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Why didn't you tell me about this Super Mario Bros. cheat?

Charlie Hall is Polygon’s tabletop editor. In 10-plus years as a journalist & photographer, he has covered simulation, strategy, and spacefaring games, as well as public policy.

Every gamer worth their salt knows the Konami code, but do you know the Super Mario Bros. code that lets you continue from the start screen, placing you right where you left off with a fresh set of lives?

Well ... I didn't.

Super Mario Bros. will turn 30 years old this September, and the legendary game doesn't have many mysteries left to share. But there are still those, like me, who've never finished it. Perhaps you were a Sega kid, or maybe you're currently an actual child right now. The granddaddy of platformers is a game worth your time, but there's no reason to become a slave to it.

Turns out that when Mario kicks the bucket, returning you to the start screen, you can just hold down the A button while you hit start. You'll wind up right back where you left off.

If you never finished Super Mario Bros. then this cheat code is about to become your new favorite old-school trick.

In the mean time, I'll be debating when to share it with my four year old. We need our gaming pleasures spiced with a little bit of pain, after all.

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