Super Mario Bros. 3

This article is about the game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. For other uses, see Super Mario Bros. 3 (disambiguation).

Super Mario Bros. 3
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	Nintendo EAD
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Family Computer/Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayChoice-10, Virtual Console (Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U), NES Classic Edition/Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online
Release date	Famicom/NES: October 23, 1988 February 12, 1990 August 29, 1991[?] August 29, 1991 PlayChoice-10: July 15, 1989 Virtual Console (Wii): November 5, 2007[?] November 9, 2007[?] November 9, 2007[?] December 11, 2007[?] May 26, 2008 Virtual Console (3DS): January 1, 2013[?] December 26, 2013[?] December 26, 2013[?] April 17, 2014[?] April 6, 2016[?] Virtual Console (Wii U): December 25, 2013[?] December 26, 2013[?] December 26, 2013[?] April 17, 2014[?] NES Classic Edition/Famicom Mini: November 10, 2016[?] November 10, 2016[?] November 11, 2016[?] November 11, 2016[?] Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online: September 18, 2018[?] September 19, 2018[?] September 19, 2018[?] September 19, 2018[?] April 23, 2019[?] April 23, 2019[?] Mario, the quick-change artist!: July 28, 2021[?] July 28, 2021[?] July 28, 2021[?] July 28, 2021[?]
Language(s)	English (United States) Japanese
Genre	2D platformer, action-adventure
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - Three years and older CERO: - All ages ACB: - General USK: - All ages ClassInd: - General audience GRAC: - All ages
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Format	NES: Game Pak Wii: Digital download Wii U: Digital download Nintendo Switch: Digital download Nintendo 3DS: Digital download NES Classic Edition: Built-in
Input	NES: NES Controller Wii: Wii Remote (horizontal) Classic Controller Nintendo GameCube Controller Wii U: Wii U GamePad Wii Remote (horizontal) Classic Controller Wii U Pro Controller Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con Joy-Con (horizontal) Nintendo Switch Pro Controller NES Controller Super NES Controller Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad NES Classic Edition: NES Classic Controller Classic Controller
Serial code(s)	Famicom: HVC-UM PlayChoice-10: PCH1-R-UM NES: NES-UM-USA NES-UM-CAN NES-UM-ESP NES-UM-GBR NES-UM-NOE NES-UM-AUS NES-UM-KOR

Super Mario Bros. 3 is a 2D action-adventure platform game for the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the fourth installment in the Super Mario series and is recognized as the third in Japan. It was released for consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988; in North America on February 12, 1990; and in Europe and Australia on August 29, 1991. Prior to its North American release on the NES, Super Mario Bros. 3 was ported to the Nintendo PlayChoice-10. Being the first game in the series since Super Mario Bros. not to derive its gameplay from another game as well as to release in all regions, Super Mario Bros. 3 retains the same level-based platformer mechanics of previous titles. These core mechanics are iterated upon, featuring greatly expanded levels, several new power-ups, new enemies and bosses, a more fleshed-out multiplayer mode, a world map, and many optional levels and secrets. The game has gone on to become one of the most influential titles for the Super Mario franchise, and several elements introduced in this title have since become mainstays in the 2D games, including landscape-themed worlds, the Koopalings, airships, and Toad Houses.

The game features a unique stage play-esque aesthetic, with objects being bolted to the background or suspended by ropes and casting drop shadows. Additionally, the ends of most levels feature Mario traveling "offstage" on a black backdrop to complete them. This led to a long-standing rumor that the game was a stage play put on by the Super Mario cast, an idea later confirmed by series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Some of these aesthetic choices were changed or removed in remakes of the game.

Super Mario Bros. 3 has received near-universal critical acclaim since its release, and it is one of the best-selling NES and Super Mario games of all time. The game has received several re-releases on other platforms, including full remakes for the SNES compilation game Super Mario All-Stars and on the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. It is also featured on all of Nintendo's Virtual Console services, as well as Nintendo Switch Online.

A cartoon adaptation of the game known as The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 started airing shortly after release of the game. In the cartoon, King Koopa and the Koopalings attempt to take over both the real world and the Mushroom Kingdom. The series was produced by DIC Entertainment in association with Nintendo.

Story

The following text is taken directly from the instruction booklet.

The Mushroom Kingdom has been a peaceful place thanks to the brave deeds of Mario and Luigi. The Mushroom Kingdom forms an entrance to the Mushroom World where all is not well.

Bowser sent his seven children to make mischief as they please in the normally peaceful Mushroom World. They stole royal magic wands from each country in the Mushroom World and used them to turn their kings into animals. Mario and Luigi must recover the royal magic wands from Bowser's seven kids to return the kings to their true forms.

"Goodbye and good luck!" said the Princess and Toad as Mario and Luigi set off on their journey deep into the Mushroom World.

Peace has returned to the Mushroom Kingdom thanks to the efforts of Mario and Luigi; however, Bowser sent his own seven children (Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Roy, Lemmy, and Ludwig) to the other countries of the Mushroom World, which the Mushroom Kingdom forms a gateway to. The Little Koopas stole the royal Magic Wands of the seven kings, using them to transform the kings into various helpless creatures. Mario and Luigi vow to go and stop the Little Koopas' mischief, and change the kings back into their normal form. At the end of each world, Mario and Luigi fight one of the Little Koopas, and after the match is over, retrieve the wand from the Little Koopa to turn the king back to normal. While the brothers are out in their adventure, Bowser kidnaps Princess Toadstool and takes her to his lair in Dark Land. The brothers go to Dark Land and fight Bowser. After defeating Bowser, they save the princess and restore peace once again.

Gameplay

Super Mario Bros. 3 plays similarly to Super Mario Bros., with several additions. The game features a world map where the player can choose which path to take and which level to play. Toad Houses and Spade Panels are also found on the world map. Midway through each world, Mario or Luigi enter a fortress, where they fight Boom Boom. At the end of each world, they enter the world's airship, where one of the seven Little Koopas is fought. After defeating the Little Koopa, Mario or Luigi restores the king back to his normal state and moves onto the next world.

The first player controls Mario, while the second player controls his brother, Luigi, with the two players taking turns. After one brother completes a level or loses a life, the other brother plays. If one brother interacts with the other brother's icon on the world map, they enter Battle Mode in their Small forms. Whoever wins is immediately given a turn to play in the main game.

New moves include picking up objects and kicking them, as well as sliding down hills, moves which have carried over in future Super Mario games. The Fire Flower returns in this game, where it acts as it does in Super Mario Bros., allowing Mario or Luigi to transform into their Fire forms and shoot fireballs. Several new power-ups are also introduced, including the Super Leaf, a leaf power-up that transforms Mario or Luigi into their Raccoon forms, allowing them to fly into the sky, and the Hammer Suit, which transforms the brothers into their Hammer forms, letting them throw hammers at enemies.

Controls

Controller	In a level	On the world map
NES	: Move : Jump / Fly or glide (as Raccoon or Tanooki Mario) / Swim : Dash / Pick up and throw items / Shoot fireballs (as Fire Mario) / Throw hammers (as Hammer Mario) : Pause	: Move Mario around the map : Select level/item : Open/close the item menu
Horizontal Wii Remote	: Move : Jump / Fly or glide (as Raccoon or Tanooki Mario) / Swim : Dash / Pick up and throw items / Shoot fireballs (as Fire Mario) / Throw hammers (as Hammer Mario) : Pause	: Move Mario around the map : Select level/item : Open/close the item menu
Wii Classic Controller	/: Move /: Jump / Fly or glide (as Raccoon or Tanooki Mario) / Swim /: Dash / Pick up and throw items / Shoot fireballs (as Fire Mario) / Throw hammers (as Hammer Mario) : Pause	/: Move Mario around the map /: Select level/item /: Open/close the item menu
GameCube Controller	/: Move /: Jump / Fly or glide (as Raccoon or Tanooki Mario) / Swim /: Dash / Pick up and throw items / Shoot fireballs (as Fire Mario) / Throw hammers (as Hammer Mario) : Pause	/: Move Mario around the map /: Select level/item /: Open/close the item menu
Nintendo 3DS	/: Move : Jump / Fly or glide (as Raccoon or Tanooki Mario) / Swim : Dash / Pick up and throw items / Shoot fireballs (as Fire Mario) / Throw hammers (as Hammer Mario) : Pause	/: Move Mario around the map : Select level/item : Open/close the item menu
Dual Joy-Con / Nintendo Switch Pro Controller	/: Move : Jump / Fly or glide (as Raccoon or Tanooki Mario) / Swim /: Dash / Pick up and throw items / Shoot fireballs (as Fire Mario) / Throw hammers (as Hammer Mario) : Pause	/: Move Mario around the map : Select level/item /: Open/close the item menu
Single Joy-Con	: Move : Jump / Fly or glide (as Raccoon or Tanooki Mario) / Swim /: Dash / Pick up and throw items / Shoot fireballs (as Fire Mario) / Throw hammers (as Hammer Mario) +: Pause	: Move Mario around the map : Select level/item /: Open/close the item menu

