+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | M A R I O B R O T H E R S | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ GAME: MARIO BROTHERS PLATFORM: ARCADE GENRE: ARCADE ACTION CREATOR: NINTENDO OF AMERICA Copyright 1983 AUTHOR OF THIS FAQ: Kevin Butler AKA War Doc E-MAIL: kevinb(at)technologist(dot)com FAQ VERSION: 1.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS UNIT I: INTRODUCTION 1. Legal Stuff 2. Version Information 3. Acknowledgements 4. Welcome 5. Overview UNIT II: GAME INFORMATION 6. The Game 6.1 The Controls 6.2 The Playing Field 6.3 Scoring 6.4 The Critters 6.5 The Rounds UNIT III: STRATEGIES 7. Playing the Game UNIT IV: CONCLUSION 8. Conclusion _______________________________________________________________________________ To find a particular chapter or subchapter do the following: 1. Highlight the chapter or subchapter name you wish to find. 2. Press CTRL-C 3. Press CTRL-F 4. Press CTRL-V 5. Press CTRL-F 5. You will arrive at the desired chapter or subchapter. _______________________________________________________________________________ ************** ********************************* U N I T I ********************************** ************** +=================+ | 1. LEGAL STUFF |============================================================ +=================+ This guide may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advanced permission from the author. Use of this guide on any other web site or as part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All content in this guide is Copyright 2004 by Kevin Butler. Only the sites listed below have permission to publish this work or to display it: www.gamefaqs.com www.cheats.de faqs.ign.com If you wish to put this guide on your site, e-mail me and ask. Save yourself the headache of putting up with lawsuits and whatnot because you failed to ask a simple "Can I post your guide on ?". If you wish to use info in this guide, please acknowledge that you have done so. If I don't respond or I say no, accept it as fact. This especially goes out to Dave at www.cheatcc.com since he has a habit of taking guides without permission. In addition, do not modify this guide in any way whatsoever to suit your purposes. The latest version can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com. If you see this guide on any other site then the one listed above, please e-mail me. If you wish to ask questions or give input to this guide, please e-mail me. Just have Mario Brothers as the subject so I know it isn't another kooky vendor trying to sell me hair gel or another XXX site telling me I have new friends. +=========================+ | 2. VERSION INFORMATION |==================================================== +=========================+ Version 1.0 2/22/04: A guide is born. +======================+ | 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |======================================================= +======================+ The following are a list of people or organizations that have made this FAQ possible: My wonderful family (who has had to put up with the tapping on the keyboard) Nintendo of America for making a great arcade game GameFAQ's for putting up this FAQ +=============+ | 4. WELCOME |================================================================ +=============+ Welcome to my FAQ for Mario Brothers. Since the game has you continuously taking on various creatures until all your men are killed, there is no walk- through per se. Instead it will be broken up into the game itself and strategies for survival. Input is appreciated along with constructive criticism. If you wish to e-mail me thoughts on this FAQ, better ways of doing things, other strategies, etc., feel free. Make sure you put Mario Brothers as the subject. If you don't, I'm liable to discard the e-mail as spam. +==============+ | 5. OVERVIEW |=============================================================== +==============+ Mario Brothers was Nintendo's return to their tried and true formula of using Mario in a game. Mario had become the mascot of Nintendo so they decided not to mess with it. Another new thing about this game was the introduction of Mario's brother, Luigi. The idea for Luigi's name, of course, came from a pizza place. This game came out at the time of the big arcade game collapse. Companies such as Atari, Konami, and Taito saw a drastic reduction in sales for their arcade machines. Smaller arcade companies such as Centuri (producer of Pleiades and Phoenix) simply went out of business. Although some notable games such as Cloak and Dagger, Track and Field, and Elevator Action were released, none of them had strong sales. Mario Brothers did develop a strong following and, of course, became Nintendo's mascot even to the present day. In 1993 there was a Super Mario Brothers movie with Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper. Unfortunately, unlike the Nintendo games, the movie didn't do very well. Good luck in keeping the critters in the sewer system. *************** ******************************** U N I T II ********************************** *************** +==============+ | 6. THE GAME |=============================================================== +==============+ Mario Brothers is a two-dimensional, platform style game. Your job as Mario, in one-player, and Luigi, in two-player, is to contain the critters that are coming out of the drain pipes. These critters consist of turtles, crabs, and flies. In addition, hazards and rewards will also exit the pipes. Your only defense is the ability to knock them around and to use the almighty POW button. Of course, not all the critters can be taken down the same way so you will have to learn some strategies in order to survive. The plumber's life of being overworked and underpaid. ____________________ / 6.1 The Controls /__________________________________________________________ -------------------- The controls on