Mario 3 holds a special place in my heart, as it's my favorite 2D Mario game. I loved Super Mario World, but after replaying both games recently, I felt that Super Mario Bros. 3 had the best level design in the series. First of all, the graphics are a significant improvement over its predecessors. Mario looked like a collection of pixels in the original NES Super Mario Bros., but in Mario 3, he began to take on the appearance that we're all familiar with now. Besides featuring better character models, Mario 3's worlds were significant improvements over the levels found in previous games in the series. Unlike earlier Mario games, Mario 3 has several world maps featuring collections of stages. You don't necessarily have to complete every stage in each world--you only need to tackle the stages en-route to the castle. Each world features approximately ten levels that are all worth playing. Like the first Mario, there are plenty of options to skip worlds (with the handy whistles), but real gamers will want to tackle the whole experience.
The worlds contained in Mario 3 are far more diverse than those of previous Mario games. You'll stroll through grasslands, traverse deserts with quicksand, angry suns, and whirlwinds, leap through clouds and rotating platforms, skate across ice, and climb through pipe vaults. Mario's levels are fun to leap through even if you're just plain ol' Mario, but this game plays host to several new power-ups. Not only do you get fire flowers and invincibility stars that were in previous games, but you also get Tanooki suits, Hammer Brother suits, Frog suits, and much more. For the first time, you can also take to the sky and fly through an entire level. Mario 3 is chalk-full of secrets--there is enough here to keep most gamers satisfied for weeks.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is home to a memorable soundtrack, great visuals, superb level designs, a plethora of costumes, and it has as many secrets as a castle. There are dozens of unique levels to explore, and you also get to board airships to fight Bowser's Koopalings. If you missed out on the NES Mario games and don't know where to start, Mario 3 is the one to play. Getting the game on Virtual Console isn't a bad idea, but why not make good use of your money and buy all four NES Mario games together in enhanced form with Super Mario All-Stars. You won't regret it.