Characters

Playable characters

• 

  Mario

• 

  Luigi

Non-playable characters

Image	Name	Description
	Princess Toadstool	The ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom who directed Mario to help liberate the Mushroom World from the Little Koopas. She periodically sends letters of advice and items to Mario. After defeating Ludwig von Koopa, Mario receives a letter from Bowser, informing him that he has kidnapped Princess Toadstool.
	Toads	Princess Toadstool's retainers. They run Toad Houses and Spade Panels, where Mario can obtain power-ups or play minigames. A Toad can be found alongside the king of each world.
	Kings	With the exception of Bowser's Dark Land, each world is ruled by a wand-wielding king. Their wands are stolen by the Little Koopas, who use them to transform the kings into other creatures and take over their kingdoms. Defeating the Little Koopa of the visited land returns the wand to its king and turns him back to normal.

Enemies and obstacles

Enemies

Image	Name	Description	Levels		New
			First	Last
	Goomba	Goombas wander in whatever direction they happen to be going, mindlessly falling off platforms as they go.	World 1-1	World 7-9	—
	Para-Goomba	Para-Goombas are winged Goombas. They become regular Goombas after just one stomp. Brown Para-Goombas fly around, dropping Micro-Goombas onto Mario.	World 1-2	World 8-2
	Red Para-Goomba	Red Para-Goombas hop along the ground in small arches, chasing Mario.	World 1-1	World 7-9
	Micro-Goomba	Micro-Goombas are small Goombas. They are dropped by brown Para-Goombas. They drag Mario down if touched. Mashing will get rid of them.	World 1-2	World 8-2
	Pile Driver Micro-Goomba	Pile Driver Micro-Goombas are Micro-Goombas inside dull bricks. They like to hide near other brick, jumping when Mario gets close.	World 2-1	World 5-7
	Grand Goomba	Grand Goombas are twice-as-large Goombas found in Giant Land. Other than their large size, they are identical to regular Goombas, and can be removed with one stomp.	World 4-1	World 4-6
	Kuribo's Goomba	Kuribo's Goomba is a Goomba wearing a special shoe; they try to stomp Mario with it. If Mario can bump the Goomba from under a block, then he can use the displaced shoe. Any other attack, however, will destroy the shoe as well.	World 5-3
	Green Koopa Troopa	Koopa Troopas are found throughout the Mushroom World. One stomp will send it hiding in its shell, a usable projectile. Green-shelled Koopa Troopas walk in one direction and fall over any edge they encounter.	World 1-1	World 8-1	—
	Red Koopa Troopa	Red-shelled Koopa Troopas will turn about if they come to a gap.	World 1-1	World 8-1	—
	Green Koopa Paratroopa	Koopa Paratroopas are winged Koopa Troopas. A stomp removes their wings and turns them into normal Koopa Troopas. However, if Mario hits the block under a Paratroopa, it will tuck into its shell. Other attacks will defeat it completely. Like their wingless cousins, there are two versions of Koopa Paratroopa: green and red shelled Koopas. The green kind tend fly back and forth or hop forwards.	World 1-1	World 8-2	—
	Red Koopa Paratroopa	Red Koopa Paratroopas fly up and down	World 1-4	World 8-1	—
	Green Gargantua Koopa Troopa	Koopa Troopas come in tremendous sizes. They have the same vulnerabilities of normal Koopa Troopas, but their larger size makes them a more dangerous opponent to deal with. Like normal-sized Green Koopa Troopas, Green Gargantua Koopa Troopas walk off the edge of platforms.	World 4-1	World 4-6
	Red Giant Koopa Troopa	Like the smaller ones, Red Giant Koopa Troopas turn around when they reach the edge of a platform.	World 4-1	World 4-6
	Colossal Koopa Paratroopa	Colossal Koopa Paratroopas are winged Green Gargantua Koopa Troopas. They only follow the hopping behavior. One stomp will make them lose their wings, reverting them to Green Gargantua Koopa Troopas.	World 4-1	World 4-6
	Dry Bones	Dry Bones is the animated skeleton of a Koopa Troopa, usually found in fortresses. If they are stomped, they collapse into a pile of bones. Moments later, however, the bones will rise back up off the ground and come back to life.	World 1-Fortress	World 8-Bowser's Castle
	Hammer Brother	Hammer Brothers are the Koopa Troops's elite forces that attack Mario by throwing hammers in an upward arc. While not very common in traditional stages, they wander around the maps of Worlds 1, 3, 5, and 6. They tend to appear in pairs, which can make it difficult to find an opening to attack.	World 1-	World 8-Hand Trap	—
	Boomerang Brother	Boomerang Brothers are like Hammer Brothers, except that their weapon of choice is the Boomerang. When they attack, the boomerangs they throw will double back for a second attack from the opposite direction. They appear as map enemies in World 2.	World 1-3	World 8-Hand Trap
	Fire Brother	Fire Brothers are the least common type of the Hammer Brother family. Only a few Fire Brothers appear in the entire game; two are found in a secret part of World 2, and another one appears in the first Hand Trap level of World 8. They have red skin and they spit fireballs at Mario.	World 2-	World 8-Hand Trap
	Sledge Brother	Sledge Brothers are larger Hammer Brothers. These tubby turtles have green skin and they throw hammers, albeit slower than Hammer Brothers. Sledge Brothers make big jumps, and if Mario is standing when a Sledge Brother lands, he will be stunned. They appear mostly in Giant Land, where they are mostly map enemies.	World 4-3	World 8-Hand Trap
	Buzzy Beetle	Buzzy Beetles are turtles with fire-resistant shells. Otherwise, they act like green Koopa Troopas when on the ground.	World 1-5	World 4-3	—
	Upside-down Buzzy Beetle	These Buzzy Beetles walk on the ceilings of caves. They fall from them while spinning in their shells when Mario approaches.	World 2-Pyramid	World 4-3
	Buster Beetle	Buster Beetles are Buzzy Beetles that can pick up White Blocks and throw them at Mario. However, they can be beaten by any attack, even by fireballs.	World 5-1	World 6-10
	Para-Beetle	Para-Beetles are winged Buzzy Beetles. However, Mario can hop on their back for a ride, unlike with other winged foes.	World 5-6
	Lakitu	Lakitus are cloud-riding Koopas. They hover back and forth in the air above Mario, tossing a never-ending supply Spiny's Eggs to the ground.	World 3-4	World 7-3	—
	Green Spiny Egg	Eggs tossed by Lakitu that bounce off of walls. The Green ones roll along the ground after Mario.	World 3-4
	Spiny Egg	The red Spiny Eggs hatch into Spinies upon hitting the ground.	World 4-4	World 7-3	—
	Spiny	Spinies are small turtles with spikes all over their shells; they cannot be stomped. However, if Mario bumps a block under a Spiny, or attacks it with a raccoon tail, it will tuck into its shell, letting Mario pick them up. They can also drop from the ceiling. Spinies also appear in the Battle Mode but with a different sprite and behavior.	World 4-3	World 7-5	—
	Upside-down Spiny	Some Spinies climb on the ceilings of underground areas. Like Upside-down Buzzy Beetles, these Spinies recede into shells and drop when Mario is detected underneath.	World 4-3
	Rocky Wrench	Rocky Wrenches are mole-like turtles. Upon sighting Mario, a Rocky Wrench will pop out of its hole in an airship or vehicle, and chuck wrenches at him before descending back into its hole.	World 2-Airship	World 8-Tank
	Spike	Spikes are small green turtles which pull spiked balls out of their mouths before throwing them at Mario.	World 3-7	World 6-8
	Piranha Plant	Piranha Plants are carnivorous plants that live in pipes and quicksand. However, Piranha Plants will not emerge from their pipe if Mario is touching or standing directly on top of it, unless the pipe is sideways or upside down. Red Piranha Plants have two segments of leaves, while green ones have only one, though the sideways ones are red with one segment.	World 1-1	World 8-1	—
	Venus Fire Trap	Venus Fire Traps are Piranha Plants that spit one or two fireballs at Mario. Like normal Piranha Plants, they reside in pipes or quicksand, and they will not appear if Mario is near or on their pipe unless the pipe is upside down, and appear in two colored varieties depending on their height.	World 1-1	World 8-2
	Piranhacus Giganticus	Giant Piranha Plants only reside in Giant Land. They will rise in and out of pipes, regardless of whether Mario is standing next to them or not.	World 4-1	World 4-6
	Green Piranhacus Giganticus	The green-headed Piranhacus Giganticuses do not emerge if Mario is next to their pipes, like the normal-sized Piranha Plants.	World 4-6
	Ptooie	Ptooies are Piranha Plants that blow spiked balls and usually have legs. Occasionally, Ptooies will blow the spiked ball high into the air, allowing Mario to jump past them.	World 6-1	World 7-8
	Walking Piranha	Nipper Plants are little, white Piranha Plants. They sit still or patrol an area and leap up at Mario when he tries to pass them.	World 5-1	World 7-8
	Fiery Walking Piranha	This special Walking Piranha can spit multiple fireballs. Only one is found in the game.	World 7-8
	Muncher	Munchers are invincible, black Walking Piranha-like flowers. They tend to grow in large clusters. The only way to defeat a Muncher is turn it into a coin with a Switch Block and collect it. Invincible Mario can walk on Munchers. Some of them are frozen in Ice Blocks.	World 5-3	World 7-8
	Podoboo	Podoboos are large fireballs that leap from lava.	World 1-Fortress	World 8-Bowser's Castle	—
	Roto-Disc	Roto-Discs are shining discs that spin around an orb or block. They sometimes appear in pairs known as Duo-Roto-Discs. Mario can only destroy them as Statue Mario.	World 1-Fortress	World 8-Bowser's Castle
	Bullet Bill	Bullet Bills are large black bullets launched by Turtle Cannons.	World 1-Airship	World 8-1	—
	Missile Bill	Missile Bills are flashing red Bullet Bills that turn around once if it misses Mario.	World 4-5
	Firesnake	The Firesnake is a flame with four fireballs behind it. Firesnakes chase Mario in an effort to hurt him. They hop towards Mario.	World 2-1	World 2-3
	"Boo" Diddly	"Boo" Diddlies are small white ghosts. They are shy, stopping when Mario looks at them. Once Mario looks away, they will resume their chase.	World 2-Fortress	World 8-1
	Stretch	Stretches are Boos attached to platforms. They are found exclusively in fortresses and are more of an obstacle than a true enemy. As Mario attempts to pass, a Boo will rise from the top and/or bottom of the platform and move along the surface. Stretches are usually found in groups.	World 3-Fortress	World 6-Fortress
	Thwomp	Thwomps are living rectangular rocks. They try to squash Mario under their weight whenever he gets near or under them.	World 2-Fortress	World 8-Bowser's Castle
	Angry Sun	The Angry Sun is a small Sun with an angry face. It only appears in two levels. To attack Mario, the Angry Sun swoops down in an attempt to hit him before returning to the sky.	World 2-Desert	World 8-2
	Chain Chomp	Chain Chomps are dog-like ball and chain creatures. They generally lunge towards Mario. They are usually attached to a block, but if 160 seconds go by, they will break free.	World 2-5	World 5-1
	Bloober	Bloobers are common underwater foes. They swim diagonally and follow Mario.	World 3-1	World 7-4	—
	Bloober with kids	These Bloobers have four children following them. The Scattering Bloober type has an additional move: when she begins to glow, her kids will form a circle around her and radiate outward. More babies appear to replace the ones she lost a few seconds later.	World 3-1	World 7-4
	Lava Lotus	Lava Lotuses are large artificial flowers that live underwater. They are capable of generating up to five fireballs (which can go through platforms) and releasing them.	World 3-1	World 7-4
	Cheep-Cheep	Cheep-Cheeps are fish foes that patrol shallow water. They come in red and green. The red variety jumps from the water in various ways and can swim quite fast while doing so.	World 3-2	World 8-Hand Trap	—
	Green Cheep-Cheep	The green Cheep-Cheeps slowly swim back and forth.	World 2-2	World 6-9
	Boss Bass	Boss Basses are giant Cheep-Cheeps that swim on the surface of the water. When Mario gets too close, they lunge out of the water to eat him. Boss Bass can defeat Mario in one gulp, even if he transforms into Statue Mario. In the levels that they appear in, the tide rises and falls, making Mario an easy target.	World 3-3	World 3-8
	Big Bertha	Big Berthas are giant Cheep-Cheeps who carry Baby Cheeps in their mouths. Occasionally, they stop to open their mouths and let their babies briefly swim out before resuming their movement.	World 3-5	World 7-4
	Spiny Cheep-Cheep	Spiny Cheep-Cheeps swim even faster than red Cheep-Cheeps and can appear from both sides of the screen.	World 7-4
	Jelectro	Jelectros are glowing electric jellyfish that remain stationary in the water. They are invincible, their touch is lethal, and they tend to hang out in groups.	World 3-5	World 7-4
	Bob-omb	Bob-ombs are living bombs. They typically appear walking on the ground. If Mario stomps on one, it will become stationary and capable of being picked up and used as a weapon. However, it will explode in a few seconds, even if Mario is still holding it. Keyless Bob-ombs are launched from certain cannons, and explode on their own after a few seconds.	World 3-9	World 8-Tank	—
	Hot Foot	Hot Foots are animated candle flames. Their behavior is similar to Boos. If Mario faces one, it will stand still. Once Mario looks away, it will resume walking towards him.	World 4-Fortress	World 8-Bowser's Castle
	Fire Chomp	Fire Chomps are floating creatures resembling Chain Chomps with four fireballs for a chain. They fly freely and spit fireballs at Mario. When they run out of fireballs, they chase Mario before they explode.	World 5-5	World 6-7
	Crab	Crabs require two hits in order to flip them upside-down. The first hit only makes them angry and speeds them up.	Battle Mode		—
	Fighter Fly	Fighter Flies constantly hop their way across the screen, only briefly vulnerable.	Battle Mode		—
	Fireball	There are three types: the first travels horizontally in a wavy pattern, the second bounces around diagonally, and the last is shot out of a pipe in a bonus stage. The former two emerges from the sides when enough time has passed. All share the same red sprite.	Battle Mode		—

