Super Mario Bros. 3 1988

Is it still worth playing?

Nintendo's 1988 side scrolling platformer for the NES, directed by Shigeru Miyamoto with Takashi Tezuka, with music by Koji Kondo. Bowser's children take over seven kingdoms by turning their kings into animals with stolen wands, and Mario and Luigi travel to each one to restore them. There are eight worlds, each divided into levels and reached through an overworld map, and each world ends with auto scrolling airship stages. New abilities include sliding down slopes, carrying items and climbing vines, and the power-ups include the Super Leaf, which gives flight, the Tanooki Suit, the Frog Suit for faster swimming and the Hammer Suit. Bonus stages give extra lives and power-ups. Its level design holds up today because the power-ups change how each level can be crossed, and the difficulty rises gradually toward the eighth world.