This is a fun one.
Someone has created an open-source, remastered version of the original NES Super Mario Bros. It adds new levels, new graphics (but still in the 8-bit NES style), and new characters.
It uses and requires the original Super Mario Bros. ROM, so all of the resources are pulled from the ROM itself. That means the new graphics and characters are remixed from existing resources somehow, which is pretty cool. They also expand the view to widescreen, which is great!
It’s being written for Windows and Linux, but someone has compiled a version that runs on macOS. Here is the GitHub page where you can find links to all three, as well as some more info.
Here is the trailer:
If you’re interested, better download it soon. Nintendo loves to go after these emulation projects, so it may not be up for long.
My parents didn’t have a lot of money when I was a boy, so Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt were the only two games I had for the NES for a long time until I saved up my mowing money and bought Zelda II. I played Super Mario so often that I practically memorized the game, eventually getting to the point where I could fly through the entire thing in about ten minutes (taking the warp zones, of course). It became a routine for me: I’d get home from school, turn on the game and put in my ten minutes to beat it before turning to homework or going out to play with friends.
I can still beat the game from that muscle memory, but it does take a little longer than ten minutes these days, and involves dying many more times. I don’t make a lot of time for gaming these days, but I do still load it up occasionally to play it with my kids. They enjoy playing them with me. I can’t hold a candle to them on Switch games, but I still have the edge on these old ones!
What are your memories with Mario? And — go download the remastered version!
