Super Mario Advance (series)
The Super Mario Advance series is a series of video game remakes for the Game Boy Advance. Each game contains one of the classic Mario sidescrollers, with improved graphics, sound, and additional features. Also, each game contains an updated version of the NES game Mario Bros.
Multi-Player mode
A game from the Super Mario Advance series can link up to other Game Boy Advances. This allows two people to play a version of the two-player Mario Bros, with better graphics, control, and sound.
Also, up to four GBAs can link up to each other and play a special, 4-player version of Mario Bros. The object in this version is to collect coins. Coins appear when an enemy is defeated. Whoever gets five coins first, wins. The most notable added feature is the trash can. Players can pick up and throw each other, and players can be thrown in the trash can. A player in the trash can is stuck there for several seconds, putting them at a disadvantage, but will come out with an item that helps them fight the other players.
Super Mario Advance
Super Mario Advance features the classic game Super Mario Bros. 2, basing it heavily off of the Super Mario All-Stars port of the game, although in the game it is referred to as Super Mario 2. Some changes from the original are the following:
- Voices for Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad, and the bosses were added.
- The game can be saved after every level.
- An unknown voice shouts "choose a player!" at the appearance of the character select screen.
- A circular character select screen is shown, instead of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad having to line up in a row.
- A point system has been added. Players get more points for making one thrown object hit lots of enemies. If enough enemies are hit, an extra life will be awarded.
- Hearts appear much more frequently than in the original. Whenever three or more vegetables or enemies are involved in a collision, a heart appears. Also, hearts can be pulled out of the ground.
- Giant Vegetables have been added to the game. These voluminous vegetables take a long time to pull out of the ground, but function normally otherwise (apart from having a larger area to hit enemies with).
- Giant Shy Guys and Giant Ninjis have also been added. These Shy Guys take a long time to pick up, and whenever they are thrown or involved in a collision, they yield a heart.
- Giant POW Blocks have also been added. These bounce several times, each time having the effect of a normal block.
- Shells were made larger, and they now bounce off walls and yield hearts whenever they collide with enemies.They also now take longer to pick up, and appeared in a little more levels. They can now hurt players, however.
- The insides of vases were changed and so did the music inside the vases.
- Starting the level, the player starts out with only one heart filled in the heart meter.
- An extra mushroom was added per level.
- In each level, there are five red Ace Coins. If all are collected, the player receives an extra life, and the level gets a star on it on the map screen.
- When the game is finished, a new "Yoshi's Challenge" mode appears. Now, there are two eggs hidden in Subspace in each level, and the player must find and collect them all.
- Robirdo, a new boss, replaces Mouser as the boss of World 3.
- Mouser replaced Triclyde as the boss of World 6. As a result, Triclyde only appears once in the game.
- More enemies were added in the game.
- Some things in the game, such as the Subcons, were completely changed in art.
- Phantos now make noises when they move around the screen. Also, when the player throws the key down or loses a life, they exit the screen while moving forward, making them appear considerably larger than usual.
- It is possible to remove Green and Red Birdo's Ribbon by jumping on him/her and picking it up, the player could either throw it away, or put it back on Birdo by throwing it back at him/her.
- Clawgrip is now spelled correctly in the cast list; in previous versions, it was misspelled as "Clawglip." The Japanese release of this game, however, does not have the error corrected.
- Luigi's overalls are now a similar colour to Mario's, in the SNES remakes, they are purple.
- Carrots now appear as items helping the heroes get to higher places, particularly in the first level.
Nintendo's decision to choose this title as a Game Boy Advance launch game was seen by some as misguided; GameSpot in particular thought that Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World would have been a far better choice for a launch title considering their popularity. (Both of these titles would ultimately be remade as part of the SMA series, possibly as a result of GameSpot's review.) Nonetheless, IGN praised the choice, calling it "one of the most polished and creative platformers of the era," and it was a best-selling launch game. Recently, the game has become a part of the Player's Choice lineup for the Game Boy Advance as one of the system's first three player's-choice games (along with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Super Mario Advance 3.) It was the first Mario game for the Game Boy Advance and was released in 2001.
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
As the name suggests, Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 features Super Mario World. It was the second video game in the Super Mario Advance series, and was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001. Some changes from the original SNES version are;
- If the player manages to collect all 5 Yoshi Coins in every single level, all the Yoshi Coins will change into Peach Coins (after watching a cutscene where this happens). The player can also check out in which levels the Yoshi Coins have been collected or not, by simply pressing SELECT.
- Voices have been added to Mario, Luigi and all of the Bosses apart from the Reznors. Some of Mario and Luigi's voices were ripped from the first Mario Advance, while the others are new. Also, bosses yelp as Bowser does today when they are defeated.
