Super Mario Bros. DX General FAQ
By LightRanma@aol.com
Version 1.5 - Modified on May 28, 1999 at 11:26 PM PST
Copyright 1999
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- TABLE OF CONTENTS -
1. Introduction
2. Version History
3. Game Boy Color/NES Differences
4. Original 1985 Mode
5. Challenge Mode
6. VS. Mode
7. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Mode
8. You VS. Boo Mode
9. Records
10. Album
- a. Page 1: Awards
- b. Page 2: Events
- c. Page 3: Enemies
- d. Page 4: Plaque One
- e. Page 5: Plaque Two
11. Toy Box
- a. Calendar
- b. Fortune Teller
- c. Secret Door
- d. Yoshi Finder
12. Secrets/Extras
13. Conclusion
14. Thanks
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1. Introduction
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A new day, a new inspiration. Ah, yes. No sooner than the night of the same
day I got Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, I was inspired to write a FAQ on it. I
played it, and am still playing it, to death. As you can see, I have changed my
format slightly for this FAQ, as I needed to make Sub-Sections. In this FAQ is
all I have unlocked on my game. Ufnortunately, I don't have a Game Boy Printer,
but I plan on getting one... SOON, thanks to this game. Until then, I can't
make much use of the labels and banners and such. Once I can, though, I'll
update on it. As always, you may not use this FAQ ANYWHERE until you E-mail me
asking for permission. You MUST ask first. I'll always give my permission
unless you're a selfish jerk, in which case I probably won't. But chances are,
you're not one of those, are ya? ^_~
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2. Version History
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Version 1.0: The first version of this FAQ!
Version 1.5: Album pictures, more progress on Challenge Bar made, and Challenge
Bar revealed!
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3. Game Boy Color/NES Differences
----------------------------------
Here, I'll explain the differences between the original NES and new GB Color
versions of the game.
---
There are quite a few differences between the two versions of Super Mario Bros.,
aside from the obvious extras in Super Mario Bros. DX. Some differences between
the two are as follows:
- The colors are richer on Game Boy Color.
- The resolution is much sharper on Game Boy Color.
- Since the Game Boy Color LCD screen is small, scrolling features have been
added to SMB DX. Press Up to scroll up, press Down to scroll Down, and press
Select to scroll forward.
- As a result of the small Game Boy Color screen, many objects above and below
Mario are not visible as they were in the NES game, making jumps much more
chancy and dying kinda cheap and much easier to do. Scrolling IS a MUST.
- There is now a Map Screen in between every level, illustrating what World
you're currently in.
- At the Map Screen, you can switch between Mario and Luigi (both play exactly
the same) by pressing Select. It's just a matter of personal preference.
- You can save your progress any time, and resume at the exact same World (with
your score reset to 0).
Well, that's about it. As you can see, most changes are positive, though a
couple are negative. For the most part, SMB DX outperforms its older cousin in
pretty much any and every way you can think of. It has the whole game and then
a lot more.
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4. Original 1985 Mode
----------------------
Here, I'll explain the "Original 1985 Mode".
---
The Original 1985 Mode is the meat of the game, the original Super Mario
Brothers 1. It has everything the original one had, from World 1-1 to World 8-
4, from the Second Quest to the Minus World. The game play is obviously linear;
avoid the baddies and reach the end of each world. There are 8 Worlds with 4
Stages in each, and the types of stages are usually in the same order for each
World. Stage 1 is ALWAYS a Land Stage. Stage 2 is ALWAYS either a Dungeon or
Water Stage. Stage 3 is ALWAYS either a Land or Bridge Stage. Stage 4 is
ALWAYS a Castle Stage. The layout never changes. At the end of each stage is a
Flagpole. The higher you jump onto it, the more Points you get. If you land on
the Flagpole while the last number on the Timer is on a 1, 3, or 5, you will get
that many Fireworks for Points. To add spice to the game, there are Beanstalks
hidden in blocks that will take you to the Sky World, a bonus stage that yields
many, many, MANY Coins. Along the way, there are Items that will help you and
Enemies that will hurt you. Here is a list of both collections:
- Items -
1-Up: An extra life. Get one in invisible blocks or by collecting 100 Coins.
