The Minus World

[deckardcanine]

When Super Mario Bros. was released on NES,
Some players soon discovered quite an unintended mess:
By jumping off the exit pipe of World One-Dash-Two
While holding down and right, you let the hero pass right through
A wall of bricks to reach the open-secret Warp Zone pipes
Before they’ve loaded properly. What happens next? Oh, yipes!
The middle pipe just takes you to the start of World 5.
The others take you somewhere that the hero can’t survive,
Because it loops around without a way to let him out.
It wasn’t even programmed! How’d this feature come about?
It looks much like a certain other level, since a bug
Throws off the system’s math. The explanation makes me shrug.
I do know this: It’s designated World Blank-Dash-One,
“The Minus World.” Players often check it out for fun.
The Famicom Disk System version, only in Japan,
Gets even more bizarre, with three whole levels that you can
Complete, and then the game pretends you beat it all the way.
What happens in those levels? There’s too much for me to say,
Except they break a lot of rules enforced throughout the game,
So once you try them out, it really doesn’t feel the same.
Some hackers wanted even more and found a way to end
The endless one, revealing more weird levels to transcend.
The Minus World has to be the most oft-cited glitch
In console gaming history, and now I have the itch.