Review Information
Game Reviewed Normal Super Mario Bros., by gamester
Review Author Black Squirrel
Created Jan 31 2009, 2:32 PM

General Commentary and Game Overview
In these crazy times of economic recession it's hard to define "normal". Is it the line perpendicular to the tangent of a curve? Is it the reaction force that is often equal to the mass of an object multiplied by the acceleration due to gravity? Is it the ordinary middle class family "The Smiths" who earn an average amount of income but are neither important nor a burden on society?

So is "Normal Super Mario Bros." REALLY normal?

The answer, no.
 
Pros -Hurray originality
-Hurray decent engine
 
Cons -Far too short
 
Impressions
Gameplay
7 / 10
What has the Gamester (BurninLeo) done for us? Well for one, he's released Super Mario Bros. All Star Quest and that's been a top-rated fangame for several years now. He's done other things too - Karate Mario, Super Mario World Reloaded, Surf's Up, etc. etc. They're all great games, and all worth playing.

But Normal Super Mario Bros. is quite possibly the weirdest one yet. Super Mario Bros. is a very strange game, all things considered. Aside from the references to Russian communism, Mario "eats" magic mushrooms in order to change size. In Yoshi's Island, touching fuzzy will make you dizzy. And in a world that's inhabited by dinosaurs and floating question mark blocks, who's to say that Mario isn't really living in a drugged up dream world anyway. So really, none of the events that I am about to describe should really be to farfetched, right?

Mario's adventure begins with hitting of the purple block that you'll have seen in the thumbnail/screenshot of this submission. Upon collecting the Fuzzy, Mario's world is turned upside down and all sorts of weird stuff happens.

Bill Clinton goombas? Check. Sub Zero Mortal Kombat fight? Cheque. Riding on a tank like thing shooting heads of Arnold Schwarzenegger at smiley faces? Czech. It's an odd game, and it's something you really need to play yourself because just reading about these things doesn't get the point across.

But there are letdowns. For one, the game is waaaaaay too short. Interesting yes, but short. I'm in the 50% of the population of MFGG who thinks Super Mario Melatonin is amazing, and though you're more likely to enjoy this game than that one, it's very similar in terms of length. NSMB is a tiny bit longer but you're still left with the impression of "what was that?" after less than five minutes.

Something as open ended as this could in theory recieve millions of levels, all different from the last. The possibilities are endless, and it's a shame that only one level actually exists here. But with near perfect gameplay it's difficult to pull it up gameplay wise. Though saying that, there's no real "depth" to the gameplay. I mean the coins and score don't do anything so it's not so much of a game as it is "a bit of fun".

But I had fun.
 
Graphics
8 / 10
Visually it's spot on. Oh sure there's sprite clashing, but there's supposed to be sprite clashing. It's not easy to review this game's looks because who's to say what's "right" and what's "wrong" in a game that doesn't take itself seriously.
 
Sound
7 / 10
Sound is fantastic too. Well, fantastic in the sense that everything fits. Also who would have known the SMB theme in reverse sounded so cool? Again, not a section that I can review properly because for all we know BurninLeo wanted the bad sounds to sound bad. Which means it fulfils it's aim, which means bad = good, which completely destroys our understanding on the world's legal system and that's something I cannot possibly begin to describe here.
 
Replay
4 / 10
But as implied, the replay value here is non-existant really. Sure you might go back to the game once or twice because it's so odd, but it's not a case of trying to finish a massive game filled with secrets and stuff. It's just one very strange level.
 
Final Words
7 / 10
Toasty.

Comments
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Mit
Feb 4 2009, 12:50 AM
lol. toasty, is right!
 
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