NOTE: I am giving the play by play of what happened through the end of my first playthrough last night. Every post so far today is just my commentary on what has already happened, in case that was not clear.
World 7
This is where my first playthrough attempt stalled. Went into this one with two lives left.
7-1: Where the game starts getting challenging, imo. I got through the whole level as tiny (or "regular," which is correct I believe) mario and got hit by the random Buzzy Beetle at the end >______> Down to one life here.
7-2: Water level I miraculously survived. I pretty much walked across the bottom of the ocean floor like a boss! I even cracked myself up saying "Bloopa please" in my best italian accent... this is when I realized it was time for bed! About 1:15 at this point, btw.
But yeah, fairly challenging level. Navigating through underwater traffic is fun!
7-3: Another flying Cheep Cheep level! This marks the first time ever that I have beaten both levels of that type without taking a hit. Pretty exciting!
7-4: Where the journey ended. I didn't know the second part of the pattern to get through this castle, and I tried to use the bottom path, which requires you to jump to a narrow platform in the lava that has a firebar directly above it. Mistimed that jumped, and that was the end of that!!
Later this afternoon when I play again, my first attempt will be to go through every level again. That'll be my warm up run, and if I get a game over again I will just warp to World 7 on my next attempt! More to come soon.
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http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/228-movies-video-and-dvd/58949084