This game no doubt deserves the praise, but at the same time it kinda feels like 2D mario games got a lot easier from here. I remember i really struggled with this one as a kid but playing it now i effortlessly get like 10 lives every two levels like i'm playing a NSMB game. And sometimes when it does get really hard, it's for all the wrong reasons (fucking Butter Bridge 1...)
Being easier doesn't necessarily make it bad though, but i just personally like SMB3 more for this reason, that game still filters me to this day