Super Mario Brothers 3 was the last major Mario video game made for the Nintendo Family Computer (in Japan) and the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in (North America and Europe). It was released in 1990.
It features the first appearances of Bowser's Children. Mario and Luigi have to save seven kingdoms of the Mushroom World from The Koopalings by recovering the wands that they stole from The seven kings of those kingdoms and they have to save Princess Peach Toadstool from the clutches of King Bowser Koopa. The names of the koopalings are Larry, Morton, Wendy, Iggy, Roy, Lemmy, and Ludwig. This was known to be the best selling game of all time. It was the number one video game of the early 1990s.
The game play is a return the style of Super Mario Brothers after a vast departure in Super Mario Brothers 2. The heroes can again jump on many enemies to destroy them, as well as take on many different forms by acquiring special items:
; Starman -> Invincible Mario (Item name later changed to Super Star, probably for copyright reasons) : Temporarily, Mario can kill enemies by touching them. He's impervious to death by any means except lava and bottomless pits. ; Super Mushroom -> Super Mario (same as Super Mario Bros). : Mario doubles in size and can take one hit without dying. ; Fire Flower -> Fire Mario ("Firey Mario" in the original Super Mario Bros). : Mario can throw fireballs that bounce across the ground. ; Super Leaf -> Raccoon Mario. : After getting a running start, Mario can fly for a short time. ; Frog Suit -> Frog Mario. : Movement on land is hindered, but swimming is greatly facilitated and accelerated. ; Tanooki Suit -> Tanooki Mario. : Can fly, just like Raccoon Mario; can also turn into a statue briefly, which renders him temporarily invincible. ; Hammer Brothers' Suit -> Hammer Brother Mario. : Mario can throw hammers, just like the Hammer Brothers from the original Super Mario Bros. (Hammer Brothers are present in this game as well, but their hammers look different.) Also, crouching renders him invincible to fireball attacks from above. ; Goomba's Shoe -> Kuribo Mario ("Kuribo" is Japanese word for Goomba) : Mario sits inside a large shoe. He can stomp on Pirahna Plants and Venus Fire Traps to kill them, and he can walk across the Munchers safely. His jumping ability is also augmented. This is available in only in level 5-3, and is lost when you clear the level.
The music was composed by Koji Kondo.
Super Mario Brothers 3 received a graphical and audio facelift for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in the Super Mario All-Stars cartridge of 1993. This version of the game also appears on the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Bros. 3: Super Mario Advance 4.