Super Mario Bros./Gameplay

Controls

 * : Press left and right to direct Mario throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Press down to enter pipes, and press up to climb beanstalks.
 * : Pressing A makes Mario jump. The height of your jump is determined by how long you hold down the A button.  For long jumps, use the B button and accelerate before you jump.  When underwater, press A to make Mario swim to the top.
 * : Holding B makes Mario run instead of walk. Fire Mario can throw fireballs by pressing the B button.  He can send two fireballs at a time to blast away his enemies, even underwater.
 * ": Press Start to pause the action.

Continue: In order to continue in the world you were playing after dying, simply press while holding down  at the title screen.

One foot jumps: If a target is off to the side of a platform, position Mario so that one foot rests on the edge of the platform, and one foor rests in mid-air. Then jump up to perform a one-foot jump and hit out of the way targets.

Crouch and Slide: Super Mario and Fire Mario can "crouch and slide" by holding and  to run right, then hold  to duck into areas that are only one square tall.

Mario & Luigi
Mario and Luigi are the heroes and stars of the Super Mario Bros. adventure. When the game begins, they start out small. They can be killed if they are struck by an enemy while in this form. They can jump up and punch "?" blocks, but they can not break any bricks. Find a Super Mushroom as quickly as possible to give the brothers a fighting chance.

Super Mario & Luigi
After touching a Super Mushroom, Mario and Luigi grow to twice their original size. With this new found ability, they gain several powers. They can jump higher. They can smash bricks with their fist while jumping. They can access the Fire Flower power-up in order to become Fire Mario or Luigi. If they get hit while super, they do not die, they merely revert to their normal form. When this happens, they become invulnerable for a short period.

Fire Mario & Luigi
Fire Mario and Luigi have all of the same abilities as Super Mario and Luigi, and they gain one additional power: the power of fire. After taking possession of the Fire Flower, the brothers turn red, and they can toss fireballs from their hands by pressing. Up to two fireballs can be on the screen at one time. These fireballs are even accessible when the brothers are underwater. Fireballs bounce along the floor, and can fall down pits. Beware, there are some enemies which are impervious to fireballs. If Fire Mario or Luigi are struck by the enemy, they will revert all the way back to regular Mario and Luigi, a costly mistake.

Princess Toadstool & Mushroom retainer
While the princess is your ultimate goal, you will encounter and ultimately rescue seven Mushroom retainers until you find the correct castle and rescue the princess. Each time, the retainers will lamentably thank you for your services, but inform you that the princess is in another castle. As the Super Mario series evolves, Princess Toadstool comes to be known as Princess Peach, and one special Mushroom retainer is known as Toad.

Items
A variety of Power-Ups can transform Mario and Luigi in three ways. As Super Mario, Mario gets big, then if attacked by an enemy, he shrinks back to regular size, and continues the game. As Fire Mario, Mario shoots deadly fireballs. An enemies have no power over Invincible Mario--for a time.

"?" Blocks
"?" blocks are scattered all throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. They can occur alone, or in groups. Most of them contain a single coin, but a good number of them contain essential power-ups that can aid Mario and Luigi on their quest. No matter what they contain, it's always something that the brothers can use. The items listed below are the different possibilities.

Super Mushroom
It might not resemble the Super Mushrooms of later Mario games, but it has the same purpose: it transforms regular Mario into Super Mario. Super Mushrooms will rise out of a block, and proceed to the right. They will continue to move that way unless they hit an obstacle, or fall into a hole. Touching the Super Mushroom grants Mario and Luigi super power, doubling their height. This new size makes them easier targets, and makes it difficult for Mario and Luigi to squeeze through small spaces, but the rewards are worth it.

Fire Flower
This special flower can transform Super Mario into Fire Mario. They can be found by Super Mario in any block that would ordinarily contain a super mushroom. They rise out of the block, but unlike the mushrooms, they remain there, motionless. As mentioned above, Fire Mario can do everything that Super Mario can do, in addition to throwing fireballs.

Starman
Mario becomes temporarily invincible and will kill any enemy that he touches. Most of these are secretly hidden in normal blocks. Once revealed, they bounce around making them hard to catch. To become invincible, Mario has to catch the star. Enemies are powerless over Invincible Mario, but only for about 30 seconds. Listen to the music!