this game are very easy. It may, though, take just a little bit of time to get used to them. - A two-way joystick for moving left and right - A jump button. _________________________ / 6.2 The Playing Field /_____________________________________________________ ------------------------- Mario Brothers consists of one field. It is on this playing field that you will not only play the regular rounds, but you will also play the bonus rounds as well. I have included an example of what this field looks like: +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | MARIO SCORE TOP SCORE LUIGI SCORE | | | | | | || BC BC|| | | +---+| MEN LEFT |+---+ | | / +-+| |+-+ \ | || / || || \ || || + + || | / \ | |-----------------------------+ +------------------------------| |-----------------------------+ +------------------------------| | BC BC BC BC | | | | | | +----------------------------------+ | |---------+ +----------------------------------+ +--------| |---------+ BC BC +--------| | | | | | | | | |-----------------------+ +---+ +------------------------| |-----------------------+ |POW| +------------------------| | BC +---+ BC | | || || | |--+| |+--| |--+| |+--| |--||-----------------------------------------------------------||--| | CURRENT ROUND | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ BC = Bonus Coin. This is where the Bonus Coins are located during the bonus rounds. You control Mario and/or Luigi through this screen. _______________ / 6.3 Scoring /_______________________________________________________________ --------------- Scoring in this game is relatively simple. It is based on how many critters you knock off the ledges: Shellcreeper : 800 points Sidestepper : 800 points Fighterfly : 800 points The above scores are for knocking only one critter off the ledge. If you knock off two in a row, you get 1,600 points. Three nets you 2,400 points while knocking four or more off in a row garners you 3,200 points. You also get points for things other then the above: Slipice : 500 points Coin : 800 points Red Fireball : 1,000 points Blue Fireball: 200 points In addition to getting points for the above, you also can get points during the bonus rounds: You get 800 points x the number of coins you gather. If you get all ten coins, you get 5,000 points in the first bonus round and 8,000 points for each bonus round thereafter. You start the game with 3-6 lives. You get a bonus man at 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 points. The machine can also be set up where you don't receive a bonus man at all. ____________________ / 6.4 The Critters /__________________________________________________________ -------------------- There are three main critters you will be dealing with throughout your time on Mario Brothers. They are the Shellcreeper, Sidestepper, and Fighterfly. You will also have to deal with the Slipice later on. These are the characteristics of these critters. +--------------+ | Shellcreeper | +--------------+ Your basic turtle. They basically move slowly and are pretty easy to deal with. It only takes one hit to turn a Shellcreeper over. Their color indicates their speed: Green: The color they enter the playing field as. Blue : Medium speed. Red : Fast speed. +-------------+ | Sidestepper | +-------------+ Your basic crab. They move at medium speed and are a little harder to deal with. It takes two hits to turn the Sidestepper over. The first hit makes it made while the second will flip it over. Their colors and speeds are: Red : The color they enter the playing field as. Blue : Medium speed. Purple: Fast speed. +------------+ | Fighterfly | +------------+ Your basic fly. They move at slow speeds but they hop. It only takes one hit to flip them over, but you must hit them when they are on the platform. Their colors and speeds are: Blue : The color they enter the playing field as. Light Blue: Medium speed. Purple : Fast speed +---------+ | Slipice | +---------+ They lay ice on the platforms making for a very slippery footing. It only takes one hit to take them out. __________________ / 6.5 The Rounds /____________________________________________________________ ------------------ The rounds in Mario Brothers are arranged in a specific order. In addition, there are a couple of other things that occur. After Round 21, the order of the critters remains the same as Rounds 16 through 21. The rounds are set up like this: SC = SHELLCREEPER; SS = SIDESTEPPER; FF = FIGHTERFLY +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | ROUND | CRITTER(S) || ROUND | CRITTER(S) | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 1 | SC || 12 | SC/SS/FF | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 2 | SC || 13 | SS/FF | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 3 | BONUS || 14 | SS/FF | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 4 | SS || 15 | BONUS | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 5 | SC/SS || 16 | SB | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 6 | FF || 17 | SS/FF | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 7 | SS/FF || 18 | SS/FF | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 8 | BONUS || 19 | SC/FF | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 9 | SC/FF || 20 | SS/FF | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 10 | SS/FF || 21 | BONUS | +-------+------------++-------+------------+ | 11 | SC/FF || +-------+------------++ Some other events occur at specific levels: - Slipice appears in Round 8. - Icicles appear in Round 16. - The platforms become invisible in the Bonus Rounds on Round 15 and beyond. **************** ******************************** U N I T III ********************************* **************** +======================+ | 7. PLAYING THE GAME |======================================================= +======================+ When you start the game, Mario and/or Luigi will be in the middle almost under the POW button. Your job is to