Super Mario Bros. 3 Hours Report & World 5-1 Beaten by Bean 1!

Coffee Beans
What happens when you start playing through Super Mario Bros. 3 with your three old son? Soon, he learns to move around the map and enter levels. He then starts to make slow progress in levels as he learns the importance of jumping, and that Koopas and Goombas are not your friends.

What happens when we complete World 4? The Princess gifts us the "P-Wing" and it is stored in our inventory, where I forget about it like the other items there.

After playing World 5-1 a few times with him watching, he decided he wanted the controller and I went to make some food for Bean 2. As I was preparing the food just a few yards away, I heard a sound coming from the television that caused me to look over. What did I see? Keep reading in the Caffeinated Thoughts section below to find out!

Super Mario Bros. 3 (SMB3) was originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, NES, on February 9, 1990 in the U.S. SMB3 was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console on November 5, 2007 at a price of 500 Wii Points, which is only $5.

The game was developed at Nintendo's EAD studio, and while it originally released before the Entertainment Software Rating Board's rating system was around, SMB3's Virtual Console release has an ESRB rating of "Everyone" with no content listed for gamers or parents to be aware.

How many hours have Wii owners reported playing Super Mario Bros. 3's digital release for the Virtual Console in the U.S., since it released? Brew yourself some coffee, and let's take a look!

The Brew
Super Mario Bros. 3 has approximately 798,090 U.S. Wii owners that have reported game-play data through the Nintendo Channel, with 1,701 days reported. The game's average play-time per day/session reported is 54 Minutes.

Super Mario Bros. 3's Virtual Console release does not have a MetaCritic.com, or GameRankings.com, "professional" review score average. What about customer reviews for SMB3 though? The game has an 87.14% review score average on Amazon.com based on 14 customer "reviews". The game has a MetaCritic.com "User Score" of 8.6 out of 10, based on 13 ratings.

How much has SMB3's U.S. Virtual Console release made Nintendo? Super Mario Bros. 3 has made Nintendo about $3,990,450 just based on the number of U.S. Wii owners that have reported data, and the game's $5 price point.

Caffeinated Thoughts
Again, after completing World 4 and playing World 5-1 once or twice, Bean 1 took over the controller and I went to fix dinner for Bean 2. Then, I heard a familiar sound coming from Super Mario Bros. 3 that caused me to look over at the television.

What did I see? Bean 1 was back in World 5-1 but instead of walking and jumping, he was flying through the air! It was the flying sound I had recognized, and he was flying so high that Mario had left the top of the screen, and couldn't be seen. I think perhaps in my excitement of, "You're doing great!", he got distracted and stopped pressing the 2 button which caused Mario to come floating back down.

I was still wide-eyed and wondering if he would finish the level, but Mario floated back down and landed behind a three high block tower. What did Bean 1 do? He jumped right over it, and was heading for the finish! There was a problem though that I didn't know about yet. World 5-1 has an enemy planted directly under the item block that ends the level.

I was thinking in the final seconds of gameplay, "I hope he makes this!" and then, "Oh, not an enemy at the end!", but Bean 1 continued forward with Mario, and when he approached the item block he jumped up, over the enemy, into the item block beating the level!

Super Mario Bros. 3's World 5-1 is the first level that Bean 1 has beaten in any Mario game completely by himself, and hopefully it won't be his last! If you heard loud cheering this past Tuesday, that was probably me congratulating him.

Super Mario Bros. 3, World 5's first half.

How did Bean 1 complete World 5-1? Well, he completed it with no cheats or outside help from me (just distractions), but he did use a legitimate in game item. When he took over the game he was on the main map for World 5, and while I was off fixing food, he accessed the inventory items and selected the "P-Wing". After selecting the "P-Wing" he then entered World 5-1 and starting tapping "2", until I distracted him, but that didn't stop him from finishing it.

If you have played Super Mario Bros. 3, but perhaps don't remember what World 5-1 is, the video below is a "re-enactment" of sorts without the "P-Wing". I highlight the three block tower Bean 1 landed behind and the enemy at the end of the level as well:



Questions
If you haven't played Super Mario Bros. 3, is it a Super Mario Bros. game that you are interested in?

If you have played Super Mario Bros. 3, do you have any great memories from the game?