Hello everyone! Here before you is chapter one of my own adaptation of Super Mario Bros for the NES (and several other systems lol). I've been wanting to this for a long time and finally hit upon the right ideas. It's odd you can go a long time and struggle with a story and then suddenly you know just what to do. Well I know what to do for the early chapters anyway; parts of this story will be a journey of discovery for me as well.
Super Mario Bros, as well as any sequels that follow it (and I plan to certainly try), is dedicated to a very good friend of mine. He is very much a fan of the Mario video games and has been interested in my writing these for a while. I hope the finished results will be worth his wait. I hope my work brightens his day as well as the day of anyone who reads it.
Happy reading!
The Princess and the Plumbers
It was a marvelous day in the Mushroom Kingdom. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and all seemed right. The many different inhabitants of this land, be they human, mushroom, or any of the various other species who lived here, were all happy. A particularly peaceful area was the land owned by the Mario Brothers. The small cottage was nestled in a clearing in the woods and was surrounded by many random boxes, pipes, and tools. Mario and Luigi were currently working with these items in an odd game.
"Too slow little brother" Mario said as he expertly twirled his wrench and added a pipe to the construct forming around him. "You can't fumble with your tools like that."
"Stop lecturing, I know what I'm doing" Luigi grumbled as he wiped sweat from his brow and finished connecting the pipe "And what's with the little brother line? We're twins!"
"Still one has to be older, even by a little bit, it's only logical" Mario said as he swiftly connected another pipe.
The brothers were each constructing a tower of various forms of pipes to keep their plumbing skills sharp. It was also a friendly race to see who could complete their structure first. Both were very experienced in their trade but Mario somehow always seemed superior.
"And…done" the plump brother said as he sat in triumph at the top of his tower of pipes. He tucked his tools into the deep pockets of his overalls and waved his red cap in triumph.
"Aw nuts" Luigi exclaimed as he set down the final pipe he had picked up only seconds before.
"Hey don't feel bad; you win some, you lose some."
"I seem to win less and lose lots" Luigi replied as he removed his green cap to scratch his head.
"Oh you're exaggerating little brother" Mario replied
"We're twins!" Luigi shot back with a stamp of his foot. This was an old argument with no real anger in it but it was still easy to get a rise out of Luigi and Mario sometimes couldn't resist. Mario however was occasionally just as easy to trigger and Luigi took his shot "If anyone is the little brother it's you, shorty."
"Woah, that's a little below the tool belt, don't you think?"
"Hey if the plunger fits…"
"What does that even mean?"
"It means…well it means I'm taller and thus the big brother."
"I was born first so I'm the big brother."
"Well lah de dah, like being born takes any skill."
"And being tall does?"
"I obviously drank more milk growing up."
"Oh please" Mario said rolling his eyes
"Well I'll show you I have skills. We still have to take these messes apart."
"I'll be happy to help you after I'm done" Mario said as he pulled out his wrench once again and swung to a lower rung of the structure.
The brothers worked like maniacs and pipes fell all around them. Occasionally they would free a pipe above them and then side stepped the falling metal easily. In remarkably short time, the two towers had been reduced to a pile of random parts with the Mario Bros lying in the midst of the mess and panting from fatigue.
"Who won?" Mario asked after a minute
"I wasn't paying attention to what you were doing but I'm sure you finished second."
"I did not…I think."
"Well we can't have a tie" Luigi said popping up to a sitting position
"No we can't" said Mario while also sitting up
The brothers faced each other and their eyes narrowed and blazed. They each extended a fist and simultaneously moved them up and down a few times. "Scissors" they both cried out as they extended two fingers each.
They glared at each other and repeated the process. "Rock!" "Paper!" "Rock!" "Scissors!" They cried each word out seemingly with one voice and keep flashing identical gestures. After a few more draws they glared at each other again before bursting out laughing.
"Ah I hate it when that happens" Mario said between giggles
"Me too" Luigi chortled
They flopped back down and looked up at the clouds. After a few minutes, Mario said "I suppose we should clean up the yard."
"We should" Luigi agreed
Regardless of these statements, the twins continued to lie where they were and gaze sleepily into the sky. They had been enjoying the peaceful day off but now it was growing boring.
"Mario?" Luigi said
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Do you ever wish something exciting would happen?"
"What do you mean by exciting?"