Coin: Can be found in blocks, or in plain sight. Each Coin is worth 1 Coin.
Collecting 100 Coins yields a 1-Up.
Fire Flower: Get one of these and Big Mario will change into Fire Mario, who can
shoot Fireballs to destroy enemies. Find them in blocks.
Mushroom: Get one, and Mario will change into Big Mario, who can break blocks
and take an extra hit. Find them in blocks.
Super Star: Getting one of these makes Mario invincible to all harm for a
limited amount of time. He can still be killed by falling in pits or lava.
- Enemies -
Bloober: Only found in the Water Stages. He can only be killed by Fire Mario.
Otherwise, you must avoid him.
Bowser: Is found at the end of Stage 4 of every world. When Mario or Big Mario,
run under or jump over him, and get the Axe at the end of the bridge. That will
send Bowser into the lava, but you won't get any Points for it. Use a few
Fireballs to down him and you will get 5000 Points for your effort.
Bullet Bill: Blazes through the screen in a straight line. Stomp him to stop
him.
Buzzy Beetle: Stomp him once to stop him, and then kick him away. Fireballs do
not faze him.
Cheep Cheep: Like Bloober, she can only be killed by Fire Mario in the Water
Stages. When she's flying in the Bridge Stages, a stomp will do the trick.
Goomba: Stomp this guy once and he's dead.
Green Paratroopa: Hops aimlessly until he falls into a pit. Stomp once to clip
his wings, stomp twice to stop him, and then kick him to send him away.
Green Troopa: Walks aimlessly on the various platforms until he falls into a
chasm. Stomp him once to stop him, and then kick him to send him away.
Hammer Brothers: Usually come in pairs of two. They throw hammers at Mario
nonstop. A punch from underneath will do the trick, and so will a stomp or a
Fireball.
Lakitu: Hovers at the top of the screen, tossing Spiny Eggs at Mario from above.
Very accurate and very dangerous. Get to the top of the screen and stomp him.
Piranha Plant: They stick their ugly heads out of pipes, waiting for Mario to
jump right in. Only Fireballs can kill them.
Red Paratroopa: Hops carefully along the platofrm he's on. When he reaches the
end of it, he'll turn around. Kill them in the same fashion as the Green ones.
Red Troopa: Walks carefully along the platform's he on. When he reaches the end
of it, he'll turn around. Kill them in the same fashion as the Green ones.
Spiny: Only Fireballs will kill them. They act the same way as the Red Troopas,
except that they cannot be stomped due to their spikes.
Well, that's about all there is to the game. Just get through all of the
worlds, and save after each stage. There are unlimited Continues, so don't
worry too much about dying. World 8 will take a little practice, so just keep
trying and don't give up. Rewards await the persistent...
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5. Challenge Mode
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The first "extra" in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe is the Challenge Mode, a very
addicting extra mini-game.
---
The Challenge Mode features all 32 Stages from the Original 1985 Mode, in
modified form. As you beat the Stages in the Original 1985 Mode, they become
available for play in Challenge Mode. The goal here is to meet three objectives
for EACH of the 32 Stages: score a number of set Points for the stage, get all
five Red Coins in the stage, and get the Yoshi Egg hidden in the stage. As you
get more and more points by beating the stages and getting as high a score as
you can, a long bar, the length of the screen, slowly fills up. When you fill
this bar up, you'll get another picture for your Album. I'll update as I fill
it up. Right now, my progress is, basically:
|----------------------------------
|
Well, uh, yeah. I TOLD you it's hard. Anyway, here are some general tips for
Challenge Mode:
- Don't ever go for all of the objectives in one run. Go for the Red Coins
first, the Yoshi Egg second, and the Points third.
- The Red Coins are never found in the Sky World.
