Super Mario Bros. is a Nintendo NES classic that remains fondly remembered to this day. However, there’s one particular detail that many players may never have questioned: you don’t actually need to fight Bowser, the game’s final boss, directly to defeat him.

Now, Shigeru Miyamoto, the franchise’s creator, has explained how this decision came about during development, and the story might surprise you.

Miyamoto Struggled to Come Up With a Boss Fight Against Bowser

The Japanese creative shared this anecdote during a press conference celebrating a historic achievement: he became the first video game developer to receive Japan’s Order of Culture. During the event, he was asked to recall stories from the creation of his games.

When discussing Super Mario Bros., Miyamoto explained that the team struggled to design a confrontation with Bowser. At the time, the NES’s technical limitations also posed a challenge, forcing them to find an alternative that would work within the game’s capabilities.

The solution turned out to be much simpler than it might seem. Rather than forcing Mario to trade blows with the villain, Miyamoto decided to take advantage of the adventure’s core mechanic: running and jumping to the right.

Shigeru Miyamoto

Jumping Over Bowser Was the Solution

“When I thought I couldn’t create a battle that way, I realized that since it’s a game where you keep running to the right, what if the winner were whoever got farther to the right? Then I had a brilliant idea: why not simply jump over the opponent instead of fighting?” Miyamoto explained.

The developer recalled that when he tested the idea, he discovered it was surprisingly fun. Players could overcome the obstacle by jumping over Bowser and reaching the other side of the bridge, where an axe could be used to cut the structure and send the villain falling into the lava.

The idea also fit Miyamoto’s design philosophy. He wanted character actions to feel intuitive, and this solution helped him achieve that goal.

Bowser Battles Evolved Throughout the Series

Miyamoto also recalled that, during the development of Donkey Kong, he looked for a simple way to communicate the game’s objective. That’s why he decided to have a gorilla kidnap a girl, giving players the clear goal of rescuing her. That same emphasis on clear objectives was important when creating Super Mario Bros.

Over time, the formula evolved. Miyamoto noted that, during the development of subsequent installments, Mario began facing Bowser in more traditional boss battles.

What did you think of the showdown with Bowser in Super Mario Bros., where you could defeat him without attacking him directly? Do you think this was one of Nintendo’s most ingenious ideas? Let us know in the comments.

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