"Oh I don't know…it's just that the Mushroom Kingdom can be a little dull at times. It would be nice if something would shake up the monotony."
"More like shake you" Mario said as he playfully nudged Luigi "You can get scared walking to the bathroom at night."
"I do not! I, er, I sleepwalk sometimes and happen to have nightmares while doing so."
"Oh yeah I'm sure" Mario said rolling his eyes
"Anyway it doesn't have to be something scary. Just…something."
"I don't know what could happen with Princess Peach doing such an awesome job of ruling. I mean she's the best."
It was Luigi's turn to nudge his brother. "You would say that, wouldn't you?"
"What does that mean?" an angry Mario replied "Do you think she's doing a bad job?"
"Of course not; the princess truly is top notch. I just mean that you have, shall we say, feelings for her."
"Wha…who says? We're friends, that's all."
"Oh yeah I'm sure" Luigi echoed Mario's words from earlier
This current round of bickering was interrupted by the sound of a warp pipe being used. Warp pipes were a way to travel to certain areas of the Mushroom Kingdom very quickly and one was located just a short way from the Mario Bros house. The brothers sat up and turned to face the pipe; a short man with a mushroom for a head had emerged from it and was running toward them.
"Yo Toad" Mario said in greeting to the visitor while Luigi waved "What brings you here on this fine day?"
"I was sent by the Princess" he replied in a high pitched, breathless voice
"Woah, calm down and catch your breath buddy" Luigi said
Toad nodded in appreciation of Luigi's concern but plowed right on anyway "The Princess says that she has plumbing emergency she needs you guys to fix."
"Then the Mario Brothers are at your service" Mario said jumping to his feet "We'll just grab our tools and we'll be on our way."
"Don't we already have our tools" Luigi said gesturing first to the remains of their game and then to his own pockets stuffed with wrenches and other paraphernalia.
"Rule one of plumbing, little brother" Mario called out as he emerged from the house with a red toolbox in one hand and a green one in the other "Always be prepared for anything."
"Sometimes I think you take this job just a little too seriously" Luigi said taking his offered toolbox
"No such thing as too seriously Luigi. Always shoot for excellence in all you do. That's rule one for life. Anyway, we need to get going!"
Luigi shook his head and smiled as his brother's enthusiasm and joined the others at the Warp Pipe. One after another, they jumped into it and zoomed along at an amazing speed before popping out of an identical pipe at the western edge of Toad Town.
Toad Town, despite its rather simple appearance, was the Capitol of the Mushroom Kingdom. As the name indicated, it was primarily populated by the mushroom like species called Toads. The Toads were a peaceful race and lived in both rural and urban areas of the Kingdom alongside other interesting races. Sometimes disputes did rise between the different peoples of the land but Mario was correct in saying that Princess Peach was very good at her job. In times of conflict, she always managed to facilitate happy solutions to these issues.
As they the trio walked through town, Luigi waved to the many Toads they passed on the road and pondered something. "Toad, it has always seemed interesting to me that you're a Toad but you're name is also Toad."
Toad simply shrugged and said "What can I say? My parents weren't very creative."
The Mario Brothers chuckled at this answer and soon they turned onto the main road through town. It wasn't much longer until they were passing through the northern gate into the grassy hills surrounding Castle Toadstool. As they walked Mario began to ask Toad about the nature of this plumbing emergency but he had no answers to give.
"She didn't really say what the problem was. She was just very agitated and said I should get the two of you here as soon as possible."
"Oh my, then let's hurry" Mario said, quickening his pace.
The others rushed to keep up and soon they were cresting a large hill and the castle came into view. Its spotless white walls and red roofs were a pleasant contrast against the greenery. A particularly nice touch was the stained glass window of the Princess above the front doors but they didn't stop to take in the view. There were a pair of Toads standing guard at the gate but they simply waved the trio through and onto the castle grounds. They were waved into the Castle itself just as easily and they were greeted by an elderly Toad leaning on a walking stick.
"Greetings Mario Brothers" the old man said with a respectful bow.
"Hello Toadsworth" Mario answered
"I already know why you are here. The Princess awaits you in her royal chambers."
"Yes sir" Luigi said and they trekked up the stairs and beat a familiar path to the Princess' bed room.
"Knock knock" Mario called out while actually knocking on the door.