Obstacles

Image	Name	Description	Levels
			First	Last
	Bowser Statue	Bowser Statues are sculptures of King Bowser himself found in his castle. They are more than just egotistical decoration; many of them are capable of firing lasers downward in a 45° angle.	World 8-Bowser's Castle
	Bowser's flame	Fireballs from Bowser that are summoned offscreen.	World 8-Bowser's Castle
	Cannon	Cannons usually shoot cannonballs, but some fire Bob-ombs. There are several different types of cannons. The small ones on airships are angled and the same size as a normal block. Cannonballs fire in straight trajectories and can be hopped on like enemies to cross gaps or reach hidden areas. They are unaffected by fireballs.	World 1-Airship	World 8-Tank
	Cannon (tank)	The cannons of tanks resemble black pipes and fire cannonballs horizontally.	World 8-Tank	World 8-Tank
	Diagonal cannon	Double-barreled cannons that launch cannonballs in both directions. Most are fastened to overhanging background elements.	World 2-Jet	World 5-Jet
	Giant cannon	Giant cannons are fastened to tanks and look like giant pipes. They fire giant cannonballs.	World 8-Tank	World 8-Jet
	Lava	Molten rock that can cause the player to instantly lose a life.	World 1-Fortress	World 8-Bowser's Castle
	Quartet-cannon	Four-gunned cannons. They are fastened to the ceiling and turn between fires. They shoot four cannonballs at once.	World 1-Jet	World 5-Jet
	Quicksand	Sand that sinks the player.	World 2-Desert
	Rocket Engine	Rocket Engines are cylindrical blocks that expel flames found on airships. Tanooki Mario can actually defeat the flame jets by transforming into a statue above them. However, a new flame will appear after a few seconds.	World 3-Airship	World 8-Jet
	Spikes	Pointy obstacles that damage the player.	World 2-Fortress	World 8-Fortress
	Tornado	This whirlwind sends Mario backwards. He can pass them by running and jumping through the center.	World 2-Desert
	Turtle Cannon	Turtle Cannons shoot Bullet Bills. They are placed strategically throughout many levels, even on the ground, where Mario cannot duck beneath the bullets flying his way.	World 1-Airship	World 8-1

Bosses

Bosses are listed in the order that they are first encountered.

