My most magical "Mario" moment would definately be my first encounter with "Super Mario Bros. 3." It was 1990, I was six, and I had seen commercials for the new game (I was especially impressed by the moving question marks on the mystery blocks), and already owned two Goombas and a Koopa Paratroopa from McDonald's happy meals, but that could never prepare me for what I saw. I didn't have a Nintendo then (I don't have one now!), but my grandmother had one for the vast multitude of young children who came over for family gatherings. At that point, the only "Mario" games I'd played were "Super Mario Bros." and "Mario Jumper" (see my post under "game help" for that one).
Anyway, I went downstairs to see who had beaten me to "Super Mario Bros."/"Duck Hunt" and I just see a bunch of my cousins crowded around the T.V. with something blue on the screen. Somebody told me it was "Mario 3," which cousin Scott had rented from the local Blockbuster, and I joined the crowd.
I don't remember who was playing at first, but they were in world 3-1, with the Lava Lotus spraying thornballs underwater. Then somebody beat that, and I saw the map screen, which is what really made an impact on me. It was just so much greater than the "Mario" I'd played. Second player came up, and I'm like "Who's that green guy? Is there a third Mario brother now?". I was surprised to find that Luigi had a different costume. Then they flipped around part of the screen and selected a frog suit. I was just in awe. Nobody could beat 3-2, and eventually the lives ran out, and when they were continued 3-1 again was conquered easily, but 3-2 was impassable. Attempts at the swimming world were put to an end when someone announced dinner.
After dinner, I came back down and got to be first player in a whole new game. So it was the curtains, then the map with the rockin' bushes, then I got to play Mario. My first thoughts were something like "Venus flytrap, wait 'til it's safe to jump over the pipe...whoa! fire balls!?! Where did she get a fire flower?" Then I got a leaf, and raccoon power. I had seen the commercials, and knew I could fly, and my brother told me to press "B," but all I did was make a "doo-da-doop" sound and spin around, and in doing so I knocked a Goomba out, which caused hysterical laughter. Somebody finally told me to run and press "B" and I did just that, but didn't get off the ground and ran into another Goomba. I found out you could pick up a turtle shell, which seemed eerily life-like for a video game, and accidentally hit the mystery block containing the other leaf. I actually got flying with that raccoon tail, but I kept sinking and eventually fell into a pit. End of game 1 for me.
There were like five of us taking turns, and all I did for a while was suggest hitting one of the music blocks, because that background sound was getting old (it didn't work, but when we went to one of the new Dark Worlds, I liked the musical remix there), until I ended up playing at a castle. I was once again amazed by the new game's take on old "Super Mario Bros." settings, with all-new Thwomps (the first of which I tried to climb over, before realizing it had spikes on its top and sides as well as its bottom, and ultimately running for dear life), Dry Boneses (I thought they were the skeletons of Koopa Troopas we'd killed earlier in the game, and warned everyone else against stomping them to avoid such consequences), and spiky ceilings that rose and fell. Then, the final showdown.
My cousin Luke had told me I needed to hit the Boom-Boom three times on the head, but neglected to add that the terrapinoid antagonist reacted to a head-stomp by ducking down and exposing its spines, and I got shrunk from hopping on him when he was in this stance. I got a second good hit on him, but he came back with new vigor, flailing his fists wildly. I didn't stand a chance. That was the last life, and I didn't get him back until 1994.
At some point that day, I saw Toad in the "The king has been transformed!" sequence (Whoa, a super-Goomba! It's got ARMS! Hey, how'd you get ahold of that anchor, Luke?), and witnessed my cousin Elizabeth vanquish a Boomerang Brother (in the 8-bit graphics, it looked like it was throwing socks, and, once dead, dispensed a chest containing what looked like a mug of cocoa. I will never forget my "Mario" adventures that day.
I know this is a sort of long post, I just enjoyed reading the other stories posted under this topic, and wanted to share the experiences that are the reason I'm a "Mario" fan today.
Lee "Mega 2" Sherman
Sneaky Lying Cheating Giant Ninja Koopa
Edited by - Mega 2 on 10/26/2000 4:03:03 PM
