Special Powerups Feel Really Rewarding

Super Mario Bros 3 has some of the best powerups in any Super Mario game. And they make you feel really special when you earn them, because the game works hard to make sure you work for it. Getting something like the hammer suit or the tanooki suit feels like something really, really special. Like you earned it by finding a secret. And that makes losing it all the more painful.

They are so valuable, I remember as a kid hoarding them in item inventory just because I was afraid of losing them. Newer Mario games seem to just throw you the special power ups, and they don't seem to have nearly as many as Super Mario Bros 3 did compared to Super Mario Bros 1 and 2 (USA got a reskin of Doki Doki Panic instead of the real Super Mario Bros 2).