Image	Name	Description	Levels
			First	Last
	Boom Boom	A Koopa miniboss who guards every fort. He attacks by walking, flying or jumping.	World 1-Fortress	World 8-Tank
	Larry Koopa	The boss of Grass Land. He only attacks by shooting magic blasts and jumping.	World 1-Airship
	Morton Koopa Jr.	The boss of Desert Land. He attacks like Larry.	World 2-Airship
	Wendy O. Koopa	The boss of Water Land. She attacks by shooting candy rings (up to three) that bounce while jumping high.	World 3-Airship
	Iggy Koopa	The boss of Giant Land. He attacks by shooting magic blasts while jumping high.	World 4-Airship
	Roy Koopa	The boss of Sky Land. He shoots magic blasts and can stun Mario by landing on the floor if Mario is grounded. This also goes for his shell attack.	World 5-Airship
	Lemmy Koopa	The boss of Ice Land. He simply moves back and forth on his magical ball, while attacking with smaller balls.	World 6-Airship
	Ludwig von Koopa	The boss of Pipe Land. He attacks like Roy.	World 7-Airship
	Bowser	The boss of Dark Land. He breathes fire and tries to Ground Pound on Mario, causing the floor to break.	World 8-Bowser's Castle

Items and objects

Items

These are collectibles, pickups, and health-restoring objects.

Image	Name	Description
	Coins	Collecting 100 coins grant an extra life.
	Blue Coins	Blue Coins have the same value as regular coins and appear when a Switch Block is activated in certain areas. They disappear when the effect wears off.
	1-Up Mushrooms	Grabbing a 1-Up Mushroom awards an extra life. One mushroomMedia:SMB3 Pure White 1up Mushroom.png in World 6-3 appears white due to a glitch.
	Koopa Shells	Koopa Shells can be used to defeat enemies, break empty bricks and hit blocks with items. Hitting one with a fireball destroys it.
	Giant Shells	Despite their size, Mario can hold Giant Shells and send them flying. They have a greater hitbox than the normal-sized Koopa Shells.
	Buzzy Shells	Shells from Buzzy Beetles. They work the same as Koopa Shells, but they are impervious to fire.
	White Blocks	A white Brick made of ice that can be carried and thrown.
	Goomba's shoes (Kuribo's shoes)	The Goomba's shoe is obtainable only in World 5-3. This item allows Mario to safely hop across dangerous objects and jump on spiky enemies, such as Piranha Plants and Spinies. It is acquired by bumping a Kuribo's Goomba off a block from below. Since it is not a power-up, it does not overtake any previous powers the player may have had. For example, if Fire Mario mounts a Goomba's shoe, then loses it, he will still retain his Fire form.
	P-Wing	The P-Wing not only grants the Raccoon form's abilities, but also allows for indefinite flight for one level and adds a large "P" on Mario's chest (on the map only). In levels, Mario appears as Raccoon Mario, but the Power Meter will be completely filled until Mario gets damaged or completes the level. After a level is cleared with this form, Mario will revert to normal Raccoon Mario.
	Jugem's Clouds	This item is used on the world map to skip a level.
	Hammers	This item is used on the world map to break boulders and reveal secret areas or shortcuts.
	Music Boxes	This item is used on the world map to put certain enemies to sleep.
	Magic Whistles	This item is used on the world map to travel to the Warp Zone.
	Anchors	This item is used on the world map to lock an airship in place.
	Cards	Players are given a card for touching the goal. Collecting three cards award an extra life. If the cards are identical, more extra lives are awarded. Cards can be exchanged or lost in the 2-player Battle Mode.
	Magic balls	The magic ball appears after Boom Boom is defeated. It must be touched to complete the level.
	Magic Wands	After the defeat of each Little Koopa, a Magic Wand must be collected to complete the level.

Power-ups

Items that transform Mario's appearance and give him unique abilities. Forms that share a column look the same for Mario and Luigi.

Power-up	Form		Description
N/A	Small Mario	Small Luigi	Mario's weakest form; he starts each life in this form. If Mario touches an enemy in damaging areas or damaging obstacles while in this form, he loses one life.
Super Mushroom	Super Mario	Super Luigi	The form Mario turns into after obtaining a Super Mushroom in Small form. Mario gains the ability to break bricks in this state. If Mario touches an enemy while in this form, he shrinks back to his Small form.
Fire Flower	Fire Mario / Luigi		After utilizing a Fire Flower, Mario will turn into Fire Mario, letting him throw fireballs.
Super Leaf	Raccoon Mario	Raccoon Luigi	After using the Super Leaf, Mario will transform into Raccoon Mario. In this state, Mario can tail whip most enemies and blocks, slow his falls, and fly for a short period of time after gaining enough speed.
Starman	Invincible Mario	Invincible Luigi	After getting a Starman, Mario will become invincible, and thus cannot be harmed by any enemies or obstacles; he can also defeat most enemies without jumping on or throwing projectiles at them. This will only last for a short period of time (considerably shorter than in most other Super Mario games), and Mario will still lose a life if he falls into a pit, a pool of lava, or runs out of time. If Mario is not Small, he will frontflip as he jumps.
Tanooki Suit	Tanooki Mario / Luigi		After obtaining the Tanooki Suit, Mario transforms into Tanooki Mario. Along with the abilities to glide, fly, and attack with his tail, Mario can briefly turn into a statue to avoid or defeat enemies.
Frog Suit	Frog Mario / Luigi		Mario will turn into Frog Mario after retrieving the Frog Suit. The Frog Suit allows Mario to swim much easier, but impedes his movement on land drastically.
Hammer Suit	Hammer Mario / Luigi		Upon obtaining the Hammer Suit, Mario will turn into Hammer Mario. In this state, Mario can defeat enemies by throwing hammers, and can shield himself from fireballs by using his shell, but cannot slide down hills.

Objects

Objects are interactable elements of the environment that cannot be picked up or collected.

Image	Name	Description
Blocks and containers
	? Block	Produces coins or an item when hit. (include Hidden Block)
	Big Block	A large variant of a brick.
	Brick	When a brick is hit, it either breaks or produces coins. (Include Coin Block)
	Cloud Block	Clouds that serve as platforms.
	Empty Block	A block that cannot be broken. When ? Blocks or certain bricks are hit, they turn into Empty Blocks.
	Empty Block (big)	A large variant of an Empty Block.
	Frozen Coin	A coin encased in solid ice that can be melted by fire to be collected.
	Ice Block	A block made of ice that can make the player slide when walking over it. They appear in small and large sizes.
	Jump Block	A block that makes the player jump higher. The player can also time their jump to reach greater heights.
	Magic Note Block	A block that transports the player to Coin Heaven when jumped on.
	Mega ? Block	A large variant of a ? Block.
	Wood Block	A block that cannot be destroyed. Some of these blocks release items if hit from the side.
Doorways
	Magic Door	Special doors that appear only in World 4-6. Teleports players to explore different segments of the level in both sizes to find additional bonuses.
	P Warp Door	A door that is visible only if a Switch Block is active. Black P Warp Doors are always invisible, but can always be entered, while red P Warp Doors do not appear until a Switch Block is pressed and cannot be entered otherwise.
	Warp Door	A door found in fortresses and castles that take the player to another portion of the level.
Pipes
	Bubble-jet pipe	Blue pipes that expel currents. They push Mario as he swims unless he is in his Frog form.
	Giant pipe	A large variant of a Warp Pipe that serves as a platform, rather than transporting the player.
	Small pipe	A small variant of a Warp Pipe that serves as a platform, rather than transporting the player.
	Warp Pipe	Pipes going through the ground that transport the player to new areas.
Platforms
	Brick floors	The bricks that make up Bowser's Castle. In the boss room, Bowser breaks through them with a ground pound. This ultimately makes him fall through the floor, defeating him.
	Bolt Lift	A set of nuts that are screwed onto a very long bolt that serve as platforms. The player must continually jump to avoid falling.
	Cloud Lift	Clouds that serve as platforms. They only appear in World 6-2 and move to the left.
	Conveyor belt	Moving platforms that carry the player from one place to another without them having to move at all.
	Directional Lift	A lift that changes direction when stepped on.
	Donut Lift	A platform that falls under weight if the player stays there for too long.
	Elevator blocks	These paired blocks rise straight up when Mario steps on them. They otherwise lie on the ground, unmoving.
	Lift	Platforms that move in any direction. Some called Rail Lifts move along rails strung through the sky. Others called Flimsy Lifts drop down pits shortly after being stood on.
	Rotary Lift	Platforms that spin. There are three kinds of Rotary Lifts: those that spin for a short time and then stop before they resume spinning shortly afterward, those that spin endlessly, and those that tilt based on where the player is standing on them.
	Waterfall	Rapids that flow from above. Mario can swim up waterfalls to reach overhead bodies of water.
	White Block	Crouching on a White Block brings Mario to the background, allowing him to avoid enemies and access secret areas.
Other objects
	Goal	The Goal is a block-like object at the end of the level that cycles through three cards. Striking it ends the current level and rewards Mario with whichever card is displayed.
	Switch Block	When a Switch Block is pressed, bricks temporarily turn into coins, and vice versa. Pressing a Switch Block can also reveal Blue Coins, which are hidden otherwise.
	Tide	Water that rises up and down.
	Vine	Vines grow out of certain blocks after they are hit, giving players access to upper parts of a level.

