Another of the
Satellaview titles released for the
Super Famicom online service in
Japan, 1995's
BS Super Mario Brothers 3 takes the
Super Mario All-Stars rendition of
Super Mario Brothers 3 and remixes it slightly. Every week gamers could download and play one of the game's worlds and play through it for the time that the game was available. While the game plays mostly like its
game pak counterpart, there are several tweaks and changes to be found.
The game begins by displaying a scanned box cover of the Super Mario Brothers 3 game (much like on the game select screen of Super Mario All-Stars) then, after a brief pause for loading, the game announces which world is about to be revealed ("Next course world 4" for example). Then the map screen appears, although it's not the map screen we all know and love. While all of the levels are intact, they have been shuffled to create a new map terrain. Plus once a level is completed it is not locked out, meaning that gamers can replay their favorite levels over and over again. Furthermore unfavored levels can be skipped outright. Passing through each course unlocks access to the famed treasure ship. A timer ticks down the time in the corner of the screen and when times runs out Mario is sent to battle Boom Boom, the guardian of the mini-forts. Beating him reveals the magic wand that is held by the Koopalings in the game pak version of the game, and collecting the wand ends the game for the week. This sequence continued for other weeks of the game until, eventually, Mario faces off against King Koopa himself.
There are several other changes to the game. Mushroom Houses still exist, but entering one simply calls up a menu where gamers can pick from one of three treasure chests. A fire flower icon is also on the map, and winning the text-based challenge it presents provides Mario with a fire flower on each new life. Character artwork is also present throughout the game's loading screens and depicts Mario in some danger or talking with friends. One particular piece of artwork shows Mario being interviewed by a radio show for some reason.
Like most other quality BS titles, this game has been dumped to a ROM and now floats around the Internet. Since the Satellaview service was discontinued in the late 1990s it is no longer possible to play the game in the way that was originally intended: online.
References:
http://nintendoland.com/home2.htm?funfacts/BSSMB3.htm