The submitted run here is also technically "only a Famicom (or NES)". The only difference is the rate of input from the controller to feed the data. Outside of the need to start in N-1 (which can be done on hardware with unmodified games by booting up SMB3 and then hotswapping to SMB1), if you feed these same controller inputs, frame by frame, to a real NES with no modifications, using an unmodified retail copy of SMB1 (and SMB3), this will work.

The only "modification" is wholly external to the system, and is necessary to feed the controller inputs at a superhuman rate. The SMB1 (and SMB3) code is the exact same code Nintendo shipped on mask ROMs, and the Famicom (or NES) is also completely unmodified.

This is art, so arguing about exact boundaries is pointless in my book. But can we at least agree that there is rather a big difference between "This is something that plays from a standard cartridge with a standard mapper on the Famicom/NES you have from your childhood" and "This is something that plays from a standard cartridge with a standard mapper on the Famicom/NES you have from your childhood with a modified superhuman-speed controller to in real time feed 16 times the amount of data of the largest cartridge ever released for the system"?

I like this version. https://youtu.be/WPUYjDNks9Y

It's impressive what can be done if a lot of effort is put in.

It really is impressive, but it is also fair to point out that it uses the MXM-1 mapper which only came into existence in 2022 [1]. I find it pointless to argue whether it is "cheating" or not as the technology it uses was used for other consoles at the time and it is fun to see new mappers like this, but it is, again, very different compared to keeping it within the realm of original Famicom/NES mappers and limits.

[1]: https://somethingnerdy.com/unlocking-the-nes-for-former-dawn

Interesting. The visuals, presumably somewhat hand crafted, look infinitely better in this rendition. The sound is much less compelling, however.