"Come in Mario" a lovely if somewhat flustered voice called out. They entered to find Princess Peach Toadstool sitting on her bed in a fluffy pink bathrobe and fuzzy pink slippers on her feet. Her usually well styled dark blonde hair was a bit of a mess and her face showed irritation. "Thank you for coming; you as well Luigi."
"Er, no problem" Luigi said as he tried not to stare at the Princess' unusual appearance. "What can we do for you?"
"My shower won't work at all and I desperately need to wash my hair for an important dinner tonight. I can't meet with the king of Sky Land unless I look my best."
"Aren't there other showers in the castle?" Luigi asked but Peach looked more irritated.
"I…well…it's embarrassing" she responded "A princess must be a picture of dignity and beauty at all times, at least according to Toadsworth, and I am a little subpar at the moment." She gestured to her mop of uncombed hair as evidence and went on "Also I like my shower, it's nice and roomy and it steams just the right amount."
She was on the verge of saying more but Mario cut her off "You don't need to explain your highness. We're more than happy to help you in your time of need."
"Yes indeed" Luigi said throwing out his chest "We'll have you looking the picture of princessly perfection in no time flat."
She calmed down and said "Thank you very much."
They were soon at work in the royal bathroom and Princess Peach watched the work from the door. "This also provides us a chance to see each other. It's been a while since our last get together."
"Ah so now we get to the heart of the matter" Luigi said "And I do mean heart" as he looked from Peach to Mario and back. The princess and the plumber both blushed but Peach also smiled a little.
"I deeply treasure my friendship with your brother Luigi" she replied in a dignified voice "just as much as I treasure our friendship."
Luigi grinned and continued his work. Mario, wanting to change the subject, asked "What does the King of Sky Land want?"
"Oh not much" Peach replied in a bored tone of voice "Just a few affairs of state, you wouldn't be interested."
"We might. We may be just simple plumbers but we're pretty smart. Well I am anyway" he said glancing down at Luigi who was digging for a certain tool in his box
"Hey watch it Mario. We may be on duty now but revenge can be served cold."
"Oh he's just teasing" Peach said "You're both very smart."
"Well you wouldn't believe it listening to some people, Princess" Luigi said in a huff "It's always Mario this and Mario that…we're even called the Mario Bros."
"That's because it's our last name, Luigi Mario" his brother replied "Hey, that's something good about you; your name isn't boring and repetitive like mine. Can you imagine if people came up to me and said 'Hello hello Mario Mario' or 'How are you, Mario Mario?' Toad isn't the only one with uncreative parents."
Luigi smiled and said "Hey you're the guy so nice they named you twice!"
"That's a great way to put it Luigi" Peach said with a wide smile.
"Thank you very much, your highness!"
"Oh I wish you wouldn't be so formal. 'Miss Peach' will do or 'Beautiful Goddess' is also nice."
"Oh ho" Luigi said "Someone certainly doesn't have any self esteem issues."
She turned serious and replied "I wish that described you Luigi. You can be so hard on yourself."
"She's right bro" Mario said as he expertly reassembled the shower head "Have a little more confidence…and courage."
"You just had to keep going" Luigi said as he playfully smacked Mario with the rag he had just used to wipe the muck off of his hands.
"Ew, this job is grungy enough without you spreading it around. Anyway, we're all done Princess!"
"So quickly?" She clasped her hands in joy as he turned on the water to demonstrate. "Excellent! You two really are the best in the kingdom!"
"Ah it wasn't much" Mario said in a humble voice "Just a tiny issue really, no sweat."
"What he said" Luigi added with smile
"Well thank you both so much! I hate to shoo you away but I do have to get ready for tonight. Talk to Toadsworth and he'll see to about your fee." She saw them about to protest and literally put her foot down "No arguments. Work is work and you two do the best! Now off you go. I promise we'll try to do something fun together soon."
They said their farewells and left her to her shower. Mario said "I do sometimes feel bad taking her money."
"Hey she's the princess; she can spare a few coins. Friendship is one thing and business is another."
"Yeah I'm just being silly."
"What you're being is in…"
"Don't even start with me" Mario said as he took a swipe at Luigi but his brother was already running down the stairs. "Hey we're in a castle, not a track field" Mario called after him
"If it were a track field, I'd kick your butt in every event" Luigi called back
And thus the Mario Bros bickered on their way back through the castle and also all the way back home. It had been a good day and they were looking forward to enjoying more good times in the days to come.