After 35ish frickin' years and using cheap tricks, I finally beat Super Mario Bros!

[RH | 4,924]

Yes, it's true.  I grew up with SMB just like all of us kids from the 80s, but I could never beat.  My brother and I had the classic setup, I was the kid who really, really loved video games (but sucked at them) and he only had a passing interest but was really good.  I remember playing Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 3 together, a lot.  I'd get close to the end using warps and at level 8-1 or 8-2, I'd pass the controller off to him and he'd beat it.

Well, nearly 35 years later, I decided to sit down and beat this thing on my own... sort of.  Well, I just wanted to play through all the levels on my own.  Using an emulator and a bluetooth controller, I mapped a quick save and reset buttons.  At the start of each stage, I'd save the game and then I'd run threw the level until I could get to the end without getting hit.  Some were easy and some were unbelievably hard.

I get it.  Using save states is a cheap win, and I'm sure some of you guys could probably run through every single stage, never get hit, never die and beat this on both difficulty levels, but I could never do it, or even come close.  Well, across yesterday and today, I played through every single stage without warps and without getting hit.  Regardless, I think I'm going to give it a break and maybe do it again sometime.  And again... and again, until I can actually play through this entire game without losing.  I don't know if I can get there (or want to work that hard to do it) but now it feels possible.

It was just nice, for once in my life, to actually save the OG princess.

[RH | 4,924]

As a follow-up, you guys have any classic games that you recommend I follow up like this we cheap-save victories?  I considered SMB3 since I never beat that one either, bu maybe I should divert from Mario.  Maybe Contra?  Fester's Quest was one I often borrowed.  Neither my brother and I could be Batman, but that could be a good one.  I really, really loved that one.

[JamesRobot | 5,808]

Congratulations.  It's ok to get hit or die, though.  Lol.  There's even a continue option.  No need to save state smb.

[noiseredux | 232]

Earlier this year I did the same thing using save states on the Switch Online. I didn't try for no-hit, but I'd just use save states between each level. TBH, it still felt like a victory for me 30-something years later, haha.

[RH | 4,924]

5 minutes ago, JamesRobot said:

Congratulations.  It's ok to get hit or die, though.  Lol.  There's even a continue option.  No need to save state smb.

Yeah, I'm aware.  But, if I can quickly restart, I can build up that muscle memory.  I wasn't trying to "speed run" this, but I was trying to race through it.  It seems if you can start at the exact same frame and jump at the exact moment, you can quickly run through most levels or time things out to be quite quick.  I was using that to my advantage.  However, next time I might try to for go the level restarts and do it old school.  I've already done it once in the crappiest way possible, so I can only go up from here.

[TWarwick07 | 122]

Congratulations!!

 I have made a few of these threads myself when i beat dragon warrior and zelda 2 , It feels good going back and besting something that was unfinished from years ago

[mbd39 | 2,026]

SMB is not really hard enough to justify save states. Maybe Adventure Island.

 

[TWarwick07 | 122]

If your looking for something to play try Metroid , Its not too long and save states would be way easier than passwords, sucha shame they didnt give that cart a battery so you can save like the FDS version.... Also you could try Kid Icarus, I just beat that when we all started staying home 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

A few years ago I made a friend do this during our livestream for Child's Play.  I played all the way through to 8-4 for him, then handed him the controller.  He got discouraged after getting lost in the castle, so the audience started throwing out tips for the route and I ended up taking him all the way to the last jump before Bowser appears and stayed totally hands off from there until he actually beat it.  I guess he'd had a terrible time of it as a kid and didn't want to bother as an adult, feeling it was something he already should have done.  When he was done, his face was blank for a few moments then lit up like it was Christmas morning with him telling everybody that it felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders for finally getting it done, even with lots of assistance.  That finally spurred him on to being interested in watching/playing other old stuff again, too, which was great.

Good job on finally finishing, @RH!  It's never too late to go back!

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

27 minutes ago, RH said:

As a follow-up, you guys have any classic games that you recommend I follow up like this we cheap-save victories?  I considered SMB3 since I never beat that one either, bu maybe I should divert from Mario.  Maybe Contra?  Fester's Quest was one I often borrowed.  Neither my brother and I could be Batman, but that could be a good one.  I really, really loved that one.

Blaster Master.  (has some gun-design cross-over with Fester's Quest and is a much better game overall)

Great game.  Fun exploration.  But has a couple of REALLY frustrating bosses and is long enough to have justified some kind of password system that it never had.

Edited May 19, 2020 by arch_8ngel

[DefaultGen | 5,414]

It'll be way easier to do it without save states now that you know you can beat every level. 

[RH | 4,924]

6 minutes ago, TWarwick07 said:

If your looking for something to play try Metroid , Its not too long and save states would be way easier than passwords, sucha shame they didnt give that cart a battery so you can save like the FDS version.... Also you could try Kid Icarus, I just beat that when we all started staying home 

Kid Icarus may be a good one.  Believe it or not, I beat Metroid on my own as a kid.  I think part of the reason why I liked RPG and RPG like games when I finally discovered them is that they have save features, and when they are turn-based, you often have time to think before executing.

Metroid certainly isn't an RPG, but of those early NES games, it's probably my favorite because I could beat it.  It would have been impossible for me without it, even if it was 1/4th the size of what it actually is.

[DefaultGen | 5,414]

3 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

Blaster Master.  (has some gun-design cross-over with Fester's Quest and is a much better game overall)

Great game.  Fun exploration.  But has a couple of REALLY frustrating bosses and is long enough to have justified some kind of password system that it never had.

