Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels Review: Is it as bad as everybody says?

Super Mario Bros is one of the most classic and most discussed games of all-time. Everyone knows its music, Level 1-1, Mario himself, and tons of the memorable character designs introduced here. But this game? Everybody hates this game. Is it really as bad as people think it is? That's what I'm going to answer in this review: Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels Review: Is it as bad as everybody says?

Level Design - 5

This game's level design is very distinct amongst the Mario series, which I really appreciate about the game. I can't say that about the original game—which is why I controversially prefer this game's levels slightly to the originals. They are often punishing or annoying compared to the levels of the first game, but their memorability cancels out the bad for me, scoring this game's level design as completely average to me.

Art & Graphics - 5

There's nothing wrong with the graphics in this game... I mean, they hold up far better than the vast majority of NES games. I don't mind old graphics, they're awesome! This game's graphics are pretty average, but they're great for the NES! Though, if I compare this to Super Mario Bros 3 or The Legend of Zelda or Mega Man games on the same system, it just can't hold up. Still, looks great and holds up to this day, but it doesn't stand out (unlike the beautiful artwork for the game above... that looks awesome).

Music - 8

I'm not trying to be a hater of this game, but it's clear that this music of this game is its best asset. Giving this an 8 for quality is generous, but this is one of the few times I'll actually just give a ton of points for its iconicness. There's so many soundtracks better than this game's, but almost no game has as many recognizable earworms that even many non-gamers can pick out. Ocarina of Time, Minecraft, and the Wii themes are the only soundtracks I can think of that would say hold the same power, if that. This soundtrack perfectly encapsulates the iconicness of gaming music.

Combat - 1

This is probably super obvious, but there's nothing special at all about killing enemies in this game. Some may love the simplicity, but I personally prefer at least a little bit of depth to combat in my platformers. Later games in the series get better, but, as much as jumping on the heads of enemies is fun and cute, I can't say killing enemies in this game is satisfying at all.

Platforming - 4

While there are tons of frustrating platforming sections in this game, I can't dney that I like some of the difficult platforming moments here because of how punishingly memorable they are. However, realistically, this game's platforming sections are still far below standard compared to many much better platformers that have released since.

Theming - 7

This aspect of The Lost Levels is why I can't help but prefer this game to the original NES title. When I look at the current slate of Mario games that have released, there's a rather solid number of games that I feel are outclassed enough by other titles that I don't have much of an interest to return to them. Some of the New Super Mario Bros. games, the OG Super Mario Bros, and Super Mario 3D Land are all prime examples of games I doubt I'll replay. Yet, with this game's insanely punishing platforming challenges, it's got a memorable presence and distinct experience you can't replicate with any other Mario game. With all that going for it, I can't help but say the game stands out quite a bit as a platformer.

Story - 1

I'm sorry, calling this game's story a story is almost too nice. This game might've created a couple iconic characters, but I can't give this game any higher of a score. This game's story did not do anything for me, even in the grand scheme of bad Mario stories, this is still near the bottom. While I wouldn't give any mainline Mario platformer a good score for story, the majority of other games in the series will still score above this.

Controls - 3

The controls in this game are... fine. They aren't horrible or disappointing, but they just don't feel that good. They aren't bad at all, but they're below average in the grand scheme of platforming. At least the game doesn't have slippery controls or horrible camera controls like some platformers. I can't complain, but some games just feel far more fun to control.

Quality of Life - 7

Okay, some people just find this game to be incredibly annoying. Sure, I get it. But, in the grand scheme of gaming, it ain't too bad. After all, it was attempting to be a really challenging follow-up to the original. With being able to restart from the same world and skip levels with warps, the game is quite manageable, especially compared to a lot of other NES games of the day. However, there is one super silly thing that brings the score down from a 7 to a 5 for me. And, no, it's not the Poison Mushroom. Actually, I've genuinely never disliked that mechanic all that much. I actually kinda of enjoyed the fact they kinda brought them back for Super Paper Mario. No, I'm talking about the completely ridiculous warp zones that take you backwards in the game. I don't really use warp zones in Mario games because I'm not really into skipping levels, but just because it doesn't affect me much doesn't mean it's anything but a trash game mechanic that significantly lowers this score.

The Verdict

Fun Factor - 5
Overall Score - 44%
Letter Rating - D

I'm definitely in the minority in saying this, but I believe this game is just a smidge better than the original Mario Bros. title. While it's still a bottom tier Mario experience, it makes an entirely distinct statement, and I respect it. However, this game can't hold a candle to any of the 2D Mario games after it, save the rather weak Super Mario Land. Overall, I appreciate this game as a piece of gaming history far more than I actually enjoy playing it. It's a fun game to discuss—it isn't great, but it's a whole lot better than many give it credit for. Give it a try if you haven't—maybe you'll enjoy it a lot more than the bandwagon does.

Primary Version: Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels (NES)