The game features all 32 levels that appeared in the original Super Mario Bros.,[1] and adds cheats and the option to select any one from the start.

Goldberg, who studies computer science and is a longtime Super Mario Bros. fan, wanted to create an "impressive" project when he conceived remaking a classic game[3] in HTML5.

[2] Goldberg opted to recreate game assets from scratch to optimize them for browsers[7] instead of ripping content from a ROM image.

[3] After the initial release, Goldberg switched the code base from JavaScript to TypeScript to help reduce program bugs and crashes.

[1] Prior to the project's demise, Goldberg desired to add the option to share levels via email and multiplayer support.

[3] The source code for Full Screen Mario remained on GitHub for download, but was removed in 2016 after Nintendo issued another DMCA complaint.