A plumber's hammer or an elf's sword... Take your pick!

[Koh]

Z2's artwork depicted Link with brown pants o.o. Z2 is a direct sequel to Z1, so it's the same Link. Therefore, your argument is invalid!

....

I kid (sort of). The Water Temple wasn't even that hard for me. I will say Dark Link (without hammer abuse) is a little rough around the edges, but manageable. The hardest Zelda game has to be Zelda 2. I mean come on, that last stretch of the game and Death Mountain is like, a huge steep difficulty curve in the game.

Mario never had that sort of challenge. Like, sure you'd end up dying to a Goomba or something from time to time, but the games were never HARD. Beginning with Super Mario World, I'd say the games turned into more of a 100% completion type of thing, like Kirby, instead of a game presenting a challenge. All the secret paths and stages to find and such. Even Doki Doki Panic (Super Mario Bros 2 USA) wasn't TOO bad; the Phantasmo Masks were annoying, but you can get through the game without using a continue o.o.