- Red Coins are usually in plain view in hard to reach places, or in blocks that
didn't ever have anything in them in the NES version. There are five of them in
each stage.
- The Red Coin Bar will fill up as you collect the Coins. If, say, you collect
the first Coin and then when you collect the next Coin you see, and the third
Coin Slot on the bar fills up, you know you've missed one. Use this technique
to pinpoint the locations of missed Coins.
- Some Red Coins can be found in mini dungeon rooms (when you warp from a pipe
in a Land Stage).
- Memorize the locations of the Red Coins if possible, as they are worth 200
Points each toward the Point Challenge.
- The Yoshi Egg can be found everywhere and anywhere, and is extremely hard to
find in all the stages.
- The Yoshi Egg is usually in an invisible block that you must jump to hit and
make appear, meaning that it can always be ANYWHERE there is thin air.
- Memorize the location of the Yoshi Egg in every stage you can. It is worth
2000 Points toward the Point Challenge.
- For the Point Challenge, time counts.. a lot.
- Kill every enemy you come across, and get every Mushroom, Flower, Star, Red
Coin, and Yoshi Egg you can.. but be very quick in doing so.
- Don't go for items that are out of your way, no matter how many Points they
may be worth.
- ALWAYS get the maximum 5000 Points on the Flagpole. It's a must.
- Don't go for the Fireworks. Yes, they help immensely, but if you wait for the
timing, you're losing more Points than you're gaining. Just hope you're lucky.
- Don't give up. It's impossibly hard, but don't give up on the Challenge Mode.
Something might be waiting for you if you fill the bar.. I'm gonna do everything
I can to see!!!
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6. VS. Mode
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The VS. Mode is really cool, allowing you to go head-to-head with a friend, as
long as you have two Game Boy Colors, two Super Mario Bros. DX Game Paks, and a
Link Cable.
---
If you have a Link Cable, you can challenge a friend to the VS. Mode, a race
through some select stages from the Original 1985 Mode. But watch out - there
are some special extras you should know about:
- Luigi (if you're Mario) and Mario (if you're Luigi) will appear behind the
scenery on your screen. Don't let that distract you!!
- Face Blocks are a new addition. When you hit a Face Block and it turns Pink,
all corresponding Pink blocks in that world will be made solid, allowing you and
your opponent to use them. Hit a Face Block again, and the Pink blocks will
become transparent, hindering progress (think the Exclamation Blocks in Super
Mario World and Mario 64). Use this to your advantage, but make sure your
opponent doesn't trick you!
- Timer Blocks are also a new thing. They will count down on their own, from 3
to 1, and when it reaches zero.. all reversible blocks will flip, just as if you
hit a Face Block. Be careful.
- Spiked Blocks will appear by default or from Timer Blocks, and touching them
means death if you're Mario, and pain if you're Big or Fire Mario. Be
especially careful of these when running blindly.
- The last new addition, the Trampoline Floor, is a bouncy floor that just might
catapult you to death or to victory. Use it to your advantage if possible.
The rules are also different for the VS. Mode. Here are the basics that any
challenger should know:
- The winner is the first person to touch the Flagpole.
- If one player is killed by any means, the other player wins.
- If the Timer runs out, or both players die at the same time, the person with
the most Coins is the winner.
- You can slow your opponent down by burnin' their asses with Fireballs.
- When you get a Star, you can dash for a good awhile. Use it to your
advantage!
- Don't hit a block while you're invincible; the invincibility will end
abruptly.
- If one player dies, the game will continue for the other player for a few
seconds. Be sure not to die during this time, or the "Double-KO" rules will
apply (player with most Coins is the winner).
- If Fire Mario/Luigi picks up an additional Fire Flower, they get a free 5
Coins.
Good luck, and may the best player win!
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7. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Mode
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After meeting certain requirements in the Original 1985 Mode, you can play the
secret Lost Levels Mode. See the Secrets Section for details.
