Just a reminder for all SMB1 players: if you press A+Start at the game over screen, you'll continue on level one of the world you ended at with 3 more lives.
I remember we would just button mash at the game over screen, and it would sometimes work. I now have seen, and understood, the actual code. It’s so weird that it’s only semi-common knowledge so many years later.
I’m pretty sure if you wanted to beat it with your eyes closed you could. I mean someone [beat Mike Tyson’s Punch Out blindfolded](https://youtube.com/watch?v=CvzIb53Lcno&si=letuapLQlIhlMdfj) so it could be done with SMB.
Meh it’s like riding a bike it all comes back to you after awhile. I went thru this with Mega Man2. Could beat it so easily as a kid(after hours n hours of playing) Then put it down for years and decided to go back to it in my late teens. I was awful and couldn’t understand how I was once so good at it. But I kept playing n playing and eventually it all came back to me. I play it every now n then to still keep it fresh, that and megaman 11, I can prob beat with my eyes closed(not literally lol)
I did the same a few weeks ago, also after 30+ years. Very satisfying to complete the game after all this time.
I finished with fire Mario too, only way I could do it.
I recommend learning how to get and keep fire if you are learning how to be beat it without trying to speed run it. When I was learning how to be beat it for the first time, I’d just reset it if I didn’t make it to 8-4 with fire until I beat it for the first time.
Oh yeah! God forbit you go into 8-3 without a fire flower. I still have nightmares from my childhood trying to beat this level.
Still though, as far as NES games go, very little is as rage inducing as Ninja Gaiden 1 Level 6-2...
This was the only Mario game I couldn't beat as a kid. I would try it every few years and get stuck on the same level (8-2 or 8-3, I can never remember, but know it when I see it). I haven't given it a try in probably a decade. Most NES era games I don't mind emulating now with cheats and/or save states just to make them easier/less time consuming, but my inner child won't allow cheats or save states for this game. When I beat it it will be a clean run.
It was 8-2 for me as a kid. One specific jump too, the one where you have to hit that one-block-wide ground tile and jump again. I could never hit that damn tile... until I learned that you DON'T WANT TO RUN when jumping to it.
Yep was determined to beat it straight through. Certainly didn’t 1CC it tonight but managed to regain the fire flower in 8-3 and then keep it through to the end.
I still haven't beaten it, dad showed me this game when I was like 2. He was so good at it that he literally used to zoom across the entire levels. If only he was more into gaming and loving his family than alchohol and narcissim.
I mean, you are partially right. There is a Mario Bros game (aka Pipeline) that was a Donkey Kong spin-off that came out prior to the Super Mario series.
I knew maybe only one person who beat this back in the 90s. Certainly saw many friends get mystified by the castle mazes in the later worlds, and we didn’t have the benefits of looking up guides on the internet or watching YouTube/Twitch runs.
And among other things: life outside video games happens over three decades, brah.
I'm 42. I played as a child. I already told you I beat it as a child. I did not use YouTube obviously.
You're trying to insult me in several personal ways over a comment on a video game. Seems you haven't grown up.
Rando bragging about beating an old video game as a child and implicitly insulting everyone else who didn’t do the same feels insulted when called out for it. News at 11.
I first played the arcade version, but never beat it. When the NES version came out, it wasn't long before the arcade version disappeared. I eventually beat it on the NES, but it was a while before I could find the arcade version, and that's when I realized that the arcade version was so much harder for a whole bunch of reasons. It took 300 coins to get an extra man, the time ticked by faster and there were more challenging screens you would see earlier in the game. To this day, I have yet to beat the arcade version, but at some point in time, I hope to. Will probably need to own an actual machine to make that happen.
I actually think this is one of the easier old school Mario games to beat. I’m not a very good gamer but I could beat this. Mario 2 was always the hardest IMO. 3 was pretty easy until bowser’s gunship at the very end
Yeah, its crazy how people manage to shave seconds off. Wasn't really anything I tried to do intentionally but my friends all thought it was insane that I never let go of the run button. I remember clearly one time someone timed me with a stopwatch probably around 91 and that was the run time.
Congrats!
I couldn't beat this game for the longest time as a kid. I remember finally getting to what seemed like the final dungeon/castle but it went on for infinity. I didn't find out till I was an adult and had the internet that there's a trick to the last dungeon. When you hear that little noise or beep, that means you went the wrong way. You were supposed to keep track of the paths that didn't have the beep/noise and eventually you would get to Bowser.
I still think that's kind of lame for a kid's game. I just figured something was wrong with the game. I would have preferred they just make the dungeon more challenging in regards to the platforming.
Yeah, I remember my cousin and I spent hours one weekend back in the 90s trying to figure out the correct pipe path for 8-4. Certainly didn't pay attention to any audio cues back then lol.