Worlds

Unlike Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, this game has a world map, a feature that has been carried over into every subsequent title in the series. Like Super Mario Bros., the game features eight total worlds spread out across eight different maps, each one featuring a different name, theme, and boss; the inclusion of thematic worlds would also be carried over into future titles in the series. In the original NTSC release of this game, most of the worlds were given different names (indicated in parentheses in the table below), which are largely carried over to remakes. According to the Japanese manual, the map designs were deliberately modeled after that of a board game.

World	Image	Levels				Boss
World 1 Grass Land		World 1-1	World 1-2	World 1-3	World 1-4	Larry Koopa
		World 1-Fortress	World 1-5	World 1-6	World 1-Airship
World 2 Desert Land (Desert Hill)		World 2-1	World 2-2	World 2-Fortress	World 2-3	Morton Koopa Jr.
		World 2-Desert	World 2-4	World 2-5	World 2-Pyramid
		World 2-Airship
World 3 Water Land (Ocean Side)		World 3-1	World 3-2	World 3-3	World 3-Fortress	Wendy O. Koopa
		World 3-4	World 3-5	World 3-6	World 3-7
		World 3-Fortress	World 3-8	World 3-9	World 3-Airship
World 4 Giant Land (Big Island)		World 4-1	World 4-2	World 4-3	World 4-Fortress	Iggy Koopa
		World 4-4	World 4-5	World 4-6	World 4-Fortress
		World 4-Airship
World 5 Sky Land (The Sky)		World 5-1	World 5-2	World 5-3	World 5-Fortress	Roy Koopa
		World 5-Tower	World 5-4	World 5-5	World 5-6
		World 5-7	World 5-Fortress	World 5-8	World 5-9
		World 5-Airship
World 6 Ice Land (Iced Land)		World 6-1	World 6-2	World 6-3	World 6-Fortress	Lemmy Koopa
		World 6-4	World 6-5	World 6-6	World 6-7
		World 6-Fortress	World 6-8	World 6-9	World 6-10
		World 6-Fortress		World 6-Airship
World 7 Pipe Land (Pipe Maze)		World 7-1	World 7-2	World 7-3	World 7-4	Ludwig von Koopa
		World 7-5	World 7-Piranha Plant	World 7-Fortress	World 7-6
		World 7-7	World 7-8	World 7-9	World 7-Fortress
		World 7-Piranha Plant		World 7-Airship
World 8 Dark Land (Castle of Koopa)		World 8-Tank	World 8-Ship	World 8-Hand Trap	World 8-Jet	Bowser
		World 8-1	World 8-2	World 8-Fortress	World 8-Tank
		World 8-Bowser's Castle
World 9 Warp Zone		World 1	World 2	World 3	World 4	None
		World 5	World 6	World 7	World 8

Development

Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto working on Super Mario Bros. 3.

Development for Super Mario Bros. 3 began shortly after Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was finished in the Spring of 1986. Originally, the game was developed with a bird's-eye view in mind, similar to The Legend of Zelda, where the player would be looking down at the characters from above. With jumping as one of Mario's main moves, this overhead view made it difficult to determine whether Mario was touching the ground or not, so the view was switched to the side-view used in earlier titles. However, relics of the overhead view can still be found in the final game, such as the black-and-white checkerboard seen at the title screen.

When Takashi Tezuka was designing concepts for the game, he didn't want it to be like Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels where only the levels and difficulty was changed. Instead, he wanted to rework everything, from giving Mario an improved moveset to overhauling the character sprites. Programmers also had what they called a "Map Room", which was a long, narrow meeting room where they looked at sheet papers and programmed map data all day. There were 20 to 30 people working on Super Mario Bros. 3, compared to Super Mario Bros.'s seven or eight. However, Koji Kondo was completely alone on sound design, and he claims it was difficult to come up with music to fit the genre of the game. Additional sounds were possible to use during Super Mario Bros. 3's development which weren't able to be used during Super Mario Bros.'s. The Japanese version of the game was originally planned to release in Spring of 1988, but because of the developers wanting to add so many new features, the game ended up getting pushed back another six months.

The hard part of creating a video game with old characters is making the old characters seem fresh and new. In many ways, Super Mario Bros. 3 revived the series and brought many new young and old fans back to the adventures of the Mario Bros. The game also appeared in the 1989 movie The Wizard as a way to advertise it; this also marked the first time that a Super Mario game was advertised in a movie.

Remakes and ports

Super Mario Bros. 3 was later remade and included in Super Mario All-Stars with updated graphics and sound for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which was later reissued as Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World and ported to the Wii as Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition. A notable addition to the All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 3 was a save feature which allow players to save the progress and continue the world where they left off. Additionally, there's a Battle Game feature in the title screen that works differently from the ones featured from the maps in the 2-Player Game mode. Other than that, retaining some localization changes and certain glitches fixed, gameplay was not altered.

The original game is also one of the 30 titles included in the NES Classic Edition and Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer, and was made available as one of the 20 NES titles with added online play at the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service's launch in September 2018. It later received a special version on July 28, 2021, known as Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, the quick-change artist!, where the player would start on World 8 with 35 lives and the inventory full of every power-up in the game.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Main article: Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Bros. 3 was ported to the Game Boy Advance handheld system as the fourth and final installation in the Super Mario Advance series, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3. It used the same graphics and sounds as the Super Mario All-Stars version, and also incorporated the use of the e-Reader: by scanning in certain cards, players could unlock new items and levels, including content originally from the other classic Super Mario platformers.

Reception

The game has received critical acclaim and is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time. IGN placed it at the number one spot of their top 100 NES games of all time list.

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Wii	Lucas M. Thomas, IGN	9.5/10	"Super Mario Bros. 3 is still a spectacular adventure today, and the best representation of the Super Mario universe to come from the NES. Though we would have loved to see a little something extra thrown in for this release, it's difficult to argue against Nintendo's standing policy of just releasing games just as they were when they first arrived. Mario's third adventure still stands well enough on its own to firmly recommend it for download even with its old graphical quirks still in place. The only reasons you shouldn't already be walking to your Wii to launch the Shop and put down your 500 points would be if you're happy with a version of the game you already own, like the 2003 Game Boy Advance re-release, or if you're holding out hope that the visually enhanced Super Mario All-Stars edition will someday arrive as a downloadable option as well. But really, even then, it's five bucks. For one of the greatest video games of all time, and absolutely one of Mario's best ever adventures. So how can you resist adding to that already-enormous lifetime sales total?"
Wii	Frank Provo, GameSpot	9/10	"Those who already love Super Mario Bros. 3 and have the desire to play the original NES version again will be pleased with this Virtual Console release. It's like reconnecting with a best friend that you haven't seen since you were little. Meanwhile, those who haven't yet immersed themselves in its jump-heavy sweetness have been given a golden opportunity to do so. This is 500 Wii points ($5) well spent."
Wii	Nintendo Life Staff, Nintendo Life	10/10	"SMB3 cannot come any more highly recommended; it is widely regarded, by many, as the best game on the NES. Some would even say it rivals the magnificent Super Mario World on the SNES, though the jury is out on that one. You owe it to yourself to try both out and decide for yourself. You won’t be sorry!"
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
GameRankings		97.50%

Release

Merchandise

Among the merchandise based on the game are a Nelsonic Game Watch, and chocolate chip swirl cookies manufactured by Salerno, which features a maze on the box.

id Software's attempted PC port

PC developer id Software sent to Nintendo a demo of a PC port of the game, with the intent being to gain authorization to make an official port. The demo reached Nintendo Co., Ltd. management (including Shigeru Miyamoto), who were impressed by the port's quality. However, Nintendo declined to greenlight an official PC version of the game as the company had no plan to release its products outside their own platform.

