How to beat Super Mario Bros. fast!

Super Mario Bros Special, the other OTHER SMB1 sequel, was developed by Hudson for the NEC PC8801 in Japan in 1986. With all new levels it provided a unique opportunity: to play my very first game again, for the first time. I #justbeatit again, also for the first time. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Zork 1. Of course, purists prefer the original version on a 1900 lb, 1152 kb mainframe computer. I got the 1981 release for QoL features such as compatibility with an electronic text display and standard household voltage. And the grues really pop in blue. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

I completed all my gaming goals for 2025: 1) Reduce my backlog (net change -14) 2) Watch my spending (total spend $150, well below my budget) 3) Beat a game on every system I own (done for nine handhelds/consoles, all backlog games) 4) Explore a totally new genre (text adventures!) Happy New Year!

#justbeatit Pushmo World, my Wii U game for the year. Its 120 platform puzzles were quite challenging; more than once I was tempted to look up the solution. Instead I stepped away when I got stuck and the next day it clicked. Fun; tough: you’d call a real Topper. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

I wanted to play a proper 3DS title before year-end and went with The Starship Damrey, a 2023 eShop rescue. It’s a modern point-and-click with some good dual screen use but also some annoying pixel-hunting moments. A decent game, even so. I #justbeatit, and guide-free! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

This year I set a goal of beating a game on every system. My DSi had one final backlog game and I #justbeatit. Rhapsody is a NIS-developed RPG/musical. It’s as you expect, simple surface story, deep unexplained lore, weird Disgaea-like humour, and singing your feelings. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Good ending got!

#justbeatit Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (Rondo of Blood remake). I got the bad ending so I’ll try again, but credits are credits, and I can knock the PSP off my every-system-challenge checklist. Cool to play the last level of and it’s the first level of SotN. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

18 for me. Everything but dial-up and an AOL address. That is, unless AIM counts, in which case, 19.

Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.

If you see this, repost with your model of positive masculinity.

This revival of a beloved franchise is marred by poor controls, doubly unfortunate given the level of precision some levels demand. Still, Donkey Kong Country Returns is not without its charms. A decent 7/10 experience even if I was hoping for better. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Yes, after winning a single game of RBI Baseball on my NES I am now claiming I #justbeatit. It’s still charming and fun but way harder than I remember. After dozens of failed attempts over the last few months I am clinging to any small victory I’ve been able to eke out. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Bingo bango, Tomb Raider (2013) gave me the line I needed and the @polykillpodcast.bsky.social challenge is done. For the next 49 days I‘ll play whatever I want. Easiest square: vacation. Best square: playing multiple NES games for time travel month when I kept getting the year wrong. #justbeatit

#justbeatit Zombies Ate My Neighbors—on PS4 with a save feature—for my first bingo on the @polykillpodcast.bsky.social board. This may be the game I put the most time into as a kid without ever beating; a friend and I rented it over and over and always lost by level 30. It was always fun, even so.

#justbeatit The Quarry.#GameOfTheMonth If you’re a wuss like me don’t play this one after dark. Play it in the afternoon and scar your children. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social @cartridgeclub.bsky.social

Just started @cartridgeclub.bsky.social's October #GameOfTheMonth, The Quarry. A modern spin on the FMV genre, it's like being in an interactive horror movie. Take advantage of the #CCEffect and grab it while it's 85% off. Great so far, but I'm a little afraid to go to sleep right after playing it.

#justbeatit Wrecking Crew ‘98. I’m such a fan of the NES title I had to play the Japanese sequel for the Super Famicom, even though the gameplay is totally different and I‘m not very good. Persistence and unlimited continues eventually got me through those final levels. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Garfield’s Scary Scavenger Hunt, a browser-based game I played purely for the @polykillpodcast.bsky.social bingo square. Turns out it’s a minor cult classic—SkiFree for a different generation. Relatively painless, and if I couldn’t find anything with President Garfield I’ll take Liman.

#justbeatit Celeste 64: The Bee Sides, by @wiedo.nl! This was tough but satisfying. I was so jealous of everyone playing it when it first came out, I’m glad I finally got the chance to experience it myself. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

I was as caught up in the hype as anyone but I couldn‘t play Celeste 64 when it came out because for a long time I didn’t have a non-work PC. I finally dug in this week and today #justbeatit. There are still, happily, five missing berries to keep me playing a bit yet. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Dark Chambers (Atari 7800, via Atari 50). As a former NES kid these games are still a bit foreign to me, but this was a fun dungeon crawler. Unfortunately no credits, after level Z it just loops you back to A, infinitely, odd for 1988 but that’s Atari. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

I had a plan for the @polykillpodcast.bsky.social bingo save file resurrection square, but plans change. It turns out to be two years since I shelved Ape Escape 2 with 30% of the game left. On a whim I reinstalled and just kept playing tonight until I #justbeatit. That showed those damn, dirty apes.

I’ve been digging through the excellent Atari 50 for months now. It‘s more an interactive documentary than a videogame. Can I still say I #justbeatit? Yes. I’m clearly not beating Cybermorph or Ninja Golf (I’ve tried!) and I need some credit for my time. Validate me @polykillpodcast.bsky.social.

A few years ago I tried to complete the @polykillpodcast.bsky.social challenge and beat a game for every year I’ve been alive. I failed as I could not get through a 1982 game. If only I‘d had Frogs and Flies on the Atari. I #justbeatit and my four-year-old beat it too. Still counts, though!