---
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is actually the ORIGINAL Super Mario Bros. 2
in Japan, with expert stages, designed for the most elite player. In the
original game, one could choose to play as Mario or Luigi. Mario had better
traction, while Luigi could jump higher. This is not so in this revamped
version. Mario and Luigi play exactly the same. So, basically, this is Super
Mario Bros. for the experts. This game is truly difficult. Only the most
persistent players will defeat World 8-4 and unlock the secret that lies at the
end... (what it is, I don't know yet, I just know there is one). There are a
few changes from SMB1 that you should know, like:
- There are now Poisonous Mushrooms that will kill Mario and damage Big and/or
Fire Mario.
- I'll say only this: avoid the Warp Zones...
- Master the art of hopping from Koopa Shell to Koopa Shell over a pit without a
rest.
- Master precision jumping period.
- SAVE AFTER EVERY STAGE.
Well, that's all that's really different from the original SMB, other than the
obvious fact that it is 100 times harder. GOOD LUCK!!!
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8. You VS. Boo Mode
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After meeting certain requirements in the Original 1985 Mode, you can play the
secret You VS. Boo Mode. See the Secrets Section for more details.
---
In this Mode, you play the 8 default VS. Mode stages against the computer-
controlled Boo (a ghost), complete with the Face Blocks, Timer Blocks, Spiked
Blocks, and everything else. These things do not affect Boo, so you must try
your very best to beat the fast little guy. If you do well enough against Boo,
you'll earn the right to pass to the Level 2 Challenge for that stage, and so
on, against different colored Boos. Here are the different Levels:
Level 1: White Boo (Average)
Level 2: Green Boo (Hard)
Level 3: Purple Boo (Extreme)
Level 4: Black Boo (Nearly Impossible)
There just may be a reward for defeating the Black Boo on all eight Stages, I
really have no idea one way or the other. There probably is, seeing as it's so
hard. One more thing you should know is that every time you beat Boo but not by
enough to move on to the next Challenge Level, he becomes your personal Stage
Ghost, who will go exactly as fast as you did, so that you will indefinitely
increase your performances with practice. Well, that's all there is to it.
Chances are you'll beat the White Boo on the first try of each Stage. But
things get MUCH different as the Challenge Levels rise. Oh yes, one more thing:
press Select at the Course Select Screen to switch between Mario, Big Mario, and
Fire Mario. Always start as Fire Mario for the best chance! Good luck!
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9. Records
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Choosing "Records" from the Main Menu Screen allows you to view your scores for
the Original 1985 Mode.
---
The only biggy about this mode is the use of the Infrared Port on the top of the
Game Boy Color, which allows you to trade High Scores, for whatever reason. I
dunno, I just thought I'd mention, although it's kinda useless. Also, when
entering a Record after playing a Original 1985 game, use the Color option to
add colored spice to your names. Hehe, cool. Another feature is the ability to
print out your Records List and your Challenge Mode Records. Very cool. This
game rocks all the much more with the Game Boy Printer.
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10. Album
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Here, I will tell you how to unlock the Pictures I have found so far. I can't
tell you how to unlock the ones I haven't found, sorry...
---
One of the coolest features of SMB DX is the Album, a photo album of pictures
that are unlocked as certain requirements are met. These pictures can be
printed out using the Printer as stickers. There are 5 Pages in the Album: Page
1 is the Awards Page, Page 2 is the Events Page, Page 3 is the Enemies Page,
Page 4 is the First Plaque, and Page 5 is the Second Plaque. Here's how to get
the ones I've found.
***********
10A: Awards
***********
Upper Left ----- Toad Award -- Fill up the Challenge Bar.
Upper Right ---- Peach Award - Meet all of the Challenge Objectives.
Center --------- Mario Award - Beat the Original 1985 Mode.
Lower Left ----- Bowser Award- Beat the Second Quest of the Original 1985 Mode.
Lower Right ---- Yoshi Award - Beat the Lost Levels Mode.
