Super Mario Bro's Legacy Lives On: Exploring the Evolution of Airships Across Nintendo Classics

Airship levels have become an iconic staple within the Super Mario series, transporting players across vast skies and through treacherous weather conditions since the original release of Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES in 1988.

Fast-forwarding to modern times with the launch of New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the Nintendo 3DS last year, fans were treated to a nostalgic throwback that paid homage to classic Mario games while still introducing new gameplay mechanics and features designed specifically for handheld consoles like the 3DS.

One such feature is the return of burners - those small fire spewing contraptions first seen in Super Mario Bros. 2 where they served as formidable obstacles on certain stages throughout Subcon, the dream world that serves as our hero's primary objective: defeating none other than the evil Wart himself!

However, these aren't your average airships from yesteryear; no sir! In New Super Mario Bros. 2 burners have received an overhaul - literally speaking since they now spew forth blue flames instead of their traditional red ones found in previous titles such as Super Mario World and even its own predecessor Super Mario Land.

But wait there's more! Not only do these babies still make appearances during airship levels but also pop up unexpectedly on certain ground-based stages too like world 8-2 where players must use all their wits & reflexes if they hope to avoid getting incinerated by one of these pesky little blazes!

And speaking of new tricks up our sleeve, did you know that in addition to simply jumping over them (a classic move which never goes out fashion!), we now have another way at our disposal - namely using a special item called the Statue Leaf! That's right folks; if Mario or Luigi happens upon one lying around whilst navigating through these treacherous skies they can temporarily transform into an invincible statue, allowing themselves protection from even those pesky burners!

So there you have it folks. A brief look back at how airships in Super Mario games have evolved over time - from the simple beginnings of SMB3 all the way up until today with NSMB2 on 3DS where innovation meets nostalgia like never before!

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