1-Up Mushroom
These move like mushrooms but give Mario an extra life. Many of these are hard to find and once out of the block, difficult to reach. Try to grab it before it moves permanently off the screen. They are distinguished from the super variety of mushroom by their color alone.

Coins
You will find coins floating in the air and in some blocks. If Mario or Luigi manage to collect 100 coins, they will receive an extra life (1-Up). You can carry your coins between courses.

Hazards
Pits, whether empty or filled with water or lava, are instant deaths if Mario falls into them. Mario will lose a life and revert to small Mario, even if he was Fire Mario when he fell in!

There are few enemies. Goombas are simple; jump on them, fireball them, or allow them to fall into a pit. Koopas retreat into their shells when you jump on them. You can touch their shells to kick them; the shells will kill enemies, bounce off walls, and fall into pits. You can destroy their shells with fireballs. Pirahna Plants emerge in and out of pipes, but they do not come out if you stand next to or on their pipe, or you can fireball them. Lakitus drop Spineys on you, and you must dodge or fireball the Spineys, though they will walk into pits. If you can reach high-enough, try to jump on or fireball the Lakitu, but another will appear later. Buzzy Beetles are immune to fireballs, but otherwise they have shells like Koopas; they tend to replace the Goombas in the challenge mode that you play after you finish the game.

Boss
At first, you might not know how to fight Bowser. If you are skilled enough to reach him as Fire Mario, then you could hit him with fireballs. Otherwise, do not attack Bowser directly. Instead, you need to reach the axe on his right, which you can conveniently use to knock Bowser into the lava. Dodging his fire breath or hammers, jump over Bowser, or run under him as small Mario when he hops. If he hurts you as Super Mario, quickly try to pass him and reach the axe.

If you do manage to beat him with fireballs, you will discover that the Bowsers of the first seven worlds are not really Bowser.

Do not...

 * Do not jump on Spineys.
 * Do not jump on Pirahna Plants.
 * Do not jump on Bowser.
 * Do not allow shells to bounce back to you and harm you.
 * Do not try to carry shells; Mario can only kick them in this game.
 * Do not forget that Super Mario can break brick blocks.

Warp Zones
Warp Zones allow quick access to later Worlds, and are availible in several levels.

World 1-2
Simply find your way to the top of the level and continue to the end of the level, continuing past the end pipe, until you reach a room with 3 tubes, this is the Warp Zone and allows access to Worlds 2, 3, and 4. There are several ways to do this, the easiest being jumping from the yellow moving platforms near the end of the level.

World 4-2
There are two Warp Zones in this level. One can be found in the same way as level 1-2, it leads you to World 5. The other one is accessed by finding a vine. The vine can be found in a block right after the first moving platform. You must hit several hidden coin boxes to reach high enough to it. After this is done, you should climb the vine which will take you to an area filled with mushrooms, continue on to reach the Warp Zone. This one will take you to Worlds 6,7, and 8.

Minus world
This a glitch that allows access to an infinitely long water level. To accomplish this, play through to level 1-2 until you reach the horizontal pipe at the very end. Jump up and break the second and third blocks from the wall (You must be "Super Mario" to do this.) Next, stand on the edge of the pipe facing away from the wall, jump up and hold right. The goal here is to reach the corner of the block you didn't break. If done correctly, you will be pulled through the wall into the Warp Zone. Quickly jump into the first tube before the screen stops scrolling to be teleported into World -1. For the curious, the second tube will take you to World 5, and the 3rd tube will also take you into World -1.

This trick can also be done in world 4-2, however the pipe only takes you to World 5.

A not so well known fact: the minus world is actually a blank character where the world number goes followed by a - and then a 1 for the level number. So the minus world is actually "World blank, Level 1".

Jumping the flag
In some worlds it is possible to jump over the flag at the end of the level. This was considered an urban legend for a long time, but has been proven to be possible by recording the action with a replay capable emulator. In additon, in Super Mario Bros. - The Lost Levels (Japan Only) there are areas set up in a way involving springboards that it is to jump the flag - but in doing so leads to a Warp Zone that warps you back to World 1.