Super Mario Bros. 3/Gameplay

Starting Out
As the game opens, you'll see Mario and Luigi perform a brief fight scene. Pressing once will make Mario and Luigi disappear to reveal three turtles running across the screen; then, choose one or two players and hit  again to reveal the game map. A small window will appear in the middle of the screen, indicating the player and the starting lives. Navigate to level 1 and hit to start.

Map Features
The map features many rectangles marked with a level number. You cannot get past a rectangle that marks a level you have not conquered; however, there is a shortcut on the map that lets you skip levels 3 and 4. Also, when you conquer the castle level, the lock will disappear, so if the game becomes over, the lock will still be gone, so you can skip directly to level 5. The mushrooms featured on the map are toadstool houses. When you enter one, a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom will greet you. You will be presented with 3 chests, each of which can be opened by pressing to reveal a power-up. However, you can only open one chest for each house, and the power-ups switch around for each house. The Ace-marked rectangle is a aligning challenge. When you enter it, you are presented with three different power-ups: a flower, a mushroom, and a star. The three power-ups are divided into three sections, which are rapidly moving horizontally. You must hit while the sections are aligned into one power-up. If you properly align a mushroom, you get two extra lives; a flower, three; and a star; five. The brown figure toward the end of the screen is a Hammer Brother. If you touch him, you will be drawn into a mini-level that features the Hammer Brother on top of a platform made of brick. The best way to defeat him is to run underneath him and jump up, bumping the brick under his feet. This will kill him. When he dies, a toolbox will appear somewhere on the screen. Touch this tool box, and it will open to reveal a star power-up. The brick to the utmost right will sometimes reveal a mushroom/flower power-up. Very rarely, the Hammer Brother will be replaced by a ghostly ship. This ship is full of coins, but at the end leads to a room with two Boomerang Bashers on either side of you. The star you receive, as well as any power-ups you receive at any location other than a regular level, will go into your "pocket". This pocket can be accessed by pressing at the map. The castle at the very end will show you to your last quest of that "World", which is to rescue the Magic Wand from the terrible Little Koopa. When you complete that, you will be shown to the next world, which is a sandy territory. This World follows the same pattern as the world before it, but adds additional dangers.