geektastically's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
timdams's review
3.0
A tad too personal stuff thats totally not related to the topic and shouldnt be in here.
flexmentallo's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
There are so many great individual threads in the book, but it jumps around too much to really hone in on any of them individually. Alyse focused most heavily on the relationship with her father, but didn't go into enough depth. I thought the way she queer-coded aspects of the game was really interesting, but again: Slight. The history on the game's development and marketing was probably the most fulfilling and thorough aspect of the book, and the part that worked the best.
djotaku's review
4.0
Even though I'm older than the author of this book, I have a different, though similar, relationship with this game. I don't know if it's because I didn't have a lot of friends growing up or because my parents were (at the time) struggling to make ends meet, but I completely missed the marketing blitz of SMB3. I only heard of The Wizard a decade or more later.
I know at least part of it has to do in the difference with our parents. Ms Knorr's father played Mario with her. My parents were super wary of video games. They bought into the narrative that they'd rot brains and limited our exposure. (At least while we were young) Partly because of this and partly because we didn't have lots of money - $60 was a lot more in those days especially including inflation - we rented most of our video games. So, unlike Ms Knoff, it wasn't about exploration for us. It was about trying to get to the end of the game before we had to return it. Reading this book explains why we'd been playing it wrong all these years.
That said, even as a young kid I knew Super Mario Brothers 3 was something special. It really expanded what I thought a platformer could be even if I didn't even know that was a category of game. (Frankly, nearly all of them were platformers back then)
I've enjoyed a few of these Boss Fight Books in the past. Like the others, this one was great in that it exposed me to a side of the game I'd never considered. It really opened me up to a different way of considering the game. And tidbits like the Japanese baddie names being onomatopoeic (the Japanese do love their onomatopoeia) or Miyamoto being slightly disappointed in the game 20 years later really expand the universe of SMB3. I think if you lived through the time period of this game, this book will mean a lot to you. If you didn't, I think it's still a fascinating exploration of a game that is the root of nearly every game since. Even games like Halo, which are a completely different genre, benefit from the lessons of SMB3 and how to inform the player of how their game world works.
I know at least part of it has to do in the difference with our parents. Ms Knorr's father played Mario with her. My parents were super wary of video games. They bought into the narrative that they'd rot brains and limited our exposure. (At least while we were young) Partly because of this and partly because we didn't have lots of money - $60 was a lot more in those days especially including inflation - we rented most of our video games. So, unlike Ms Knoff, it wasn't about exploration for us. It was about trying to get to the end of the game before we had to return it. Reading this book explains why we'd been playing it wrong all these years.
That said, even as a young kid I knew Super Mario Brothers 3 was something special. It really expanded what I thought a platformer could be even if I didn't even know that was a category of game. (Frankly, nearly all of them were platformers back then)
I've enjoyed a few of these Boss Fight Books in the past. Like the others, this one was great in that it exposed me to a side of the game I'd never considered. It really opened me up to a different way of considering the game. And tidbits like the Japanese baddie names being onomatopoeic (the Japanese do love their onomatopoeia) or Miyamoto being slightly disappointed in the game 20 years later really expand the universe of SMB3. I think if you lived through the time period of this game, this book will mean a lot to you. If you didn't, I think it's still a fascinating exploration of a game that is the root of nearly every game since. Even games like Halo, which are a completely different genre, benefit from the lessons of SMB3 and how to inform the player of how their game world works.
avedon_arcade's review
4.0
It’s a nice in depth look at not only the game but everything surrounding it and it’s release as well as it’s lasting impact. Wasn’t too keen on the personal stuff but I guess that’s what this series is sorta doing, grounding these historical games with personal accounts of those who played them. This was one of the better ones by far.
nostalgick's review
4.0
This is less of an exploration of SMB3's design and more of a deep dive into the effect the game had on video games, culture in the 80s and 90s, and the author's personal experiences growing up as a tomboy. The book frequently switches between personal anecdotes and historical or analytical passages, which can be a little jarring. But I liked the more anecdotal sections more because I related a lot to Knorr's experiences playing games with her dad and brother as well as feeling left out on the playground, as someone who also enjoyed video games and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and didn't have many friends to share them with. There's even a short exploration of gender norms and identify that I was happily surprised by.
The details of SMB3's history, though, are widely known at this point and were a little tedious to read through, but they're probably fine for someone less familiar with the subject matter. The more I think about SMB3, the more I can see connections between it and Spelunky 2, both in their imperfections and innovations. I can play both games endlessly, despite getting frustrated at both at times. There's magic in the design of both, and I like that it's hard to pin down exactly why Spelunky 2 or SMB3 are so good, even for Knorr or Shigeru Miyamoto. Nostalgia plays a big part in the love we have for Mario and the 90s, for sure, but SMB3 is still a game anyone can appreciate and enjoy without the rose-colored glasses. And this book captures that reverential feeling extremely well.
The details of SMB3's history, though, are widely known at this point and were a little tedious to read through, but they're probably fine for someone less familiar with the subject matter. The more I think about SMB3, the more I can see connections between it and Spelunky 2, both in their imperfections and innovations. I can play both games endlessly, despite getting frustrated at both at times. There's magic in the design of both, and I like that it's hard to pin down exactly why Spelunky 2 or SMB3 are so good, even for Knorr or Shigeru Miyamoto. Nostalgia plays a big part in the love we have for Mario and the 90s, for sure, but SMB3 is still a game anyone can appreciate and enjoy without the rose-colored glasses. And this book captures that reverential feeling extremely well.
melanie_page's review
3.0
Content Warnings: none
The publisher Boss Fight Books fills a specific niche, one that thrills the hearts of old-school gaming nerds everywhere. Each book they publish is a nonfiction work about a videogame, but the authors approach their topics differently. Alyse Knorr tackles one of my favorite videogames of all time, Super Mario Bros. 3. Knorr expounds on her own history with the game, why it was so popular, and how the creator controlled even the smallest details of the game’s look, feel, and playability.
