_    _    _           _      
 | |_ (_)__| |_ ___ _ _(_)__ _ 
 | ' \| (_-<  _/ _ \ '_| / _` |
 |_||_|_/__/\__\___/_| |_\__,_|
                    historia.vg

Challenge 5: Mario Bros. (1983, Arcade)

Mario Bros. did not catapult the genre forward like many games on this list. It is noticeably simpler than its 1983 contemporaries such as Pole Position, Dragon’s Lair, and Star Wars. What Mario Bros. has is an enduring legacy in Nintendo canon. Being inspired by Joust, Mario Bros. is novel in the platform genre for its focus on defeating waves of enemies, as well as co-op play. Not counting the slightly-earlier Game & Watch, this the introduction of Luigi’s as well.

How to Play

Jump under enemies to stun then, then run over them to defeat them. Defeat all enemies to clear each round. The limited-use POW block stuns every enemy touching the floor.

Control Action
Joystick Move
Button 1 Jump

Emulator: MAME
ROM: mario.zip (archive.org)

Objectives