What is essentially an add-on to an already completed script, but an incredibly heartfelt and inspired one at that. I've never been one to complain about the lack of juggling or the lack of canceling moves, I play these games for their narrative and how they tie into the gameplay seamlessly. There's much more to appreciate of what these games do than simply their combo game.

With that said, what stands out the most is Gaiden's narrative. There's a sense of entrapment and longing for emancipation the entire time, and when it's eventually reached, it feels bittersweet. Being knowing of Kiryu's condition in Infinite Wealth helps make this game feel even more like a swan song, and it drives home this sense of impending doom that haunts throughout the short span of the game.

You know what's coming, but seeing the way there is a whole other beast.

*Played Mario 1 on an actual NES nearly fifteen years ago. All my subsequent playthroughs were on the Nintendo Switch.

Although I was born in 2003, somehow, my family acquired an NES for me to goof around. The only game in the NES was naturally the original Super Mario Bros, thus it became the very first video game I ever played.

Ignoring my nostalgic talk, Super Mario Bros is still a fun game to play with.

For starters, you got the basics down: moving, jumping, power-ups, jumping and stumping enemies, and the goal to either reach the flag goal or beat up a Bowser.

Despite it being about four decades old, the game still holds up in terms of gameplay and visuals and it's pretty short (though would take a lot longer if you're bad at it like I was).

The only things I don't like about Mario 1 is immediately becoming smaller when you hit an enemy despite the fact you have a Fire Flower and some of Bowser's Castles have these annoying moments of blind progression that could loop if you didn't choose the right path.

Besides that, Mario 1 is still pretty enjoyable despite its age and a really fun game to speedrun. 4/5.