Standard Edition
StandardIn the box
- Game Boy Advance cartridge
- Bonus e-Reader cards
- Box with cover art
- Instruction booklet
Game Boy Advance
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 is a 2003 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance.
Platform
- Update patch
- No patch
- Time to beat
- about 5.7 hours
- Plays offline
- Yes
Overview
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 is a 2003 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in Japan, and later released in Europe, North America, and Australia. It is an enhanced remake of the 1988 NES video game Super Mario Bros. 3, and is based on the remake found in Super Mario All-Stars for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Players control either Mario or Luigi as they travel through the eight kingdoms of the Mushroom World to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. The game was revealed at Nintendo's conference at the E3 2003 convention. It contains several enhancements, including the addition of Mario and Luigi's voices by Charles Martinet, the ability to scan e-Cards into Nintendo's e-Reader to add certain content, and a multiplayer mode based on the original arcade game Mario Bros.. The game also allows players to save replays of their gameplay.
The e-Reader compatibility received some interest from critics before the game's release; however, the e-Reader itself proved to be a failure. This led to two of the four e-Reader card series to only be released in Japan, and for the game to get a new version that does not market e-Reader capability. Critics generally felt that the e-Reader connectivity was sub-optimal, but that the content offered through it was high quality. Super Mario Advance 4 was critically acclaimed, and the game sold 2.88 million copies in North America. This version was eventually re-released on the Wii U's eShop and later on the Nintendo Switch's Nintendo Classics service. Both versions featured all e-Reader levels, including levels originally only available in Japan.
Official trailer
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 Wii U Virtual Console trailer, NintendoEverything. Watch on YouTube
Gameplay
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 - Longplay | GBA, Project Longplay. Watch on YouTube
Screenshots
Game details
- Genres
- Platform
- Developer
- Nintendo
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Series
- Mario
- Platforms
- Game Boy Advance
- Age rating
- ESRB E
- Modes
- Single player
- Yes
- Local multiplayer
- Yes
- Online multiplayer
- No
- Co op
- No
- Age ratings
- ESRB
- E
Release dates
| Platform | Region | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Game Boy Advance | North America | 2003-10-21 |
Editions
Space and patches
Update patchNo patch
DLC
No DLC. Game Boy Advance games had no downloadable content.
Playable today
Playable offline todayYes
No online features; every mode on the cartridge works today on any Game Boy Advance, and the game is on Nintendo Switch Online. The e-Reader levels need an e-Reader and the cards.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price at release | US$34.99 Nintendo's suggested retail price at launch in 2003. |
| Ever released on disc | Yes, on Game Boy Advance cartridge |
| Ever released in the store | Yes, 21 January 2016 On the Wii U Virtual Console. Later in the Game Boy Advance library of Nintendo Switch Online on 8 February 2023. |
| In the store to buy today | No The Wii U shop has closed. Playable with a Nintendo Switch Online membership. |
| Can be downloaded again if you already bought it | Yes Wii U Virtual Console purchases can still be downloaded again. The Nintendo Switch Online version needs an active membership. |
| Disc runs with no patch | Yes |
| Disc runs with the final patch | Does not exist No patch was ever released. |
| Has online features | No |
| Online servers running today | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: campaign | Yes |
| Playable offline today: local multiplayer | Yes Up to four players in the Mario Bros. mode. |
| Playable offline today: online multiplayer | Does not exist No online play. |
| Playable offline today: DLC | Does not exist No DLC. |
Online
Plays offlineYes
Reception
- Aggregates
Outlet Platform Score Scale Metacritic Game Boy Advance 94 100 - Critics
Outlet Score Scale IGN 9.5 10 GameSpot 8.9 10 Game Informer 9.5 10 Electronic Gaming Monthly 9.3 10 Eurogamer 9 10
Staff and cast
- Staff
Role Name Developer Nintendo R&D2 Publisher Nintendo Director Hiroyuki Kimura Producer Takashi Tezuka Designers Yasuhisa Yamamura, Shigeyuki Asuke
Notes for collectors
- Super Mario Bros. 3 rebuilt for Game Boy Advance, with Charles Martinet voicing Mario and Luigi.
- New levels and power-ups came on e-Reader cards; North American boxes came with bonus cards.
- The Wii U and Nintendo Switch Online versions include every e-Reader level, even the ones released only in Japan.
- Includes the Mario Bros. arcade game for one to four players.
- Sold 2.88 million copies in North America.
Credits
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Developer
- Nintendo
- Director
- Hiroyuki Kimura
- Released
- 2003-10-21
- Age rating
- ESRB E
- Region
- US
- Time to beat
- about 5.7 hours
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