When comparing Super Mario Bros. vs Super Mario 3D Land, the Slant community recommends Super Mario Bros. for most people. In the question“What are the best Super Mario games?” Super Mario Bros. is ranked 1st while Super Mario 3D Land is ranked 6th. The most important reason people chose Super Mario Bros. is:
Super Mario Bros. introduced the concept of [level design as a tool for educating players](http://www.1up.com/features/learning-level-design-mario) that created a low barrier to entry for new players that was instrumental in pulling the industry out of the [North American Video Game Crash of 1983](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_video_game_crash_of_1983) and set the bar for level design for generations to come.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Birth of modern level design
Super Mario Bros. introduced the concept of level design as a tool for educating players that created a low barrier to entry for new players that was instrumental in pulling the industry out of the North American Video Game Crash of 1983 and set the bar for level design for generations to come.
Pro Greatly influential
The game's influence stretches beyond even this - many of the most important franchises and development studios in the industry got their start from imitating Super Mario Bros., including Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog and id Software's Commander Keen.
Pro One of first side scrollers
This game was one of the first side scroller games.
Pro It saved the video game industry
If this game didn't happen then video games would've died. Zelda, Metroid, DOOM, Sonic the Hedgehog, GTA, Call of Duty, and Halo would not have existed if it weren't for this game.
Pro Created defining mechanics of the platformer genre
Super Mario Bros. introduced several game mechanics that would become the bread and butter of platformers as a genre.
Pro Incredible amount of polish
Super Mario 3D Land is the flagship title in the 3D Mario series, and as such has a ton of polish with attention paid to every little detail.
Pro Tons of levels
There are a total of 96 levels and 16 worlds, although many of them are re-hashes.
Cons
Con Lackluster street pass support
The only thing street pass does is add a very short one room bonus level.