Super Mario Bros. Crossover 2.0 is out! An expansion on the original game, which let you play as various NES characters transplanted into Super Mario Bros., but using the rules and abilities of those characters from their original games, version 2 offers more special abilities, more characters, and your choice of audiovisual "skins" based on four Mario games from the NES, SNES, and Gameboy, along with one based on Demon Returns. There's even instructions for playing with a gamepad! For more information, see the Super Mario Bros. Crossover Wiki or watch the exciting Super Mario Bros. Crossover trailer! [Previously]
posted by Pope Guilty on Feb 12, 2012 - 15 comments

Mari0 is a Super Mario Bros and Portal mashup currently under development. Previously, the same developer made Not Tetris; a faithful reimagining of the original game, but with the addition of realistic physics and geometry.
posted by schmod on Sep 1, 2011 - 21 comments

Okay, you're good, kid. You've got skills. But do you know how to wheelie, drift, and draft? Do you know how to make the most of your environment? Do you know how to get the sickest air and make the most of your tricks? Huh? Do you know how to make sure you get the best gear? Huh? DO ya? Don't even tell me you know how to dodge blue shells! [more inside]
posted by Navelgazer on Aug 2, 2011 - 24 comments

Violinist plays the music and sound effects of NES games. Donkey Kong. Dragon Quest III. Super Mario Bros 3. [more inside]
posted by ersatz on Feb 20, 2011 - 14 comments

There are generally two approaches to thinking about games: narratology and ludology. The first emphasizes story, the second play. The next time I played Super Mario, on the Wii (you can order all the vintage games), I found myself in a narratological mode. Mario reminded me of K. and his pursuit of the barmaid Frieda, in Kafka’s “The Castle,” and of the kind of lost-loved-one dreams that “The Castle” both mimics and instigates.

The New Yorker profiles the father of modern video games, Shigeru Miyamoto. (via Kotaku)
posted by incomple on Dec 13, 2010 - 37 comments

If Super Mario Bros. Was Made in 2010
posted by Artw on May 7, 2010 - 50 comments

Super Mario Crossover - Play Super Mario Bros. as Bill S, Samus, Link, Simon, Mega Man or, of course, as Mario. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Apr 28, 2010 - 68 comments

"It's a secret to everybody" -- an unbelievably comprehensive blog post about the etymologies of the names of famous (and not-so-famous) video game characters.
posted by empath on Jun 20, 2009 - 26 comments

Super Obama World
posted by KokuRyu on Nov 17, 2008 - 30 comments

Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is in Another Castle. John Darnielle (of the Mountain Goats) and Kaki King perform a song, sung from the point of view of Toad from the Super Mario Brothers video game franchise.
posted by PM on Sep 11, 2008 - 59 comments

Remember Super Mario Frustration? Kaizo Mario World is another of those super-hard Mario level hacks, this one of Super Mario World. Someone played through its first level 134 times, with save states, recording all his deaths, then digitally composited them into one trip through the level. The result was Many-Worlds Mario. (For those interested, here's a video of a tool-assisted perfect run of much of the game. Here's the rest. Here's some more.)
posted by JHarris on Feb 3, 2008 - 36 comments

Metroid Cubed...Squared! It was linked a couple years ago, but since then the site has undergone a major overhaul and added a bunch of cool stuff. [Flash Warning] In addition to the now classic voxel 2.5D conversion of Metroid (playable and interesting), there is now a robust Metroid world-editor, a Marble Madness-like prototype using the voxel engine, a StarFox level editor and model viewer (Spoiler: gfx not as good as you remember), and numerous others worth checking out: Hyrule Planetoids (comme Le Petit Prince) and a OpenGL Zelda room viewer, a Mario 64 Explorer, and numerous Super Mario Bros demos. It's all quite useless/amazing.
posted by BlackLeotardFront on Jan 13, 2007 - 8 comments

Friday Youtube Fun: How to beat Mario 64 in under 22 minutes (and only 16 stars). [previously]
posted by knave on Oct 26, 2006 - 24 comments

Mario Adventure - SMB3 hacked into an entirely new high-quality game
posted by Protocols of the Elders of Awesome on Feb 17, 2006 - 20 comments

The evolution of handhelds, the evolution of the game controller, the many stages of Shenmue; hell, even the evolution of Mario.
It would seem everyone but the far-right is evolving these days.
posted by Lockeownzj00 on Jan 7, 2006 - 31 comments

SMW - The complete soundtrack to Super Mario World, covered by one man using dozens of instruments. Roughly in game order, faithful to the originals, with some bizarre artistic license thrown around. A private hobby made public. Dedicated to Koji Kondo.
posted by Pretty_Generic on Aug 13, 2005 - 20 comments

Was Mario some Communist propaganda? "If anything can be said about Mario, it is that he seems to wear quite a bit a red . It’s on his name, it’s the color of his suspenders, his super mushrooms, his flag, even his hat." He does kinda look like an 8-bit Stalin, but a more important question must be asked: "Is Mario a drug pusher?"
posted by StephenV on Dec 24, 2004 - 20 comments

Mario in the News A Japanese person (cannot translate the name, sorry) has completed the classic NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in just over 11 minutes. Fortunately he recorded it for posterity. (uses Windows streaming video.) Speed runs have been gaining in popularity lately. What game would you like to see abused in such as fashion?
posted by patgas on Dec 2, 2003 - 18 comments