Pinside rating
This game received 102 approved Pinsider ratings and currently rates 6.998 /10
Score breakdown
Score breakdown in the 4 main categories:
Game design: 6.649
Artwork: 7.361
Sounds/Music: 6.742
Other Aspects: 7.169
Pinside staff rating
This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 4 of us have rated this game.
Ranking history
An overview of this machine's ranking over the last years. Lower is better.
Rating history
An overview of this machine's rating over the last years. Higher is better.
Found 49 ratings (with comment) on this game
There are 49 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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8.876/10
5 months ago
Middleburg Heights, OH
Super Mario Bros. - AWESOME theme! This title as you would guess, includes a lot music/sounds from Mario (Super Mario World to be exact). The sound and music quality is really good, and super nostalgic.
Game play is fairly simple. To fit with the Mario theme, the main goal is to destroy all 7 castles. You basically do this by lighting SUPER, and hitting the castle. Spelling SUPER is easy - Hit the left ramp, use the upper flipper to hit that ramp and get a letter. Hit one of the two (giant) scoops on the sides for the "R". Then hit the castle by shooting between the pop bumpers.
There are other modes that incorporate some different shots for points, of course. There is also a video mode which is pretty cool where you use the flipper buttons to run or jump - basically playing a Mario game.
Overall, this is a really fun game. The "Hit the ramp over and over and then the castle" can and will get boring probably - but again, there are some other modes to mix it up. This is a great game for location, kids, Mario fans, and casual/new pinball players in general.
Game play is fairly simple. To fit with the Mario theme, the main goal is to destroy all 7 castles. You basically do this by lighting SUPER, and hitting the castle. Spelling SUPER is easy - Hit the left ramp, use the upper flipper to hit that ramp and get a letter. Hit one of the two (giant) scoops on the sides for the "R". Then hit the castle by shooting between the pop bumpers.
There are other modes that incorporate some different shots for points, of course. There is also a video mode which is pretty cool where you use the flipper buttons to run or jump - basically playing a Mario game.
Overall, this is a really fun game. The "Hit the ramp over and over and then the castle" can and will get boring probably - but again, there are some other modes to mix it up. This is a great game for location, kids, Mario fans, and casual/new pinball players in general.
Bologna
7.265/10
11 months ago
Brisbane
All my reviews are going to follow a simple formula for those reading.
Number of shots to make - Pro's - Con's - Must Have Mods - What To Look For When Buying
Number of shots - 6 - average
Pro's:
* Video Mode is fun and fits the theme well
* Love that the call outs are a bit offbeat before Nintendo controlled it too much
* The "Super" feature where the target pops up between the flippers is good
* Jackpot shot is a fun shot between the pops
Cons:
* The scoops are so big you can drive a truck through them
* It can get boring hitting the left ramp over and over
* It does tend to lean towards more being a childrens game than seasoned players
Must Have Mods: (Note I will not include things like LED's, Color DMD, Invisiglass or Speaker Upgrades unless it's really badly needed)
* Cliffy protector set
* Tunnel replacement mod
What To Look For When Buying
* Wear on the parts not covered in mylar is common in particular above the pops and around & below the flippers
* Green ramp isn't broken
* Pop bumper covers aren't broken as they are hard to find
* Tunnel isn't missing or has significant paint loss
Number of shots to make - Pro's - Con's - Must Have Mods - What To Look For When Buying
Number of shots - 6 - average
Pro's:
* Video Mode is fun and fits the theme well
* Love that the call outs are a bit offbeat before Nintendo controlled it too much
* The "Super" feature where the target pops up between the flippers is good
* Jackpot shot is a fun shot between the pops
Cons:
* The scoops are so big you can drive a truck through them
* It can get boring hitting the left ramp over and over
* It does tend to lean towards more being a childrens game than seasoned players
Must Have Mods: (Note I will not include things like LED's, Color DMD, Invisiglass or Speaker Upgrades unless it's really badly needed)
* Cliffy protector set
* Tunnel replacement mod
What To Look For When Buying
* Wear on the parts not covered in mylar is common in particular above the pops and around & below the flippers
* Green ramp isn't broken
* Pop bumper covers aren't broken as they are hard to find
* Tunnel isn't missing or has significant paint loss
8.055/10
1 year ago
As a huge fan of the Mario franchise, I wanted to give this game a fair amount of time before committing to writing a review.
