Well, chalk me up as another weirdo, because not only do I like SMB2 the best, but I was able to beat it as a young kid (I’d say 8 or 9?) I could never (and still haven’t, to this day) beat SMB 1, and SMB3 took a lot of tries to do it without warping, but I never had a serious problem with 2.
I never owned a SNES until college (when I was late teens/early twenties, early 2000s,) and so while I played SMW, I never got far. And despite actually owning an N64, I never owned, or, to this day, have even played Mario 64. Not even a bit.
bouv, your post is very similar to my experiences - though I like SMB1 better than SMB2. I just didn’t like the lack of traditional enemies and such, and Toad seemed to come out of nowhere. I’ve never played Mario World (never had a SNES, actually), and much preferred Zelda as well. I just loved the idea of an inventory, and equiping my character - my friends and I were into D&D at the time which added to it.
I also don’t think I’ve played more than a level or two of Mario 64. I didn’t game during college (other than Bond, but that was a different story), so never really got the chance.
I actually worked out exactly where the maximum number of coins you could acquire were along with the mushroom(s) in each stage (three of them only had one mushroom), The joys of having far too much free time…
I beat SMB1 very shortly after getting it when I was 7, and SMB3 soon after getting it when I was 9. Also when I was 7, I was also the only person in my family or neighborhood who could beat beat Tyson. Hell, I’m pretty far along in I Wanna Be The Guy right now. SMB2 was and is just too much for me and everyone I knew, though.
Well, Toad(s) was a character in SMB1, they just made him playable in SMB2, and THANK GOD. He is the only character I like, though Mario is ok. I know most people seem to lurve Luigi or Princess, because of their jumping, but Toad is who the serious players play as. He is the strongest. He picks up plants and enemies faster than anyone, especially that god-awful bitch of a princess. Not only that, but he is the only character that runs just as fast, and jumps just as high/far while carrying something. Every other character is slowed down, and has reduced jumping.
Seriously, just try to get a meaningful amount of coins as the Princess. If you place the potion in the right spot where you can get ten or more coins, you’re lucky to get half a dozen with that bitch. Toad will get all of them and have time to spare.
Edit: And in case you’re wondering, Mario is “average.” He is second best at jump height, speed, and strength. Luigi jumps the highest and (i think…) runs the fastest, jumps farther than Mario and Toad, and picks things up slower than Mario and Toad, but faster than Princess. Princess is slow at everything (running and picking things up,) has the largest percentage of her speed and jumping reduced, but can float. All of this is from memory, so I might be wrong, but that’s the gist of it.
Double edit: It seems Toad actually runs the fastest, so another plus for him!
Unless I was going for a balanced run where I used everyone equally I only used Toad when I knew I would have to pick up a lot of coins. Luigi runs almost as quickly and has the benefit of being able to do so insane tricks like jump over that giant hole on early on where you’re supposed to ride the carpet for a while. In horizontal distance can move as far as the princess, he can get to just about any point, and his fall is very easily controlled.
It’s the princess who gets my vote as the most useless character. Her float move only is helpful once in the game in world 3 and the rest of the time you can do the same thing with Luigi and get the added benefits.
Mr. Sandman. Him, Soda Popinkski, and Bald Bull 2 were all harder than Tyson IMO. Less predictable. The first time I beat Tyson it was after giving up out of frustration from not being able to get to him and using a code I got from . . . Nintendo Power IIRC. Later on I beat everyone.
3 was too easy IMO. I played all the way through it without warping about a year or two ago and I doubt I died 10 times. Sometimes I can fire up SMB2 and die 10 times in a half hour. World and Galaxy were pretty easy too but Galaxy does get significantly harder after about 100 stars and both of them were many times longer than 3. And maybe I’m all alone out on an island here but I also think SMB3 had the darkest aesthetic of the series. Except in a few places, it wasn’t particularly whimsical like the other games. Lots of underground levels, creepy-vibe castles, and a final world that is dark and full of flames and bombs. Yes, 3 was revolutionary and introuced cool powerups, flight, and the first vestiges of open-ended play, but it couldn’t sniff Galaxy or World in scope, replay value, or overall fun IMO.
I’m with Munch here. As I’ve stated, I’ve never beaten SMB1, but SMB2 was pretty easy. I don’t remember anything being particularly hard in that game, and I’m generally pretty shitty at platformers (as evidenced by my futility at SMB1).
Cisco - It’s been a long time, but from what I remember, you just need a good sense of rhythm. You kind of watch the first reel of the slot machine and catch the rhythm of the cherries going by. They are absolutely predictable and regular. Once you get could at catching that first cherry (and you can get really good at that), to get the second and third was two quick successive taps. I can’t remember if it was three fast taps (starting with the first cherry) to get it, or a tap, a very slight pause, and two very fast taps. It’s all in the rhythm.