The pitch followed a tech demo named Dangerous Dave in "Copyright Infringement", which was a playable recreation of World 1-1 with Mario's sprite being replaced with that of the titular character. Dangerous Dave was notable for featuring smooth scrolling, something unheard for PC games of the time. With a distribution deal with Scott Miller of Apogee Software, Ltd., "Copyright Infringement" id developers John Romero and John Carmack along with Tom Hall (who originally had the idea) later used the engine they had developed to create the Commander Keen series, a series of shareware platform games for MS-DOS.

On December 14, 2015, John Romero uploaded gameplay footage of the port on the video-sharing website Vimeo.

Media

For a complete list of media for this subject, see List of Super Mario Bros. 3 media.

Super Mario Bros. 3 - Ground Theme

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Super Mario Bros. 3 - Athletic Theme

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Super Mario Bros. 3 - Gameplay of World 1-1.

File infoMedia:SMB3 W1-1.ogv ​

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References to other games

• Mario Bros. - The Battle Mode is very similar to the multiplayer in this game.
• Super Mario Bros. - Buzzy Beetles reuse their sprites from this game but with a few differences. When Princess Toadstool is saved from Bowser (in English versions except Super Mario Advance 4), she says "Thank you. But our princess is in another castle!...Just kidding! Ha ha ha! Bye bye." This is a reference to the mushroom retainers' line "Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!" from this game. Several sound effects from this game are reused. An arrangement of the Underground Theme from this game is used for the underground levels. Also, the Music Box plays an arrangement of the Ground Theme from this game.
• Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - The skidding sound effect returns.
• Super Mario Bros. 2 - Princess Toadstool's appearance is almost identical to how she appeared in this game, though it more closely resembles her appearance from the prototype version as there is no white coloring in her eyes. Bob-ombs, as well as desert, sky and ice-themed levels/worlds also return.
• The Legend of Zelda series - The "Magic Whistle" item is the Recorder from The Legend of Zelda; it summons a whirlwind to warp the player character to another location and plays the same tune when used, which has become a reoccurring melody in the original series.
• The Mysterious Murasame Castle - The Raccoon Mario transformation sound effect originated from this game.

