Super Mario Bros.

Released 13 September 1985 Developer Nintendo R&D4 Publisher Nintendo

Platformer
Switch 2
Switch
NES

You run and jump through eight worlds as Mario, stomping enemies, grabbing coins and power-ups, and racing to reach Bowser's castle and rescue Princess Toadstool. It is a short, side-scrolling game that is easy to start and hard to finish, and it suits all ages.

Money health FairPay clearly, know the ceiling

Addictive design None0 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in

Average price —no price listed yet

Spending ceiling Has a ceilingYou can buy it all

How it makes money

Fair: pay clearly, know the ceiling

Super Mario Bros. began as a cartridge you bought once, and Nintendo no longer sells that cartridge new. Today the official way to play the original NES game in Australia is the NES library in Nintendo Switch Online: A$29.95 for 12 months, or A$5.95 per 30 days, for an individual membership. It is not sold separately, and you lose access when the membership ends. The game itself has no ads, timers or in-game purchases.

How you pay

Our verdict

Fair · Pay clearly, know the ceiling

You know what you are paying for before you pay, and there is a limit to what the game can take.

Set by the worst badge central to how it makes money (minor extras count only if rated Caution or worse). How we rate

Addictive design

None

Little: it is a finite eight-world game with no daily rewards or unlocks to chase; replaying is about speed and skill.

Not a medical measure. It counts the engagement hooks deliberately built into the game — timers, streaks, limited-time pressure, paid randomness. How it's scored

Spending ceiling

There is a ceiling: you can buy everything the game sells.

What it costs

Price: —

What	Where	Price	Checked
Individual membership, 12 months (NES library) Standard Nintendo Switch Online tier; the game is not sold separately and is only playable while the membership is active.	Nintendo Switch Online (AU) ↗	A$29.95/year	Oct 2026
Individual membership, 30 days Renewal price shown on the Nintendo membership page after the free 7-day trial.	Nintendo Switch Online (AU) ↗	A$5.95/30 days	Oct 2026

Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.

Reviews from across the web

What the critics said

9/ 10

Nintendo Life ↗

Philip J. Reed · 13 September 2013 · Wii U eShop (NES)

Called the game one of gaming's great masterpieces and welcomed it onto the Wii U Virtual Console.

Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.

Age ratings

Classification

No classification recorded yet.

Safety & parental controls

Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?

No chat
No contact with strangers
No user-made content
Needs an online account

Cartoon-style action (stomping enemies, dodging fireballs) with no blood. On Nintendo Switch Online the NES library has no in-game chat. Online play is set up with friends ("join with friends online and share your screen" on Nintendo's page), and on Switch 2 the separate GameChat feature adds voice and screen sharing with friends. A Nintendo Account and a paid membership are needed to play it at all. I could not find an individual Australian classification for the NES game; the NES library app as a whole carries a PG classification, which is not specific to this game.

Platforms & release

Where you can play it

Platform	Released	Store
Nintendo Switch 2 NES - Nintendo Classics also runs on Switch 2.	—	Store page ↗
Nintendo Switch NES - Nintendo Classics, included with Nintendo Switch Online.	September 2018	Store page ↗
NES / Famicom Famicom (Japan) 13 September 1985; Nintendo Entertainment System in North America from late 1985, Europe 1987 and Australia July 1987.	13 September 1985	—