Pros: A surprisingly good balance of shots in the game. Gottliebs are notorious for being horrifically unbalanced, but this game set in tournament mode is actually not a bad game. The left ramp is definitely the dominant shot, however, the game does a really good job incentivising the player to make the different shots to light multiball and play through the various modes.
Music is good, and there's a really nice level of attention to detail. Each island on the backglass lights up as you complete each "world" and destroy each castle. Nice touch. Each player also gets their own background animation on the DMD--another nice detail considering this was Gottlieb's first use of the DMD on a pinball machine. Luigi's got a spooky cave, complete with a ghost, which had to be a lucky guess, since Luigi's Mansion wouldn't come out for at least a decade longer.
Downsides:
The game lacks fundamental strategy that most B/W games had at the time. Really, it boils down to start the mode, play the mode, move on. You can stack some modes with each other or with being "super," but it's not really a strategic opportunity.
The speech is grating. It's cool that this was Charles Martinet's first public portrayal of Mario, but the speech is repetitive and difficult to understand at times.
Stopping to watch the roulette wheel spin is fun exactly one time. After that, it just bogs down the game with unnecessary stop and go.
Bottom line:
This game is a ton of pure fun. Fighting your way through the castles really is a good time. It never takes itself seriously, it's absolutely loaded with a ton of features, with a ton of things to shoot for, and has a great theme. Maybe not the best choice in a small collection, but if you're a Nintendo fan, or want to have something that really stands out, this game is a great choice.
Pros: A surprisingly good balance of shots in the game. Gottliebs are notorious for being horrifically unbalanced, but this game set in tournament mode is actually not a bad game. The left ramp is definitely the dominant shot, however, the game does a really good job incentivising the player to make the different shots to light multiball and play through the various modes.
Music is good, and there's a really nice level of attention to detail. Each island on the backglass lights up as you complete each "world" and destroy each castle. Nice touch. Each player also gets their own background animation on the DMD--another nice detail considering this was Gottlieb's first use of the DMD on a pinball machine. Luigi's got a spooky cave, complete with a ghost, which had to be a lucky guess, since Luigi's Mansion wouldn't come out for at least a decade longer.
Downsides:
The game lacks fundamental strategy that most B/W games had at the time. Really, it boils down to start the mode, play the mode, move on. You can stack some modes with each other or with being "super," but it's not really a strategic opportunity.
The speech is grating. It's cool that this was Charles Martinet's first public portrayal of Mario, but the speech is repetitive and difficult to understand at times.
Stopping to watch the roulette wheel spin is fun exactly one time. After that, it just bogs down the game with unnecessary stop and go.
Bottom line:
This game is a ton of pure fun. Fighting your way through the castles really is a good time. It never takes itself seriously, it's absolutely loaded with a ton of features, with a ton of things to shoot for, and has a great theme. Maybe not the best choice in a small collection, but if you're a Nintendo fan, or want to have something that really stands out, this game is a great choice.
8.400/10
1 year ago
Neepawa, MB
I may be biased towards this pinball machine and theme, as I've always been a big fan of both Nintendo and the Super Mario franchise. But I just can't get enough of this game. It's not a deep game, but it doesn't need to be. It's hard to find any way to describe it other than being pure fun. The theme is great, the flow is great, the shots are great.... everything is just great fun. There are several different objectives to shoot for, and a few different ways to rack up your score. There's also a few hidden things to discover as well. I love it, my 6 year old son loves it, my guests love it. It's a fun pin to keep going back to. Did I mention it was a lot of fun yet? Because it is. It's so much fun. Give one a try sometime if you like Mario, you won't be disappointed.
9.136/10
1 year ago
Stangely enough, a lot of people love this game, always more WTB than FS, but its rating is far for being representative...
