Shigeru Miyamoto explains why Mario does not fight Bowser in Super Mario Bros.

Shigeru Miyamoto explained why the original Super Mario Bros. does not give Mario a conventional fight with Bowser. He shared the story at a press conference held after he became the first developer to receive Japan’s Order of Culture.

At the end of the game, players usually run to the end of the bridge and hit the axe, sending Bowser into the lava. The other option is to defeat him with fireballs as Fire Mario.

A jump instead of a battle

Miyamoto said the development team struggled to create a fight with Bowser, while the NES had very limited hardware capabilities. He then connected the solution to the game’s central idea of running to the right and proposed jumping over Bowser instead of fighting him.

The team tested the idea during development, and Miyamoto said it turned out to be “surprisingly fun.” Defeating the boss therefore extended the game’s movement system rather than requiring a separate, complex combat mechanic.

The idea behind Super Mario

Miyamoto also described Super Mario Bros. as a game built around running, swimming, flying and acting across different environments. Early concepts included endless screen scrolling and a mushroom power-up that allowed the character to survive one defeat.

He said Mario gradually began having proper battles with Bowser in later entries. Miyamoto had previously also discussed the origins of the dash mechanic in Super Mario Bros.