Super Mario Brothers 1 = still a very fun game

[Julius Seeker]

Played it for a few hours yesterday with a few people. Damn, there were some tough spots in that game, yet somehow miraculously I got through them; it looks like all that heavy playing at age 4-6 trying to see the princess naked has caused completeting the game to become a natural part of me. Level one, running, jump, running, jump whoah! invisible block, extra life! I know I didn't just remember that, I just did that because something told me I was supposed to.


Anyways, it's a great game, played the Mario Allstar version (I haven't touched Mario 1 in over 15 years).

[SineSwiper]

I remember watching a friend of mine play Zelda 1. He's hitting all kinds of secrets, and I'm going "There's no fucking way that you remember all of this".

[the Gray]

Zeus has a friend, Chris, who has memorized every Castlevania game. The guy scares me with his more than intimate knowledge of that series. I think he has Konami print bed sheets.

[Lox]

I remember watching a friend of mine play Zelda 1. He's hitting all kinds of secrets, and I'm going "There's no fucking way that you remember all of this".

It's crazy what memories we hang on to. I was playing Super Mario Bros 3 and I remember every freaking secret and level in that game like I've been playing it for months even though I hadn't played it since I was like 9 or 10.

I know I can do that with Zelda: ALttP cuz I did it with the GBA version.

It's kind of scary actually.

[Zeus]

Zeus has a friend, Chris, who has memorized every Castlevania game. The guy scares me with his more than intimate knowledge of that series. I think he has Konami print bed sheets.

Don't forget, he knows all of the Ninja Gaidens (original NES ones) off by heart. There are some tough-ass sections there too. Same with the first 3 console Zeldas. He's insane in his memory of this stuff.

I played Mario All-Stars about 3 years ago, but I played the Lost Levels (Japan's sequel to the original). Now that's some tough-ass shit. I can beat SMB 1 in 5 minutes (literally; actually got to 8-3 with my feet :-), but those lost levels will kick yo' ass all over the place. And it's just as fun as I remember playing the original back in '86.....

[Kupek]

A friend of mine can sit down and beat SMB in about ten minutes without going through the warp pipes, losing one, maybe two lives (if he's having a bad day).

[Julius Seeker]

I have a few adventure games mapped out myself in memory; Earthbound, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy 8, Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, Ocarina of Time (original version) Skies of Arcadia, Link to the Past, Goldeneye 007.

But Super Mario Brothers 3 is just weird! I know that I don't have that game mapped out at all, it's like some innate thing inside me is telling me how to play and what to do at every spot! That really hard jump on 8-1, I did it first try while running and completely forgetting about its existance.

[Zeus]

A friend of mine can sit down and beat SMB in about ten minutes without going through the warp pipes, losing one, maybe two lives (if he's having a bad day).

All 32 levels? That's a physical impossibility without warppiping it. Just the level end celebrations and inbetween sections of the levels would take up 5 minutes. You can't physically run through the game that fast, even if you don't pause for a second. It's gotta be at least 20 for all 32 levels. I was, of course, referring to the 8 levels (or 1/4 of the game) in 5 minutes.

[Kupek]

All 32 levels? That's a physical impossibility without warppiping it. Just the level end celebrations and inbetween sections of the levels would take up 5 minutes. You can't physically run through the game that fast, even if you don't pause for a second. It's gotta be at least 20 for all 32 levels. I was, of course, referring to the 8 levels (or 1/4 of the game) in 5 minutes.

You're right, I asked him again, and it's around 20 minutes. I was off because I watched him do it once while other stuff was going on, and I thought it took 10 minutes.

[SineSwiper]

I remember trying to replay SMB1 and realizing how much I suck at the game because I'm used to the physics of the other games. The biggest thing was changing your landing on a jump in mid-air. SMB2 was a big improvement in that regard.

[Julius Seeker]

Try playing the original Legend of Zelda! In the later games for SNES and Gameboy they made Links sword about three times the size of him; which physically would be ridiculous, but made a lot of sense for the gameplay style; in Zelda 1 you have to be right up against the enemy in order to strike it. It makes the difficulty of the game a lot greater than I remember it being. It's still a fun game once you get the swing of it though. Zelda II, realistically is the most difficult Zelda game (besides Master Quest), but it is easier to get through than Zelda 1 just because it does not have the same issues with the play mechanics.

In the old castlevania games, being able to turn in mid-air was somewhat of a special ability; it was not part of the original moveset, but could be acquired. Later on it became a standard in gameplay andall games had to have it or risk getting bashed by the press for having poor controls. A lot of platformers kind of went through this change, Mario, Megaman, Castlevnia, and others that I just can't think of off hand this early in the morning.