The audience for this book isn’t hard to pinpoint. You must have played the game to understand Knorr’s book, but you likely wouldn’t be a hard-core fan who sought out all the extras and history of SMB3. If you haven’t played, you won’t be able to picture the maps, characters, and special features of SMB3. The right reader will be thankful for reminders because they probably haven’t played the game since it came out in the early 90s. For example, I remembered the little guy on the cloud that would throw spiney things, but Knorr describes and them names the character– Lakitu. Reading was like travelling down memory lane, though it would have been much better to have images! Likely, the copyright would be too costly for a small press like Boss Fight Books, though.
Knorr lovingly writes about her days watching her father play SMB3 and then growing to be the one who played while her little brother watched. Bringing in similes, Knorr analyzes her relationship to the giant lizard bad guy, Bowser, and how she felt like a monster, too, because she likes girls. Yet, Knorr could also relate to Mario, the guy chasing after the princess. SMB3 allowed Knorr to take on multiple identities in her childhood in a way that helped her explore herself, and this perspective was new and interesting to me.
Yet, these personal anecdotes didn’t always smoothly integrate into the book. At it’s core, Super Mario Bros. 3 is a book about a game — nonfiction and educational. So, when Knorr explains there are caves Mario navigates and then claims she’s been in an Alaskan cave, the significance wasn’t readily apparent to me. I wasn’t sure if she had been encouraged by an editor to add more about herself where it wasn’t needed. I spent countless hours playing SMB3 and know that the caves are gray or blue-ish, but not realistic.
While these leaps between the personal and the game could be jarring, I was perplexed by the organizational structure as a whole. Where would the book go next? At times, the information circles around to something we read maybe 30 pages before, giving the direction a slinky shape. I wondered why the progression wasn’t simply straightforward: development, marketing, why everyone loved it, the long-term impact of the game, and then why Knorr loved it. In a later chapter, it reads like Knorr is concluding, but I turned the page and there was another chapter. The book is short at 176 pages, but possibly could have been shorter.
I did learn some secrets about the game and benefitted from the sources Knorr includes — and all sources are cited at the end, which is sure to please conscientious readers like me. While I played SMB3 for a whole summer, I wasn’t the kid who got the Nintendo magazine or talked about the game with tons of friends, so I was interested when I read about the impact SMB3 had on children in other types of communities. A must-read title with some caution about being the right audience and development issues.
I want to thank Boss Fight Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book review was originally published at Grab the Lapels
The publisher Boss Fight Books fills a specific niche, one that thrills the hearts of old-school gaming nerds everywhere. Each book they publish is a nonfiction work about a videogame, but the authors approach their topics differently. Alyse Knorr tackles one of my favorite videogames of all time, Super Mario Bros. 3. Knorr expounds on her own history with the game, why it was so popular, and how the creator controlled even the smallest details of the game’s look, feel, and playability.
The audience for this book isn’t hard to pinpoint. You must have played the game to understand Knorr’s book, but you likely wouldn’t be a hard-core fan who sought out all the extras and history of SMB3. If you haven’t played, you won’t be able to picture the maps, characters, and special features of SMB3. The right reader will be thankful for reminders because they probably haven’t played the game since it came out in the early 90s. For example, I remembered the little guy on the cloud that would throw spiney things, but Knorr describes and them names the character– Lakitu. Reading was like travelling down memory lane, though it would have been much better to have images! Likely, the copyright would be too costly for a small press like Boss Fight Books, though.
Knorr lovingly writes about her days watching her father play SMB3 and then growing to be the one who played while her little brother watched. Bringing in similes, Knorr analyzes her relationship to the giant lizard bad guy, Bowser, and how she felt like a monster, too, because she likes girls. Yet, Knorr could also relate to Mario, the guy chasing after the princess. SMB3 allowed Knorr to take on multiple identities in her childhood in a way that helped her explore herself, and this perspective was new and interesting to me.
Yet, these personal anecdotes didn’t always smoothly integrate into the book. At it’s core, Super Mario Bros. 3 is a book about a game — nonfiction and educational. So, when Knorr explains there are caves Mario navigates and then claims she’s been in an Alaskan cave, the significance wasn’t readily apparent to me. I wasn’t sure if she had been encouraged by an editor to add more about herself where it wasn’t needed. I spent countless hours playing SMB3 and know that the caves are gray or blue-ish, but not realistic.
While these leaps between the personal and the game could be jarring, I was perplexed by the organizational structure as a whole. Where would the book go next? At times, the information circles around to something we read maybe 30 pages before, giving the direction a slinky shape. I wondered why the progression wasn’t simply straightforward: development, marketing, why everyone loved it, the long-term impact of the game, and then why Knorr loved it. In a later chapter, it reads like Knorr is concluding, but I turned the page and there was another chapter. The book is short at 176 pages, but possibly could have been shorter.
I did learn some secrets about the game and benefitted from the sources Knorr includes — and all sources are cited at the end, which is sure to please conscientious readers like me. While I played SMB3 for a whole summer, I wasn’t the kid who got the Nintendo magazine or talked about the game with tons of friends, so I was interested when I read about the impact SMB3 had on children in other types of communities. A must-read title with some caution about being the right audience and development issues.
I want to thank Boss Fight Books for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book review was originally published at Grab the Lapels
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