REVIEW: Super Mario Bros Deluxe 1999 Color GB
	By: Nintendo Type: Platformer Players: 1-2 (via link cable) Difficulty: Hard

There's no point in asking whether SMBDX is good or not. After all, SMB is probably the most important foundation stone in videogame history, it had and still has an enormous following and it's brilliance still shines through today. It's the most cult game ever, of course it's good!

The untouchable!

Whether or not this remake is worth buying is a more delicate matter. If, for some mysterious reason you have never played SMB before (the thought of such a thing actually being possible makes me shudder), the stop reading here, go out and grab a copy, now. That is now, as in immediately, without a further second's delay. You cannot even begin to call yourself any kind of gamer unless you've played SMB completely to death.

But most of us will have owned and/or played SMB quite a lot, it's even very well possible that a few out there still have a copy of the original and play it regularly. Many hard-core gamers know SMB more or less by heart, so is there a point in paying through your nose (games are expensive after all) for this? Yes, there are a few extras, such as the VS mode and the print shop. Nice little bonuses, indeed, but they will probably only drive the die-hard Mario maniac mad with anticipation. More reasonable SMB veterans will be less eager to part with their cash for just a few little extras. However, one of these extras is well worth considering: the famous "Lost Levels" , i.e., the Japanese SMB2 are hidden in the cart. The chances that you know those by heart are quite slim, and they're one hell of a playing experience for any SMB expert. To really enjoy them, you must be a bit of a masochist, I'd imagine, as they're packed with jumps and obstacles so foul, so cruel that they single-handedly turn The Lost Levels into the most vicious nightmare you've ever faced. We all know Miyamoto's a god when it comes to game design, but who would have expected him to be such a devil as well? Unless you're a cool-as-ice samurai or something, you should treat them with care, as the sadist tortures of the Lost Levels are likely to send you into such fits of frustrated rage that you may well smash up that expensive color Game Boy. It would be a bad thing of that happened, wouldn't it? But seriously, one thing is in favor of games that are hard as nails, providing that they're tough in the right way (and the Lost Levels are), you'll feel very proud at getting further in them. "It's been an absolutely horrible level, but... I beat it!". So go on, let yourself be tempted by the devil....

 
Then there's the challenge mode, in which you replay the levels from SMB searching for hidden red coins and Yoshi eggs, and try to obtain a high-score. It's basically just an excuse to play the SMB levels over and over again, but that can only be a good thing, right?

This challenge mode and the Lost Levels do add a lot to the game (and the VS mode's really quite nice, too) and greatly extend it's lasting appeal. So there's something in there even for SMB die-hards. You'll fall in love with the game all over again. And of course, anything that pays homage to the brilliance of the original SMB is without doubt a very good thing. - Toasty 91%

Key to the reviewing system]