***********
10B: Events
***********
Upper Left ----- Fireworks --- Activate the Fireworks in the Original 1985 Mode.
Upper Center --- 1-Up -------- Find a 1-Up hidden in an invisible block.
Upper Right ---- Beanstalk --- Find a Beanstalk in the Original 1985 Mode.
Middle Left ---- VS. Mode ---- Link up with a friend and play VS. Mode.
Middle Center -- Peach's Kiss- Beat the original 1985 Mode.
Middle Right --- High Score -- Trade high scores with a friend via Infrared.
Lower Left ----- Red Coin ---- Get all of the Red Coins in Challenge Mode.
Lower Center --- Points ------ Meet all of the Point Challenges in Challenge
Mode.
Lower Right ---- Yoshi Egg --- Get all of the Yoshi Eggs in Challenge Mode.
************
10C: Enemies
************
Upper Left ----- Goomba ------ Kill a Goomba.
Upper Center --- Bloober ----- Kill a Bloober.
Upper Right ---- Lakitu ------ Kill Lakitu.
Middle Left ---- Cheep Cheep - Kill a Cheep Cheep.
Middle Center -- Hammer Bros.- Kill the Hammer Bros.
Middle Right --- Bullet Bill - Kill a Bullet Bill.
Lower Left ----- Troopa ------ Kill a Green or Red Troopa.
Lower Center --- Spiny ------- Kill a Spiny.
Lower Right ---- Buzzy Beetle- Kill a Buzzy Beetle.
***************
10D: Plaque One
***************
Upper Left ----- 1/4 Bowser -- Defeat the World 1 Boswer with Fireballs.
Lower Left ----- 1/4 Bowser -- Defeat the World 2 Bowser with Fireballs.
Upper Right ---- 1/4 Bowser -- Defeat the World 3 Bowser with Fireballs.
Lower Right ---- 1/4 Bowser -- Defeat the World 4 Bowser with Fireballs.
***************
10E: Plaque Two
***************
Upper Left ----- 1/4 Brothers- Defeat the World 5 Bowser with Fireballs.
Lower Left ----- 1/4 Brothers- Defeat the World 6 Bowser with Fireballs.
Upper Right ---- 1/4 Brothers- Defeat the World 7 Bowser with Fireballs.
Lower Right ---- 1/4 Brothers- Defeat the World 8 Bowser with Fireballs.
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11. Toy Box
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The Toy Box, the other incredibly cool little extra in SMB DX, is filled with
many secrets and surprises. For more details, go to the Secrets Section.
---
The Toy Box is divided into four Sections: the Calendar, the Fortune Teller, the
Secret Door, and the Yoshi Finder. All of them have their really cool little
uses; for the best effect, GET THE GAME BOY PRINTER!
*************
11A: Calendar
*************
Now you can have your very own Date Book in Game Boy format with Super Mario
Bros. Deluxe! This little thing goes all the way from 1 AD to 2999 AD!
Impressive! It starts you off at May 1999, where you can start entering dates.
Go ahead! Enter your bithday, anything... to do so, select a Month and a Year,
and select "Mark", and then select the Date you want to modify. First, choose
the symbol you want to mark the date. You can choose from a Heart, Happy Face,
Exclamation, Heart Flag, Diamond Flag, Star Flag, Spade Flag, Club Flag, and
Crown. Then, press A and choose "Enter" to enter the text for that date. (It's
the same font from Zelda: Link's Awakening, don't ya know.) Highlight a letter
and press A to enter it. Select "ABC" to cycle between the Alphabet and Numbers
and Symbols. Select the Return Arrow to start a new line (no word-wrap!!).
Select the Arrow to skip a space. Select CLR to clear the text. Select END to
confirm the text. And voila! There's your date! The game will save your
calendar modifications to memory so that it will always be there.
*******************
11B: Fortune Teller
*******************
This mostly useless little addition is just for fun. You select a card, and it
tells you your future. Depending on your "luck", you will get a Extremely
Unlucky, Unlucky, Lucky, Very Lucky, or Extremely Lucky card. You can do this
as many times as you wish. Each card has a different character's face on it.
