The Lost Port: When ID Software Tried to Bring Super Mario Bros. 3 to PC
In the late 1980s, a small software company named ID Software was making waves in the PC gaming world with their innovative approach to game development. At the time, PC games were limited in their capabilities, and ID Software was determined to push the boundaries of what was possible.
One of the ways they did this was by creating a port of Super Mario Bros. 3 for the PC. This was a bold move, as Super Mario Bros. 3 was a Nintendo exclusive at the time, and it was considered to be one of the most popular games in the world.
ID Software’s port of Super Mario Bros. 3 was impressive. It captured the look and feel of the original game perfectly, and it even added some new features that were not present in the Nintendo version.
However, Nintendo was not interested in ID Software’s port. They declined to license the game, and ID Software was forced to abandon the project. This was a major disappointment for ID Software, but they did not give up. They continued to develop their own games, and they eventually became one of the most successful game development companies in the world.
Today, ID Software is best known for their work on games like Doom and Quake.
However, their port of Super Mario Bros. 3 is a reminder of their early days, and it shows that they were always willing to take risks in order to create innovative games.
A Super Discovery
Fast forward from the 90s, in the early 2020s, fate intervened in a most unexpected way. A nondescript box of donated retro computer equipment arrived at a New York City museum, its contents seemingly unremarkable. While sifting through the dusty relics, a curator stumbled upon a treasure: a floppy disk labeled simply “Mario 3.” Upon closer inspection, and with a surge of excitement, the curator realized it was a demo version of the very same Super Mario Bros. 3 port that id Software had created years ago. The lost prototype, a tantalizing glimpse into what could have been, had finally resurfaced, offering a tangible piece of gaming history and a testament to id’s ambitious early days.
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