The funny part of reading this thread is that I have done two warpless runs and one warp run with SMB the last two days on original hardware. Didn't have time to finish my warpless run on "hard mode".
Now I find it completely fair that people does not share my love for this game. However I must say that the two complaints I find in OP, running and no saves, is what I think makes SMB a game I want to replay. You can beat SMB by going slow but you can beat SMB with full speed and doing so feels great. Saving would also not be a good idea, it would just make a short game where the fun comes from mastering a level feel even shorter.
The one and only complaint I would raise for SMB, knowing the limitations of the cartridges at that time, would be that I have to beat the game to get to hard mode.
I would say SMB2 is in similar situation, it is not a very long game.
SMB3 is actually a game where a save function would help but the levels are great. It is more of an adventure than SMB1 which I find to be a great arcade experience.
Now I find it completely fair that people does not share my love for this game. However I must say that the two complaints I find in OP, running and no saves, is what I think makes SMB a game I want to replay. You can beat SMB by going slow but you can beat SMB with full speed and doing so feels great. Saving would also not be a good idea, it would just make a short game where the fun comes from mastering a level feel even shorter.
The one and only complaint I would raise for SMB, knowing the limitations of the cartridges at that time, would be that I have to beat the game to get to hard mode.
I would say SMB2 is in similar situation, it is not a very long game.
SMB3 is actually a game where a save function would help but the levels are great. It is more of an adventure than SMB1 which I find to be a great arcade experience.