Mario Bros. (Game & Watch)

This article is about the Game & Watch game. For the arcade game, see Mario Bros.

Mario Bros.

The French-language variant of the console
DeveloperNintendo R&D1
DirectorGunpei Yokoi
SeriesGame & Watch
PlatformsHandheld electronic game
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Advance
Commodore 64
ReleaseMarch 14, 1983
GenreAction game
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

Game & Watch Multi Screen: Mario Bros., commonly referred to as Mario Bros.,[nb 1] is an action Game & Watch video game, initially released as a dedicated handheld electronic game on March 14, 1983. The game features Mario and Luigi moving bottle crates between conveyor belts in a bottling plant, stacking the crates into delivery trucks. The game was the first appearance of Luigi.

The game received mixed reviews. The game has been subsequently ported to the video game compilations Game & Watch Gallery 3 and Game & Watch Gallery 4. An unofficial sequel known as Mario Bros. II was released for the Commodore 64 in 1987. The price of the original Game & Watch console has increased since its release; in addition, the console has been on display in various museums around the world.

Gameplay

The game features Mario and Luigi working at a bottling plant.[2] A player guides Mario and Luigi up and down ladders using two rocker switches on the right and left sides of the console respectively.[3] The brothers move bottle crates between conveyor belts which run between the two screens. Crates appear at the bottom right, and are moved to the top right, where they are placed into a delivery truck.[3][4][5] When eight crates fill the truck, the brothers take a short break before an empty truck takes its place.[4][6][7] The console can be played with one player using both switches, or with two players controlling one switch.[4]

Development

See also: Mario Bros. § Development

Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi had created the concept for Luigi, as a brother for Mario; Luigi's name was derived from the Japanese word Ruiji (類似; lit. 'similar'), as Luigi was originally a palette swap of Mario.[8] Miyamoto did not help design the game itself.[2] Due to the hardware limitations of the console, the characters would be silhouettes in the game, as with all other titles in the Game & Watch series;[8] on the outer front case of the console, Luigi is depicted in color, wearing overalls and a shirt.[8]

The gameplay for the Game & Watch version of Mario Bros. differs significantly from the 1983 arcade game of the same name; two major differences were the use of two screens, and the setting being in a bottling plant instead of a sewer.[8] The console was the first of three games in the Game & Watch series to use two screens placed horizontally, the other two being Rain Shower and Lifeboat;[4][6][9] the consoles were held like a book.[4][10] The console was intended to be viewed from right to left, like the writing direction of the Japanese language.[4]

Hardware

The console weighed about 146 grams (5.1 oz),[9][7] and the console's dimensions when closed were 96 by 89 by 24 millimeters (3.78 in × 3.50 in × 0.94 in).[9][7] The dimensions of the two screens were 54 by 35 millimeters (2.1 in × 1.4 in).[9] The only inputs for the game were two rocker switches, with one on each side of the console.[7] The console's components consisted of a single large-scale integrated CMOS chip, a crystal oscillator, and a liquid crystal display. The console had a built-in 12-hour clock, and an alarm which could be set at 1-minute increments.[7][4] The console was powered by two LR44 batteries.[7][4]

Game & Watch console hardware gallery
  • The outer front case of the Game & Watch console
  • The Game & Watch console, turned on and fully open
  • The outer rear case of the console, with the battery cover

Release

The console was released on March 14, 1983,[8][10][3][11] with about one million units produced.[12][13] The game was registered in the United States Copyright Office on August 30, 1983.[11] The console was Luigi's first appearance, predating the 1983 arcade game by approximately three months.[8][4][5][6] The console was initially sold in Japan for ¥6,000 (equivalent to US$82 in 2025).[7][6] The console was advertised in various magazines and catalogues in the United Kingdom until the 1990s, with a price averaging £20 (equivalent to $97 in 2025).[14][15][16]

Ports and sequels

"Mario Bros. II" redirects here. For other uses, see Mario II.

The Game & Watch version of Mario Bros. was ported to the video game compilations Game & Watch Gallery 3[17][9] and Game & Watch Gallery 4.[18][9] In 1987, an unofficial sequel to Mario Bros. was released for the Commodore 64.[2][19] The sequel, titled Mario Bros. II, was developed and published by Thundersoft. In the sequel, the appearances of Mario and Luigi differ significantly from other appearances of the brothers in Nintendo games. The game is played similar to the original Mario Bros., but the bottle crates have been replaced with cakes, and the brothers work in a cake shop instead of a bottling plant.[19]

Reception and legacy

The game received mixed reviews. A writer for the Chinese magazine Pocket Gamer said that the game was "seemingly simple but quite actually deep", and described the early character designs as "very appealing".[20] Hiroyuki Maeda recommended the game in Game & Watch Perfect Catalogue, stating that the game was "hectic" when played with one player—comparing it to another Game & Watch game, Green House—and less difficult when played with two players.[7] In the second volume of The Story of Nintendo,[nb 2] Florent Gorges criticized the simplicity and pacing of the game, in favor of the 1983 arcade game.[6] Jeff Ryan wrote in Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America that Mario Bros.—as well as two other Game & Watch games released in 1983, Mario's Cement Factory and Mario's Bombs Away—had depicted Mario in a "cartoonlike role ... trying to cope in any number of stressful environments."[2]

The console has increased in its value since its release. In 2004, Mitchell Beazley wrote in Miller's Toys & Games that a console in its original packaging could be valued between US$75–85 (equivalent to $128–145 in 2025).[21] In 2005, a writer for the British magazine Retro Gamer estimated the value of the console without its packaging was £25 (equivalent to $75 in 2025); a console with its original packaging was £70 (equivalent to $210 in 2025).[22] Gorges wrote that the console was relatively valuable in comparison to other Game & Watch consoles; on a five-point scale, Gorges gave the console's rarity 3⁄5.[6] In addition, the console has been on display in various museums, including an English-language version in the Victoria and Albert Museum, in the United Kingdom;[12] an English-language version at the National Videogame Museum, in the United States;[5] and a French-language version at the HomeComputerMuseum, in the Netherlands.[10]

See also

  • Nintendo DS—a game console also made by Nintendo which used a similar screen layout
  • Mario Clash—a reimagining of the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros.

