Top 10 Achievements in Super Mario Bros. 3 (If Only)
Some games are timeless; Super Mario Bros 3 is one such game. Having spent a large part of my youth mastering it I’ve recently gone back to it via the Nintendo 3DS & found it to be just as great as I remember it.
It got me thinking as we’ve done before here at GBHBL…what if it was released with accompanying achievements?
10 – Hide behind the scenery.
A nice easy one to begin with…see those white blocks in some of the levels? Stand on one & hold down on the pad for a few seconds to see Mario drop behind the scenery. A great way to get to some extra secret areas.
9 – Defeat a lakitu.
A Lakitu is found in only a handful of levels & you’ll know it when you see it. Flying high in the level dropping spikey creatures down onto you creating extra problems, taking one out is no easy task requiring you get high enough to jump on its head.
8 – Create a freak of nature in one of Toad’s shops.
Spread throughout the worlds are Toad shops. Go into one & you’ll play a game where you have to line up parts of a flower, mushroom or star in the right place so that they match. The aim of this achievement is the opposite…line up one part of each in whichever combination to create your freak!
7 – Get 3 bonus stars matched up at the end of a level 10 times.
An interesting one here…at the end of most levels you’ll see a box with a star, mushroom or flower rotating inside. Hit it to get one of the three, do this across 3 levels to be given bonus lives depending on what you matched up. 3 stars is the best you can get but isn’t as tough as it first seems. Get Mario running to his max speed & jump at the box at the last second & you’ll almost get a star every time.
6 – Clear a full deck of the memory card game.
At certain times a new bonus game will appear on the map, looking like an ace from a card deck. This is a memory card game where you turn over 2 cards & try & match them up having to remember where each item was. You only get a handful of turns before it disappears so you’ll have to remember where items you uncovered but didn’t match up were for the next time.
5 – Catch a falling wand before it hits the floor.
After defeating one of Bowser’s children they will speed off through the top of the screen dropping the wand they were carrying. This wand will fall down towards Mario with the intention of him picking it up. Time your jump right & catch it mid-air!
4 – Complete any level in World 8 without taking damage.
The dark world, Bowser’s territory has some of the toughest levels going & getting through anyone of them without taking damage is a big ask. Smart players will see that some levels are shorter than others making them the ideal choices to attempt this.
3 – Use a warp whistle.
Using one is the easy part…finding one is the problem. There are three hidden throughout the game.
2 – Defeat Bowser & all his kids without taking any damage.
Simple enough…every boss battle you must avoid taking damage. Take damage at the 6th child & you won’t unlock this achievement. There are 8 boss battles in total, 7 kids & Bowser himself.
1 – Finish the game having beaten every single level.
It is possible to actually avoid a lot of levels throughout the game thanks to shortcuts, warp rooms & branching paths. To gain this achievement there can be none of this. You will have to beat every single level going out of your way to take the different branches. Not necessarily tough but the ultimate goal for anyone wanting to play the game.