Has there ever been any platformer better then the Mario series? Of course not! This one is granddaddy of Mario games!
So, when rating this game that way, this game was hands-down THE BEST platformer of it's time. Everything about this game was perfect! The difficulty level was easy enough in the beginning for new players and kept increasing through the levels to keep seasoned players challenged. Mario's world (in all Mario games from this one on) is large and unique with lots of areas to explore and lots of "goodies" to collect.
This game is just as much fun to play today as it was when it was introduced on the NES. While there may be some differences between the NES version and this port to GBA, I don't notice them. Every Mario game is a platforming masterpiece! Nintendo has the formula down perfectly and this older Mario title is no exception. As a kid, I played this game for days! As an adult, I find it just as much fun now as then. Sure, the newer Mario games have more substance in them and a bit more eye candy, but for FUN FACTOR, this one is still tops!