A seasoning brand funded Mario's return. Five weeks later, the Showa era ended.
The title screen copyright reads '1988 NAGATANIEN' — a Japanese food company best known for ochazuke and furikake rice seasonings. Before the game begins, three advertisements play: one for ochazuke nori featuring celebrity enka singer Saburo Kitajima, one for gomoku fried rice mix, and one for a Super Mario Bros. 3-branded furikake product. The game itself is a refined port of the original Mario Bros. arcade game, updated with features from Super Mario Bros. 3, developed by Nintendo EAD. Nagatanien had run Mario-branded food promotions in Japan since the mid-1980s, but this was the only time a food company co-financed a Nintendo game. The game was released on December 9, 1988. Emperor Hirohito died on January 7, 1989 — thirty days later, the sixty-three-year Showa era ended. A game funded by instant seasoning became, unintentionally, a small artifact of the end of an era.
About this game
Kaettekita Mario Bros. is a 1988 FDS title released exclusively through Nintendo's Disk Writer rewrite service — never sold as a boxed cartridge. What makes it historically unique is that it was co-published with Nagatanien, a Japanese food company, and opens with three unskippable advertisements for Nagatanien products before the game begins. The rewrite price was set at ¥400 — discounted from the standard ¥500 — because Nagatanien funded the difference in exchange for the in-game advertising. It is the last Super Mario franchise game released on the Famicom Disk System, and the last Super Mario title released during Japan's Showa era.
Key Features
Classic Mario Bros. gameplay updated with a special Nagatanien bonus mode — a slot machine minigame awarding extra lives. Players who achieved 100,000 points could mail in a code for Super Mario Bros. 3 trading cards; 200,000 points entered them in a raffle for a physical Super Mario Bros. 3 cartridge. The promotion ran from November 30, 1988 to May 31, 1989.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Released just weeks before the end of Japan's Showa era (Emperor Hirohito passed away on January 7, 1989, approximately five weeks after this game's release), Kaettekita Mario Bros. is a strange historical footnote — a Nintendo flagship character's game funded partly by a tea and furikake seasoning company. The title screen copyright notice reads '1988 NAGATANIEN,' an unusual sight for a Nintendo title. The game is also the last Famicom Disk System Mario release, marking the close of an era.
Tricks & Tales
The three Nagatanien advertisements that play before the game — for ochazuke nori (featuring celebrity enka singer Saburo Kitajima), gomoku fried rice mix, and a Super Mario Bros. 3-branded furikake — are completely unskippable. The game used the promotion to cross-market Nintendo's upcoming Super Mario Bros. 3, which launched exactly one month after this game.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Japan-exclusive. Never localized outside Japan. Available only through Disk Writer rewrite service and Nintendo mail-order service — no retail boxed version was ever produced. Original FDS disks are extremely rare today.
Maintenance Tips
The drive belt is the most critical maintenance item. The original rubber belt (approximately 31mm diameter) stretches and eventually fails after decades of storage, preventing the drive from reading disks. Replacement belts are widely available from retro hardware suppliers and require no special tools -- a documented procedure exists in multiple collector guides. After belt replacement, the drive may need alignment, which is a more involved process. The RAM adapter board contains electrolytic capacitors that should be recapped if the unit is used regularly -- leaking capacitors can damage the PCB and corrupt disk reads. Clean the battery compartment with vinegar and a cotton swab if corrosion is present. FDS disks should be stored in their cases away from magnetic sources.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Kaettekita Mario Bros. copies regularly.
What hardware do I need to play a Famicom Disk System game?
An FDS game requires three components: a Famicom console, the RAM Adapter (which plugs into the cartridge slot), and the Disk Drive unit (connected to the RAM Adapter). The drive requires its own power supply (six C-cell batteries or an AC adapter). Without both the RAM Adapter and disk drive, FDS disks cannot be played. The Famicom Disk System was sold exclusively in Japan and was never released elsewhere.
Are Famicom Disk System disks and drives still reliable after 35+ years?
Disk reliability varies — the magnetic media can degrade over time. More commonly, the rubber drive belt inside the FDS disk unit degrades with age, causing read errors even on undamaged disks. Belt replacement is the most common and important FDS maintenance repair. If you plan to use FDS games, have the drive belt inspected before use. A working drive with a fresh belt can read original disks reliably.
How does saving work on Famicom Disk System games?
FDS games save directly back to the floppy disk itself — there is no internal battery backup. Data is written to the disk after the save command is given, so the disk can be overwritten. To protect original game data, cover the write-enable notch with tape to make the disk read-only. Many collectors keep one play copy and one archival copy for important titles. Never power off the Famicom during a disk write operation.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Kaettekita Mario Bros.
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom Disk System disk wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Inspect the disk and its shell
Disk System media is fragile — the magnetic disk can wear, and saves are written back onto the disk itself.
Ask whether it was tested and reads reliably; look for cracks or a warped shell in photos.
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Make sure it fits your console
This is Japanese Famicom Disk System media and requires a Famicom with a working Disk System drive.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
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Mind the drive belt on the console side
Disk System drives commonly need a replacement belt to read reliably — this is a console matter, not the disk.
If reading is unreliable, the console's belt is the usual culprit, not the game.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Kaettekita Mario Bros. sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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