Super Mario Bros. is a game I remember very fondly. It's the one that started the whole home-video-game mania, and perhaps it is best remembered for this historical aspect. But it has such a special place in my heart for a much simpler reason: It was SO MUCH FUN! Flying turtles, angry mushrooms, flashing question marks, piranha plants, twirling fireball sticks, fire flowers...and there are days when I can't get the soundtrack out of my head! The game is quite tricky in places (I've never beaten it myself, though I watched as someone else did--I was curious as to what the actual Princess looked like! I was much better at its equally delightful partner, Duck Hunt), but it always retained that sense of challenge, excitement, and fantastic charm. My mother even became addicted to it!
Unfortunately, the video game world moves very fast and tends to forget previous projects. When a new, slicker system comes out, the older model is promptly deleted--not just pushed to the background, but actually DELETED, so that you can't find a new cartridge or machine when your old one wears out and starts flashing blue on the TV screen. I think it's very sad that Nintendo and other companies forget the value of basic block graphics, simple controls, and a great game. Still, Mario and Luigi have earned their place in history. No matter what comes and goes, they will always be the ultimate video game icons.
