A time limit is a phrase in video game terminology that is used to make gameplay faster on the threat of losing a life.[1] A typical time limit can range from a single second to multiple amount of minutes.[2] Although it is possible to have a Super Mario World level with zero seconds on the timer (unlike the other games in the Super Mario Bros. series), it will result in a glitch where it will say that the time is up right after Mario or Luigi loses a life by any means.
All the video games in the Super Mario Bros. series (except for Super Mario Bros. 2) has a time limit of some capacity.[1] These limits usually start large and are used to keep players moving instead of waiting for enemies to fall down pits.[1] Faster music appears when the time limit is about to be breached.[1] Any amount of time left over is multiplied by a certain amount and added into the overall score.[1] Time limits also appear in video games like Bébé's Kids[3] and Timecop; both for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Other games that have time limits for various systems include: Mario Party (to determine when a mini-game ends), Street Fighter (to show how much time remains in a round), in addition to Tekken.[2]
Many video games use a time limit feature with console systems ranging from the Intellivision to the PlayStation 3.[2] A time limit can have several aliases associated with it: countdown timer (used mostly for continues), race timer (appearing in arcade racing games), minigame timer, round timer, mission timer (used in action games where players have to escape from a fatal situation), sports timer (appears in sports games like ice hockey and American football), and pre-race countdown timer (appears in most racing games).[2]