this is so characteristically late 80s game boy. it just oozes the times it came from. not only did the novel technology make this the most mechanically janky mario game ever: he falls like a rock, accelerates instantly, sprites are tiny - they were stil ironing out the series' identity as a whole. there are two prominent shmup stages (including one as the final boss), mario saves daisy, not peach (note the love heart) and its set in Saragossa land featuring weirdo enemies we will never see again and exploding koopas.

and also, this game is hard. I game overed 10 times, even with generous 1-ups. you need to lock in and be deliberate, and not be all willy nilly zoom around like you can in NSMB. learn the coin caches, the mushroom and star spots, the bonus game. its so easy to have one stupid death and tilt into 10 deaths in a row on one level. do not believe anyone who says "omg this game is so cute and tiny!! :3 there's only 12 levels, you can beat it in 30 minutes" no you cannot. I could've any%ed mario odyssey faster than this.

I would'nt quite call it NES-era "nintendo hard" but there are some egregious difficulty spikes and sections you can't possibly beat first try. but its such a fascinating time capsule that I can't fault it. it's also got some classic tracks that are instantly recognisable that I didn't know were from here. but... I can't really recommend you beat it beyond culturing yourself about mario's history.