#justbeatit Alan Wake: The Writer. With the two DLC chapters I was forced to get better at the game’s unique but decidedly not great combat. In terms of story these special features are not a bad sales job for the real sequel. I’ll definitely play it if I ever buy a PS5. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

After spending the week replaying the main game I dove into the DLC and #justbeatit Alan Wake: The Signal. It’s not a complete and self-contained story, it doesn’t wrap anything up, but it’s one more chapter. We’ll see how the next DLC builds upon what this one set up. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

My nine-year-old has been playing Celeste and #justbeatit. There were times he got frustrated and had to step away, but in the end he got it done all on his own. It’s important that children learn masochism is just as valid as fun as a reason for playing videogames. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

It was so good to fire up my Vita this month after a year of neglect. And I played it a lot, it took 50 hours before I #justbeatit Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward. Half escape room puzzler, half visual novel—both halves are quite difficult but rewarding as well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit I Love You, Colonel Sanders: A Finger Lickin’ Good Dating Simulator. This has been on my list for a while. I have a hard time passing up a weird novelty game. Essential? No. Worth the time investment for at least a single playthrough? Solidly maybe. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD. The improvements to the formula are largely cancelled out by changes that don’t work. I liked the hidden content at first but it soon devolve into 3D “pixel hunting”. I’m hoping the third game will be the one to get it all right. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Congrats on ten years @polykillpodcast.bsky.social! I don’t mean to one-up you but I #justbeatit Bubble Bobble. Starting with a rental in first grade, my incredible 37-year journey included fathering two children and training one of them on NES in order to earn the best ending. But ten years! Neat.

#justbeatit The Foundation, the other expansion for a game that I have discovered is all killer, no filler. I missed out by mainlining Control on my initial run but it did make this revisit possible. And I got the (main game) platinum in the process! Worked out. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Control: AWE. I played Alan Wake last year so I decided to revisit Control, first replaying the core game and then diving into this beefy crossover DLC. It took a bit but Remedy’s Lynchian/Teilight Zone universe has won me over and I’ll be diving yet deeper. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Ninja Gaiden (NES) and that’s a @polykillpodcast.bsky.social BINGO (X2). I played through stages one to four and thought “this isn’t as hard as I heard it was.” Then I spent a few hours on stage five and two days on stage six and learned my lesson. 1989 devs hated us. I mean, I get it.

#justbeatit BurgerTime Deluxe (Data East, GB port of arcade original). I’ve never played this one before; it’s deceptively simple. In later levels careful path-planning and enemy grouping strategies are essential. Hesitate and you’ll quickly fall to an errant pickle. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. What a charming little title. It’s a fresh spin on something that still feels familiar. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

One of my old-fogie stances is that SNES Mario Kart is the best one. It’s hard to make the case objectively, but the heart wants what the heart wants. The GBA, as SNES 2.0, of course had its own old-school sequel, Mario Kart: Super Circuit. Ah, 2D heaven. #justbeatit @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Tetris 2. I haven’t had to leave my NES on overnight since the ‘90s, but this is not a one-sitting affair. I like that this is a true sequel to Tetris, not an unrelated puzzler slapped with the Tetris name, but also something different from classic Tetris. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Arcade Paradise. What’s not to love? Okay, the story has rough edges and the business sim aspect is unbalanced and unintuitive. But push through all that and you keep getting fun new games to play. Owning an arcade is not my dream. Going to the arcade? Yes. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Tetris (1989, NES). You thought you had me, didn’t you? Didn’t you ?! @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Four must-play Mario games: 1. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 2. Super Mario Odyssey 3. Super Mario World 4. Super Mario Maker 2

#justbeatit Wario Land II, one of the Game Boy Color’s three launch titles. It’s harder than expected at times, both the puzzling out of hidden rooms and exits, and many of the boss fights. Deeper and harder than expected for GBC, a touch jankier as well, but still good. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Metroid Dread. This is truly a series without misses, which I don’t think you can say about any other first-party Nintendo franchise. The last boss left me with some finger calluses, which I understand to be a badge of honour among space bounty hunters. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

Some @polykillpodcast.bsky.social people jumped off this cliff and I didn’t want to miss out. Some hours later I had skipped and bounced all the way through Leap Year. Having #justbeatit I see now the lack of signposting is part of the experience, even if it sometimes made me hopping mad. Dive in.

#justbeatit Bioshock: Infinite’s DLC, Buried at Sea. Now that I’ve finished every entry I question how well it all hangs together. This series is uneven and the tie-ins seem forced and tacked on, making the series somehow less than the sum of its parts. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Faxanadu. No way was I playing this in 1989, but that’s the great thing about retro gaming, it’s never too late to go back and see what you’ve missed. Exploring more genres in this library has given me a new appreciation for how deep the NES bench is. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Marble Madness (1989) for @cartridgeclub.bsky.social‘s NES March Madness. What a gem (or at least a jewel-like marble). I went from thinking it was impossible to thinking I had it on lock to thinking it was impossible again (but only the last level). @polykillpodcast.bsky.social

#justbeatit Bioshock Infinite for the @cartridgeclub.bsky.social #gameofthemonth. I still have the DLC to do but then I’ll be 100% done the series. I need to chew on this one for a bit before I know exactly how to rank it but it’s been an experience. Thanks Ken Levine. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social