References in later media

• Super Mario World - The Koopalings return in this game. The Sunken Ghost Ship was once an airship in Super Mario Bros. 3.
• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - The music for Water Land was recreated as the background music for the Fairy Fountain/Great Fairy Fountains, including the music that plays on the file select screen, which would be used in many Zelda games throughout the subsequent generations of that franchise's history.
• Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - Water Land's music can be heard in the background of the music for stage 3 of Tree Zone, as well as in Mario Zone.
• Super Metroid - The sound effect for when Crocomire fully dies is taken from the Dry Bones in Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - The music heard in Grate Guy's Casino is a rendition of the music that plays during the minigames of Super Mario Bros. 3, the theme heard during the battle with Bowser is a cover of that from Super Mario Bros. 3, the music for Bowser's Keep also contains part of the same theme, and the music heard from Mario's Pad as well as the Flower Garden cutscene is a cover of Grass Land's theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Super Mario 64 - Many levels in Giant Land resemble Tiny-Huge Island in Super Mario 64 and its DS remake. Changing sizes by using doors also resembles using pipes to go from tiny to huge in Tiny-Huge Island.
• Mario Party - The music heard in Ghost Guess and Pedal Power appears to be a cover of the music for Ice Land. A few other songs from Super Mario Bros. 3, namely versions of Giant Land and Dark Land in this game.
• Mario Party 2 - The jingle that plays when a single player wins in a minigame is a version of the jingle that plays when the player clears a level.
• Paper Mario - The jingle that plays when Mario rescues a Star Spirit is a cover of the theme that plays when Mario recovers a king's Magic Wand, which also plays when Mario wins the Star Rod back from Bowser. An arrangement of the fortress theme plays in the Koopa Bros. Fortress. The theme of the Koopa Bros. is an arrangement of the theme for the Hammer Bros. battles. Also, the music that plays when Mario levels up is an arrangement of Grass Land's music from Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Super Mario Bros. Deluxe - The opening for the game features a letter from Princess Peach in a similar manner to Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Luigi's Mansion - One of the other songs played on Melody's piano is a version of the Super Mario Bros. 3 athletic theme.
• Super Smash Bros. Melee - The Ground and Grass Land themes are heard in a new version named after Super Mario Bros. 3. Bowser's down special move, Bowser Bomb, is based on the ground pound he uses in Super Mario Bros. 3. Raccoon Mario, Boo and Thwomp also appear as trophies.
• Super Mario Fushigi no Janjan Land - Several sprites from Super Mario Bros. 3 are reused in this game.
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - The theme for Ice Land plays when Jolene calls Mario. In addition, Peach also provides vital clues to Mario via (e-)mail, and her last message ends up being intercepted by the main villain (Grodus, in this game's case), similar to in Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Animal Crossing series: In Animal Crossing: Wild World, City Folk, and New Leaf, the player can receive and send stationery called "SMB3 Paper", whose design is a direct reference to the opening title sequence of Super Mario Bros. 3.
• The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - Like before, the musical themes for the Fairy Fountain/Great Fairy Fountains are derived from Water Land's theme. In addition, another version played with the Fairy Queen, with its melody most closely resembling the original Water Land theme.
• Tetris DS - Levels 4, 5, and 6 in Marathon mode uses Super Mario Bros. 3 gameplay on the top screen, along with the Raccoon, Frog and Tanooki Mario sprites on the touch screen. Also, a cover of the Ground theme plays.
• Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix - Music from Super Mario Bros. 3 is part of a song in this game.
• WarioWare: Twisted! - The Super Mario Bros. 3 microgame, along with the Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift microgame, are based on Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Super Mario 64 DS - The Rec Room theme is a cover of Grass Land's theme. The Wanted!, Connect the Characters, and Mario's Slides minigames uses the minigame music.
• Mario Party Advance - The music played after Mario beats a Boom Boom/Koopaling is heard after the player completes a quest. Also, in the minigame Drop 'Em, the background has a similar design to the levels from Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Mario Kart DS - The track Airship Fortress is based on the airship levels from Super Mario Bros. 3. Another track, Desert Hills, is based on Desert Land from Super Mario Bros. 3. A few of the Mission Mode arenas are based on the Fortress levels in Super Mario Bros. 3. The background of Shroom Ridge is based on Giant Land from Super Mario Bros. 3.
• New Super Mario Bros. - Many concepts started in Super Mario Bros. 3 are features in this game, such as Toad Houses. Most of the worlds have similar themes. Plus, the fortress theme is a cover. The "Fortress Boss" theme returns as an arrangement. A new version of Toad House's music was as the theme for Bob-omb Reverse, a minigame in this game. Bowser's theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 also has a version in this game.
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games - A new version of the Ground theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 is available as a track that can be heard in the music gallery in the Wii version of the game.
• Super Mario Galaxy - Arrangements of the airship and athletic themes appear in this game.
• Super Paper Mario - The theme that plays when Big Blooper appears is a cover of the underwater theme from Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - The "Super Mario Bros. 3" theme from Super Smash Bros. Melee is re-used in this game. The music that plays during Peach's Final Smash, Peach Blossom, is a sped-up remix of the music that plays in Coin Heavens and the second portion of Sky Land, as well as the Warp Zone. The airship theme is redone and can be heard on the stage Luigi's Mansion. Also, a medley of the boss theme of Super Mario Bros. 3 (alongside the Super Mario World Castle theme) can be heard on the Luigi's Mansion stage. Raccoon Mario, Boo, Thwomp, and Ludwig von Koopa appear in the form of stickers. Also, Boo, Chain Chomp, and Dry Bones appear as trophies and stickers.
• Mario Kart Wii - A license plate which reads "SMB3" can be found on one of the trucks on Moonview Highway.
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games - In the Wii version, a version of the athletic theme is available as a track that can be played during events. In the Nintendo DS version, an arrangement of the athletic theme is used as the first part of the Mario & Sonic Medley in Ultimate Figure Skating.
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii - The Penguin Suit is based on the Frog Suit from Super Mario Bros. 3. The Koopalings' battle theme is covered twice and once again played when fighting against them. The airship theme is a cover and can be heard on airship levels. The map model of the Towers are based on the fortress map sprites of Super Mario Bros. 3. The Enemy Courses are similar to the levels when fighting against a Hammer Bro, Fire Bro, Boomerang Bro, or Sledge Bro, and even use a cover of the song. Also, players can store reserve power-ups like in Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console NES games: The sound effect when selecting an NES game is the coin sound effect startup sound for Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Super Mario Galaxy 2 - Supermassive Galaxy is similar to Giant Land.
• Mario Sports Mix - In the underwater theme in Harmony Hustle, a recreated part of the Super Mario Bros. 3 underwater theme can be heard.
• Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games - The athletic theme in Super Mario Bros. 3 is available in the Wii version of this game as one of the optional music tracks that can be heard.
• Super Mario 3D Land - Many Super Mario Bros. 3 elements, like Boom Boom, Tanooki Mario, Note Blocks, and Super Leaves appear in this game. The Airships and Boom Boom battles return, and the arrangements of the Airship and athletic themes from Super Mario Galaxy play in certain stages.
• Mario Kart 7 - The Super Leaf appears as an item.
• Fortune Street - A new version of Pipe Land's theme is used as the stocks menu music. Also, the Toad's House theme is used as the music for auctions. A version of the "3 Matching Cards" fanfare plays whenever a line is made in Round The Blocks on a Mario board or when the Super Mario tour is completed in Tour mode, as well as a version of the "World Clear" fanfare playing when a line of lucky 7's is made in Round The Blocks on a Mario board.
• New Super Mario Bros. 2 - Some levels in this game contain the same colorful blocks as Super Mario Bros. 3. Also, Super Leaves, Raccoon Mario, and the Power Meter returns. The loading chime sometimes plays a small part of the Super Mario Bros. 3 Ground theme. The theme for Toad Houses was reused as that of Toad Houses in this game. World 1-1 and 1-5 are remade as part of the Gold Classics Pack.
• New Super Mario Bros. U - The P-Acorn sounds and acts like the P-Wing. Also, the first part of the Soda Jungle is based on Giant Land.
• Mario Tennis Open - A costume and racket of Tanooki Mario can be unlocked in this game.
• Paper Mario: Sticker Star - Goomba's shoes (known as the Super Boot), a version of Raccoon Mario with only the tail, and Frog Suits return as stickers in this game. The music that plays when riding the ski lift in Whiteout Valley is a version of the athletic theme from Super Mario Bros. 3. Also, the Kings' theme is recreated for the afterward to a Royal Sticker boss battle in this game. When the host Snifit explains the rules to Snifit or Whiffit, a new version of the Spade Panel music plays.
• Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games - Part of the boss theme is arranged as part of the music in Mario's Figure Skating Spectacular in this game.
• Super Mario 3D World - A version of the death jingle in Super Mario Bros. 3 is referenced in this game. Spikes and Super Leaves also return.
• NES Remix 2 / Ultimate NES Remix - Super Mario Bros. 3 is one of the games that are remixed.
• Mario Golf: World Tour - The music for Sky Island is a cover of the Super Mario Bros. 3 athletic theme. Golf clubs, a golf ball, and a clothing combo appear based on the Super Leaf. There are also golf clubs, a golf ball, and a costume available based on Tanooki Mario.
• Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Tanooki Mario is a playable character in the downloadable content pack The Legend of Zelda × Mario Kart 8, but is available from the start in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Rocky Wrenches in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe resemble their appearance in Super Mario Bros. 3.
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U - Music was used in this game as a medley of the athletic, stage clear theme, Giant Land's theme, Hammer Bros. battle theme, and the player miss theme. The Super Leaf is also a usable item, turning fighters into the Raccoon form and allowing them to glide for a while. The Koopalings appear as playable characters as alternate costumes for Bowser Jr.
• Mario Party 10 - Toad's amiibo Party theme is a version of the theme for Toad Houses from this game. After a Bowser Party is finished, the results music is the lullaby that makes the Hammer, Boomerang, Fire, and Sledge Bros. fall asleep.
• Super Mario Maker/Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS - Super Mario Bros. 3 is one of the game styles for these games. The Course World menu music and 100 Mario Challenge map music are both cover versions of the Grass Land map theme. The Enemy Course theme plays when the Bowser emblem sound effect is activated in the Super Mario Bros. style, and the Fortress Boss theme plays when it is activated in the Super Mario Bros. 3 style.
• Paper Mario: Color Splash - The 8-bit Recorder and Hammer return in the Super Mario Bros. 3-themed course in Green Energy Plant and can be squeezed into realistic Thing Cards; when the Recorder is used, the original notes are played by the flute itself, and it has the same effect of summoning a whirlwind, while three other flutes play the "Coin Heaven" theme in the background. Additionally, to board an airship carrying a giant bucket of paint, Mario hangs on the Anchor as he does in Super Mario Bros. 3. Raccoon and Frog Mario also appear as usable card effects. Larry also, like in the Japanese manual for the game, states before fighting Mario, that he is doing his actions specifically to avoid upsetting Bowser. In addition, similar to in Super Mario Bros. 3, after completing a level, Peach will supply Mario with advice via Holo-Peaches, although before the final level, her final message ends up intercepted by the main villain (Black Bowser in this case), although in this case, this resulted in her color being drained rather than being kidnapped.
• Super Mario Run - The background music for Remix 10 features a version of the Ground theme from Super Mario Bros. 3. One of the minigames available heavily resembles the Battle Mode stage where coins and fireballs spew out of a vertical pipe.
• Super Mario Odyssey - The music that plays in the slot rooms and the picture-matching mini-game areas is a version of the minigame theme from Super Mario Bros. 3. A scene of Mario fighting Bowser, accompanied by the final boss theme from Super Mario Bros. 3, plays when Mario captures Bowser.
• WarioWare Gold - The Super Mario Bros. 3-Lift microgame from WarioWare: Twisted! reappears, referred to as simply "Super Mario Bros. 3".
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - New arrangements of the Ground Theme (which features the level clear theme and Grass Land's theme), Fortress Boss theme (featuring Ice Land and Dark Land's themes), and Bowser battle theme (also featuring Dark Land's theme) are available as tracks.
• Super Mario Maker 2 - Super Mario Bros. 3 returns as a course style. The Enemy Course theme plays when the "Boss Music" sound effect is activated in the Super Mario Bros. style, the Fortress Boss theme plays when it is activated in the Super Mario Bros. 3 style, and the Bowser battle theme plays when the "Final Boss" sound effect is activated in the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3 style.
• The Super Mario Bros. Movie - The Brooklyn couple's house features a framed piece of artwork resembling the green triangular texture patterns used for hills in Super Mario Bros. 3. Music Boxes, P Switches, P-Wings, Lakitu's Clouds, anchors, treasure chests as they appear in Super Mario Bros. 3's Toad Houses, and a hammer can be seen in the antique store. On the back wall of the store is a picture of Princess Peach as she appears in the letters. When Mario runs from some Toad Guards in Peach's Castle, the sound he makes when skidding across the hallway is identical to the P-Meter sound effect. This sound effect and the drum sample are also used in the track "Press Start". The Ground Theme, Athletic Theme, Toad House/P Switch music, Spade Panel minigame music, Airship Theme, and Hammer Bro mini-boss music are also arranged in the film's score. The Tanooki Suit also appears. The sign above the vertical lift Mario and Toad use resembles the world maps. Bowser's territory is the Dark Lands. The voxel map Peach uses makes the "world map start" sound effect when the Mushroom Kingdom forms.
• Super Mario Bros. Wonder - The minigame music is reused for the Wonder Effect in Taily's Toxic Pond, and the Hammer Bro music is reused for the Break Time! level Trottin' Piranha Plants.
• WarioWare: Move It! - A microgame based on Super Mario Bros. 3 appears in this game, in which the player controls a flying Raccoon Mario.

