Essentially, these articles will be glorified nitpicks. Yay!
Our subject today is none other than the NES classic Super Mario Bros. A masterpiece in gaming, it's not easy to find fault with this game. It has a few strange design choices, mostly due to technical limitations, but is overall a perfectly solid and enjoyable platformer even to this day.
Except for one thing.
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| Pure disappointment in a box. |
That block, right there, at the end of World 1-1. That should be a power-up block. But it's not. It's just a coin. And that bothers me every single time I play this game. Why, you ask? Because if you take the shortcut through the underground bonus area, you can't get fully powered up until World 1-2. Now, yes, I'm fully aware that the very first question box in World 1-2, which is the very next question box you encounter in the game after the box that bugs me, does indeed have a power-up in it.
But, dang it, if it isn't unsatisfying as all get out to finish 1-1 without a Fire Flower, even though I know I can get one in just a few seconds. Every time I load up Super Mario Bros. and get to the pipe to the bonus room, I'm always torn between taking the shortcut or going the long way to get my flower. I don't really need the flower. I don't really need the coins. But I want to get both, gosh darn it!
That last block in 1-1 is such a tease! If only it were a power-up I'd be able to breeze through the level, go the secret area, and head off into the next level fully equipped with my fire flower and ready to go after those Goombas at the start of 1-2. And that's the one thing about Super Mario Bros. that bothers me.
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| The way it should be... |
I agree completely! I usually wait & pick up the fire flower in 2-1, though.
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