5. Super Mario Bros. 3
I love my brother. I mean that in the most bro hug kind of way. There are precious few memories of when I was younger without him. He is almost three years younger than me. Every time I think back to some childhood moment, he was there. I didn’t mind for the most part.
I’m sure there were times when I couldn’t have disliked another human being more than him. There were times when I wanted to pound that smirk right off of his face. And I know there were times when I absolutely did not want to ever speak to him again. But even through our worst teeth-gritting arguments, I always knew, and still know, that I love my brother.
The Anticipation
Joby and I were freaking out when we saw how amazing Super Mario Bros. 3 looked on a TV commercial. Both of us knew right then that we were going to have to get it.
Somehow we talked our wonderful mother in to putting this game on layaway for us at the local Walmart. It was a tag team effort. I steered the logical side of the argument with facts, figures, and payment schedules. Joby went for the impassioned, repetitive, emotional delivery (read: crying). I love my brother.
The plan was to pay down $7 per week for seven weeks. That came out to 50¢ per day from each of us. Surely, intelligent and hard working ten and seven-year-old boys could come up with 50¢ per day. Surely...
Yeah, I’m going to say probably not. I’m not exactly sure how much money my mom coughed up to get us this game. I’m guessing it was
The Acquisition
The game was even better than we thought. I can look back and say that it’s one of the few NES games that lived up to the hype. The Stortz brothers had it, and life was awesome.
It was a two player game, so of course we’d play for hours on end. I was okay at it. But, Joby. Joby was so good at it. Like hand the controller over and say “Hey Joby, can you get me past this part” good at it. I love my brother. My favorite memories of this game aren’t me playing it. They are watching him play it.
He’d get up early in the morning and play before breakfast. Then he’d fly downstairs, inhale his Malt-O-Meal, and race back to play for a few more minutes before we had to leave for school. The best part was, he’d just leave the game on pause for the whole time we were at school. The game didn’t have a save feature or passwords, so this classic move was the only way to not lose your place. Nothing does a game system good like being paused for 8+ hours a day.
The Action
One night in particular I remember him getting very far in the game. We were playing it in our bedroom upstairs. My mom hollered for us to get ready for bed. We performed the requisite moaning and complaining then slipped on our pajamas. But instead of shutting the game down, Joby just turned off the TV and left the Nintendo on. Nice. I love my brother.
My mom came to tuck us in. Then she went back downstairs to toil away at her college classwork. Joby and I turned the lights off and listened to my mom shuffle around on first floor of our apartment for a bit. Once we couldn’t hear the clanking of dishes and sliding of kitchen chairs, we knew my mom had settled into her school books.
Joby crept out of bed. He tiptoed over to the TV and slowly turned the knob until it clicked on, but didn’t have any volume. I crawled out of my bed and eased the bedroom door closed. I kept an ear out for footsteps on the stairs as I watched him play.
The Adventure
The flickering TV screen cast all kids of wonderful shadows on the walls of the otherwise dark room. It was exciting. He was getting close to the last levels of the game. Then, after about an hour, we both heard it. I’m sure I heard it first since Joby had his attention elsewhere. Thud. The all-to-familiar sound of a wooden stair under heavy foot falls. Eyes wide, we both shot each other a panicked glance. Thud.
Joby instinctively turned off the TV. Thud. I hopped off the bed and lightly opened the door again, so my mom would never guess anything was amiss. Thud. We both dove back under our covers. Deep breath. This was going to be close, but I felt like we made it. All was right, except... Thud. The whole upstairs was completely dark apart from the blazing red power light from the Nintendo that was still turned on. Great. That infernal LED screamed the boys haven’t been in bed, Nintendo privileges have been abused, and Justin and Joby are going to be very cranky in the morning! We knew that light was going to ruin everything.
Thud. I turned to Joby and scream-whispered “The Nintendo light!” Joby shot his arm down on the side of his bed and grabbed something. Thud. In what could only be described as divine guidance, Joby hurled a dirty pair of jeans through the air towards the Nintendo and its red light bull's-eye. I can still see the slow motion arc of those acid washed Lee’s. Thud. The jeans landed just as my mom topped the stairs. Perfect hit. The pant leg completely covered the red light. Ferris Bueller could not have been prouder. I love my brother.
The Aftermath
We pretended to be asleep. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom poke her head in the open door to check on us. Joby and I laid perfectly still while she got ready for bed. When we were sure she was asleep, we slid out of bed and picked up right where we left off.
Joby went on to beat Super Mario Bros. 3 that night. It was his first time, but I felt like it was our first time. There were silent cheers, air fives, and, I’m sure, a bro hug or two. We finally went to bed that night feeling on top of the world.
This is definitely one of my most memorable NES games. It is an absolute classic that I absolutely loved playing. But behind all the blips and beeps, I really love this game because, deep down, I really love my brother.
And yes, we were very cranky the next morning.
Come back tomorrow for my next game. And be sure to check out all the posts in my Most Memorable NES Games list.
[Box art courtesy of GameFAQs]
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