Cat Mario is highly based on the classic game Super Nintendo Mario. The player’s goal is to make it through six levels using the same basic gameplay as the original game, but the level of difficulty is distinctly higher. Hidden in each level are a series of booby traps that, while they keep the gameplay interesting, can be incredibly frustrating.
Title: Cat Mario / Syobon Action
Genre: Platform / Indie
Mode: Single Player
Date: 2007
Platforms: Browser, Mobile
How difficult can a game be if it was created in only three days? Pretty hard, as it turns out. Your favorite Nintendo hero has become strangely feline, but that’s all part of the charm of Cat Mario.
If you’ve ever played Unfair Mario, this game is very much like that. However, we must admit that it’s a darn sight more charming since you’re playing as a cat. The game’s actual title is Syobon Action, but most know it as Cat Mario. The game was created in only three days by Japanese game developer Chiku, a fact that makes all of us want to reevaluate our lives and consider going to college in Japan.
The graphics are the same charming 2D as the original Mario game, and players will certainly feel a sense of nostalgia as they make their way through levels. As with Unfair Mario, seemingly innocent elements in the game, including unsuspecting tiles and backgrounds, are designed to attack or trick the player when they least suspect it. Pitfalls and an evil flagpole are determined to kill the player as he or she wanders peacefully along. Yes, we said evil flagpole.
The soundtrack to Cat Mario is a variety of MIDI tracks from other games that have been modified for Flash. They can get incredibly annoying after awhile, but it’s better than watching your Neko-chan die in total silence. The controls are a bit too responsive, but then again, so were the ones in the original Mario game. You sail 100 feet in the air every time you jump, and it’s somehow still not enough to launch you across pitfalls and deadly spikes.
If you’re a sucker for punishment, just try playing Cat Mario. Remarkably, even though the game seems impossible to beat, there are players who have actually succeeded. Lots of swearing was involved, and we’re not sure as to their current sanity level, but they made it. Even with all the frustration involved, this game is addictive and will have you playing for hours trying to win your place among the other successors. There’s even a Syobon Action 2 and Syobon Action 3, as well as a revamped version called Cat Mario 3 with updated graphics. It’s all in three days’ work for creator Chiku.