Lurker > Paratroopa1

Infinite lives tricks exist in a space in between "beating the game legit" and "using rewind/save states", imo. It's a cheesy way to beat the game, but it does use a method contained within the game itself to do so - it's an easy way to beat the game but I'd consider it legitimate, just not mastery. Using rewind/save states is a little less legit - I'm not trying to gatekeep here, you should play any game by whatever means you find necessary, but using an outside tool is a lot more questionable.

I've started actually trying to speedrun Super Mario Bros since playing this and it's pretty fun

People acting all aghast as if the tv networks have ANY goal other than making money (they absolutely, 100% do not)

I may have rated 8-1 a bit too low given that it's kind of 6-3'ish in its ability to make people fall into a pit

I just lost a match due to 6-3 lol. I had a shitload of coins and time and I just fell in a pit

Mr Lasastryke posted...

he's right but i also don't get what the point of his posts is?

it's like if someone is saying "some people think the sky is purple and they're wrong" and colliding is saying "well, other people think that 'the sky is blue' is a wrong statement because the sky is purple from their perspective." sure, this is correct, but what's the merit in pointing this out?

Like, his point is that the average Fox News viewer has been entrenched into Fox News's viewpoints to the extent that they just have a different belief about what truth is from the rest of us, and breaking them out of that would be like trying to break *us* out of *not* living in the Fox News world. It's hard conditioning to break out of - Fox News knows how to get people really addicted to what they're supplying. His point is perfectly salient to the discussion - I just mistook him as equivocating John Oliver to Fox News lol.

BadTopicIsBad posted...

As someone who leans right, I can fully admit there are many on this side that are too extreme and often in the wrong. That is also true for the other side and I don't think there is anything wrong with saying that. Attacking someone or ganging up on them simply because you don't agree is often a good representation of too extreme.

Oh sorry, you might be under the false impression that we agree

I have absolutely zero clue why colliding is getting dogpiled on, they're right?

Wow, I haven't had that happen yet. Every time 4-4 is in the rotation people clear it just fine - it's usually down to like 4-5 people at most by that point anyway.

redrocket posted...

I think this might literally be a joke option.

No, I know someone who inverts X axis, I don't know why though

I invert always on KB+mouse, I invert on controller for shooters and flight sims but NOT for other games.

"Fixed other issues to enhance the overall gameplay experience."

Such detailed patch notes

Paratroopa1 posted...

ah ok, understandable

sorry for my insinuation that you were doing a yikes

colliding posted...

ok. let me clarify FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE

I don't believe that John Oliver is biased like Fox News. I'm just saying trying to convince parents is as hard as them trying to convince you

ah ok, understandable

colliding posted...

I'm not actually saying I know what you watch, I was just giving an example of a polar extreme of Fox News

yikes

metroid composite posted...

https://twitter.com/business/status/1314268011751186438

Turtle draws into its shell.

it's almost a breath of fresh air to see someone properly acting in their own self-interest like a not-moron

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

all three swing voters in Pennsylvania who this was the deciding issue for will be pleased

for one day, until they decide that biden is a socialist again

To be honest, I really do think they just intend for this to be a limited time event - they might change their mind if it's popular enough, but I don't think they mean to invest in this

It's a game that they would have to sell with a free-to-play model given the nature of it

Also, if you don't take a powerup in, then you get double the coin bonus at the end of the match. if you care about that, which, why not, since starting with a powerup is totally unnecessary

oh jesus I almost have 8000 karma

Yeah I have no idea. I hope they keep it around or bring it back or something, maybe with new features or slightly better balancing, it's a cool game and while it obviously has a finite lifespan, March 31 feels TOO finite.

I really do feel like this game needs some kind of exclusive tougher mode for people who're high level or have unlocked every stage. It's just not that interesting for me to always be playing against people who die in 1-1 (how are there so many people who die in 1-1 so easily?), I really want to test my skills against a super tough group of people, but there's just absolutely no way to do that.