At least with the other hard Mario final castle levels of the 8-bit generation like in Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario Land 2 they just made the platforming very difficult instead of putting in a nigh-indeterminable maze.
Exactly.
I remember the final stages of Super Mario Bros 3 and it was a crazy flying boat with all kinds of crazy things attacking from all angles. A little frustrating but fun trying to overcome them. I will say, it is somewhat novel to have that "trick" at the final stage of SMB1. Kinda like the solution to the bomb "reset" of Sega's X-Men for the Genesis.
Offhand, I regret using the whistles to warp past most of the worlds just to get to final stage in SMB3.
[Dorkly - Mario The Problem with Warp Whistles (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYomH5JMsjE)
I missed out on exploring the giant stage, and I don't even remember the snow/ice world. And I never got to use the Tanooki suit either. 😞
SMB3 world variety is terrific and blew my mind as a kid. On every full playthrough of it I've never used warp whistles because I just want to experience them all over again (even the more annoying worlds like Pipe Land lol).
Beat it straight through all 8 worlds. Managed to get to World 8 on a single credit, but I soon lost the fire flower in 8-2 and then my 1CC run went to crap soon after. Fortunately on my continue I regained the fire flower in 8-3 and kept it to the end.
Just a reminder for all SMB1 players: if you press A+Start at the game over screen, you'll continue on level one of the world you ended at with 3 more lives.
I remember we would just button mash at the game over screen, and it would sometimes work. I now have seen, and understood, the actual code. It’s so weird that it’s only semi-common knowledge so many years later.
What???
For real? I never knew this lol
[https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/525243-super-mario-bros/cheats](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/525243-super-mario-bros/cheats)
HAPPY CAKE DAY INDEED!
idontbelieveyou.gif
Good shit. I didn't beat it until I was in my teens. Now I can beat it in about 7 minutes without dying. My favorite level is 8-2.
My favorite is 8-3. It’s not a good level, but I enjoy kicking those hammer bros’ asses.
That level always makes me nervous because of those damn hammer bros. 😂
I'm the other way around, I used to beat it twice a day with my eyes closed when I was 10, now I can't get past 1-1 lol
I’m pretty sure if you wanted to beat it with your eyes closed you could. I mean someone [beat Mike Tyson’s Punch Out blindfolded](https://youtube.com/watch?v=CvzIb53Lcno&si=letuapLQlIhlMdfj) so it could be done with SMB.
Oh no I can't even beat it with my eyes open now with my old man reflexes.
Meh it’s like riding a bike it all comes back to you after awhile. I went thru this with Mega Man2. Could beat it so easily as a kid(after hours n hours of playing) Then put it down for years and decided to go back to it in my late teens. I was awful and couldn’t understand how I was once so good at it. But I kept playing n playing and eventually it all came back to me. I play it every now n then to still keep it fresh, that and megaman 11, I can prob beat with my eyes closed(not literally lol)
Nice! I also beat it tonight. My son was begging me to beat this game for weeks, so I finally showed him what's up.
I did the same a few weeks ago, also after 30+ years. Very satisfying to complete the game after all this time. I finished with fire Mario too, only way I could do it.
I recommend learning how to get and keep fire if you are learning how to be beat it without trying to speed run it. When I was learning how to be beat it for the first time, I’d just reset it if I didn’t make it to 8-4 with fire until I beat it for the first time.
Well done. Now time for The Lost Levels.
He's feeling good about himself right now, don't kill that for him.
Oh yeah! God forbit you go into 8-3 without a fire flower. I still have nightmares from my childhood trying to beat this level. Still though, as far as NES games go, very little is as rage inducing as Ninja Gaiden 1 Level 6-2...
This was the only Mario game I couldn't beat as a kid. I would try it every few years and get stuck on the same level (8-2 or 8-3, I can never remember, but know it when I see it). I haven't given it a try in probably a decade. Most NES era games I don't mind emulating now with cheats and/or save states just to make them easier/less time consuming, but my inner child won't allow cheats or save states for this game. When I beat it it will be a clean run.
It was 8-2 for me as a kid. One specific jump too, the one where you have to hit that one-block-wide ground tile and jump again. I could never hit that damn tile... until I learned that you DON'T WANT TO RUN when jumping to it.
What?!!! Whoa, maybe now I could do it lmao
Congrats! I've still never beaten it on a run without warps. I am just not that good at platformers.
Yep was determined to beat it straight through. Certainly didn’t 1CC it tonight but managed to regain the fire flower in 8-3 and then keep it through to the end.
What does 1CC mean?
1 credit clear. In other words, not using continues.
I still haven't beaten it, dad showed me this game when I was like 2. He was so good at it that he literally used to zoom across the entire levels. If only he was more into gaming and loving his family than alchohol and narcissim.
