Mario is one of the most famous video game characters of all time, and this is because the man has appeared in so many classic installments that it’s amazing Nintendo is still managing to pump out great Super Mario Bros. games to this day! One of the most famous Mario games of all time is Super Mario Bros. 3, a game that has been played millions, if not billions of times across the world. This game is a classic, and for good reason.
This would make most of us think that we know everything about this game, as we have put so many hours into it, but we’re not so sure about this, which is why we’ve put this list together. We want everyone to take a look as we don’t think that everyone will know all of the things on this list. Some are more obvious than others, so let’s make sure that we stay with it until the end! This game might seem like the kind of thing that’s pretty straightforward, but really, there are so many things hidden far under the surface of this one.
So, let’s get ready to plunge into this famous video game and dig up some of the discoveries that people have missed over the years! If there’s anything major that we’ve missed that you think is worth mentioning, don’t be afraid to tell us in the comments section. With that being said, let’s dive in!
25 Go Behind The Scenery
There’s a point, very early on in the game, where the player can place Mario on a platform, before holding down.
After holding down for a few seconds, looking a little odd while doing it might we add, the player will find Mario falling down through the platform, unlike any of the other platforms found throughout the entire game.
Once they’re fallen back to the ground, you will notice that Mario is now actually behind the various bits of landscape in the background!
24 Warp To The End
The tip above is actually how people find an item, one that does something unlike any of the other items in the game, and can only be found by looking for hidden ways around the levels.
After they use the flute, the player can skip their way into later worlds in the game, if they so choose.
Personally, we’ve never understood why anybody would want to skip through part of a video game, but it’s there if people want it!
23 White Mushroom Houses
Everyone that has played Super Mario Bros. 3 knows about the various other things that the player can do on the world maps apart from the levels themselves. One of those things is the mushrooms, which offer the player a chance to get themselves an item that they can then use later on in the game. However, there are special white mushrooms that only turn up when the player manages to fill out a certain set of criteria within a level, such as gathering all the coins in a level or finishing within a certain time limit.
22 There’s More Than One Letter
As we all know, when we get to the end of the world we’re asked to take on a Koopaling on their respective ship, a ship that flies through the sky rather than sails through the water.
After we’ve done that, we come back down to Earth to hand the king back his staff and he hands us a letter, thanking us for what we’ve done.
However, if Mario is wearing a frog suit or hammer bro suit, this letter will actually have slightly different wording!
21 Chomps Can Break Their Chain
When we first came up against chain chomps, we found them worrying for numerous reasons. Not only can you not get rid of them, but they are relentless, pulling against their chain at every chance they get!
Well, be prepared to get more scared, as it turns out those chains aren’t perfect when it comes to keeping those chomps contained.
Yes, if the player makes Mario stand around and wait as the chomp tugs on his chain, the chain can break and free the enemy.
20 Game The Level Cards
At the end of each level in Super Mario Bros. 3, the player is offered a chance to grab a card, and once they have grabbed three from three separate levels, they are rewarded with lives.
Players want to try and get as many of the same card as possible, preferably the star, as three stars pay out a lot of lives!
Make sure you’re at full speed and try to make sure that Mario is hitting the box of the changing card right at the bottom left. That’s how you get a star!
19 World 3’s Islands Are Modelled After Japan
As we all know, World 3 takes place across numerous islands, asking the player to take on land levels and levels that actually take place mostly, if not entirely, in water.
Well, what you may not know is that these islands are not just random shapes that the developers came up with.
Yes, that’s right, the developers took inspiration from Japan and made the islands the same shapes as the islands of Japan, with the last level taking place on the Kyoto island.
18 They Made It Easier In The West
While it isn’t as strong a belief these days, it’s generally believed in Japan that gamers in the west just can’t take a challenge in their video games to the same extent that people in Japan can for some reason! That’s why many people may be surprised that the Western version of Super Mario Bros. 3 is easier than the original that was released in Japan. If Mario is hit by an enemy in the Japanese version, he goes straight to small Mario!
17 They Make It Easier The Second Time Round
The concept of making a game easier the second time around might seem counter-intuitive, but the introduction of things like New Game Plus into most modern games means that a lot of players have actually come to expect it. Well, believe it or not, but Super Mario 3 had one of these modes as well, in a way… Play through the whole game and start a new one without restarting your system, and you will find that Mario has 28 P-Wings waiting for him!