go after the critters entering from the upper left or right pipe. - Learn how to jump not only up, but also sideways. The platforms don't have a lot of room for jumping straight up. You need to learn how to jump side- ways so you can quickly make it to the next platform. This is both for running and standing still. - Know how each of the critters moves and what their behavior is. You can use this knowledge to your advantage. For example, an easy way to take care of Sidesteppers is as follows (assume that critter is moving left. Do the opposite of what is stated below if the critter is moving right): - When they are just to the right of Mario or Luigi, jump up and hit the platform. This will make the Sidestepper mad and it will move left again. - Right when it passes over, hit it again. This will launch it up and make it drop to the next platform for easy pickings. - Try to get the critters grouped together. That way, when you flip them over, you can knock more of them off in a row therefore yielding bigger points. - Also remember, that unlike the fireballs, the critters can wrap around the screen. So if one disappears off the left edge, be prepared for it to re- appear on the right edge. - Use the POW button conservatively. You only get three uses in the game, so plan those uses wisely. The best time to use the POW is when a lot of critters are on the screen at one time. In addition, make sure they are close to the bottom when you flip them over or you may not have time to knock them off the upper platforms. - After you flip a critter over, you have about five seconds to knock it off the platform. If you fail to do this, it will change color and move up on the speed chart (See Chapter 6.4). - The last critter, with the exception of the Fighterfly, in a round will automatically go to its fastest pace. - Learn how the critters move. If they bump into each other or a coin, they will reverse direction. You can work this to your advantage by trapping some critters between two flipped over critters. Again, be quick or they will recover and be faster. - Coins can be collected by either grabbing them or by hitting them from under the platform they are traveling on. - Things such as the Fighterfly, Orange Fireball, and Blue Fireball must be hit when they are in contact with the platform. This can make these things a challenge especially when there are other things harassing you. - Speaking of the fireballs, some players hunt them for extra points. There are some things to keep in mind: - The more times you knock off the Orange Fireball, the faster it gets. - You can escape off either edge to escape the fireballs. They cannot wrap around the screen. - As you get into the higher rounds, the Blue Fireballs appear much quicker so you must be ready to get out of their way. - Only one Blue Fireball will be active at a time, however, when one ends the other can immediately begin. - If you get killed, you will be placed on a platform above the first gap. You have ten seconds of invincibility before the platform disappears and puts you in the thick of things. Plan your re-entry carefully. - The Bonus Rounds are pretty easy once you get a pattern down. You will have 20 seconds to get the ten bonus coins. Here is the method I use: - As soon as it starts, I take off left and pick up the bottom left coin. I wrap-around and pick up the bottom right coin. - I go to the left of the POW button and jump up to the platform and pick up the middle left coin. I then jump up to pick up the two coins to the left. - I wrap around and pick up the middle right coin, then quickly jump up and right to get the two right coins. - I head left then up to the top platform and pick off the upper left coin. Wrap around and pick off the upper right coin. - The later rounds become challenging because not only do you have critters to deal with, icicles will fall down from the upper platform and pipes to add to the hazards you already have to deal with. Using the POW will knock them down before they do any damage. - When you are playing as two players, both of your characters are on the screen at the same time. It is up to the players as to whether they wish to cooperate or turn it into a death match. **************** ******************************** U N I T IV ********************************* **************** +================+ | 8. CONCLUSION |============================================================= +================+ When Mario Brothers came out, it seemed like a different game since we had gotten used to Nintendo games such as the Donkey Kong series. Although Mario was back, the gameplay was different. One had to use strategy and a good knowledge of how the critters operated in order to make it through the rounds. As the rounds became more challenging, one wanted to use the POW button constantly, but one learned real quick that it was only used in the direst of emergencies. With two players, you could have a lot of fun either working together or trying to get each other killed. The game itself seemed to be pretty popular and sometimes one would have to wait a while before they would have their chance to play. Unfortunately, it is very rare to find this machine anywhere. However, through the miracle of emulation, a whole new generation is realizing what we "old" folks enjoyed those many years ago. In addition, www.shockwave.com is bringing many of these classic games back. Check out their site to see what ones are there. I hope this guide helps you in being able to get the most amount of gameplay for this game. If you do have other ideas or thoughts, please e-mail me and share them. Who knows, maybe I'll start a Q&A Chapter in this guide if enough people ask the same questions. Anyway, thank you again for reading this guide. To see other FAQ's I have written please go to: http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/32691.html ~~~ No trees were harmed in the making of this FAQ ~~~