Scoring Note: I have scored this game on the basis of seven points per field, one for each of the Koopalings. Yay!

Graphics: 5

The graphics are just fine for when the game came out. You can't ask for too much more from the NES. I took away some points because I didn't see much advancement from this game's predecessor, Mario 2.

Music: 7

I don't know why, but I am really fond of the music in this game. Most of it sounds pretty good, and some also led into later versions of it. None are as well known as Mario's main theme, of course, but I never liked his theme much anyway.

Size: 7

Wow. This game is very big. Yes, I know you can skip many things. Oftentimes you have a choice between two courses, or you may be able to skip courses with Jugem's Cloud or whole worlds with the Magic Flute. But have you ever tried playing every level on one play? It takes me over three hours, and I cheat with Game Genie. This is a long time considering that you can't save and so have to do it all at once. It couldn't be much larger.

Terrain: 7

I feel like I'm going soft here with all the perfect scores. But really, the worlds are great. There are eight different worlds, and for the first time in the Mario series each world is clearly different from the rest. The backgrounds differ, the challenges differ, and the enemies differ. The enemies tend to fit well into each environment too. In addition to just having different themes for each world, there are different themes for each level types. Mario encounters regular courses, side pushers, castles, water courses, doomships, and occassionally other things. Nice job here.

Characters: 6

I almost gave a perfect score just because I get to be in it! As I hope you know, this is the first game that features the Koopalings, and you should buy it just for that. But seriously, this game had many different enemy characters. All of the enemies from Mario 1 come back, Bob-omb is welcomed in from Mario 2, and then there is a whole slew of new foes, many of which go on to see future games, such as Boo Diddly (later Boo Buddy or just Boo), Thwomp (who later lost his spikes), and Chain Chomp. I took away one point because, as in Mario 1, you can only play as Mario and Luigi.

Secrets and Bonuses: 7

Yes yes, another perfect score. But look! First of all, just try to play the game and find every 1-Up Mushroom and every item block. Is it possible? Who knows?! There are a lot of them, and it is cool to be bouncing around and suddenly find a secret box. But even if there were no secrets inside the courses, look outside, on the map. There's Toad's House and Spade Panel, and that's good fun. Don't forget the White Toad's House or the coinship that sometimes you can get to appear. But the thing that's really cool is that there is a real two-player version. In Mario 1, the two-player mode was each player doing a level in turn. In Mario 3, if Mario clears 1-1, Luigi can go on to 1-2, and they take turns, working together. But when one player gets greedy and either wants another turn or a goal card (used to get extra lives) they can start a fight. The "fight" is an improved version of the original Mario Brothers, where Mario had to earn points by hitting blocks and flipping over enemies, and there are four different styles. Call over a friend and play this!

Items: 7

This game has a lot of items! This comes after Mario 1, where the only power-up is the Fire Flower, and Mario 2, where there are no power ups. Here, the Fire Flower returns, as does the Starman, and Mario can also find Raccoon Leaves, Frog Suits, Tanooki Suits, and Hammer Suits. Although some of these suits are very rare, as the Fire Flower remains the most common power-up, they are integral parts of the game. What's more is that you can finally use some strategy about when to use them. Some items come out of ? Blocks, and then you must use them immediately or not take them. Other items, however, can go into your inventory, and you can choose, before you enter a course, if you want to use one. How cool is that?

Replay Value: 6

You can play this game lots of times, just trying to find all the items, or just trying to find a way through each course alive. This almost deserves yet another perfect score, but I just couldnt bare to give it one. Sorry.

Difficulty: 2

This is the only category where I am going to nail this game. Yes, I know I am a poor player, but I think this game is impossible. Obviously it isn't, but there are so many enemies that I would feel pretty lucky if I could get through Grass Land without Game Genie. The poor rating comes in because as a general rule I don't like games that are this difficult. However, anyone who wants a challenge will enjoy this game. If I liked hard games, I would give this a 6 or maybe a 7.

And Finally...

Fun Factor!: 7

No question here. This game is fun Fun FUN! I love it! Sure, later Mario games have a lot more eye candy, better music, and more game to play, and yet this remains a strong candidate for my favorite Mario game ever. It's either this or Mario RPG, and the latter is losing ground while I reminisce about this classic.

Recommendation:

Get it! Play it! Just do- ooh, I can't say that, or Nike might sue me. But if you can get this game and a working NES, get it! More likely is that you can get Super Mario All-Stars and a working SNES. Super Mario All-Stars, in case you don't know, contains Mario 1, Mario 2, Mario 3, The Lost Levels (Mario 2 in Japan), and may contain Mario World, all on one pack. There are a few differences between the NES Mario 3 and the SNES version, such as slightly better graphics and new names for the eight worlds, but nothing that should diminish the Fun Factor. You won't be sorry if you play this game. And if you are, you're not really a Mario/Koopa fan.

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