16 Two Players Fought To See Who Went First
Most people played these games alone, as they didn’t exactly have the same capabilities as we have now to make multiplayer as fun, but there were still little features in there for people who decided to play with someone else! With two controllers put into the console and two player mode selected, the two players were put into an original game of Super Mario Bros. where they were expected to compete to see who would have the honor of going first in the real game!
15 The Koopalings Are Based On Designers…
Okay, so we have already taken a small look at the way that the designers of this game decided to look at the world around them to find inspiration for their video game, but we don’t know if we would find this fact to be that much of a compliment if we’re honest… In an attempt to show that he was so thankful for the major amount of work that his fellow developers were putting into the production of the game, he designed the koopalings after some of them.
14 There Are Pipes Everywhere!
Anybody who has played through Super Mario Bros. 3 knows that there is a world made up of various islands, all of them connected through small pipe levels.
However, what they may have missed is that the developers decided to go the whole hog with the design.
As you should be able to see by the image above, the islands of the world are also in the shape of green pipes!
13 Players Can Actually Take Out The Sun…
There are so many enemies in the world of Super Mario, but throughout all of the games that he has been in, the one that always really annoyed us was the sun in Super Mario Bros. 3.
When we were younger, we would just run right as fast as we physically could, jumping when we needed to avoid him.
It wasn’t until we got older and bolder that we discovered that he could actually be removed by throwing a turtle shell his way.
12 There Are Hidden Treasure Ships In Four Worlds
We all know about the ships that sail through the air containing bosses for players to take down, but did you know that these aren’t the only ships to be found in the world of Super Mario Bros. 3?
Yes, in four of the eight worlds that are offered up to the player, it’s actually possible to find a treasure ship, filled with coins.
If you’re lucky, you may even find some other items there that will help Mario on his journey as well!
11 There’s An Anchor Item…
Even the people who have found a flute throughout their time with Super Mario Bros. 3 might be surprised to find out that there’s actually an item even rarer than the one that warps you from world to world. Yes, if Mario is able to create a white mushroom while on his adventure, he has a chance of opening up a treasure chest and finding an anchor. This item forces the airship to stay in one place, meaning that it won’t go running off if Mario struggles in taking down a Koopaling!
10 The Whole Thing Is A Play!
The reason that we’ve placed this one on the list is that, while we know that pretty much everyone out there has heard this theory, we don’t think that people know the extent to which this thing has spread. Not only did it go viral on the internet, but it actually made its way to Shigeru Miyamoto, who decided to pull the carpet from underneath everyone and confirm the theory! Yes, it is canon that none of Super Mario Bros. 3 was real!
9 It Was Nearly Set In An Isometric World…
Nintendo is known for trying to keep it safe when it comes to their established franchises these days, but this wasn’t always the case.
Back in the day, they were always looking for ways to innovate and stay at the head of the pack, and this includes Mario games!
When they were planning the third game in the series, they messed around with the idea of making it isometric, but very quickly found out that it made platforming a lot more difficult.
8 The Remake Had Donkey Kong Jr. In It!
Super Mario All-Stars was a game for the Super Nintendo that gave people a chance to play the Mario games that they may have missed on NES!
One of these games was Super Mario Bros. 3, and while pretty much everything but the graphics stayed the same, they did make a slight change when it comes down to the animals the kings were turned into. They turned the animals into things that made sense within the Mario universe, and this includes Donkey Kong Jr.!
7 Kondo Didn’t Want To Limit Himself
Kondo is the name of the composer who has made the music for a lot of the Mario games, as well as other Nintendo games, and he’s known for his tireless work ethic.
One of the things he didn’t want to do with Super Mario Bros. 3 was force himself into a corner and only create one type of music.
Instead, he played through the game and came up with music that would fit each individual world, no matter how different it may sound from the worlds that came before it.
6 The Chain Chomps Are Based On A Dog From Miyamoto’s Childhood
Considering the worry that these enemies brought up in us as children, it’s no surprise that they were based on an event in Miyamoto’s childhood that stuck with him.
He was once chased by a dog that was able to break off their leash while barking at him!
Who knows if the man was taunting the dog, but we imagine he wasn’t. More than likely he was just standing by the dog, just like Mario does with the chain chomps, and they broke free.
