Remembering the Original Super Mario Bros. for NES

I don’t remember how or when I got the NES, but when I did, everything changed. All of a sudden there were newfound worlds that existed inside plastic cartridges, and, to my young eyes, even the 8-bit graphics were incredible.

Back then, venturing into the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Toadstool (she wasn’t called Peach in the United States until 1993) in Super Mario Bros. was an astounding experience. Stomping on Goombas and sending Koopa Troopas to their doom was the stuff childhood memories are made of, and defeating Bowser at the end of each world truly felt like an accomplishment.

Of course, it was always a little bit disappointing to find out the princess was in another castle, but it was also something of a relief, for it meant there was more to play and discover.

Super Mario Bros. taught a very young me some valuable life lessons. For example, never give up; if you try and fail, get up, dust yourself off, and try again. I died a lot in the game and I didn’t always defeat Bowser on the first try, but that didn’t stop me from trying again.

It also taught me how to play well with friends. I learned that, when playing in two-player mode, one shouldn’t yell at the second player for losing. Sure, there were the common arguments to be had while playing, but mostly there was a lot of laughter and tons of fun.

After all, we had a common goal; to save the princess and defeat Bowser once and for all.