Last month marked the 25th anniversary of that godfather of all video game classics, Super Mario Bros.
*Cue wild applause and the clinking of many glasses of Dr. Pepper*
Sep. 13, 1985. The year life began. At least for Mario. Eight days later, my life began quite literally in a hospital room in Terre Haute, IN. I know, I know, TMI.
Gamers old and new who know SMB well will no doubt remember the many “warp zones” scattered throughout the game.
Non-gamer: “What’s a warp zone?”
Warp zones allowed players to skip big chunks of the game, jumping into the later (i.e. more advanced) levels. Sometimes, that meant getting into things you weren’t prepared for. For sure it meant missing out on some well-crafted video game artistry in the form of all those levels you were skipping over.
Heckler: “Get to the point. What are you trying to say?”
Warp zones are everywhere in life. You know that email that you saw in your junk folder the other day, the one advertising the one-of-a-kind, two-step, three-week program to your best body ever?
That was a warp zone.
How about that paper mill where you can choose from hundreds of A+ essays that will instantly turn your grade around in that tough English class, making it easier for you to elbow your way to the more advanced classes?
That's a warp zone, too.
We’re all tempted to use those warp zones from time to time, but in the end, the more satisfied gamer is the one who beats each level of the game one by one. That’s the person who really deserves the mushroom…er, medal.
Proverbs says “wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time” (13:11). It doesn’t have to be wealth, of course. Taking shortcuts in anything is more often than not a recipe for disaster.
Okay, I admit it. I used to love the warp zone in Super Mario Bros. And don’t get me started on those warp whistles from Super Mario Bros 3. I still get a kick out of whipping those out every once in a while.
But it’s really more fun to play the game through, isn’t it?
What do you think, gamers? Were you (are you) a warp zone addict, or do you think it’s better to play the game level by level?
P.S. For the more observant gamers out there, I realize that Mario was actually born in the arcade game Donkey Kong (although his name was actually Jumpman then). But really, if it wasn’t for SMB, would the world still know who Mario is? As far as I’m concerned, SMB is our friendly neighborhood plumber’s true debut.
After learning about the game cheats, and walkthroughs, when I was 10 I would always try to use them. Eventually I got bored, and just started to play all the way through, In a way that could be what my life is, just trying to skip the main event, and waste all my time looking for a cheat, or short cut, or even a warp zone.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I used to love collecting all three warp whistles in SMB3. I still like doing that just for the fun of it, but I don't really use them; I just collect them.
ReplyDeleteFor me, much of the fun in SMB3 comes from the maps (a.k.a. overworlds). If you use the warp whistles, you don't get to see all the maps!
I think my favorite is World 5, "Sky Land." I was always fascinated by the process of climbing the tower and getting up into the "sky" or "heaven" in the second part of that world.
I know it sounds cheesy, but there was something about the music that played when you were in the "sky" part that made me feel like I was actually in heaven.
Like I said, cheesy. But there you have it!