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Super Mario Bros. 3: Super Mario Advance 4

Universal acclaim
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 43 votes
Read user comments
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Game Info
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre(s): Action, Platform
Players: 4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Release Date: October 20, 2003
Summary
[Metacritic's 2003 Game Boy Advance Game of the Year] Bowser and his troublemaking kids have forced the land into complete chaos by transforming all the local kings into animals, and it's up to Mario and Luigi to stop them. In what many consider to be the best Mario game ever, players have to run, jump and stomp on enemies through eight enormous worlds, as they use new and classic power-ups. Dash past danger, swim treacherous seas and even take to the air, speeding toward a collision course with Bowser.
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central
Also On The Web: IGN Import REVIEW Official Game Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Pocket Games
The bottom line is that this is Mario hop-n-bop action at its finest, with a goodly amount of minigames thrown into the mix for good measure... As great as it ever was. [Fall 2003, p.38]
Cinescape
While the game might be old - it's still one of the best games ever made. [Grade = A+]
Read Full Review >GameNow
Pretty much perfect... The whole thing is designed to make you want to play more. [Grade = A+; Nov 2003, p.68]
Read Full Review >Cheat Code Central
There's nothing that can take away the classic status of Super Mario Bros. 3. The game was released almost 15 years ago and is a platform game so unique and perfectly crafted that games today will still find themselves compared to it.
Play Magazine
The challenge is also perfect, the quick-save option makes the game more playable without being cheap, and the e-Card features are icing on the cake. [Dec 2003, p.95]
netjak
They just dont make games like this any more, and this particular game really shows us how far weve come and that you dont need flashy graphics and surrond sound to have a mind-blowing game.
Read Full Review >Nintendophiles
This game still is one of the best, if not the best, 2D platformers ever made.
Read Full Review >Gamer's Pulse
Overall, its just "Super Mario 3," but thats like saying its just a Lamborghini Diablo. This is the cream of the crop of almost all games, and to have your own copy to go with you wherever you go is worth the money for the game.
Read Full Review >1UP
The potential and flexibility offered by the game's eReader support alone makes the previous Mario Advance titles look like rip-offs in comparison. Unless you're allergic to replay value and quality game design, you need this game.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
We finally have a high quality port of the game that is probably my favorite ever: "Super Mario Bros. 3." [Nov 2003, p.176]
Deeko
While lacking any truly new updates in graphics and sound, makes full use of the e-Reader, only adding to the overall potential that the game has to offer. Its perhaps the first game to actually use the peripheral in any truly rewarding sense.
Read Full Review >IGN
Its timeless design holds up well into its 15th anniversary. But the fact that players can continue the experience with brand new level designs is phenomenal and just opens up a whole new dimension for replayability.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Whether you've taken the journey before or have yet to play this unforgettable classic, you can't stop yourself from being consumed.
Read Full Review >Siliconera
What makes Super Mario Brothers 3 a true classic are two things. First is the great level design. [JPN Import]
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
Perfect controls. Perfectly constructed stages. Perfect graphics (for an old, trippy 2D game, that is). [Nov 2003, p.200]
Read Full Review >Nintendo Power
It's the best-selling game of all-time for a reason, and it stands the test of time remarkably well. [Dec 2003, p.142]
Gamezilla!
Don't buy this game expecting a make over or new game, Advance 4 is the original but why change perfection?
Read Full Review >Yahoo! Games
Vastly improved over the original, and even the All-Stars version. [Import]
Read Full Review >NintendoWorldReport
While the ports plumbing has a few leaks, most of SMB3s gameplay remains in pristine condition for the ultimate platforming experience.
Read Full Review >GamePro
The e-Reader functions (new levels, cheats, gameplay elements like capes and hurlable veggies from other Mario titles) are very promising and help make up for the fact that this is a bit of a baby step back from "Super Mario World" and "Yoshis Island."
Read Full Review >Nintendojo
Newcomers to the game who are accustomed to the current game generation may be turned off by its astonishingly short playtime and lack of "100% clear" bonuses, while veterans will find very little reason to pick up this version unless they're willing to pony up for the e-Reader cards.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
It still succeeds in providing the player great fun through dozens of brilliantly designed worlds, but some innate limitations of the GBA hardware prevent it from being at the very top of its form.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
SMB3 purists may be annoyed with some of the minor tweaks that have been made to the original game, but that shouldn't stop them from experiencing this incredible platformer all over again.
Read Full Review >Gamestyle
But amidst all this dispensable extra substance is the core mechanic of Mario; the one thing that holds true to the series, and one thing that ensures Mario is leaps and bounds ahead of its platforming peers - inertia. The faster you run, the higher you jump. It's a brilliantly simple concept that works perfectly.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 43 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
James P gave it a10:
Varied levels, the perfect amount of challenge and a physics engine that strikes the perfect balance between simplicity and depth. My only gripe is that the physics engine is slightly different to the NES version, in that there is less momentum in this version which reduces the challenge of the game. It is so rare for a game to be this much fun now, I'd be happy if we never progressed beyond 8-bit such that developers would be inventive with actual game play rather than relying on strong production values.
Thyzz gave it a9:
Great remake of the original. Except for the fact that there is indeed no parallax scrolling in our backgrounds.
Rachel M. gave it a10:
Amazing game - the graphics are brill, and I could play it for hours and hours.
Billy V. gave it a10:
Alex your a turd if you need a guide to beat this game you should just quit on life because it certainly has quit on you.
Annonymous Luigi Fan gave it a10:
I have no words to descibe the pure awesomeness of this game. The greatest game of all time, polished up and made into a handheld.
Mario Mario gave it an8:
I think the graphics are worse than the SNES version. There is no parallax scrolling in the backgrounds!
Waisy B. gave it a7:
I recently bought SMA4...at the start it was really fun and cool but when I reached the Ice World, it was too fricking hard! SMA4 is the best platforming game rent u can get.
