I'd like a better definition on this from Pat and Mark, so I'm going to describe some quasi-fictional games of Super Mario Brothers to see what the thoughts are.(posted 9215 days ago)1. Player grabs every availible point possible without stalling, and finishes the game on his first life. He takes the most point rich path at every tube, breaks every reasonable brick, grabs all the bonus items & coins on the way, etc.. He doesn't take any warp zones, and he doesn't use the "turtle on the stairs" trick.
2. Player sacrifices each spare life on the last stage (8-4) before finishing with 1 life left.
3. Variation of #2, except that the player elects to sacrifice lives on a more point rich stage instead of getting to 8-4 first.
4. Player uses the warp zone to head to the "minus world" ( -1). This stage is an unending loop which, although reasonably challenging, allows sufficient coins to be gathered to gain an extra life before the timer runs out. Maximum score is reached before quitting... after what seems like years of endless swimming :)
5. Player uses the "turtle on the stairs" trick. If you stun either a turtle or a beetle on a staircase, it is possible to bounce on it repeatedly until the timer runs out. The bounces cycle through 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000, 1UP (extra life) if my memory serves correctly. There's a real danger of rolling over the lives counter :) Maximum score is reached before moving on to inevitably finish the game.
Aqua