#51: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo, NES, 1988/1991)

It’s some production. Super Mario Bros. 3 has a cast of thousands and is the introduction point for almost as many iconic series images as the original: the snapping dog-on-a-lead chain chomps, the even more mighty-but-restricted thwomps, bouncy musical blocks. The goombas sitting in oversized green boots which became legendary depsite barely appearing. Boos, the ghosts who seize up when Mario faces them, a wonderful reverse of Super Mario Bros. 2‘s “things only exist so long as you are observing them”. Such is the richness of the setting that despite the game foregrounding its performativity, it still feels like it contains a more fully realised world than anything we’ve previously encountered.