Topic: Did you know all this?

I knew everything except the Mario's jump thing

Knew nearly none of it. Read it. Already forgotten almost all of it.

I always wondered how high mario could jump in real life

I think Nintendo Hard is a reference to the Adult Nintendo games isn't it? =p

I'm sure some games were made difficult for lengthening the game play but I think the challenge was also part of the fun. These days kids are just handheld with infinite lives and little lost when you die. Every Mario game goes easier on the player. NSMBW and Super Mario Galaxy throw 1-ups around like candy at Easter. They may as well have made them infinite. I don't miss the feeling of throwing my controller at a wall but I do miss the challenge that requires practice and good coordination.

I remember one instance renting Milon's Secret Castle for NES and me and my friend couldn't figure out what we were supposed to do in it. Luckily the local rental place (in the days before the crappy rental chains) let us exchange it for a different game.

@Jebby: i know what you mean. i loved NSMBWii, and had a blast with it, but up until a couple levels in World 8, and then all of world 9, there was no real challenge. i never had the super guide pop up. the final boss stage, even, was a breeze. just the other day, i picked both of those up again after a few weeks of them just sitting there unfinished (not because of difficulty, because i got other games) and beat them both in a sitting. and yet, i've been stuck in Super Mario World for months... and that game is far easier then Mario Bros. 3, or 2, or 1. and i download as much WiiWare as i can, but really, the only instant-downloads for me are the Bit. Trip games, because they capture that thrill of perfect memorization and synchronization and finally beating something that seemed impossible.