- Players can have up to 999 lives and save the number of lives for the next time the player plays the game.
- Players now start out with the power up they last had.
- There are more Message Blocks throughout the game than the SNES version. They're now also headed with the phrase "Tourist Tips" on top of each one the player gets.
- When the player gets hurt with Cape or Fire power, the player won't become tiny and need to use the item in reserve(if any), but the player will become Super Mario/Luigi, and they will keep the reserve item.
- The player can get the colored Yoshis in any Yoshi Block, Blue if the player is with the cape, Red with the Fire Flower, and random when tiny or Super(but this only happens if the player already freed them from the eggs on Star Road).
- Luigi is an optional character for player 1 and he has some differences like: jumps better, runs a bit slower, and his Yoshi waits a bit to swallow an enemy (being able to spit it back out at an enemy), other then Mario's, that swallows it instantly (except for shells).
- The player can also save half-way through a level once the player has past the half-way gate and quit. When the player comes back to that level, the player will start from the half-way gate, and it is not affected by playing another level after doing this process.
- The rescued Yoshi Egg dots are colored instead of being a dull gray-brown color.
- Luigi is updated to resemble his current look: tall and skinny, while Mario and all the others are still the original sprites from the SNES game.
- The Autumn changes will not occur until the player has found all 96 exits. Goombas and Pokeys now change.
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, released in 2002, is a remake of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island for the Game Boy Advance. It is very much like the Super Nintendo version, yet this newer version has improved sprites, levels and sound effects.
- Changes include
- Several levels have been slightly modified.
- A new room has been added to the level 1-8 (Salvo the Slime's Castle). It is between what were the second and third rooms in the original game. It has one Shy Guy-spawning pipe.
- The original version had 21 red coins in More Monkey Madness (Extra 3), but the remake has the usual 20. There was a red coin under a Tap-Tap on a ground pound stake. This has been removed from the remake.
- An extra Middle Ring has been added to 4-4 (Marching Milde's Fort.)
- The final room before the boss in 4-8 (Hookbill the Koopa's Castle) has been redesigned.
- All of the extra levels in the original game were modified for this version, most notably Kamek's Revenge.
- The biggest change was the addition of six entirely new levels in the remake, called Secret levels. These are to the left of the Extra Levels on the map screen, and are unlocked by defeating Baby Bowser on level 6-8. Consequently, it is no longer necessary to have a perfect score in a particular World, to unlock that World's extra level.
- Some graphical changes were also made.
- As always, the palette is lightened to combat the original GBA's lack of a backlight.
- In the original, the Yoshi who completed the x-2 levels was a very dark shade of pink. However, s/he appeared red on the map. Similarly, the Yoshi who completed the x-7 levels was red, but appeared hot pink on the map In the remake, the x-2 Yoshi is always light pink, and the x-7 Yoshi is always red.
- All Yoshis had red shoes in the original. In the remake, they have different colored shoes, as in Yoshi's Story.
- When Yoshi touches a Fuzzy in the original game, the background smears erratically and fades between random colors. The ground also ripples. In the remake, the background doesn't smear or tint. However, it does fade between white and its normal colors. The ground ripple is also less fluid in the remake. This probably happens because the GBA is not able to handle the Super FX chip-powered graphic effects as well as the original.
- Probably related to the above, red coins were given away in the original; while yellow coins followed the rippling of the ground, red coins did not. In the remake, all coins ripple with the ground.
- In underground levels with "sparkling" ground, mushrooms and other foreground decorations sometimes have their palettes changed. This is done to fix a glitch where some black objects would also sparkle.
- Sealed doors have different graphics. The boards that cover them aren't visibly bisected, as in the original.
- Kamek's magic has a different visual effect. The colored cloud is absent, while the cycling sparkles remain.
- The overworld map was redesigned. The path the Yoshis follow to their goal is now in a straight line, and spots have been added to the map for each world's two hidden levels. Additionally, a "world select" screen was added, which allows Yoshi to jump to any world.
- The final level of the game had its name changed from Castles - Masterpiece Set to Ultimate Castle Challenge.
- The game's soundtrack was downgraded to match the GBA's sound capabilities.
- The majority of the original's sounds were discarded; these include Baby Mario's crying. Many of the new sounds used in this version had also been used in Yoshi's Story.
