Nintendo Famicom Super Mario Brothers SKUFM17

Nintendo Famicom Super Mario Brothers SKUFM17 is a 1985 platform video game internally developed and published by Nintendo as a pseudo-sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. It is the first of the Super Mario series of games. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario and in a two-player game, a second player controls Mario’s brother Luigi as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Peach from the antagonist Koopa.

The player takes on the role of the Mario. Mario’s slightly younger brother, Luigi, is only playable by the second player in the game’s multi-player mode, and assumes the same plot role and functionality as Mario. The objective is to race through the Mushroom Kingdom, survive the main antagonist Bowser’s forces, and save Princess Toadstool. The player moves from the left side of the screen to the right side in order to reach the flag pole at the end of each level.

The game world has coins scattered around it for Mario to collect, and special bricks marked with a question mark (“?”), which when hit from below by Mario, may reveal more coins or a special item. Other “secret”, often invisible, bricks may contain more coins or rare items. If the player gains a red and yellow Super Mushroom, Mario grows to double his size and can take one extra hit from most enemies and obstacles, in addition to being able to break bricks above him. Players are given a certain number of lives, and may gain additional lives by picking up green and orange 1-Up mushrooms, collecting 100 coins, defeating several enemies in a row with a Koopa shell, or bouncing on enemies successively without touching the ground. One life is lost when Mario takes damage while small, falls in a pit, or runs out of time. The game ends when all lives are lost.

Mario’s primary attack is jumping on top of enemies, though many enemies have differing responses to this. For example, a Goomba will flatten and be defeated, while a Koopa Troopa will temporarily retract into its shell, allowing Mario to use it as a projectile. These shells may be deflected off a wall to destroy other enemies, though they can also bounce back against Mario, which will hurt or kill him. Another attack, for enemies standing overhead, is to jump up and hit beneath the brick that the enemy is standing on. Another is the Fire Flower; when picked up, this item changes the color of Super Mario’s outfit and allows him to throw fireballs, or only upgrades Mario to Super Mario if he isn’t already so. A less common item is the Starman, which often appears when Mario hits certain concealed or otherwise invisible blocks. This item makes Mario temporarily invincible to most hazards and capable of defeating enemies on contact.

The game consists of eight worlds with four sub-levels called “stages” in each world. The final stage of each world takes place in a castle where Bowser or one of his decoys are fought. The game also includes some stages taking place underwater, which contain different enemies. In addition, there are bonuses and secret areas in the game. Most secret areas contain more coins for Mario to collect, but some contain “warp pipes” that allow Mario to advance to later worlds in the game, skipping over earlier ones.

Actual item pictured.

Awesome little retro machines.