Martin Jørgensen🌟 Giana Sisters – The forbidden clone of Super Mario Bros?
If you love classic 2D platformers like Super Mario Bros, Bubble Bobble, or Commander Keen, then Giana Sisters is a must-play. Released in 1987 by Rainbow Arts, it quickly achieved cult status—both for its entertainment value and the controversy it sparked.
Giana Sisters looks so much like Super Mario Bros that Nintendo allegedly threatened legal action—and the game quickly vanished from store shelves. That hasn’t stopped fans from sharing and playing it widely to this day.
🕹️ Gameplay – simple and addictive
You play as Giana, an Italian girl trapped in a nightmare. The goal? Fight your way through 32 stages, collect crystals, defeat monsters, and find a large diamond that wakes you from the dream and reunites you with your sister, Maria.
- Crystals act as points and grant an extra life every 100.
- Power-ups like the fire wheel, lightning, clock, and water drops grant special abilities—such as smashing stones or shooting enemies.
- Controls follow a classic left-to-right side-scrolling style.
It’s easy to pick up and features a steep yet fair difficulty curve. Clearly inspired by Nintendo, it still has its own twist—and it works.
👭 Play with a friend
You can play with two players, where player 2 controls Giana’s sister, Maria. It adds extra depth and cooperation to the experience and significantly extends the game’s lifespan.
First you beat it solo, and then with a friend—two different experiences and twice the fun.
📜 Controversy and cult status
Giana Sisters was met with both praise and legal threats. Nintendo allegedly pressured Rainbow Arts to withdraw the game due to its striking similarities to Super Mario Bros. That was never officially confirmed, but the game soon became impossible to buy—which only made it more coveted.
Since then, fan-made editions, re-releases, and spiritual successors have appeared—but nothing beats the original’s charm and rebellious reputation.
🔁 Alternative games with the same vibe
If you love Giana Sisters, you should also try:
The Sims 4 – something completely different, but still top-tier entertainment
Bubble Bobble – retro platformer with multiplayer
Pac-Man – the iconic maze game
Download Giana Sisters
Top 5 tips and tricks for Giana Sisters
🎮 1. Get quick access to all stages (original 1987 version)
In the Commodore 64 and Amiga versions, you can use a cheat to jump directly to a specific stage:
- On the title screen:
PressCTRL+SHIFT+A(depending on version)
You’ll unlock a level-skip function where you can enter the desired stage and jump straight to it.
Note: This only works in certain cracked versions or those with built-in trainers.
🌟 2. Push against backgrounds for hidden bonuses (Twisted Dreams)
In Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (2012 and later), you can often find hidden crystals and secret rooms by:
- Firing fireballs at walls and ceilings
- Using the “twist” function (switching between the sister’s light and dark forms) near mysterious platforms or symbols—it transforms the environment and opens secret areas
🕵️ 3. The music is an easter egg in itself
The original C64 soundtrack by Chris Hülsbeck became so iconic that it later:
- Was reused in remixed form across multiple Giana games
- Pops up as an easter egg in Twisted Dreams—especially if you idle in the pause menu or on certain stages where the original theme briefly plays
🧨 4. Use the fireball upgrade effectively
When you pick up a red flashing orb in the original game, Giana can shoot fireballs.
But in most stages you don’t need to kill every enemy—save it for sections where foes are hard to avoid, like the floating turtles or red orb monsters.
⏩ 5. Skip levels (Twisted Dreams)
In newer releases like Twisted Dreams, you can:
- Press the “Back” button on the controller (e.g., on Xbox) or use a keyboard trick to skip levels—if you play on “Easy Mode.”
- This lets younger players or nostalgists experience the whole game without getting stuck
