OK, it turns out getting Game Over indeed just kicks you out of the current level in Super Mario 3D World
It also gives you back 5 lives and re-opens all the Toad houses, so maybe it wasn't that bad...
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@vaporeon_ older mario games were meaner about game overs fur sure
@aescling @vaporeon_ There is a continue option in smb1 (I think you have to hold B while you start the game again?) that puts you back to x-1 in the world you lost in, but it's not exactly obvious that you can do that
@amy @vaporeon_ .... do you know how many times i have played smb1 over the years without knowing that
@vaporeon_ most trivially so is the original smb, which makes you restart from scratch. mario 3 makes you reset the last major checkpoint (the last major or minor boss fight)