That's right. I've never beat the game which is commonly called "Mario 1". I may be the only person who both had the game and actually played it who has never beat the game. And it's looking like I never will.
I've played the original version a few times throughout the years. Failed. I've played several emulators. Failure. Mario All Stars? Death.I just can't seem to put all 8-bits of Bowswer in his place.
Imagine the sweeping feeling of revenge that overwhelmed my entire body when I found a new emulator...which allows you to play as not just Mario, but Link, Samus, Metroid, some guy in Castlevania, and that guy in Contra! As I investigate further, I find that all the characters bring their weapons over with them in Super Mario Bros. Crossover. Visions of mowing down Goombas with that Spread gun (or is it Spray?) have my heart racing. I make my character choice. Hit start. Doo doo do doo doo DOO do...and we begin. Dead within 10 seconds. I made it to World 4 and that's it.
So, essentially nothing has changed. The only thing different is that I killed off someone other than Mario in my 20 plus years of failure with the game. Knocking off Bowser in 3, Mario World, Mario RPG,-and I've even beat all those bosses in Mario 2-, doesn't seem to matter because that 2D, 8-bit, clunky moving Bowser has again escaped my wrath.