---The ten best levels to pick---
1. 8-2
2. 5-2
3. 6-1
4. 4-1
5. 2-3
6. 7-1
7. 8-4
8. 2-2
9. 6-2
10. 6-3
---Interesting choices---
11. 3-1
12. 7-4
13. 8-1
14. 8-3
15. 4-2
16. 3-4
17. 4-4
18. 7-2
19. 7-3
---Practical choices---
20. 3-2
21. 5-4
22. 2-4
23. 6-4
24. 2-1
25. 1-2
26. 1-4
27. 5-1
28. 5-3
29. 4-3
30. 3-3
---Don't pick these---
31. 1-3
32. 1-1

1. 8-2

Excitement: ***
Enemies: ***
Items: **
Novelty: ***
Villainy: ***

Aside from the fact that this is a very late stage, if you want a stage that maximize the impact of both the challenge of the level itself as well as the enemies you can send from it, 8-2's your level. It's got Lakitu, so that automatically propels it near the top, but unlike 4-1 and 6-1, it has other enemies like Buzzy Beetles and Bullet Bills (don't sleep on Buzzy Beetle - its immunity to fire can be a bit of a pain in the ass for fireball spam), and it has a ton of death-defying jumps that you'll have to do towards the end, which really solidifies its 3-star villainy rating (although Lakitu already gives it that by default), assuming that anyone can ever actually get there. I think this is one of SMB1's most challenging and interesting stages and the fact that it has Lakitu makes it a strong contender for the most impactful stage you can add to the SMB35 rotation... well, again, assuming anyone ever makes it there. But if enough people picked later stages, it wouldn't be a problem, so you should definitely add 8-2 to the rotation.

One weakness I forgot to mention on 8-4 by the way is that all the pipe transitions means people can ditch a lot of enemies, including Lakitus. So if someone's on 8-4 you might want to think twice about sending stuff to them. I haven't actually had this come up, since nobody ever seems to make it this far, but it is a theoretical problem with the stage that I forgot to mention.

2. 5-2

Excitement: ***
Enemies: ***
Items: ***
Novelty: ***
Villainy: **

I flip-flopped on the top two levels, and which one I prefer just depends on mood. In terms of sheer variety and utility, 5-2 is a completely peerless level in this game. It's got Hammer Bros, it's got Buzzy Beetles, it's got Bullet Bills, and yes, it even has Cheep Cheeps and Bloopers - don't forget about that optional underwater part that you can go to for those! Don't feel like going underwater? That's cool, you can also hit up an optional coin heaven - or just stick to the ground and kill each of this stage's four Hammer Bros. This is an overall entertaining and solidly designed level but the smorgasbord of enemies you can send here are what really put it over the top for me - the only thing it's missing is Lakitu, and otherwise this would be a flawless level to add to any SMB35 lineup. The only thing keeping it from the top is that 3-star villainy rating that a Lakitu - or some tougher jumps - would have given it. Thankfully, there is a stage that offers these things.

3. 6-1

Excitement: ***
Enemies: ***
Items: **
Novelty: ***
Villainy: ***

I struggled with how to rank these top levels, and this one is no exception. 6-1 is another Lakitu level, of course, and it's a slight tradeoff with 4-1 - it's a bit later in the order, so you can't rush Lakitu as quickly, but it makes up for it imo in just being a way more fun and unique level. 4-1 is relatively simple and flat but this one has cascading staircases everywhere and a bunch of walled-off areas where enemies can accumulate - the terrain here just makes this level really fun. It's a highly novel stage that I very rarely see despite being one of the three levels with Lakitu in it, and it's one that I'm always thrilled to pick. Any level with Lakitu in it is key to maximizing having a wild time in this game.

4. 4-1

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: **
Novelty: **
Villainy: ***

Yeah, you know why. It's Lakitu. This is both the earliest stage in which you can find Lakitu - and also, the lowest stage on my list that has Lakitu in it. You could rank this #1 and I would totally understand - this is a great pick if you just want to create maximum chaos, as much as possible, as fast as possible. Lakitu is this game's marquee enemy without question, IMO - zipping around, following you everywhere, creating more and more Spinies, which are themselves a pain in the ass to deal with, and you can send those as well. Lakitu is probably the most frequently reciprocated enemy, seeing as it's generally hard to deal with him without killing him, as hitting the flagpole at the end sends him away also, and it takes a while before he leaves on his own - the only other way to get rid of him are pipes and dying, pretty much. So, when you kill Lakitu, he STICKS, and that's going to make your SMB35 session pretty crazy, especially if you have a lot of people alive still, or even better, you can send multiple at once - make sure you have Attackers set before you kill a Lakitu, because that's both the only way to send multiples, and also the best way to make sure they get sent back to you so you can keep them going. I only rank 4-1 this low because the stage itself is not that exciting aside from this, and since it's one of the canon stages of SMB1 I feel like I've seen it enough, but without it being one of those W8 stages that are exciting enough to always feel fresh. You'll see this one picked fairly often without you, as well, but doesn't hurt to ensure that it's in the rotation. SMB35 is just a more hilarious game with Lakitu in it.

