The Famicom turned 30 in Japan last week, and how else should a website celebrate such an occasion than by having a Top 10 list? Well, IGN headed the call, and while I don't usually intend on sharing every website's top 10 list, this one struck me because it included a game that perhaps only a few know about; a game called
All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros.First of all, no, it's not some kinky Japanese version of
Hotel Mario. Rather, it was an important occasion in Nintendo's history because it was one of the first and perhaps, only times, that they allowed a company to place their marketing and promotional materials right into the game itself.
All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros played just like
Super Mario Bros. (with some basic graphical updates from Japan's
Super Mario Bros. 2) but was remade have the All Night Nippon theme. The Goombas and Piranha Plants have been replaced by bespectacled, big-headed creatures. Microphones replaced the mushrooms in the background, and the Fujisankei logo adorns the flag raised from the castle when Mario reaches a flagpole. (Fujisankei owns Nippon Broadcasting, which runs All Night Nippon.) A slightly bigger version of said logo also is in place of the axe that sits behind each Bowser. By far, the most interesting change is that the seven Mushroom Retainers and Princess Toadstool were replaced by people who are supposedly Japanese celebrities. There is nothing quite like it in America, and in Japan the contest was a success for both Nippon and Nintendo.
Yes, it's one of the more obscure titles in the Super Mario library, but we here at TMK always are proud when someone brings up those quirky little moments in Mario's long and storied history.
Even if they are just product placements.Check out IGN's Top 10 list that prompted this nostalgia wave.
