The arcade Mario Bros. on NES: Mario and Luigi hit enemies from below. Co-op or competitive. Fundamental historical document, still playable with pleasure. The true beginning of the Mario saga.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer4 players3+
Co-op
Description
Action game featuring Mario and Luigi chasing enemies in the New York sewers. Published by Nintendo, released in Europe in 1986. Mario and Luigi in top-down view in sewers hitting enemies from below platforms and two-player co-op. NES port of Nintendo's Mario Bros arcade.
Mario Bros. review
3/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Polished"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Solid"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Flipping enemies from below then booting them off to clear the screen: this arcade concept clicks in seconds and never lets go. With two players, co-op quickly turns to friendly treachery as you flip each other's foes back. Snappy, simple and fiercely convivial, the starting point of a legend that keeps all its competitive freshness.
The European PAL edition of the NES port of the Mario Bros. arcade, one of the very first Nintendo titles distributed in Europe in 1986. That near-launch continental status, predating the system's wide adoption, means a limited initial run and few surviving European cardboard boxes. Value rests on the historical anchoring of the PAL version and the scarcity specific to the earliest NES batches sold into the nascent European market.
Is Mario Bros. still worth playing in 2026?
Mario Bros. is Nintendo's founding arcade game ported to NES, in which Mario and Luigi knock out creatures in the New York sewers by flipping them from below before kicking them off. The simple concept, the competitive or cooperative two-player game and the historical charm make it a timeless classic, founder of the duo. The single-screen repetition and the absence of progression show their age. For fans of retro arcade and Mario history, it is a museum piece still pleasant in pairs, but limited solo.