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: マリオブラザーズ[1], Hepburn: Mario Burazāzu
  2. ^ Spanish: La historia de Nintendo

References

  1. ^ "GAME & WATCH HISTORY—ゲーム＆ウオッチとは？" [Game & Watch History—What is Game & Watch?]. Nintendo (Timeline) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 10, 2026. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d Ryan, Jeff (2011). "5—Mario's Island: Japan and the Famicom". Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. The Penguin Group. p. 61. ISBN 9781101517635. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c "Mario Bros. Game & Watch Multi Screen". IGN. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i McFerran, Damien (September 12, 2018). "Hardware Classics: Exploring Luigi's Debut, The Mario Bros. Game & Watch". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on September 3, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c National Videogame Museum (November 27, 2023). "National Videogame Museum's Post". Facebook. Frisco, Texas: National Videogame Museum. Archived from the original on March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Gorges, Floren; Yamazaki, Isao (2016). La Historia de Nintendo: 1980–1991, Game & Watch, un invento sorprendente [The History of Nintendo: 1980–1991, Game & Watch, a surprising invention] (in Spanish). Vol. 2. Benacazón: Héroes de Papel. p. 101. ISBN 978-8-49428-818-0.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Maeda, Hiroyuki (September 29, 2018). ゲーム&ウオッチパーフェクトカタログ [Game And Watch Perfect Catalogue] (in Japanese). G-Walk Co., Ltd.. pp. 66–67. ISBN 978-4-86297-803-5. 『グリーンハウス』並に操作が忙しいゲームだが、マリオとルイージをそれぞれ別の人が操作する2人協力プレイをすると、ゲームの難易度が格段に下がる。ぜひ試してみてほしい。
  8. ^ a b c d e f Horowitz, Ken (2020). "7—Getting the Barrel Rolling". Beyond Donkey Kong—A History of Nintendo Arcade Games. McFarland & Company. pp. 99–100. ISBN 9781476641768. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Barros, Alexei (January 2009). "Despertar Portátil: Curiosidades e informaçōes do Game & Watch, a série de minigames que deu início à soberania de Nintendo" [Portable Awakening: Curiosities and information about the Game & Watch, a series of minigames that started Nintendo's sovereignty]. Nintendo World (in Portuguese). No. 119. Brazil: Distribuidora Nacional de Publicações. pp. 54–55.
  10. ^ a b c Gommans, Jop. "Nintendo Mario Bros Game & Watch". HomeComputerMuseum. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  11. ^ a b Mario Brothers. United States Copyright Office (Registration record). Nintendo of America; Nintendo Company. August 30, 1983 [March 14, 1983]. PA0000181688. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Game & Watch Multi Screen". Victoria and Albert Museum. March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
  13. ^ "Nintendo Game & Watch—Nintendos U(h)rzeit-Handhelds" [Nintendo Game & Watch—Nintendo's Primordial Handhelds]. MANiAC (in German). No. 138. Germany. April 2005. p. 72–73.
  14. ^ "Special Reserve". Computer and Video Games. No. 4. United Kingdom. February 1992. p. 2.
  15. ^ "Argos" (Shopping catalogue). United Kingdom: Argos. Spring 1988. p. 253.
  16. ^ "Xenon Technology: Hand Held Games". Amiga Format (Advertisement). No. 5. United Kingdom: Future Publishing Ltd. December 1989. p. 72.
  17. ^ Harris, Craig (December 8, 2018) [December 09, 1999]. "Game & Watch Gallery 3". IGN. Archived from the original on December 7, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  18. ^ Pallesen, Lasse (November 16, 2002). "Game & Watch Gallery 4". Nintendo World Report (Review). Archived from the original on March 11, 2026. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Mario Bros. II". Retro Gamer. August 25, 2008. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  20. ^ "25:『马里奥ブラザーズ』 / MW–56" [25: "Mario Bros." / MW–56]. 收藏GAME&WATCH—GBA模拟驾驶类游戏趣谈 [Game & Watch Collection—fun facts about GBA driving simulator games]. Pocket Gamer (in Chinese). Vol. 13 (First ed.). People's Communications Publishing Media Management Co., Ltd.. March 2004. p. 6. ISBN 7-114-04552-2. 这种画面左右分开的类型是后期的多屏幕系列，真的是非常有趣的一款游戏，看似纯但事实则却非常的有深度。看来初期设定原创角色实在是很有魅力啊。
  21. ^ Beazley, Mitchell (2004). "Computer and Electronic: What to Pay". Miller's Toys & Games (Buyer's guide). Miller's. p. 176. ISBN 1-84000-956-X.
  22. ^ "Watch a Go Go: Price guide". Retro Gamer. No. 10. Live Publishing, Ltd. February 2005. p. 88. ISSN 1742-3155.
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