I decided to take this challenge tonight. I forget what magazine this is from, but I have meaning to try it for a while now. I went in without having played the game in a few months and managed to get through it without losing a single Mario and without hitting the Yellow Switch Palace.

The magazine seems to make a big deal about the difficulty without using the Yellow Switch, but it has very little effect. There is one spot in the first few levels where it could be handy if you are clumsy and fall off some moving blocks, but otherwise it is meaningless.

The most difficult part is finding all of the hidden exits for the first time. I remembered where most of them were from prior play-throughs. There are two that benefit from the Green Switch Palace, but both are doable without the green blocks if you give it a little thought.

I was actually a little disappoint with how easy this was. I guess I have been playing the game on and off for 20 years, but still. I was going to take a photo of my title screen showing only 11 exits, but I accidentally went out a normal exit, so it showed 12 on the screen. I immediately tried another play-through to get only 11, but died because I was rushing and just stopped there since I had already acheived my goal the first time. Besides, there is nothing on the title screen to indicate the game was completed.

Anyway, I suggest that anyone who wants a mild challege, give this a try. If anything, it will remind you of how mind-blowing this game was back in 1991.

I watched a speed run of this in 11 levels and did it myself, it wasn't that hard. I'm not really sure where the yellow switch palace comes in handy? I remember the one Star World level with the baby red yoshi was the hardest to get to the secret exit; you need to use the cape since you don't have any of the blocks. But you can just float down from the right side.

For a real challenge, try to beat all the levels (92) without doing the 4 switch palaces. Some of them are a real pain in the ass.

If I want a challenge I will play the game drunk. Last time I did that I was yelling at Yoshi in my underwear in the middle of the night. Woke the kids up on that one.

I did this a few months ago. It wasn't too tough.

I just finished this game earlier today ... I am sad to say that I never found any switch palaces but the obvious yellow one ... and only one star road hidden entrance.

Combine this with SsPpAaMm's suggestion.  All levels, no switch palaces, while drunk!

And also must have complete the Special World while drunk, with the all funky colors and koopa heads, no switch palaces, and complete all worlds, entering the castle through the back door, all on one life without dying!

The pic (which is from my recent SMW piece on rvgfanatic.com) comes from Super Play Magazine. Best SNES magazine ever, bar none

SMW: still epic as ever after all these years

To be honest, SMW is one of the easier games in the Mario series if you ask me. Maybe that's just because I've played it so much though..

Yeah, this challenge is not hard. If you want a real challenge, beat Link to the Past and have 0 games played. You must beat the full game without dying or saving.

The real challenge is completing it 100%, beating a game usong a shortcut takes less skill if you ask me.

If you want a real LoZ challenge, beat the original with 3 hearts and no upgrades...

As a kid, I used to do that, but I timed myself. I got it down to under 20 minutes. I think my best time was just a little over 19.

The last run I did, for fun a few years ago, I think I did it in like 28 minutes. Same thing with SMB3. I used to be able to beat it in a crazy time, beginning to end. My last run on it (friend had a nintendo, so I just put it in) was like 30 minutes. All dry runs, no practice.

When I was practicing, I had my Contra time down to 15 minutes, no deaths. I really thought I could compete with the world champ time run, but you need mad Nintendo thumb and a perfect run.

My first time doing it yesterday was in about 25 minutes. I know this even without intentionally timing it, because I was recording it on video and my camera stopped recording after 20 minutes due to a forced 4GB file limit. It stopped recording right when I got to Bowser's castle. Unfortunately, I didn't notice it stopped until a minute later. Annoying!

I have actually done that. But that's not particularly hard either if you have the time, as fairies reviving doesn't count as dying, so just keep however many you think you'll need on you at all times.  ALttP is one of my favourite games of all time though, so I can do it without. A few enemies still kill me now and then though, notably Gibo (the red mist in Blind's Hideout), Blind himself and Vitreous, even though he's not hard. I do usually beat him before the Ice Palace though, which means no Blue Mail so he does a lot of damage.

Proud to say, I've done both

Not to get off-topic, but I was asking someone on another forum a while back about the 3-heart LoZ challenge and he did the second quest that way as well (along with having no sword ).  I asked him (and he didn't know since he didn't try) if it was theoretically possible to complete the second quest with only one heart if you decide to give a heart away at the two 'money or your life' spots.  I was wondering if in so doing, assuming it was possible, that the game would be a constant beeping mode due to only having one heart left.  Anyone tried this?