Saturday, December 25, 2010

Playing The Classics: The Lost Levels: Vol 2

-- Part One --

As I got back into the game I found yet another surprise in World 2-1. This game is all about unconventional changes to the Mario formula. I received a Starman early on and yet the area right after was full of large watery pits. Normally you're allowed to run for a while knocking enemies out but here you received a star and didn't have much to do. In fact, having the speed boost might have made it harder to traverse the pits. Surprising to say the least. I also ran into a spring. Before they were very hard to use properly but here they launch you into the air off screen for a moment lasting a few seconds. It's a super jump. I wonder, and fully expect, if this will come into play trickier later. Level 2-2 is where I found pretty much the first big problem for myself. A pit too far to jump across. A ledge in the worst spot ever. This game has no mercy. I have wasted many lives and continues that this particular spot. Consider me stumped right now.

A day later I figured it out. It didn't take me too long and it was painfully obvious but still... there wasn't just one hidden block but two. I had a hard time finding it though. This game definitely throws conventions out the window. I tried, as anyone would, to jump that gap in any ways I could. I even saved the star earlier in the level, slowly following it's bounce, in hopes that would give me some kind of extra jumping power. It didn't and now I know why.

When playing through 2-4, I, by complete accident, hit an invisible block which provided a convenient Super Mushroom for myself partway through the level. I had to run back and nab it just before it fell into some lava. I was quite smooth on that move. After a few tries I made it to the end of the castle. I really appreciate the graphics in this game. I don't know how the original compared but there are some nice subtle touches. When the floor Bowser was standing on disintegrates, it does so in such a nice way. It's satisfying like watching dominoes fall.

Coming into World 3, level 3-1 has some nice little snow touches to give this a real feel of a Snow World. I don't think there was a Snow World of any kind in Super Mario Bros. Quite nice here. Nice only for a moment that is. The game sets you up for a douche move. There's a spring right before the end of the level. I now knew that springs work insanely well in this game. So I shot up and floated right as fast as possible, knowing I'd go over the flagpole and to some secret. Well, normally that secret would be a warp pipe to the future (which I didn't want anyway because I wanted to play every level of this game). Instead I reached the warp zone and found a Warp to World 1. What a bitch. What a crafty bitch.

Nintendo and I were in a mind game... and they were winning. At least upon returning to level 1-1 with a Super Mario, I was able to earn a Fire Mario for a little while. I guess that's the glass half full eh?

Read Part 3

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