5. 2-3

Excitement: ***
Enemies: ***
Items: **
Novelty: *
Villainy: ***

At this point every level is just an awesome pick, and 2-3 is one of the most standard awesome picks you can make, I think, and the only reason I don't rate it higher is a) it doesn't have Lakitus (a bit of a theme at the top you might notice) and b) it's a common enough pick that you might see it anyway. This is a GREAT level to farm, though. Rush this level, find someone who is small Mario or who doesn't have a lot of coins, select them, and start fireballing every Cheep Cheep in sight. Requires some good timing on your fireball spamming, but you can pretty easily get 10+ kills here without having to stop too much, and the rate at which these things murder small Marios is truly breathtaking. You can get it from 2-2, as well, but I just really like doing it on 2-3 - they're easier and quicker to farm imo, there's one mushroom here if you do get donked, and I just think this level is overall more fun. This has always been one of my favorite levels in SMB1, and now, in SMB35, it's one of the most exploitable for early KOs and generally just being a dick to people. If you want to be aggressive I think this is one of the best choices.

6. 7-1

Excitement: ***
Enemies: ***
Items: **
Novelty: ***
Villainy: **

This is just a good-ass level - plenty of Hammer Bros and Bullet Bills all packed together in a dense and tightly designed package that will make pretty much any player have to sweat it out a little bit. This is one of the few levels where the Bullet Bills are actually outright dangerous, and you'll be able to send them in enough volume that it might fuck someone else up, so that combined with the Hammer Bros makes this one an intriguing pick. Overall, though, I just think it's one of SMB1's coolest levels, and it's not one you see very often, so it's a great addition to the lineup.

7. 8-4

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: *
Novelty: ***
Villainy: ***

If you're got it, flaunt it, right? Besides the fact that adding 8-4 into the mix is just a straight up power move, it's also got some stuff going for it - it has both the infinite maze element and the Hammer Bowser that 7-4 gives you, but it's also got that nice underwater section that has some Bloopers to kill, and plus I think it's just a more interesting and fun level overall, although if you know where to go it's not actually all that long. I think it probably has slightly better kill potential than 7-4, although this is highly unproven, because I have basically never seen anyone make it here. That just makes adding it to the pool even more exciting - maybe if someone makes it it'll be the first time they've ever seen this level in SMB35.

8. 2-2

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: *
Novelty: **
Villainy: ***

You can't go wrong with this one. Rush down 2-2 and start sending off those Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps and watch them wreck havoc - they're both total bastards to deal with on land and this is probably the earliest level that you can get to that you can use to start sending out some real problem enemies. I rank it a bit lower just because, well, I don't think this level is really all that exciting! If you have a fire flower, it's basically just swimming forward and doing some target practice, which is kind of engaging at times if you've got a lot going on but it's not the most dynamic level. If you get here without a fire flower it sucks, too - you can't kill anything unless you use your roulette and hope for a flower, star, or POW, so you'll probably get three straight mushrooms and be pissed off. Also, a lot of people pick this one, so there isn't necessarily a pressing need to make this your pick. It's still a really good option and it should be a part of any SMB35 rotation - being an underwater level means this is good for variety.

9. 6-2

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: ***
Novelty: ***
Villainy: *

This level plays like something of a precursor to Pipe World in SMB3 with all its pipes and Piranha Plants, and I think it's a really solid, underrated level that has a lot to offer to a SMB35 rotation. Plenty of Piranha Plants to kill which are a decent enemy to spread around, and if you want, don't forget to take the pipe down to the secret underwater area that most people probably forget about, which can give you a few Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps as well. Or, optionally, you could also go to the coin heaven, which is nice. And, it's just a cool and overall unique level. Definitely a solid pick, although if you are going to take a later level I DO think there are better ones.

10. 6-3

Excitement: ***
Enemies: *
Items: *
Novelty: ***
Villainy: ***

This is the worst level in the game, not in terms of quality but in terms of dickishness, and for that reason, it is one of the best picks. There is only one reason to pick this level, and it's because you want to be an absolute jerk. There is NOTHING of value in this level - it has fewer enemies than any other level in the game, it's a total timesink, there is no reason to go here. It is just a barren, hellish landscape - and probably the most difficult level to survive when you have a lot of coins. You can tank Lakitus and Hammer Bros and Bowser but you can't tank falling into a pit, and this is probably the most acrobatic level in the game. If someone gets to this level, there is a damn good chance they will die. You won't get a KO off of it, probably, but you will laugh at their misfortune, and this level out of any level probably has the highest chance of picking off experienced players without just waiting them out, so I think there might be reason to pick this. Of course, you also have to survive it, but that's fun, right?

