I remember playing this game and finishing the star road. I was so proud of my save file where I'd finished every level. Then my little brother invited a really bratty friend over and he deleted my save file just to annoy me. I seriously wanted to beat the crap out of that little jerk.
When I was around 9 or 10 years old, we got our NES. My older brother liked Final Fantasy, but it was a bit too much for me. I had no idea that saving the game would overwrite a previous save file. So my brother gets to the end of the game. I decide to try it out the next day. I saved at the inn in the very first town. My brother comes home and I hear "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

" from the basement. He was all pissed and told me not to save. So he starts over, gets halfway through, and I did it again, not thinking about it. He never touched the game again.

I didn't know about those special levels until I watched that speed demon thing.

Those levels were pretty fun to play, although one or two were a little frustrating as a kid. I just loved how the game had so many secrets, though...secret levels on the map from alternate exits, star road, and then special levels. AND FUCK YOU DEMI, changing the visuals was cool as hell back then!
If you leave Mario on the special level map screen for a while (at least a few minutes), it will start playing a remix of the original SMB theme.
