For Mar10 day, I’m remembering my first Mario experiences, way back in the 8-bit 80s. The last series game I played was Super Mario 3D World on the Wii U. But the first time I ever experienced Mario cost me a few quarters.
Super Mario Bros.
It was circa 1986 in Kittery, Maine. There was a corner convenience store near my house, close enough to ride my bike to. I’d go there for candy and Topps baseball card packs with the stick of powdered pink gum inside.
In the store was a single arcade machine with Super Mario Bros. At the time, my video game experience was with a used Atari 2600 my family got from a garage sale. Pac-Man was king. And Space Invaders. But the Mario game was another league. I only put in enough quarters to lose lives a few times, but it was fun and cool.
Another early memory I have was with the same game but on a friend’s Nintendo Entertainment System. Again, it was so cool. I don’t think at that point I had my own NES. If not, that’d soon change.
I saved up lots of money and got my little brother to pitch in his share too, so we could buy our own NES. Finally, the day came, and we had Super Mario Bros. (and Duck Hunt) in our house. Sorry, Atari, we hardly knew thee.
Back then, you couldn’t save your game and had to start over at the beginning every time. So I never beat the game. It was fun to play, but even with warping, later levels proved too much for me.
Of course, I went on to other Mario games: SMB3 (NES), Super Mario World (SNES), and Super Mario 64 (N64) were my favorites. I didn’t get into Super Mario Sunshine (GC) or Super Mario Galaxy (Wii).
Backing up, I should mention that I encountered bits of Mario before Super Mario Bros. on another arcade machine: Donkey Kong. But that one was different; there was no Mushroom Kingdom.
I might try Super Mario Wonder. I’d like to play Super Mario Odyssey. But I’m less a platformer and more into JRPGs. I did enjoy Super Mario RPG (haven’t played the current remake) in the late 90s.
So I’ve been a Nintendo/Mario fan since I was a kid in the way some folks are Disney/Mickey Mouse fans. My latest Mario experience: last year, I took my family to see the The Super Mario Bros. Movie at the theater and loved it.
Happy Mar10 Day!
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