Long before check points, re-spawning or even level codes – there was the concept of an extra life. In the realm of Super Mario Bros. and every iteration since – it has been our impulse to not let our portly little plumber die. Fireballs, lava, anthropomorphic bullets, being attacked by any smattering of Mushroom Kingdom flora and fauna, or even walking off into a chasm – there’s a lot of ways to die in the Mario world. When this happened you knew you were one step closer to starting at least part of your journey over or, if you grew up with siblings or neighborhood kids, you knew that dying in the game meant handing over the controller so someone else could play. However, in my household we had basic rule that said you get to use the lives you gain during your turn. If only this video existed back then.

Oh the beauty of the infinite lives trick. Back in the good ol’ days of NES and SNES, there was always rumor of these tricks and it always involved some special secret method that a cousin of some kid from another school knew how to do. As it turns out, with a little know-how and exploitation of the physics of the Mushroom Kingdom – you can create a scenario in almost every Super Mario game that will generate infinite 1-Ups. This supercut (by YouTube channel Nintendo Unity) shows how, with a little bit of practice, you too can set the right conditions to become a Mario Highlander. Usually involving stomping a turtle shell in just the right spot can create the circumstances to rack up enough points to start giving you extra lives.

We should probably note that doing this in real life will not result in immortality, but will in fact leave you with some messed up shoes, a substantial pet shop bill, and more than a few questions to answer if anyone catches wind of your attempts.

What’s your favorite Mario 1-Up scenario? Did the video miss any? Let us know in the comments below.

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Featured Image courtesy of deviantArt // artist: DesaturatedDream