The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was a revolutionary console, throwing off any consumer doubts left behind after the video game crash in the eighties. Yet part of its success was down to one game named Super Mario Brothers. A quaint title about a plumber, it captured the hearts and minds of gamers across the world. Below, we give three facts you probably didn’t even know about this trendsetting title.


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It’s a Sequel

For avid retro gamers and fans of the franchise, Super Mario Bros is where it all began. Everyone knows Mario first appeared in Donkey Kong, but few people know that there was a Mario Bros game before the Nintendo Entertainment System version.

An arcade title that was ported to several home computers, it had many of the trademarks fans would come to know and love. Luigi made his first appearance, as did the turtle enemies. Several pipes also launched coins. Set in the sewers of Brooklyn, it helped start his backstory before he reached the Mushroom Kingdom. However, as a single-screen arcade title, it was a little lackluster and failed to make a big impression.

It Has a Zero Level

Many people don’t realize that Super Mario Bros has a zero level, or technically a minus one. A glitch in the game itself traps players in an underwater loop from which they can not get out. However, it is not one you can easily fall into.

To get into it, you need to perform a series of complicated steps. As explained in CyberGhost VPN's list of top ten gaming glitches, this secret level is entered by jumping into the pipe at the end of the level. This would return players to the beginning, where they would have to run the stage again or die when the time runs out. Remakes of the game have had it removed, but it did coin the term minus world in gaming, referring to any stage or map outside the confines of the normal game.


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There Was a Japanese Celebrity Version

Numerous games only get Japanese or Western releases. Unless a gamer was buying imports, then these titles, before the internet age, remained unknown to the other half of the world. One of these titles was a version of Super Mario Bros, released one year after the original for the Famicom Disk System. Known as All Night Nippon Super Mario Brothers, it featured a host of Japanese celebrities.

The title comes from a Japanese radio show of the same name, and the characters in it are all presenters from the series. There are a few minor differences aside from this. The first stage is set at night, and piranha plants replace the goombas. Apart from this most of the gameplay remains the same with just a few minor sprite changes.

A Lasting Legend

These are just a few less-known facts about this iconic game, all of which have just added to the allure that helped to create a legendary franchise. Which was your favorite installment?