If we have recently talked about curiosities of Super Mario Bros., today we have to do the same with Super Mario Bros. 3Nintendo.
It was October 1988 when, in Japan, the third adventure of our favorite plumber went on sale for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Critically acclaimed, it soon became one of the best 8-bit console platformers in the big N.
Today, we want to pay a small tribute to this great title by talking about a series of curiosities of Super Mario Bros. 3 that you may not know.
Do you want to know what they are? Then you know what to do: keep reading.
An important development
We have already mentioned that the initial release of this title took place in 1988, but its development began earlier, in the spring of 1986, and was carried out in two and a half years.
As for the team, the third installment of Mario and company was made by a set of 20 to 30 people, led by Shigeru Miyamoto. They may seem few, but when you consider that just a few years before, the team that had worked on Super Mario Bros. was made up of 7 or 8 people, we can understand the claims that Nintendo had for this title.
Now, although the team was large, as far as sound is concerned, only one person took care of its development: the legendary Koji Kondo
Taking into account the proper names behind this game, it is not surprising the good numbers it reached in terms of sales. And it is that, in 1993, four million copies had been sold in Japan and seven in the United States. Nothing bad.
For all these reasons, we are not surprised to see that the first level of this game is in the top 10 of the best initial levels of Mario.
Was it all theater?
One of the most talked about issues over the years is whether Super Mario Bros. 3 was actually a stage play. The truth is that there are signs that point to it: already on the title screen, we find a curtain that opens, a stage and different decorations; also, at the end of each level, it seems that we leave a stage and go to the wings and, when we defeat Bowser, the curtain falls.
The truth is that, some time later, and due to the promotion of Super Mario Maker, Miyamoto himself he claimed whateffectively, it was a theatrical performanceso it could be said that, in this third installment, Mario is, in addition to being a plumber, an actor.
Chomp chains and the dog that scared Miyamoto
Continuing with the curiosities of Super Mario Bros. 3, there are two enemies, who had their first appearance in this title and it is worth dedicating a special section to them in this article due to the peculiar source that inspired them. These enemies are of course Chomp Chains and Boo.
In this first point, we are going to talk about Chain Chomp. To create it, Miyamoto was inspired by an experience he had as a child, in which a dog started barking at him and ran towards him to bite him.
Curiously, Chain Chomp was created to appear in The Legend of Zelda series instead of Mario’s. However, since he made his debut in a game of our beloved plumber, he finally became another character in this saga.
Now, Chain Chomp has come to appear in a few Link and company games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.
Boo and Takashi Tezuka’s Wife
As you well know, the Boo are ghosts that abound in spectral and haunted places, such as dark forests and haunted mansions; Our dear Luigi knows a lot about the latter. They like to scare and play pranks on people, although they are quite fearful and they are very scared when someone looks them in the face.
You probably already knew this, igamesnews, but what you may not know is the inspiration behind this characteristic character. Boo has its origin in the wife of Takashi Tezukaassistant director, a lady with a calm and gentle character who, however, went into a rage at times, especially when her husband came home late due to work.
Tezuka would probably discuss this on occasion with the rest of the development team, which inspired Miyamoto to create this character.
The name of the Koopalings
When, in Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser invades the Mushroom Kingdom, he sends his seven minions, known as the Koopalings or Koopalines, to each of the worlds. Mario and Luigi’s objective this time is none other than to defeat all of them, as well as Bowser himself, to free each of the worlds and rescue Princess Peach.
As well, these seven enemy are worth mentionings, that, despite the rumors, they are not children of Bowser, due to the origin of their names.
Originally, these characters were based on members of the game’s design team, but lacked names, something that changed when the game was released in the United States.
Over there, Dayvv Brooks, a Nintendo employee tasked with adapting and “softening” the Japanese-to-English translation of Super Mario Bros. 3, gave each of the minions a name. For it, associated the appearance of each of them with a different artist or musician.
A) Yes, Larry is based on Larry Mullen Jr.battery of the group U2; Morton is a nod to the presenter Morton Downey, Jr.; Wendy O. Koopa borrowed the name of Wendy O. Williams, Plasmatics singer; Iggy it was a tribute to Iggy Pop; Lemmy It was named in reference to Lemmy Kilmister the Motorhead; Ludwig was associated with the composer Ludwig van Beethoven Y Roymeanwhile, was inspired by the singer Roy Orbison.
There is no doubt that Super Mario is one of the greatest video game sagas in history, it is not for nothing that it is in the top 3 of the most successful video game franchises in the United Kingdom, so it is not surprising that its games have so many and so many curiosities worth mentioning.
Here ends our review of the curiosities of Mario Bros. 3, Nintendo. If you liked the article, do not hesitate to leave your opinion in the comments.
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