Super Mario Bros 3 is a 1988 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released for home consoles in Japan on October 23, 1988, in North America on February 12, 1990, and in Europe on August 29, 1991. It was developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka.Players control brothers Mario or Luigi, who must save Princess Toadstool and the rulers of seven different kingdoms from the antagonist Bowser. As in previous Mario games, they defeat enemies by stomping on them or using items that bestow magical powers; they also have new abilities, including flight and sliding down slopes. Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced many elements that became Super Mario staples, such as Bowser's children (the Koopalings) and a world map to transition between levels.Super Mario Bros. 3 was praised by critics for its challenging gameplay and is widely regarded as the greatest game released for the NES, and one of the greatest video games of all time. It is the third-best-selling NES game, with more than 17 million copies sold worldwide. It also inspired an animated television series, produced by DIC Entertainment.Super Mario Bros 3 was remade for the Super NES as a part of Super Mario All-Stars in 1993 and for the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 in 2003. It was rereleased on the Virtual Console service on the Wii U and 3DS, and was included on the NES Classic Mini. On September 19, 2018, it was rereleased on the Nintendo Classics service with added netplay.