2. Warping (Mario franchise)
Apparently, Mario games are hard for some people. I started playing with the plumber from such an early age that controlling him feels as natural and effortless as blowing my nose or sneezing, but I understand their frustration. Fortunately, there is hope for them, too, in the form of the franchises trademark warping power. All three Mario games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System allow the player to skip many, if not nearly all, of the stages and head straight for the final boss. Everybody knows the secret in the original Super Mario Bros. By breaking the blocks above Marios head in the second stage, you can get Mario above the stage and have him run in front of the score board. If you continue running up there past the end of the stage, youll reach a Warp Zone with three pipes that will take you to a later World, allowing you to skip nearly half the game. By exploiting other warps hidden later on, it is possible to beat the entire 32-stage game and enter only 8 levels. Almost as famous are the Warp Whistles from Super Mario Bros. 3 which allow you to travel all the way to the final World quickly. Mario gets the first whistle by running behind the end of one stage, the second by flying himself over the top of another, and a third by breaking a secret block on the second World map. Super Mario Bros. 2 lets the player warp by traveling down particular vases while in the games Subspace mode. Many other games would follow suit by offering the player various hidden shortcuts, including later Mario games. Youre doing yourself a great disservice by not playing all the levels of a Mario game, but its fun to take advantage of the franchises numerous warps and post speed runs like
these for the enjoyment of all.