In this review, we seek out the warp whistles in the Game Boy Advance game Super Mario Advance 4 – Super Mario Bros 3. We find out how well this adventure game plays.
This game was released in 2003. It is the fourth game in the systems series.
We previously played the game Super Mario Advance. That game was barely passable. From there, we tried Super Mario Advance 2. That game got a great score. So, we thought we’d try this game in the series to see how well it plays.
This game is simply the classic arcade game Super Mario along with the NES classic, Super Mario Bros 3. Since we’ve already reviewed those games, we decided to simply talk about the differences between this game and the other two games.
The main meat and potatoes of this game is, of course, Super Mario Bros 3. When this game was released, most people felt that this is one of the greatest, if not, the greatest games ever released on the original NES. For context, it was released right at the end of the consoles lifetime, right when Nintendo was gearing up to release their next generation console.
This context is important because this game is receiving new life on a handheld game. The context is certainly different. In this case, this game was released towards the end of the handhelds life span. While certainly different, we know we are already seeing SNES ports also on the system, so this game is ultimately seeing completely different competition on the shelf.
It ultimately leads to two different sides of a debate. On the one side of the debate, you are now able to play this game on a handheld device as opposed to the NES console. As a result of this, newer gamers have access to this game. On the other side of the debate, this can be interpreted as Nintendo simply trying to cash in on an already completed game by making players re-buy the game. This debate doesn’t actually affect how we view this game in this review, but it’s worth noting in the first place.
As for the game itself, there is some noticeable minor edits in the levels themselves. There are a few extra coins hanging around in some areas, but for the most part, the edits are very minor.
There is a small cut-scene added at the beginning as well.
Another notable difference is the fact that once you beat the game, players are given the chance to simply replay any level they may have missed throughout the world. Beating the game with skipped levels will give players an abbreviated ending while beating the game 100% will give players the full ending.
Once players beat this game 100%, they can visit any level they wish and replay those levels. Each level while show up with gold, black, and white colours as opposed to blue, black, and white.
An additional difference is the picture lining mini-game. In the NES version, you just get the one round behind the spade icon levels. In this version, if you line up the star, the spade icon will change to a Club icon. If you get the leaf to line up in this version, then the icons will change to a heart. If you line up the “3” in this level, the icons will change to a diamond. In the final stage, everything is a “3”, so you just tap “A” three times and claim a massive 10 free lives.
As for the classic Super Mario game, there really isn’t much different about it besides a graphical update and a high score counter. That’s, pretty much it.
Graphically, both games do get a nice face lift. Backgrounds are more detailed and the scenery has been upgraded to be more on par with other handheld games released at the time. For Super Mario Bros 3, it’s quite decent even if the aesthetic is a little different at times. More than workable, though. The Classic Super Mario game received a similar face lift, but with other re-releases featuring this, there’s really no difference between this and other re-releases on the system. All in all, a very solid effort.
The audio is interesting. This is because a lot of the samples have been taken from other releases and slapped onto here. That includes Mario lines. As for the music, it has been largely left in-tact for this release, though compressed down in some regards. World 7 has a few notes with an added wobble for whatever reason. Audio is also the same for the other game as other re-releases on this system.
Overall, the game itself is great, but in a completely different environment, it’s a bit more difficult to appreciate the game for what it accomplished all those years ago. It does have the fact that it’s on a handheld going for it. There is also the classic Mario Bros game added in. Even if it doesn’t bring anything really new to the table, it is a nice added bonus on the side. The graphics are pretty solid and the music is decent enough. So, a great game to play all around especially if you want to experience a classic game, but lack the hardware to do it.
Overall
Furthest point in game:
Super Mario Bros 3: Completed the game without warp whistles 100%.
Super Mario: Top score: Topped 143,000
General gameplay: 21/25
Replay value: 8/10
Graphics: 7/10
Audio: 4/5
Overall rating: 80%
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
