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djotaku's review
5.0
This book is a matter class on Mario. I thought I knew all there was to know about Mario. Not only have I read a lot of the histories, but I was there. Mario was my first game; the ur experience. Every game, from real platformers to games with platforming life Uncharted, is judged in my mind against Mario. It is not a mere history lesson for me.
Yet, since I was young when it came out, I didn't consciously appreciate a lot of what Mario was doing. I had no true conception of what has come before and why this was so ground breaking. To me this was the primitive upon which the future was built.
Parish goes through great lengths to examine what makes each of Mario's games tick. It really show the intention behind each level of Super Mario Bros. It is like reading the best film criticism.
I made a comment on my status about the best format to read this book. I read the majority of it on my black and white Nook. It worked well enough as the colors were quite simple then. Also there isn't much of large complexity in the screenshots. However, the PDF version, which I read on my 24" monitor is a work of art. The page layout is great and inspired. If you can read it that way I recommend it.
Yet, since I was young when it came out, I didn't consciously appreciate a lot of what Mario was doing. I had no true conception of what has come before and why this was so ground breaking. To me this was the primitive upon which the future was built.
Parish goes through great lengths to examine what makes each of Mario's games tick. It really show the intention behind each level of Super Mario Bros. It is like reading the best film criticism.
I made a comment on my status about the best format to read this book. I read the majority of it on my black and white Nook. It worked well enough as the colors were quite simple then. Also there isn't much of large complexity in the screenshots. However, the PDF version, which I read on my 24" monitor is a work of art. The page layout is great and inspired. If you can read it that way I recommend it.
theartolater's review
4.0
This book, in comparison to the Boss Fight Book I reviewed from the same reading session, is all about the design elements and such of the Mario-centric games up through the first Super Mario Bros. I felt like, in a way, it sat in the middle of where I'd expect a book like this to sit - it's far too detailed for a casual reader, not nearly in depth enough for someone seriously interested in video game design and the limitations of early systems, but that's a bit of a nitpick overall in what was a pretty interesting book for me, especially with the details surrounding the earlier Donkey Kong games. Definitely worth a look if you can get your hands on it.
davepickett's review
3.0
A good beat-by-beat analysis of the early Super Mario games (from Donkey Kong to Super Mario Bros). I found the analyses of the Donkey Kong games a lot more interesting than the extended breakdown of SMB. Quite possibly because SMB is so overanalyzed.
I'm glad this book exists, it's an important record of game design history, but it didn't blow me away with the analysis. The screenshots are great, but the color choices (white text on blue background) make reading it less than pleasant at times.
I'm glad this book exists, it's an important record of game design history, but it didn't blow me away with the analysis. The screenshots are great, but the color choices (white text on blue background) make reading it less than pleasant at times.
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