Super Mario Bros. Special
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Super Mario Bros. Special | |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo/Hudson Soft |
| Publisher(s) | Hudson Soft |
| Release date(s) |  1986 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | NEC PC-8801 |
| Media | Floppy disk |
| Input | Computer keyboard |
Super Mario Bros. Special is a video game released by Hudson Soft in the spring of 1986. Though it is an officially licensed pseudo-sequel to Super Mario Bros., it is not particularly highly regarded or well-remembered. Due to its being developed by a third-party developer and being released only on a primitive Japanese computer platform for a limited time, this game was all but forgotten by the gaming community until being "discovered" by U.K. games journalist Stuart Campbell in 2003 and written about in PC Zone magazine. Because of this obscurity, some have referred to it as the "true Lost Levels."
Super Mario Bros. Special ran on the Japanese NEC PC-8801. It was created in 1986 by developer Hudson Soft. It is not well-documented how or why Hudson was granted the rights to develop the game, nor why it chose to produce a new game instead of a port.
Though very similar in gameplay terms to the NES original, Super Mario Bros. Special has new level layouts, and several differences. Most notably, Super Mario Bros. Special has a flip-screen change between screens, as opposed to the smooth side-scrolling of the original. Additionally, the game has a modified, smaller color palette and a somewhat faster speed, with the timer draining faster and jumping handling differently. It also lacks a multiplayer mode or the presence of Luigi (despite the "Bros." in the title). There are also some new enemies and obstacles, including the Hammer weapon, rolling barrels, and fireballs from Donkey Kong. There are also falling icicles, Fighter Flies, and Side Steppers from Mario Bros. One notable addition is the elusive Hudson Soft Honeybee in the first level, which enables continues. A similar idea was also used for Adventure Island.
It is the only Super Mario Bros. title from this time period not to be remade or re-released as part of the Super Mario remake series.
Super Mario Bros. Special is unrelated to the pirate original game Super Mario 3 Special.
Hudson produced several other unique Mario titles for the PC-88, including Punch Ball Mario Bros. and Mario Bros. Special.[1]
