Super Mario Bros. ~View 3~ The Level Patterns

They say variety is the spice of life, and it's no surprise that saying, of course, applies to video games as well. I'm pretty sure Super Mario Bros wasn't the first one to employ this, but the way it's executed is in a way no gamer will ever forget.

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So after you beat the first level, you get this little cinematic.

That's right, Mario's heading down to the underground. Down the warp pipe!

Annnndd here we are.

It starts off easily enough. Two easily stompable goombas, and an extra Mushroom/Fire Flower if you need one, but there's even more stuff to fool around with here.

Why, just take a look here, I can collect these coins and mess with those Koopas...hmmm...

Probably my favorite part of this particular level is right after this. You can punch through this bricks as Super Mario, and, if you hadn't kicked a Koopa shell earlier, you can wreck havoc on the baddies on the other side.

Interesting note about these bricks. Most of the time they contain nothing, but occasionally they can hold goodies. Probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is finding a brick with multiple coins, so you have to repeatedly hit it over and over again until it runs out. Points!

Another entertaining thing to do in these underground levels is a well-known tactic. Take a look at the screenshot below.

Pesky Piranha Plants..where's Mario?

Notice how there's a layer of bricks on the top of the level. If you play your cards right...

Whoa!! You can walk on top of the stage! Sometimes, don't you just want to take the easy way out? We don't always get that chance, but Mario does.

This is actually vital to accessing the most popular secret of the game, but we'll touch on that later. Let's get go through the pipes and get out of here.

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Ah, the outdoors...but what's this?

Those are some really weird hills...

This is a type of stage I don't really see mentioned much, which I find odd considering it's one of the first levels in the game. Not to mention that they are HARD!

When you play video games, you always kind of pick up on the rule that you have to take your time with these kind of levels. There will always be levels that will aggravate you, test your patience, and make us scream various curse words at the television screen, but the key is just to take a deep breath and relax.

Take these floating platforms, for example. Some of them ease up and down, but there are times when they aren't so friendly. They might just sink the moment you set foot on them. These things can be the bane of my existence.

I might be saying that a lot.

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At the end of each world, you'll find yourself in a massive castle.

Yikes, this certainly looks dangerous. Why, look, there's lava and fireballs everywhere. Just like in the hills, you can't just rush through everything. Otherwise, you might run into these rotating fire bars up there.

Seriously, these things are demon spawn.

All of the castle stages have the same color scheme, but they always spice things up. For example, one of them has a maze in which you have to pick the right route or otherwise you'll be sent back to the beginning. It's a process.

So yeah, just making my way through. Nothing in sigh-

OH MY GOD BOWSER!!!

...or not. If you pelt enough fireballs at him, it's just a minion in disguise. The normal way to beat him is to jump over and use that axe to chop down the bridge.

When the bridge is falling down, his feet wiggle. I like that detail.

Mario heads on over to the other room and rescues a Mushroom Retainer, who says one of video games' most famous lines.

Seven more castles, to be exact. But I won't be talking about all of them.

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So now we've got that out of the way, I'd say I'd maybe have about six or seven views left for this game. Man, it's tougher then it looks..

Next up: The Music

...you know, Super Mario Galaxy 2 comes tomorrow. I swear, it is the ONLY THING I am thinking about. If only I had the time to post more this week....

Maybe I can write inbetween the impressions over the game? Ha, maybe.