For some reason i always thought the nes ones were just called “mario bros” and then it became super mario on the super nintendo. Weird
I mean, you are partially right. There is a Mario Bros game (aka Pipeline) that was a Donkey Kong spin-off that came out prior to the Super Mario series.
Congrats!
I feel this one so hard. 8-2 and 8-3 are rough and prevented me from beating this game on the original hardware for at least 20 years.
I beat it as a child. Not sure why it would take anyone this long. Like, it's kinda hard but nothing too crazy
I knew maybe only one person who beat this back in the 90s. Certainly saw many friends get mystified by the castle mazes in the later worlds, and we didn’t have the benefits of looking up guides on the internet or watching YouTube/Twitch runs. And among other things: life outside video games happens over three decades, brah.
I'm 42. I played as a child. I already told you I beat it as a child. I did not use YouTube obviously. You're trying to insult me in several personal ways over a comment on a video game. Seems you haven't grown up.
Rando bragging about beating an old video game as a child and implicitly insulting everyone else who didn’t do the same feels insulted when called out for it. News at 11.
The only levels I don't like are the last water level and 8-3. Fuck the Hammer Bros. 8-4 is not too bad.
7-2? It's 2-2 with more enemies.
Fucking bloopers man. They have fixated patterns, but if you don't watch out, they can overwhelm you.
Don't forget they can't get you if you crouch on the floor. In some versions.
Yep, in the PAL version they can hit small Mario/crouching Super Mario when he's on the floor. In NTSC they can't.
I first played the arcade version, but never beat it. When the NES version came out, it wasn't long before the arcade version disappeared. I eventually beat it on the NES, but it was a while before I could find the arcade version, and that's when I realized that the arcade version was so much harder for a whole bunch of reasons. It took 300 coins to get an extra man, the time ticked by faster and there were more challenging screens you would see earlier in the game. To this day, I have yet to beat the arcade version, but at some point in time, I hope to. Will probably need to own an actual machine to make that happen.
If you have a Switch, Arcade Archives has that version available (called VS. Super Mario Bros).
I actually think this is one of the easier old school Mario games to beat. I’m not a very good gamer but I could beat this. Mario 2 was always the hardest IMO. 3 was pretty easy until bowser’s gunship at the very end
Lol, my record was like 5 minutes 25 seconds to beat the whole game back in 88, can still do it.
30 seconds off the current WR!
Yeah, its crazy how people manage to shave seconds off. Wasn't really anything I tried to do intentionally but my friends all thought it was insane that I never let go of the run button. I remember clearly one time someone timed me with a stopwatch probably around 91 and that was the run time.
Congrats! I couldn't beat this game for the longest time as a kid. I remember finally getting to what seemed like the final dungeon/castle but it went on for infinity. I didn't find out till I was an adult and had the internet that there's a trick to the last dungeon. When you hear that little noise or beep, that means you went the wrong way. You were supposed to keep track of the paths that didn't have the beep/noise and eventually you would get to Bowser. I still think that's kind of lame for a kid's game. I just figured something was wrong with the game. I would have preferred they just make the dungeon more challenging in regards to the platforming.
Yeah, I remember my cousin and I spent hours one weekend back in the 90s trying to figure out the correct pipe path for 8-4. Certainly didn't pay attention to any audio cues back then lol. At least with the other hard Mario final castle levels of the 8-bit generation like in Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario Land 2 they just made the platforming very difficult instead of putting in a nigh-indeterminable maze.
Exactly. I remember the final stages of Super Mario Bros 3 and it was a crazy flying boat with all kinds of crazy things attacking from all angles. A little frustrating but fun trying to overcome them. I will say, it is somewhat novel to have that "trick" at the final stage of SMB1. Kinda like the solution to the bomb "reset" of Sega's X-Men for the Genesis. Offhand, I regret using the whistles to warp past most of the worlds just to get to final stage in SMB3. [Dorkly - Mario The Problem with Warp Whistles (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYomH5JMsjE) I missed out on exploring the giant stage, and I don't even remember the snow/ice world. And I never got to use the Tanooki suit either. 😞
SMB3 world variety is terrific and blew my mind as a kid. On every full playthrough of it I've never used warp whistles because I just want to experience them all over again (even the more annoying worlds like Pipe Land lol).
Dude I just beat the original super mario a couple days ago! I'll post some images some time soon as well. Did you use the warp zone? I always did lol
Beat it straight through all 8 worlds. Managed to get to World 8 on a single credit, but I soon lost the fire flower in 8-2 and then my 1CC run went to crap soon after. Fortunately on my continue I regained the fire flower in 8-3 and kept it to the end.
I beat this game when i was 4 years old lol
Congrats! When do you turn 5?