Thanks for the advice! It is in fact an aftermarket connector. I got it after my attempts at cleaning the original one had no effect. I did keep the OEM connector, however. So I will try your method on it and see if I have better luck.

The only thing that goes harder than the soundtrack is the difficulty level. I don’t think I ever made it past the second stage. I basically just played the first level over and over and never got tired of the music.

I’ve never gotten over the trauma of that water level tbh

The 4 controllers is a little bit of a mystery to me, haha. I think I might have somehow “inherited” 2 controllers and an extra copy of Mario/Duck Hunt from my little cousin at some point…for some reason. Good shout on the four score. I didn’t even know that was a thing! That would be cool to have for hangouts.