- The Pause Menu has changed. Instead of one menu handling all functions, there are now two. One allows the player to put his/her GBA into sleep mode, or return to the overworld map. The other, which is a redesigned version of the original's pause screen, allows the use of items, and displays the player's current score for the level.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
In 2003, the fourth and final entry in the Super Mario Advance series, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 was released for the Game Boy Advance. It was actually a heavily updated version of Super Mario Bros. 3 as the name suggests. However, it boasted similar graphics and sound to the All-Stars version. It features a save system similar to the Super Mario All-Stars save system, except temporary saves may now be done anywhere.
This game's largest added feature was compatibility with the e-Reader and e-Cards. These cards could be scanned in to the game, and would function as new levels, instant power-ups, or demos. One power-up card features a power-up that cannot be found in any other Mario game: the Boomerang.
Some changes were:
- The 1 Player and 2 Player options were replaced with the option as playing as either Mario or Mario & Luigi, which is essentially identical to the former options. Luigi's animations are similar to his Super Mario All-Stars: Super Mario Bros. 3 counterpart, but he now has his Super Mario Bros. 2-styled "Flutter Jump", i.e. he can stay in the air a bit longer than Mario.
- Spade Panels now produce different variants in response to completing one. It goes from Spade > Heart > Club > Diamond
- Mario can have more than 100 lives.
- Getting a Fire Flower or Raccoon Leaf will have their usual effect rather in the situation of Mario taking damage to revert to small Mario before he touches the power-up; previously this would just have the effect of a Mushroom.
- Koopa Troopas can now be stomped underwater.
- Giant Brick Blocks can now be broken with Mario's tail (with the Raccoon or Tanooki suit).
- In several levels of World 4, just before the Goal Panel, there is a coin bonus in the sky.
- In World 5, some brick blocks that otherwise make Pipes and Bullet Bill cannons float in the air contain coins.
- In World 6, the path to the Mushroom House was altered so the player does not have to do 6-5 to access it.
- A few sprites were slightly improved. For example Mario and Luigi now wear their gloves. Previous versions had the two gloveless, the NES version due to color limitations and the All-Stars version for unknown reasons.
- Mario can carry shells into pipes without losing them.
- The player can now slope slide as Hammer Mario.
List of Exclusive Features of SMA4:
- See-Saw Platform
- Stone Blocks (only be destroyed by Hammer Suit or crushed by Tanooki Statue)
- !-Switch
- Rotating Blocks
- Sideways Venus Fire Trap
- Ace Coins
- E+ Coins
- Invisible Block (can be visible when Mario transforms into the Tanooki statue)
- Question Block with Kuribo Shoe
- Grey Spike Dount Lifts
- Blue Boomerang
List of features from various games on SMA4:
| Item | Game |
|---|---|
| Steel Lifts | Super Mario Bros |
| Pulley Platforms | Super Mario Bros |
| Poison Mushrooms | Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels |
| Vegetables | Super Mario Bros 2 |
| Diggable Sand | Super Mario Bros 2 |
| POW Block | Super Mario Bros 2 |
| Locked Door | Super Mario Bros 2 |
| Cape Feather | Super Mario World |
| Accordion Platforms | Super Mario World |
| Wall Triangles (includes upside-down) | Super Mario World |
| Train Platforms | Super Mario World |
| Springboard | Super Mario World |
| Roulette Block | Super Mario World |
| 3up Moon | Super Mario World |
| Key | Super Mario World |
| Question Block with Coin Train | Super Mario World |
| One-Way Flippers | Super Mario World 2 |
| Giant Vegetables | Super Mario Advance 1 |
| Items Trapped in Solid Bubbles | Super Mario Advance 1 |
List of enemies from various games on SMA4:
| Enemy | Game |
|---|---|
| Fire Bar | Super Mario Bros 1 |
| Hoopster | Super Mario Bros 2 |
| Flurry | Super Mario Bros 2 |
| Porcupo | Super Mario Bros 2 |
| Spike Top | Super Mario World |
| Cross-Shot Bullet Bill | Super Mario World |
| Lil' Sparky | Super Mario World |
| Hot Head | Super Mario World |
| Bony Beetle | Super Mario World |
| Thwimp | Super Mario World |
| Magikoopa | Super Mario World |
| Amazing Flying Hammer Brother | Super Mario World |
| Rip Van Fish | Super Mario World |
| Jumping Piranha Plant | Super Mario World |
| Monty Mole | Super Mario World |
| Wiggler | Super Mario World |
| Goombob | Super Mario World |
| Parachute Goombob | Super Mario World |
| Bowser Statues | Super Mario World |
| Falling Spike | Super Mario World |
| Big Boo | Super Mario World |
| Big Boo Boss | Super Mario World |
| Charging Chuck | Super Mario World |
| Bumpty | Super Mario World 2 |