Maybe because it's Gotlieb, maybe because it's Kawai or maybe because of the crappy scoring rules.
For me, the only week point with this pin is the music. Not bad, but you reall want to ear the classic Mario's scores, and you won't.
Theme is great, playfield and side art are great. It's hard to find one with a neat playfield because the SMB were played to death, and still are by the way. I'm not a big fan of the backbox, it looks like a chinese bootleg of a Mario's cartridge game, but it's far from being "Stern ugly". If you're fine with the kawai Nintendo style, it's certainly one of the most beautiful themed machine ever.
Now the scoring: it sucks, this pin should never been used in competition. Because SMB is not about scoring, it's about obtaining replays. And choosing the best strategy to obtain a replay: score, or completing all the modes or destroying the 7th castle. Score and castle depend of previous players.
The gameplay should seem simple today, and the playfield lakes toys, but remember it was the 1st true Gotlieb dmd, and as this time it came out, we were all amazed how crazy was this pin compared to anything else existing before it.
As a conclusion: I love it, everybody loves it, it's completly underestimated, grab one before the Nintendo factor makes it a crazy collector priced item!
Maybe because it's Gotlieb, maybe because it's Kawai or maybe because of the crappy scoring rules.
For me, the only week point with this pin is the music. Not bad, but you reall want to ear the classic Mario's scores, and you won't.
Theme is great, playfield and side art are great. It's hard to find one with a neat playfield because the SMB were played to death, and still are by the way. I'm not a big fan of the backbox, it looks like a chinese bootleg of a Mario's cartridge game, but it's far from being "Stern ugly". If you're fine with the kawai Nintendo style, it's certainly one of the most beautiful themed machine ever.
Now the scoring: it sucks, this pin should never been used in competition. Because SMB is not about scoring, it's about obtaining replays. And choosing the best strategy to obtain a replay: score, or completing all the modes or destroying the 7th castle. Score and castle depend of previous players.
The gameplay should seem simple today, and the playfield lakes toys, but remember it was the 1st true Gotlieb dmd, and as this time it came out, we were all amazed how crazy was this pin compared to anything else existing before it.
As a conclusion: I love it, everybody loves it, it's completly underestimated, grab one before the Nintendo factor makes it a crazy collector priced item!
6.692/10
2 years ago
Super Mario is like a dream theme for me as a huge nintendo fan but sadly this game is not too great. I'm personally not a fan of gottliebs of this era and so already its down for me. The rules are pretty simple with a few basic modes started by collecting the green shells. The multiball is easy to get, but the jackpot shot through the pops and into the castle is actually quite tough and fun to go for.
7.535/10
2 years ago
Not bad, especially if you love Nintendo. This machine came out before Mario's personality was on total lock-down, so he says funny things like, "Holy macaroni!" I spent a lot of time just waiting for the ball to return to play, but aside from that, it's pretty fun. If you dig on Mario it's a must play. I can see how it would get really repetitive though.
Linköping
7.827/10
4 years ago
Big mario fans so theme is king, super easy to understand , hit the left ramp an try an make it across to collect your super letters to become super mario an go straight through the bumpers an smash that castle, sounds pretty straight forward but isn't the easiest , cool modes going for it , that totally relate to video game, the way the designers translated the mario bros licence into pinball is fantastic , they did a great job an made it friendly for new an experienced players alike to play an have fun, with out having the stress of not knowing to shoot for away , because the rules are very basic an easy to follow, not really the game for me personally to have in a small collection because of the repetetive music an call outs but find one on location I'm there all night, really fun game, totally love it, especially when playing with family and friends.
5.848/10
4 years ago
I love the theme, the art is damn near perfect. The gameplay is a bit lacking though. Not very much fun.
9.560/10
5 years ago
Not sure why this game is rated so low. It may not be the most complicated ruleset out there but it is really good at letting you know what shots to hit. I like a game that you can figure out while playing and not so complex that you have to go online just to figure out how to play it. The artwork is awesome and I do love the theme so maybe that's partly why I like this game so much. I picked one up recently despite all the negative reviews and I couldn't be happier that I did.
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