Forum Overview :: Are Games Art? :: Re: Slate game snobbery.

[quote name="Bananadine"][quote name="Bananadine"]Seriously, what the hell was that about. I mean the All-Stars version changed the graphics etc., but probably it kept the stage designs the same, and that's what counts.[/quote] Oh well maybe this is it then: [quote name="some dude whose review is linked in the Slate article"]Super Mario All-Stars allows you to save at every individual sub-level on the Lost Levels, while the original Japanese version only lets you save at the beginning of each world. This huge difference in difficulty means you need to make every move count. You don’t want to reach Bowser after an agonizing twenty minutes, only to lose your last life and find yourself back at the beginning of 4 tough-as-nails sub-levels. This adds extra significance to the 1-up trick you can do on the flagpoles of each stage and it forces you to consider every single coin you pick up. You'll horde those lives like orphaned kittens, and the strategy involved in matching your coin tally to your time counter makes for an incredibly addictive addition. The gameplay is as deep and robust as you can find in the 8-bit universe. The Famicom Disk System version also forces you to repeat the entire game eight times, earning a separate star on the title screen for every win, before you are able to unlock the 4 bonus worlds. Beating the game once is an accomplishment daring enough to get you listed in Santa's naughty ledger, but eight times? This week's Virtual Console release is the first time a lot of us outside of Japan (unless you did some bootleg importing like me) have access to the pure, unadulterated carnage of the original.[/quote] So it is harder in the original version, and that's all. Hmm. I'll buy this Wii release of the game no doubt, but damned if I'm gonna play through it eight times straight, unless I'm half out of my mind with the flu or something. I suppose the addition of the save system makes it easier for people to blunder through the game without really noticing the quality of its design, but that doesn't seem necessary with a game like this--The Lost Levels is pretty tough even <i>with</i> the save system, and I had a great time playing it myself.[/quote]