[Lox]

Try playing the original Legend of Zelda! In the later games for SNES and Gameboy they made Links sword about three times the size of him; which physically would be ridiculous, but made a lot of sense for the gameplay style; in Zelda 1 you have to be right up against the enemy in order to strike it. It makes the difficulty of the game a lot greater than I remember it being. It's still a fun game once you get the swing of it though. Zelda II, realistically is the most difficult Zelda game (besides Master Quest), but it is easier to get through than Zelda 1 just because it does not have the same issues with the play mechanics.

Oh yeah...i remember that dungeon with the guys with the swords and shields and you can only hit them from behind. That part took me forever when I was younger.

[Kupek]

In the old castlevania games, being able to turn in mid-air was somewhat of a special ability; it was not part of the original moveset, but could be acquired.

I don't remember being able to turn in mid air in Castlevania at all, and only Grant could in Castlevania III. I'm not sure about II.

[Flip]

Heh, my memory of games also includes SMB 1,3.

I can also still beat everyone in Super Punch Out for the SNES in less than a minute each, but for the last guy who is impossible to beat in under a minute. In fact, most of them only take like 10-30 seconds if you do things right.

FF I, III, Zelda 1, and CT are the other where i can basically still remember everything... i'd have to look at my collection to see, but i'm sure there are other games i've played for so long that it wouldnt be too hard to pick up and do most everything.

[Julius Seeker]

Heh, I forgot about FF1, I play that one about once or twice a year and know everything in it.

Kupek, you're right about Castlevania III. It is Grant's special ability to be able to turn in mid-air.

[Torgo]

The only way I remember being able to turn in mid-air in Castlevania was if you got hit by those fucking Medusa heads.

[Nev]

I actually think playing through SMB 1 WITHOUT warping is more of a challenge. I remember level 8 as doable, but that's because my friends and I played it over and over. (I didn't play it much really; I really only started playing the NES when The Legend of Zelda came out.) But I tried to get through levels 6 and 7 after warping to 5 (right? I think? or is it 4 that you get to from 1...) one time and I do not remember it as a pleasant experience.

Castlevania is another really hard game. When I was rooming with Andrew Vestal at Stanford, I played through Castlevania 1 and got to Level 6 without dying. Andrew later commented on it to a friend of his, whose response was "He's not really your roommate. He's a robot programmed by Konami to make us believe that it's possible to beat the Grim Reaper without dying."

That was kind of a kick. They were really serious gamers, so it was nice to get some gamer cred.

[Nev]

Try playing the original Legend of Zelda! In the later games for SNES and Gameboy they made Links sword about three times the size of him; which physically would be ridiculous, but made a lot of sense for the gameplay style; in Zelda 1 you have to be right up against the enemy in order to strike it. It makes the difficulty of the game a lot greater than I remember it being. It's still a fun game once you get the swing of it though. Zelda II, realistically is the most difficult Zelda game (besides Master Quest), but it is easier to get through than Zelda 1 just because it does not have the same issues with the play mechanics.

The first quest of Zelda 1 isn't that bad, but I remember beating the second quest, and THAT was challenging. The bubbles in the first one only stick your sword in its sheath for a little while, but there are red bubbles in the second that make Link unable to swing his sword until he finds and touches a blue bubble. I think it's level 7 where the blue bubbles are four or five rooms away from the red ones and there are Blue Darknuts in between. Taking on a room full of those without a sword is difficult.

[SineSwiper]

I can also still beat everyone in Super Punch Out for the SNES in less than a minute each, but for the last guy who is impossible to beat in under a minute. In fact, most of them only take like 10-30 seconds if you do things right.

SPO was fun. I remember playing that on emulator from a recommendation of a friend of mine.

[Julius Seeker]

I'm still waiting for Nintendo to say "F-U" to the critics and start releasing more 20th anniversary edition NES titles on GBA. I really want my Castlevania III!!!!

[SineSwiper]

I can't wait until this nostaglia profitting game stops with the consoles. The trend toward backwards-compatible consoles is a very good step in the right direction. Nintendo is saying that the newest handheld is going to be compatible with GC games. Good for them. They need to keep it up, so that we don't need to be suckered into buying 20 year old games for $30-50.

[Julius Seeker]

Well, 20 bucks for the classic NES series. Yeah sure it does seem like a ripoff (and it is if you aren't a fan of the game), but I am willing to pay it for certain games.