Super Boy 3 (Master System) Playthrough

A playthrough of Zemina's 1991 platformer for the Sega Master System, Super Boy 3.

Super Boy 3 was the third of Zemina's South Korea-exclusive series of Mario game knock-offs. Like the first two Super Boys, it was created for the MSX and then ported to the SG-1000 and sold as a Master System game.

While the first two games took their cues from the original Super Mario Bros. (   • Super Mario Bros. (NES) Playthrough -...  ), S-Boy's sixteen stage quest to save the princess is loosely based on Super Mario World (   • Super Mario World (SNES) Playthrough ...  ) and borrows many of its enemies and level design elements from that game. Like the first two Super Boy games, the third is a surprisingly competent platformer given the hardware constraints, but this one feels like it had a lot more effort poured into it.

The levels are more thoughtfully laid out, the scrolling is smoother, the controls and physics have been refined, and the background graphics are more detailed this time around. It's still a far cry from the quality of the real Mario games, but it's a much better game than the first two.

It feels like more than just a Mario clone thanks to the creative liberties Zemina took with the source material. The mushroom powerups now take the form of plants (radishes? palm trees?) floating in glass orbs, and invincibility stars now resemble the Pepsi logo. I guess Zemina was trying to push Super Boy 3 as the choice of a new generation. (Or they were just feeling patriotic.)

The title screen is probably the most memorable part of the entire thing - what is even happening there? We have a Koopa Troopa dressed like Monopoly's Uncle Pennybags-turned-drag ball host with his top hat, rainbow cane, and orange ball slippers, and Mario looks positively insane with winking black eyes, dueling cowlicks, and his choice of "jewelry." That necklace - is he wearing the crushed remnants of Johnny 5's head around his neck, or is it a melted PlayStation controller? Either way, I'm scared. Maybe even scarred.

That sums up Super Boy 3 pretty well, I think. It's an oddly compelling, nightmare inducing Mario clone that's good for a few laughs. Why not give it a try?

If you'd like to see the other Super Boy games:

Super Boy I:
   • Super Boy I (Master System) Playthrough  

Super Boy II:
   • Super Boy II (Master System) Playthrough  
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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