Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Minus World Discovered Nearly 40 Years Later

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Minus World Discovered Nearly 40 Years Later The Super Mario franchise has long been celebrated for its creative level design, platforming brilliance, and the many secrets hidden throughout its history.

Among these secrets, the infamous Minus World glitch in the original 1985 Super Mario Bros.

for NES is legendary—an endlessly looping, underwater level accessible via a specific maneuver in World 1-2.

Now, in a remarkable development nearly four decades later, a similar Minus World has been discovered in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, thanks to acclaimed speedrunner Kosmic. The Lost Levels, originally released as Super Mario Bros.

2 in Japan, gained Western recognition through its inclusion in the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).

Both the Japanese and Western releases have captivated players with their increased difficulty and hidden glitches, but it is specifically the SNES All-Stars version where Kosmic uncovered this elusive Minus World. Kosmic, renowned for his extensive work in the speedrunning community, documented his discovery in a recent video.

According to his account, accessing the Minus World in The Lost Levels is an intricate process involving navigating a series of increasingly unstable and glitched stages.

Initially, Kosmic attempted to progress past World B-8, but upon reaching World B-7, he found it impossible to complete due to unresolvable glitches.

By saving his game, quitting, and reloading, the game presented him with an entirely altered level layout—opening a new pathway. Pressing further into these corrupted levels, Kosmic encountered a glitched warp pipe located in stage B-9, uniquely identified by a partially visible coin above it.

Using this pipe, he was transported back to World 1-1.

Unfazed, he continued to advance through the anomaly-rich worlds, eventually arriving at World B-D and a variety of glitched menu options.

This chain of peculiar events ultimately confirmed the presence of a Minus World, paralleling the legendary glitch from the original Super Mario Bros. Kosmic shared that the main reason this discovery took so long was due to the sheer complexity and difficulty of performing the steps required.

As he explained, the process demands a deep understanding of the game’s mechanics and a willingness to persist through arduous, unpredictable glitches—conditions that deterred most players over the decades.

He also noted that The Lost Levels did not receive the same widespread play in the West as the original Super Mario Bros., contributing to the secret’s prolonged concealment. Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise continues to offer new surprises, even as it approaches its fortieth anniversary.

As more secrets from the iconic plumber’s adventures are unveiled—with many available through the Nintendo Switch Online service and the eShop—Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels’ newly discovered Minus World underscores the enduring legacy and fascination of Nintendo’s classic platformers. Be sure to check out Kosmic’s full video for an in-depth look at this remarkable discovery in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels on the SNES Super Mario All-Stars collection.

Nintendo Mario SNES Super Mario Xbox Series X|S Super Mario Bros Kosmic Mario Bros Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels Xbox X|S Super Mario Bros. Super Mario All-Stars The Lost Levels