I adjusted 6-4's ranking to account for the Hammer Bowser. The fact that it's a clone of 1-4 still makes it pretty lame, and Hammer Bowser is the ONLY thing it has going for it, but I bumped it up a bit - the fact that it has more fire bars is a little exciting I guess.

The top 10 levels:

2-2
2-3
4-1
5-2
6-1
6-2
6-3
7-1
8-2
8-4

---The ten best levels to pick---
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
---Interesting choices---
11. 3-1
12. 7-4
13. 8-1
14. 8-3
15. 4-2
16. 3-4
17. 4-4
18. 7-2
19. 7-3
---Practical choices---
20. 3-2
21. 5-4
22. 2-4
23. 6-4
24. 2-1
25. 1-2
26. 1-4
27. 5-1
28. 5-3
29. 4-3
30. 3-3
---Don't pick these---
31. 1-3
32. 1-1

11. 3-1

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: ***
Novelty: *
Villainy: ***

There is one reason, and exactly one reason to pick this level, and you know what it is - it's the earliest way to rush Hammer Bros. And that's a perfectly good reason to pick this level. It's actually one of the most common picks in my experience, probably more common than anything other than w1 or 2-1, so I end up coming here pretty early. But still not a bad pick in order to solidify getting those early Hammer Bros and putting them into the pool. There's only two, but there's a pretty good chance they'll get passed around for a while, and that's a lot of fun. This level is, besides that, still pretty fun and cool - it's just a nice level with plenty of opportunities for items as well as an optional coin heaven if you want it. Solid overall level that you want in the rotation. It misses the top 10 for me because it's just commonly enough seen that I feel okay not picking it. I think the top 10 levels are more exciting and fun. This is really JUST for that Hammer Bros rush... but if you want to rush some nasty enemies, there's better options.

Grand Kirby posted...

Am I the only one who finds 1-4 way harder than the other castle levels? Like you just run straight through most of 2-4 as long as you have a flower, even the elevators are really easy to do. But that section in 1-4 with the lower-upper-lower fire bars is hell if a bunch of enemies are placed there even with a flower.

I dunno, every time I get 1-4, even if I have a few enemies it feels like I just run through it super fast.

Also, one note on 7-4 I forgot - the height of the ceiling means lakitus on the top row can't throw spinies down on you, they just get stuck on the roof. It makes 7-4 a little easier than it would otherwise be.

12. 7-4

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: *
Novelty: ***
Villainy: ***

Yeah yeah, alright, like, the fact that people could get stuck in this dumb level for eternity is really hilarious and it's a good reason to pick this level. I've been picking it just to see if it works. Here's the problem - it's probably not gonna. The only people with the chops to ever see this level in play probably know what to do with it and I have yet to even see evidence of anyone but me completing this level - even Kosmic didn't have it unlocked the last time I checked, lol (he probably does by now). I'm not penalizing later levels too hard for being later levels, just because you should still pick them, because if everyone picked them we'd have a really interesting rotation. But this one is a bit eggs-all-in-one-basket. The ratings are a little inflated here - I had to give it a 3-stars for villainy because obviously, and for novelty since it's so rare, but it's not that novel and in practice not that likely to really take anyone down. The main reason to take this level is actually for Hammer Bowser - I said I fucked up earlier because I didn't notice that 6-4 is actually the first level with a Hammer Bowser, not 7-4, who is an enemy so rare and exciting that if you send one, there's a really high chance that it's the first time your opponent has ever seen one. Totally worth doing. You could totally do 6-4 for this too - I think I'll probably bump 6-4 up to like #20 since it's a castle level and they're good. Anyway, good level, even if you know the maze gimmick the addition of enemies can make navigating it a huge pain in the ass and that's kind of fun and funny.

13. 8-1

Excitement: **
Enemies: **
Items: *
Novelty: ***
Villainy: ***

I gave it three stars for villainy due to how tricky some of the jumps in this level are, but this level's undoing is simply the fact that it's too late in the level order for anyone to truly experience that villainy. If you yourself get to it, there isn't actually that much upside here - aside from buzzy beetles, there are no intriguing enemies to send, although you can get a fair amount of time off of shell kicks. I gave it a 1 for items, though, because this is one of the few levels that has no mushrooms in it at all, which in such a long level can be a real killer. This, too, is villainous, but if you have this level unlocked, then you're probably going to be the one suffering as a result of it. 8-1 is a classic level, an important level in the SMB1 canon, but it doesn't actually have a lot to offer to a SMB35 rotation other than the fact that it's challenging and a pretty cool level - the lack of valuable enemies just really hurts it.

