Super Mario Bros. games back on the NES could be tricky, but most fans wouldn't consider them extremely difficult games.
Of course, gamers are one of the few types of people who will complain if a game isn't hard enough — and that's where the Kaizo Mario ROM hacks come in. By using an emulator and some basic programming knowledge, players can actually deconstruct older Mario games, then build their own levels using the same engine ... with some insane results.
The Kaizo Mario games in particular have become well-known simply due to their absolutely brutal difficulty — if you don't know the ins-and-outs of every mechanic in the game, you won't have a chance at beating it. In fact, they're so notoriously difficult that most people give up before finishing a single stage — completing the games can seem absolutely impossible, and speedrunning through them sounds like a fever dream.
That's what makes MitchPowerflower's run at the Awesome Games Done Quick event so amazing: not only does he manage to power through one Kaizo Mario Bros. 3 level after another, but he actually beats the game in less than 35 minutes.
It may be insanely difficult, but it's easy to see that Kaizo Mario Bros. 3 is an extremely well-designed game. It uses the Super Mario Bros. 3 mechanics in ways that Nintendo never even thought of — who ever knew that the Kuribo's Shoe could jump in mid-air and that it'd make for some of the most entertaining Mario stages ever? Moments like that permeate the entire game — it's hard, sure, but it's also a lot of fun to watch.
On top of the game's stellar design, Mitch is an absolute beast of a player. The fact that he can even make it through these stages in the first place is astounding — most people probably wouldn't make the first jump before they gave up and turned the game off. The timing, the precision, the perseverance — needless to say, it's impressive to watch. Even at 35 minutes long, it seems like Mitch's run flies by.
Mitch's Kaizo Mario Bros. 3 run — along with dozens of others — was a part of the ongoing Awesome Games Done Quick marathon, a charity event benefiting the Prevent Cancer Foundation. If you'd like to watch (or donate), just head over to GamesDoneQuick.com.
