Kaizo SMB1: Super World Playthrough (Super Mario Maker 2)
0There are far too many 1-1 remakes in Mario Maker, but there have also been several "1-1 but..." super worlds that managed to reinvent SMB1's opening area in subversive ways. By drawing on the player's (presumed) familiarity with 1-1, those levels/super worlds were able to iterate/riff on a (remarkably sturdy) preexisting structure, a good reminder of the intended purpose of so-called "title screen levels" (and of why Nintendo opted not to include 1-1 among their ranks; please refer to the opening line for further elucidation). Again, though, the greatest strength of those levels/super worlds was also their most notable limitation: Ultimately, they were all 1-1, and there is only so much that one can do with 1-1.
By expanding the level selection to include the rest of SMB1, while narrowing the gameplay emphasis to kaizo or lite kaizo design in particular, KaizoBros and his eponymous super world have not reinvented the wheel by any means. Nevertheless, he has produced a compilation of stage layouts and mechanics that benefits from its connection to SMB1 while also showing its own personality in understated ways.
There is something comforting (and functionally useful) about having SMB1 knowledge carry over to these levels, despite the addition of kaizo set-ups (not to mention clear conditions and other features that were hardly a glimmer in anyone's eye in 1985). To give a simple example, even in what I have dubbed "Kaizo SMB1," you can still "just know" where the power-ups are located in 8-3. You can still "just know" where all 28 coins are placed in 7-2. (Such a random example... There's no chance that this obscure knowledge will come in handy, right?) It's cliché, but the "infinite 1UPs" trick in 3-1 is present. You can still "just know" how to reach the "Warp Zone" in 4-2, and it serves a major purpose here (albeit recontextualized; by the way, could the hidden block in the OG game that PREVENTS access to the "Warp Zone" be the long-rumored "original" kaizo block?). And, yes, it's been done to death, but by now you certainly should "just know" about the hidden 1UP in 1-1... Which got me to thinking about a (cheese? or intended?) use for it in "1-1 but its a smash stage" that felt like a gratifying payoff for acknowledging the time that I've put into Mario over the years.
The creator can get away with the above in part because SMB1 is among the most ubiquitous video games, but "Kaizo SMB1" works even without extensive SMB1 knowledge, in part because SMB1 itself tended to reuse levels, meaning that if the layout of 2-3 is punishing at first... Well, hopefully it helps to prepare you for 7-3! To the extent that this recycling carries over to "Kaizo SMB1," KaizoBros is able to fill the levels with inside jokes--such as trolls and dev blocks--that may fool the player once, but not twice, yet it does hint at the super world's limitations. Surprisingly, my complaints are largely inherited from the NES source material: Namely, that the 40 stages can become repetitive, and that the kaizo elements (which, as I've suggested, actually are present in the original game to a degree) are limited by SMB1's relatively basic movement options (i.e., past a certain point the only way to heighten the difficulty is by making jumps ever larger).
Most trolls are avoided for the purposes of this playthrough; they are few and far between compared to the average SMW rom hack, but where they exist, they are generally subtle and tasteful (in fact, you may be able to anticipate some trolls while watching).
Timestamps below:
0:18 "Kaizo Mario Bros 1-1".
2:26 "Kaizo Mario Bros 1-2".
5:17 "Kaizo Mario Bros 1-3".
8:34 "BONUS: 1-1 but it's a sky level".
11:08 "Kaizo Mario Bros 1-4".
12:37 "Kaizo Mario Bros 2-1".
14:23 "Kaizo Mario Bros 2-2".
17:20 "Kaizo Mario Bros 2-3".
18:30 "BONUS: 1-1 but it's infested".
21:14 "Kaizo Mario Bros 2-4".
23:08 "Kaizo Mario Bros 3-1".
Featuring the return of the "Minus Zone".
25:36 "Kaizo Mario Bros 3-2".
26:56 "BONUS: 1-1 but it's cold".
28:54 "Kaizo Mario Bros 3-3".
30:14 "Kaizo Mario Bros 3-4".
31:38 "Kaizo Mario Bros 4-1".
32:50 "Kaizo Mario Bros 4-2".
As in the vanilla speedrun, 4-2 is the most cursed level.
39:13 "Kaizo Mario Bros 4-3".
40:34 "BONUS: 1-1 but goombas take over".
43:57 "Kaizo Mario Bros 4-4".
45:20 "Kaizo Mario Bros 5-1".
48:00 "Kaizo Mario Bros 5-2".
50:18 "Kaizo Mario Bros 5-3".
51:37 "BONUS: 1-1 but it's haunted".
53:49 "Kaizo Mario Bros 5-4".
55:47 "Kaizo Mario Bros 6-1".
58:09 "Kaizo Mario Bros 6-2".
59:19 "Kaizo Mario Bros 6-3".
1:00:19 "BONUS: 1-1 but you shouldnt swim".
1:02:48 "Kaizo Mario Bros 6-4".
1:04:30 "Kaizo Mario Bros 7-1".
1:06:16 "Kaizo Mario Bros 7-2".
1:09:15 "Kaizo Mario Bros 7-3".
1:10:46 "BONUS: 1-1 but its a smash stage".
1:12:52 "Kaizo Mario Bros 7-4".
1:14:55 "Kaizo Mario Bros 8-1".
1:17:16 "Kaizo Mario Bros 8-2".
1:18:50 "Kaizo Mario Bros 8-3".
1:20:22 "BONUS: 1-1 but avoid P-Switch".
1:22:18 "Kaizo Mario Bros 8-4".
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At present, Jake Murrin has 512,200 views spread across 2,078 videos for Super Mario Maker 2, and roughly 5 days worth of Super Mario Maker 2 videos were uploaded to his channel. This is 84.47% of the total watchable video on Jake Murrin's YouTube channel.