The Super Nintendo Entertainment System really blew me away when if first came out back in the early 1990s.  The first Nintendo Entertainment System was amazing and groundbreaking in itself, but when the SNES came out it was really the dawn of the modern era of video games for me.  The Sega Genesis and the Turbo Grafix 16 were already out, so the SNES was a fairly late arrival to the third generation of video game consoles, but it was worth the wait.  Of the third generation consoles, the SNES was my favorite and I owned all of them.  The SNES is the only one of the three I still sometimes play today.

One of the more memorable aspects of the system was the Super Nintendo controller.  The Super Nintendo controller was also groundbreaking in a lot of ways.  Not only did it have twice as many buttons on the face as the original NES controller, the Super Nintendo controllers had twin shoulder buttons as well.  Looking at controllers for the current generations of video game consoles, its clear that the Super Nintendo controller set the stage for the future. 

The style of the Super Nintendo controller brought options to the SNES games that would otherwise not be possible.  One game I recall this making a particularly strong effect on was Street Fighter II.  Arguably one of the most popular SNES games made, and probably one of the most popular console games ever, Street Fighter II wouldn’t have been the same on a controller with a different set up.  Every button was not only used but necessary, and the very arrangement of the Super Nintendo controller was vital to the game play.  The folks at Sega realized this perhaps a little too late, and came out with their own wannabe version of Super Nintendo controller for their Genesis, but it lacked shoulder buttons, and wasn’t nearly as comfortable to use.  

Looking at current game controllers, they really haven’t changed all that much.  Today they have newer grips that allow for trigger buttons as well as should buttons, but the actually face of the controllers look very much like the original Super Nintendo controllers.  Some of them, like Microsoft’s Xbox controller, even have a similar kind of color scheme to the buttons that was on the old SNES controller.  I guess it makes sense, I mean if it isn’t broken, why fix it?  The Super Nintendo controller is a tried and true formula, and will probably continue to influence game controllers for generations to come.

The Super Mario Bros are one of the most recognizable pairs of video game characters ever created by Nintendo.  When the first Nintendo came out in the mid 1980’s it was of course a huge success, but not right away.  The very first Nintendo games didn’t immediately stand out from other games on the market for the already successful systems like the Atari 2600.  It wasn’t until they released the game ‘Super Mario Bros’ that the full potential and capability of Nintendo’s first console system was realized, and only then did it become an icon of 1980s entertainment. 

Realizing what a huge success the first Super Mario Bros game was, Nintendo soon began including the game as part of the package when you bought the system.  When I first got my Nintendo Entertainment System, it came with the Super Mario Bros game and I was in video game heaven.  Having been an avid fan of the Atari, I was dumbfounded by the graphical and audio improvements seen in the Nintendo.  More than the better graphics and sounds, the sheer size and scope of the Super Mario Bros game was what really made the Nintendo stand out.  Atari games had all been extremely short with very little depth, but the Super Mario Bros game just kept going and going.

Super Mario Bros games are still coming out today for the more current Nintendo systems, like the ‘Gamecube’ and the ‘N64’.  Indeed, the Super Mario Bros are symbols for Nintendo systems, and have probably done more to bring in business for the Japan based company than any other advertising campaign they’ve ever come up with.  Just putting the Super Mario Bros into a game somehow is almost a guaranteed way to make sure the game sells well.  It’s no surprise then that there are so many variants of Mario Bros games out there now.

One of my favorite more recent Super Mario Bros games is the Mario Kart series.  These games are fun because they are designed to be played against other players at the same time.  You could play the original Super Mario Brothers games with more than one player, but not simultaneously, so you were always waiting for your friend to die so you could have your turn.  The Mario Kart games are fun because you can play with several players and compete in a away that isn’t too serious, which keeps the mood friendly.