Here's a summary of what they are:
Boswer: Extremely Unlucky
Troopa: Unlucky
Luigi: Lucky
Mario: Very Lucky
Peach: Extremely Lucky (5UP!)
The only use this thing has is getting the Extremely Lucky card once, which
allows you to start with 10 Lives instead of 5 when playing the Original 1985
Mode. You must get this every time you turn on the game, as the game will not
save the extra lives to memory. You do have the option of printing out your
fortune...
****************
11C: Secret Room
****************
The Secret Room is opened initially once you rescue the Mushroom Retainer in
World 1-4 by beating Bowser. Each Retainer has a different function, made for
the Game Boy Printer. By freeing them all and finally Peach herself, you can
make stickers, banners, and such. Pretty cool if you have Game Boy Printer.
Here are the Retainers and their functions:
World 1 Retainer: Lets you print out some uninteresting banners.
World 2 Retainer: Lets you print out some icons from the game itself.
World 3 Retainer: Lets you print out some really cool banners.
World 4 Retainer: Lets you print out some more icons from the game itself.
World 5 Retainer: Lets you print out some really cool pictures.
World 6 Retainer: Lets you make and print out some cool custom
messages/stationery.
World 7 Retainer: Lets you print out some pretty stupid banners.
Princess Peach: Lets you make some more custom messages and add simple music.
I have no idea how to use the music or how the "Enter" function works on any of
the banners. Never did figure it out. Selecting "Enter" on the banners lets
you enter text, but that text never appears anywhere. Weird. I'm still a
little unclear on all of the functions in the Secret Room.
*****************
11D: Yoshi Finder
*****************
The Yoshi Finder is opened up (I think) after you find any one Yoshi Egg in the
Challenge Mode. This last addition to the Toy Box scrolls randomly through the
32 Challenge stages. When it stops on one, a part of that stage will appear on
your screen. That is the approximate location of the Yoshi Egg, whether it be
in an invisible block or not. Greatly helpful, although you cannot control
which stage you get to see..
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12. Secrets/Extras
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Here, I'll tell you how to open up all of the secret options I've found in the
game.
---
- Original 1985 Mode -
Stage Select: Beat the game once.
- Toy Box -
Secret Room: Rescue a Mushroom Retainer.
Yoshi Finder: Find any one Yoshi Egg in the Challenge Mode.
- Other Secrets -
The Lost Levels Mode: Get a minimum score of 300,000 Points in the Original 1985
Mode. Once you die, enter your record at the Record Screen.
You VS. Boo Mode: Get a minimum score of 300,000 Points in the Original 1985
Mode. Once you die, enter your record at the Record Screen.
Rumors of unlocking more secrets include defeating the Black Boo on every You
VS. Boo level. Stay tuned!
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13. Conclusion
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I hope you found this Super Mario Bros. Deluxe FAQ helpful! It was kind of a
rush job, as I was inspired really quickly, but I really wanted to get it up on
GameFAQs. About that Smash Bros. FAQ; it's just about finished, and it will be
my next FAQ! Look for it very soon! Also, I have more reviews coming,
including Ehrgeiz and Legend of Legaia. Look for 'em! Later, guys!
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14. Thanks
-----------
I'd like to thank Nintendo for porting this wonderful, wonderful classic over to
the Game Boy Classic, and I hope they follow up with Zelda and Mega Man! I'd
also like to thank Nintendo for the great Manual provided with the game. A lot
of manuals suck; this one didn't! It helped greatly in my FAQ!
These people contributed to my FAQ:
Trisbob1@aol.com - Rob Ward - Contributed some of the Album pictures. Thanks!
Pikamified@aol.com - Name Unknown - Contributed the rest of the Album pictures.
Thanks!
---
Finally, I'd like to thank me once again, for doing this (and you should too!!).
^_~ Ciao!
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Copyright 1999