I mean... It's the original Super Mario Bros. It does that well enough. Every time I've come back to replay it I realize I don't actually enjoy it as much as I thought. Sure, you can say the game has aged - definitely better than most of the games on this mixed bag of a console - but sometimes I just find myself wondering if I'm actually having fun when I play it.

First of all, the placement of some of the hammer bros in this game are just absurd, especially the ones in 5-2 (that I don't think I've gone a single playthrough avoiding). I get they're meant to be the 'hard enemy' but it genuinely feels like they decide whatever the hell they want to do EXACTLY when I decide I want to try and avoid them.

I think the game controls fine. I do find myself plummeting to my death sometimes because I don't build momentum for a running jump the way I wanted to, but that's usually my own fault. There's not much air control in this game in comparison to its successors which is why it's kinda jarring to come back to.

The reused levels really feel like they should have been second quest replacements for their easier counterparts - I'm not sure if it was meant to save storage or they just got lazy, but it does bring the game down a bit. I'd rather play 2-3 with some koopas slapped on than most of world 8, though. I've softened up to 8-1 over the years (gotten good) but 8-3 is just one of my least favourite levels in the game period.

All in all, it was a start, and clearly a good one, but if you play this game once just as a novelty and never come back to it again, I don't think anyone is going to fault you.

This is the game that started it all and marked Mario as the face of gaming. It's scary to think that next year will mark this game's 40th anniversary.

There is a very good reason for why this game achieves its classic status. The game is just a very solid platformer. It controls with the right amount of momentum just as you would expect and has otherwise very simple features that everyone can understand.

Speaking of features, you jump when you run into obstacles, eat pickups that grant you special abilities, collect coins for points and just try to get to the end of the level. The classic pickups which are the mushrooms (red makes you bigger, green ones are usually hidden and give you an extra life) and the flame flowers that allow you to toss flames. The game is pretty simple yet challenging at the same time. I will be surprised to hear that someone could get through even the first level completely unscathed when first picked up this game.

Speaking of challenging, there is a reason I didn't finish this game. I got stuck at that level where endless hordes of fish jump and attack you. I simple cannot find an open room to wiggle through and basically gave up. There are many parts of this game that felt way too challenging than it should be and look like attempts to pan out the game.

If you consider yourself a gamer, you probably are looking to play this game if not already. This is a true classic of gaming history and definitely should be appreciated in the present age.

I just replayed Mario 1 and Lost Levels back to back yesterday and it was kind of an interesting experience actually. Looking at these two games as two halves of a whole certainly adds a bit of appeal to both games.

Anyway, Mario 1. Super important, super iconic, super... meh. It doesn't even need to be stated that it set the groundwork for the Mario franchise, because that goes without saying, but that also means that most Mario games are literally just better versions of this game. So there's just straight up no reason to play this game today unless you either want a history lesson or a harmless way to spend 45 minutes. The controls are stiffer than they should be, the music gets repetitive, and some of the game's later levels are just copy pastes of earlier levels in the game. It certainly is no Mario 3, let alone Mario Wonder. Still, the Mario fun is there, so I can't hate it too much.

Something I find interesting about this game is that I actually find this game quite fun when I'm speeding through it as fast as I can. I think the game flows really nicely when approaching it in this manner, as opposed to playing the game slowly and carefully since I'll have to deal with the game's annoying momentum more.