisite] {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/vc/vc_mb/ Official Nintendo Wii Virtual Console minisite] {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/eshop/vc/tb7j/ Official Nintendo 3DS eshop minisite] {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/software/vc/faej/ Official Nintendo Wii U eshop minisite] {{in lang|ja}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20181016175051/https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/AN20FWaWbXNL-oWwUHwK0sMxrfq_plpD Official Nintendo Wii minisite] {{in lang|en}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180525204943/https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/4ag6RvH5Q4UOf-jz7eJWulKEG9TihnzT Official Nintendo 3DS minisite] {{in lang|en}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20180525204824/https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/steaDexI7H4v0UEWC20wW3alYYaGW5bz Official Nintendo Wii minisite] {{in lang|en}}
• [https://www.nintendo.com/jp/famicom/software/hvc-ma/index.html Mario Bros.] on the Famicom 40th Anniversary page {{in lang|ja}}
• {{Internet Archive game|zx_Mario_Bros_1987_Ocean}} (ZX Spectrum version)
• {{KLOV game|id=8624}}

{{Mario series}}

{{Luigi}}

{{Shigeru Miyamoto}}

{{Intelligent Systems}}

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