14. 8-3

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: *
Novelty: ***
Villainy: **

An overrated level, imo. It's true that it's very challenging in SMB1 due to all the Hammer Bros that you need to face off against, but in SMB35, the ease with which you can get fire flowers and stars and the flatness of the level means that it's actually surprisingly easy to trivialize, in my opinion. There are no stars in this level but if you roulette one, you can nearly run it to the end of the level no problem. Hammer Bros are a great enemy to send of course, but there are other ways to get them, although this level does have the most which is a perk. But it's so late in the game that I'm not sure it's worth it just for that. You're picking 8-3 because it's a cool novelty and a neat level, but as far as practicality goes I think there's better.

15. 4-2

Excitement: **
Enemies: **
Items: ***
Novelty: **
Villainy: **

The warp zone level for proper connossieurs! While it is a bit less practical than 1-2 simply because it's later in the order so you'll see it less, it's still an excellent level to add to the rotation. Once again, its major weakness is that by picking the level yourself, you can't add a different level into the rotation that you'll actually want to warp to. Still, this is a good level in general - both underground levels are super diverse and interesting, lots of exciting features here that you'll PROBABLY skip to just go to the warp zone instead but whatever. Gains a star in villainy for the fact that enemies here across large jumps can be a real problem, but it loses a star of villainy for having that quick warp zone exit.

Lolo_Guru posted...

I already mentioned Hammer Bowser. >_>

I missed your post lol

but yes that's the thing I overlooked

I dunno where I rank it - I'm not sure if that alone is enough to put it into the top 20. maybe 20th or so for that

16. 3-4

Excitement: ***
Enemies: **
Items: *
Novelty: **
Villainy: **

Sort of a personal pick of mine, this is just a good, strong castle level on all accounts. It's really fun to play, jumping over the series of lava pits and through the double fire bars feels really acrobatic, and adding enemies to this one can make it a real challenge to find the right timing. I think it's the best midgame castle level and if you want to pick one of those, this is the one I'd be most excited to see. It doesn't offer anything super unique or notable, it's just a good, strong level that bolsters the excitement value of the rotation.

17. 4-4

Excitement: **
Enemies: **
Items: *
Novelty: **
Villainy: **

It's overrated. Yeah, in theory, the mazelike nature of 4-4 could trip people up, but in practice the herd is already thinned out by the time this level shows up, and I just haven't seen anyone get tripped up by it to date - usually when people get here they know what to do. It's only two paths, anyway, so it's just not that long a level. It's still a decent level, since as usual the tight quarters can make added enemies really screw you, and maybe the looping paths get people sometimes, but it just doesn't happen as often as you might hope.

19. 7-3

Excitement: ***
Enemies: ***
Items: **
Novelty: **
Villainy: **

18. 7-2

Excitement: **
Enemies: ***
Items: *
Novelty: **
Villainy: **

I don't know where to rank either of these levels. The problem is that they're both very, very good levels, for reasons I'll get to later, but they're clones of 2-3 and 2-2 respectively, and because they're so late in the order they'll come way later than you'd prefer to reap the benefits of these levels. They're GOOD levels, but I don't really think there's a good reason to pick them over the earlier versions. I almost thought about ranking these at the bottom just for that reason, but they're still good levels, so if you add them to the rotation it's a good thing. 7-3 in particular is pretty pointless - it just adds Goombas and Koopas to the mix over 2-3, which is highly impactful in SMB1, but since this is SMB35, you're ALREADY getting those added to the mix. 7-2 has more Bloopers at least, which is good. Bloopers are good.

Jakyl25 posted...

It all 35 players picked 1-1, would it just be an infinite loop of 1-1?

yes

So the map rotation is "the most boring levels possible except for 4-1"

well, at least it has 4-1 though.

Also, I made an extremely grievous error in judgment in my ranking; 6-4 should actually be rated significantly higher, as there's a major element to the level that I overlooked. I will talk about what it was later and leave you to guess what I missed.

I'm not sure how the algorithm works but it definitely does two things:

1) It prefers to put earlier levels before later levels.
2) It prefers to space out repeats.

So a late world level will show up late, but I think it'll still show up before some other repeats.