Syobon

Syobon Action hates you. You’ll find this out the hard way: every jump, platform, mushroom, pipe... even the cloud in the background is out there to kill you. In time you will hate Syobon Action. And that’s why you’ll love it so much.

The original Super Mario Bros. is often parodied since it’s immediately recognizable, a game you've played hundreds of times. But parodies are usually short-lived. Once the humor has worn out, you’d probably would be rather playing a “real” game, something that challenges you.

Syobon Action, though, never gives up throwing puns at you, keeping the a challenge present at all times. It’s a tribute to all the unforgettable moments of Super Mario Bros. While going from left to right, you constantly feel at ease because you think you know this game so well. You remember those moving platforms and know exactly how to time your jump onto them. Only this time they move away once you get near them. When you see the flagpole at the end of the level, you’ll jump right at it. Only this time the flagpoles are just as deadly as Bowser and have to be avoided at all costs! Syobon Action punishes you for thinking you’re playing good ol’ Mario.

In time, Syobon Action becomes a teeth-gritting puzzle game of memory as you painstakingly try to figure out the logic of this mad Mario world while your life tally reaches the sub-hundreds. But every time you fail, you’ll laugh out loud, “that’s not fair!!”. Luckily, beating the game feels like well deserved victory and you then get to show the game to your friends and sadistically laugh at them while they make the same mistakes you did.