Super Mario Bros. 2: Fuck Gravity

 

      In the original Super Mario game, jumping on enemies served one purpose: incapacitate them. The laws of gravity prevented anything else from happening. If Mario jumped on a Koopa or a Goomba, he wouldn't bounce at all, just like if you were to jump on a stray dog roaming through your neighborhood. However, all of that changed in the sequel...

 

      In SMB2, Mario gets definite air when he stomps on one of his foes. This was no small change either; it became a major strategy point. Some pits could only be successfully bridged by bouncing off a conveniently placed Koopa Paratrooper. Super Mario Bros. 3 expanded upon this mechanic, allowing Mario to earn 1UPs by bouncing off enough enemies. While the physics of Mario 2 don't make sense from a practical standpoint, they sure as hell are fun.

 

      Here's an example of a place where you need to use the game's physics to advance. World 8-2 will loop over and over if you fail to find the exit. To find the exit, you have to climb up a hidden vine. And to find the hidden vine, you need to bounce off the Red Koopa Paratrooper floating up and down directly below the block it's hidden in. This is hardly the most difficult bounce jump you'll have to make in the game, but it's a pretty annoying puzzle nonetheless. Oh, and you see that block to the far left in the first screenshot? Nintendo hid a Starman in it, just to fuck with you.