Version differences

TCRF article: Super Mario Bros. 3

There are four versions of Super Mario Bros. 3 released for Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System: the original Japanese version, the North American PRG0 and PRG1 versions (NES cartridges will display NES-UM-USA and NES-UM-USA-1 next to the Nintendo Seal of Quality respectively), and the PAL version. During the two year release gap between the Japanese version and the worldwide release of Super Mario Bros. 3, many changes were made while localizing the game for the international market. Many of the gameplay and level design changes for the international release were kept in the future remakes, while other changes were reverted to make the game closer to the original Japanese version.

Gameplay changes

• In the Japanese version, getting hit while powered-up causes the player to automatically shrink to Small Mario like in Super Mario Bros. In the international versions, powered-up Mario is reverted to Super Mario when hit, then shrinks to Small Mario when hit again. This also applies for the Goomba's shoe. In the Japanese version, the shoe is red as it flies offscreen, and the player is also reverted to Small Mario; the shoe retains its green color as it is removed for the international versions, and the player keeps any power-ups they had before entering the shoe. Despite these changes, the short demo that plays on the title screen still shows Mario being reduced to Small Mario when being hit by a shell when he is Raccoon Mario. This oversight was not fixed for either All-Stars or Advance 4.
• In Toad Houses, the player can move while Toad is speaking in the Japanese version. In the international versions, the player must wait until the message is completely displayed.
• The timing for the credits sequence was altered for the international versions.
• After the credits end in the international versions, the player can press any button to return to the title screen and start another game in which the inventory is filled with 28 P-Wings. In the Japanese version, the player cannot do this as the game remains on the ending screen indefinitely and must be restarted. This is one of the few international gameplay changes not retained in the later remakes.

Level design changes

• In the second room of World 1-Fortress in the international versions, the door to Boom Boom is at the very end of the room, with the spikes above the door slightly above the rest. Comparatively in the Japanese version, the room is two blocks wider to the right, and the door is one block to the left of the gap in ceiling spikes.
• The castle interiors when entering and finishing an airship stage were redesigned for the international versions. Mario is standing in the center of the room rather than on the very left, a third pillar next to the very left one was removed, the column on the right is in front of the stairs rather than behind, the throne and stairs are colored golden rather than being blue like the background wall, the stairs are made slightly longer, and the shadow shading was put on the right of each pillar rather than on the left.
• In World 8-, a block was removed off the end of the final ship, allowing players to more easily jump onto the ship should they swim under the fleet.
• The end of World 5-1 was moved to the end of the main area of the level rather than having a Warp Pipe that takes the player to the end of the stage. A Buster Beetle at that part was also removed for the international versions. This was likely done to remove a glitch allowing the treasure box that appears in the secret area in this level to appear at the end of the level.

Graphical changes

• When the player is hit as Tanooki, Hammer, or Frog Mario, the costume comes off and a sound effect plays in the Japanese version. In the international versions, the costume disappears in a puff of smoke.
• In the Japanese version, when entering a stage, it wipes in to black, then wipes out the stage. In the international versions, it wipes in, then the stage fades in slightly more quickly.

Textual changes

• In the PRG1 version, the names of each world as shown in-game minus Grass Land were further altered; Desert Hill became Desert Land, Ocean Side became Water Land, Big Island became Giant Land, The Sky became Sky Land, Iced Land became simply Ice Land, Pipe Maze became Pipe Land, and Castle of Koopa became Dark Land. This actually makes it closer to how they were originally written in the instruction manuals, including the Japanese one. The Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance ports, however, reverted back to the original pre-revision names.
• In the PRG0 version, Toad says "Miss twice and your out!" in the N-Mark Spade Panels. The US PRG1 version changes Toad's line to "You can only miss twice!" to get rid of the typo in the PRG0 version.
• Princess Peach mentions in her letter received in World 2 "Kuribo's shoe" in the PRG0 version and "Goomba's shoe" in PRG1 version.

PAL version changes

• The PAL version is based on the US PRG1 version, featuring most of its changes. It was optimized for PAL NES to have its gameplay and music match the Japanese and US versions. Some of the music sounds different as the result, such as the Airship music, where the percussion in the first part isn't cut off.
• Bowser's letter is inexplicably signed as "Koopa Troopa" instead of "King of the Koopa" from the US versions.

Staff

Main article: List of Super Mario Bros. 3 staff

Directors

• Shigeru Miyamoto
• Takashi Tezuka

Game Designers

• Shigeru Miyamoto
• Takashi Tezuka

Main Programmer

• Toshihiko Nakago

Sound Composer

• Koji Kondo

Producer

• Shigeru Miyamoto

Pre-release and unused content

Main article: List of Super Mario Bros. 3 pre-release and unused content

One of the early ideas was a power-up to turn Mario into a Centaur (half-man, half-horse), although this was rejected before being implemented into the game. (Tilden 1990, 21)

Additionally, Cheep-Cheeps and Para-Beetles respectively have unused tan and green variations, which would have moved faster than their ordinary counterparts.

Glitches

Main article: List of Super Mario Bros. 3 glitches

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Super Mario Bros. 3.

• 

  Raccoon Mario

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  Princess Toadstool, Toad, and Luigi

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  Para-Goomba

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  Bowser

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  Boom Boom

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  Main cast

Quotes

See also: List of Super Mario Bros. 3 quotes

• "The Tanooki Suit turns into a statue! Even though I knew it wouldn't make sense to some non-Japanese players...I was so excited about it that I left it in." - Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario History 1985-2010 booklet
• "We were helped by many people when developing this game. But even with a larger team, I was still the worst gamer of the bunch." - Takashi Tezuka, Super Mario History 1985-2010 booklet
• "This time around, I added a lot of percussion and was able to create tracks that sounded like there were three or more sounds playing at once, resulting in much richer-sounding music." - Koji Kondo, Super Mario History 1985-2010 booklet

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	スーパーマリオブラザーズ3[?] Sūpā Mario Burazāzu Surī	Super Mario Bros. 3
Chinese (simplified)	超级马力欧兄弟3 Chāojí Mǎlì'ōu Xiōngdì 3	Super Mario Brothers 3
Chinese (traditional)	超級瑪利歐兄弟3 Chāojí Mǎlì'ōu Xiōngdì 3	Super Mario Brothers 3
Korean	슈퍼 마리오 브라더스 3[?] Syupeo Mario Beuradeoseu 3	Super Mario Bros. 3

Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, the quick-change artist!

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	スーパーマリオブラザーズ3 マリオ八変化バージョン[?] Sūpā Mario Burazāzu Surī Mario Hachihenge Bājon	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario Eight Transformations Version
Dutch	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, de omkleedkunstenaar![?]	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, the change artist!
French	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, l'as du déguisement ![?]	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, king of disguising!
German	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, der Kostümwechselmeister![?]	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, the costume-changing master!
Italian	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario il transformista![?]	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario the transformist!
Portuguese	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, o mestre das transformações![?]	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario, the master of transformations!
Russian	Super Mario Bros. 3: Многоликий Марио[?] Super Mario Bros. 3: Mnogolikiy Mario	Super Mario Bros. 3: Many-Faced Mario
Spanish	Super Mario Bros. 3: ¡Mario tiene transformaciones a montones![?]	Super Mario Bros. 3: Mario has lots of transformations!

Trivia

• Super Mario Bros. 3 is Takashi Tezuka's favorite game in the series, as he feels that it is his first masterpiece.
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records 2008, Super Mario Bros. 3 was the world's best-selling video game, a title which at the time belonged to Super Mario Bros. based off known data.
  • Also, the image used in the book was of Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the remake, which made the same mistake on the back of its box.

External links

• Famicom 40th Anniversary Webpage (JP)
• Mario Portal Game Archive (EN) (archive)
• Mario Portal Game Archive (JP)
• Program Details for Super Mario Bros. 3 - Time Attack
• Nintendo Power Special: The making of Super Mario Bros. 3
• Nintendo Power Special: Super Mario Bros. 3 Strategy Guide
• The Mushroom Kingdom - pre-release and unused content from Super Mario Bros. 3
• Japanese Famicom manual
• North American manual