Who, among my generation, doesn't know what a "warp whistle" is? If this SMB3 reference went over your head, or you're unfamiliar with the acronym SMB3 for "Super Mario Brothers 3," pay attention.
The warp whistle is like the Konami code. The former can transport you almost anywhere within SMB3, whereas the Konami code -- named so because it was implemented as a secret in a number of Konami's NES games -- can grant you invincibility in Contra.
Both may seem like "cheats," but in reality I feel they represent a lost era of video gaming that may never return. Because NES developers only had so many kilobytes of data to work with (I could be wrong but I believe most NES ROM images are about a megabyte), the game designers whose games have attained "classic" status were those who packed the most "game" into their microchips -- more bang for your buck, per se. SMB3 and Contra are both games that are not cheapened by "cheats," but are in fact enhanced.
I played Mario 3 for a few hours with a notepad next to me, which proved unnecessary as I was too busy toying with the game's impeccable engine to write notes. If you were to look up "platform game" in the dictionary, (or -- let's be realistic -- on Wikipedia,) I imagine SMB3 would need to be mentioned as (a) being one of the most successful traditional platform games, and (b) having one of the tightest, "analog" control systems ever. I say "analog" in that it's such a close connection between your Mario on screen and the rectangle NES controller in your hand that it doesn't feel like a series of binary calculations. Instead, it feels like a direct link between Mario's movement and your... soul?
That is to say, there is some art in SMB3 manipulation. Grabbing turtle shells, bopping from falling platforms and floating gently in the clouds above entire levels are all extensions of the player's ability to master the simple 8-direction, two-buttion controls. If you're in for a treat, check on YouTube for some Mario 3 speed runs. Remember the tank, jet, and boat levels in World 8 right before Bowser's castle? Imagine those borderline impossibles levels as if played and pwnd by Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Classic games like Contra and SMB3 continue to entertain because they are games with excellent reward systems. Gamers of all different types can derive entertainment from these games, whether newcomers to the platformer genre (SMB3's worlds seem to reflect the grade level of the player: as a 1st grader, I could pretty much topple World 1, but I couldn't really defeat World 8 until 8th grade) or experts who have essentially downloaded the ROM image into their brains.
By granting players the ability to cheat and jump ahead to the greatest challenges in the game, they eliminate the need for masters to bore themselves with the details of the lesser levels. It is why I was able to spend as much time and have as much fun replaying SMB3 as I did in order to write this GameLog.
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