Dying in this hallway and losing hours of progress is one of the most frustrating moments of my life. BM is a game I want to get good at one day. The only time I beat it was an absolute marathon but it would be a reasonable game... only after spending hours learning the route and strategies to do it in a sensible sitting though.

[RH | 4,924]

4 minutes ago, arch_8ngel said:

Blaster Master.

Great game.  Fun exploration.  But has a couple of REALLY frustrating bosses and is long enough to have justified some kind of password system that it never had.

Aaah, I love old skool Sunsoft games so I definitely need to put that on my play list.  Thanks, that's a great one.  For the time, I am playing Batman.  I'm not sure how long this one will take because I don't think it's that long.  A bit tough at some points, but it's not long once you learn it.

Now, I've not played Blaster Master for more than 5 minutes, and that's been as an adult.  I really liked what I played though.  I need to give it a go.

2 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

It'll be way easier to do it without save states now that you know you can beat every level. 

I agree.  I'm not sure I'll double-back to this game, but there's something to be said about just finishing it once.  To me, it's like back around 2000 when pro skateboarders started using foam pits to practice their tricks and skateboarding took HUGE leaps in what they could do competitively. It may not be apples to apples but as a kid I was sooooo worried about losing all of my lives, I killed myself by trying to NOT kill myself, and I second guessed so many jumps.  But, by removing the barrier of fear-of-failure, it's made playing a lot easier.  Going forward, I think I have a better shot at doing this without cheats and in time, maybe without continues. I'm not sure I'll ever get a legit no-hit run though.  I don't think I have THAT kind of patience.

[arch_8ngel | 1,597]

Just now, DefaultGen said:

Dying in this hallway and losing hours of progress is one of the most frustrating moments of my life. BM is a game I want to get good at one day. The only time I beat it was an absolute marathon but it would be a reasonable game... only after spending hours learning the route and strategies to do it in a sensible sitting though.

Yeah, I owned the game as a kid (second-hand ex-rental copy) but never made it past the 5th boss (the bubble blowing crab).

If I started on a Saturday morning after breakfast, that was about how far I could get by lunchtime, and once I died there it just wasn't fun to keep slogging through it.

I finally beat it with save states as an adult, but this game is Exhibit A for games that needed a password system.  There are so few items/checkpoints to manage that there really wasn't much excuse to not have it.

[Tulpa | 3,519]

46 minutes ago, RH said:

As a follow-up, you guys have any classic games that you recommend I follow up like this we cheap-save victories?  I considered SMB3 since I never beat that one either, bu maybe I should divert from Mario.  Maybe Contra?  Fester's Quest was one I often borrowed.  Neither my brother and I could be Batman, but that could be a good one.  I really, really loved that one.

Batman just has some tricky wall jump spots and a tough final boss, not really a save state game IMO. Fester's Quest just grind to upgrade the gun fully in the first stage and you'll be fine.

I would say Adventure Island or Ikari Warriors for save state games.

 

[Sumez | 2,969]

58 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

It'll be way easier to do it without save states now that you know you can beat every level. 

This.

Savestates as a crutch is fair if you feel that it helps you - it's a great practice tool. But they have the drawback of making games feel harder than they actually are.

Not just because taking less punishment from failing will make your dedication more relaxed, but also because you'll only ever have to pass one segment once. And having beaten something only once, after failing it maybe ten times, will make that segment feel tough in your mindset, no matter how easy it might be to repeat the task again.

The first time I played through Ninja Gaiden, I had no count of how many continues I used. It felt like an absurdly high number, and I couldn't imagine ever being good enough to play through this tough game without a single game over. Yet I did it less than two days later. I think a lot of "hard games" get their reputation from people playing them once. And playing any game once is never a solid metric.  
(not that Ninja Gaiden is easy by any means, but you get my drift)

Edited May 19, 2020 by Sumez

[Sumez | 2,969]

41 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

Maybe Contra?

Contra has your back with the 30 lives code.

Of course though, that's still just the practice mode

[RH | 4,924]

14 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Contra has your back with the 30 lives code.

Of course though, that's still just the practice mode

Lol, true. God bless the Konami code.

[TDIRunner | 2,744]

Nothing wrong with using save states............. as long as you don't come back later and say the game is MUCH easier than everyone says after you used them to beat the game.

[Tulpa | 3,519]

25 minutes ago, Sumez said:

Contra has your back with the 30 lives code.

Of course though, that's still just the practice mode

WTF? I didn't say that.

[T-Pac | 7,568]

Congrats @RH ! Nothing better that taking down a classic game.

I did something similar a few years back with Super Mario Bros. I couldn't manage to beat it until I heard about the infinite-1-up shell trick, so I stocked-up enough lives to get me through world 8. It was so satisfying, even if my methods weren't entirely legit.

-CasualCart

[RH | 4,924]

5 minutes ago, CasualCart said:

Congrats @RH ! Nothing better that taking down a classic game.

I did something similar a few years back with Super Mario Bros. I couldn't manage to beat it until I heard about the infinite-1-up shell trick, so I stocked-up enough lives to get me through world 8. It was so satisfying, even if my methods weren't entirely legit.

-CasualCart

IMHO, if it's in the game, it's legit.  That's not cheating if the game allowed for 99 lives.

(But I cheated, to be sure.)

[Tanooki | 4,940]

You know I'm not sure I'd call it that cheap of a win, more of a calculated time saver.

 

The only reason?  If you're being honest, you would replay each area of each world over and over again until you could do it without dying once.  You're still applying the knowledge without being screwed and having to start all over again, or at least over at the ?-1 stage if you use the built in continue.

[Sumez | 2,969]

8 hours ago, Tulpa said:

WTF? I didn't say that.

Lol, blame the Forum's quote system. I jus thighlighted text from the original post and selected "quote"