So, like, have you ever heard of Minus World in the OG 1985 Super Mario Bros.? It’s this total glitched world that you can access through World 1-2, and it’s basically this underwater level that goes on forever, kind of like World 7-2. It’s like, one of the most epic glitches in gaming history, you know?
But get this, the sequel to that game also has its own Minus World, and it took, like, almost 40 years to find it. This speedrunner dude named Kosmic was the one who discovered it, and it’s like, a big deal (shoutout to Nintendo Everything for the deets).
In both the Japanese and English versions of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (which is like the real Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan, but we got it in the West through the All-Stars bundle on the SNES), there are all these glitched worlds you can access. They mess with stuff like the names, the screens looping, and even how the enemies act, which is pretty cool. But it’s in that All-Stars collection where you find the real hidden gem – the Minus World that’s super complex to get to. You gotta go through all these messed up levels, and Kosmic is trying to get past B-8, but he gets stuck at B-7 at first because it’s, like, impossible to beat.
So he saves, quits, and reloads, and suddenly he’s in a whole new level layout that lets him move past all those weird glitches. He comes across this glitched warp pipe in B-9 (with, like, part of a coin floating above it), and it takes him back to World 1-1. But he doesn’t give up, oh no. He keeps going through glitched worlds until he hits World B-D and all these messed up menu options. It’s honestly easier to watch Kosmic’s video to see it all go down because it’s pretty wild.
But, like, why did it take so long for someone to find this? Kosmic thinks it’s probably because it’s so dang hard, but he also believes that since you have to make so much more progress in the game to trigger this glitch, not as many people tried it out. I mean, I guess that makes sense, right? Anyway, it’s awesome that someone finally dove deep into The Lost Levels and uncovered this cool secret after almost 40 years.
So, what do you think of the Minus Worlds in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels? Drop a comment below and lemme know your thoughts, fam.
