While most fans have simply taken to enjoying the fierce competition of Super Mario Bros. 35, one eagle-eyed gamer has pointed out the subtlest of differences in one of the game's stages.
Super Mario Bros. 35 is essentially a competitive multiplayer version of the original Super Mario Bros. game, challenging 35 different players to outlive each other in a nonstop slew of classic stages. The game has been noted as particularly nostalgic for bringing new life to the exact same stages that players have grown to enjoy in the OG Mushroom Kingdom, and up until now, it was assumed that the game's stages were all identical to their original counterparts.
As Reddit user u/TOOMTheRaccoon has pointed out in their post, it seems that the first stage in the sixth world of Super Mario Bros. 35 differs ever-so-slightly from its original version. Whereas the original Super Mario Bros. on the NES/Switch Virtual Console features a 7-block tall wall on stage 6-1, Nintendo's new hit features a pared-down 6-block tall wall.
https://reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/jbko0x/nintendo_changed_a_bit_from_course_61_do_you/
The post itself points out that this is noteworthy because Nintendo is supposed to have rebuilt these stages in the image of the originals. If they carefully built these courses from scratch, it's hard to decide which is more believable: that something minor simply slipped past their QA team, or that this was a mysterious intentional choice. Moreover, it begs the question, if any of the other courses in Super Mario Bros. 35 slightly different from the originals.
Of course, this change is notably minor, but players should also remember that Super Mario 35 revolves around repetition and survival. Players will be running the same courses repeatedly, in succession, and any minor change to the terrain can affect total time. So although the difference in stage may be largely insignificant, it's still probably important for players to be aware of the changes. Imagine, for example, a player practicing a speedrun of course 6-1 using the original Mario Bros. They would risk overshooting a jump on that same course in Super Mario Bros. 35, because of the missing block.
At any rate, it's safe to say nobody's outraged by this discrepancy, especially not when Super Mario cheaters are on the loose. Rather, fans are genuinely curious. In a game so wholeheartedly devoted to honoring the classic via replica, even the smallest of differences can create a mountain of questions from the eager gamer.
Super Mario Bros. 35 is free for all Nintendo Switch Online members, and will remain available until March 31, 2021.
