Developers Reminisce About Super Mario Bros.

Most of us remember our experiences with one of the greatest games of all times, Super Mario Bros. In the 203rd volume of Nintendo Power, they have included quotes by high-profile game designers on their thoughts about the game that revitalized the gaming industry.

“For kids at the time, myself included, [the original Super Mario Bros.] was something special that everyone had in common and could be passionate about. Thanks to this game, even people who had never tried games in their lives could dive into the other world of action games without a steep learning curve. Nowadays, games are almost split between the mainstream and hard-core gamers, but this game had a special power that appealed to gamers across the board.”
~Atsushi Inaba (Capcom – Viewtiful Joe)

“Everything I’m looking for is all packed into Super Mario Bros. Game control, game speed, fantastic characters, etc. Everything is perfect. As a game developer, I’m very much overwhelmed by the game structure and the inclusion of simple controls. Super Mario Bros. is truly a masterpiece that I always wanted to target and overcome as a game developer.”
~Koji Igarashi (Konami – Castlevania)

“Super Mario Bros. was one of those rare gems that was a perfect game. It was so well-tuned and -designed. It was also so very innovative at the time and set a lot of standards. The game is now a seminal reference for 2-D gameplay design for game designers – especially at VV.”
~Karthik Bala (Vicarious Visions – Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land)

“[Super Mario Bros.] was one of the games that really made me think of how extremely important the feeling you get when playing a game is to creating action games. The balance and interplay between tension and downtime, that tempo, was great. The music and sound effects were also appealing and unique – just great, like none I had heard until then.”
~Shinji Mikami (Capcom – Resident Evil)
Most of us remember our experiences with one of the greatest games of all times, Super Mario Bros. In the 203rd volume of Nintendo Power, they have included quotes by high-profile game designers on their thoughts about the game that revitalized the gaming industry.

“For kids at the time, myself included, [the original Super Mario Bros.] was something special that everyone had in common and could be passionate about. Thanks to this game, even people who had never tried games in their lives could dive into the other world of action games without a steep learning curve. Nowadays, games are almost split between the mainstream and hard-core gamers, but this game had a special power that appealed to gamers across the board.”
~Atsushi Inaba (Capcom – Viewtiful Joe)

“Everything I’m looking for is all packed into Super Mario Bros. Game control, game speed, fantastic characters, etc. Everything is perfect. As a game developer, I’m very much overwhelmed by the game structure and the inclusion of simple controls. Super Mario Bros. is truly a masterpiece that I always wanted to target and overcome as a game developer.”
~Koji Igarashi (Konami – Castlevania)

“Super Mario Bros. was one of those rare gems that was a perfect game. It was so well-tuned and -designed. It was also so very innovative at the time and set a lot of standards. The game is now a seminal reference for 2-D gameplay design for game designers – especially at VV.”
~Karthik Bala (Vicarious Visions – Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land)

“[Super Mario Bros.] was one of the games that really made me think of how extremely important the feeling you get when playing a game is to creating action games. The balance and interplay between tension and downtime, that tempo, was great. The music and sound effects were also appealing and unique – just great, like none I had heard until then.”
~Shinji Mikami (Capcom – Resident Evil)