Customer Reviews

Super Mario Bros. 2

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When Super Mario Brothers 2 was released in the US in 1988, the game became an instant hit with gamers. What makes SMB2 so strange is how utterly and drastically different the game really is from its predecessor, SMB, which is one of the pivotal cornerstones of the gaming industry. The game is expertly crafted (little surprise in that regard given it is a Miyamoto title), and just a great platformer with Mario quality, if not exactly Mario gameplay, written all over it.
.
Like most Nintendo franchises that began in the 1980s, the second installment in the series was incredibly weird and very different from the original. Case in point. Castlevania II:Simon's Quest. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Super Mario Brothers 2. Mega Man 2. (Okay, I'm kidding about Mega Man 2. Mega Man is the one series that DOES NOT CHANGE AT ALL. Capcom remade Mega Man five times, and then moved it to the X series and remade that a bunch more times).

Instead of jumping on turtles and goombas, trying to reach high scores, timed levels, SUPER MARIO 2 had absolutely nothing to do with the original game. It's like Mario is on a bad acid trip. There's transgendered, sexually confused birds shooting eggs (Birdo), mice that throw bombs and sport sunglasses, a weird, occultic, socially inept brotherhood that wears masks and robes, demonic phantos guarding keys, and a giant lizard who styles himself as a king takes control of people's dreams (Freddy Krueger anyone?). Given the previous game, SUPER MARIO 2 is easily the weirdest of the main Mario series, make no mistake. The gameplay from SMB2, other than platforming, has absolutely nothing in common with the original SMB. You throw enemies at one another, throw vegetables, fight weird enemies, blow up walls with bombs, etc.

Although the Americans didn't know it at the time, Nintendo wasn't really releasing SMB2. By now this game's origins in well known, but back in the 1980s most gamers would have been shocked to realise that Nintendo took a preexisting game called DOKI DOKI PANIC, replaced the vaguely Arabian characters (one who was visibly pregnant) with Mario sprites, changed a few other sprites, rework the ending some, but otherwise leaving the game mechanics and the levels alone.

Nintendo had already released a SUPER MARIO BROTHERS 2 in Japan, but that game was much like the second quest of Zelda, a much harder version of what is ultimately the same game. When it came time to release a SMB2 in America, the upper management bulked because of the Japanese title's extreme difficulty and remarkable similarity to the first SMB. Howard Lincoln, at the time in charge of the North America division of Nintendo (and for you oldschool Nintendo Power readers, he's one half of the title characters comic strip "Howard and Nestor") also hated the Japanese SUPER MARIO 2. So they opted to release another game in its stead.

Enter YUME K'j': DOKI DOKI PANIC (rough translation: "Dream Factory: Heart Pounding Panic"). Developed in cooperation with Fuji Television in promotion of Dream Factory '87, an event promoting Fuji's new television shows and other projects, DOKI DOKI PANIC, the game features a family of four characters who had to rescue these two lost children. In the game's intro, two children are reading from a book, when a giant hand grabs the children's faces and drags them into the book. The children's pet monkey, Chim Chim, runs and grabs the Arabian family, who also just happened to be the mascots of the Dream Factory '87 promotional event. Convenient, that. The family was Imagin (the son, replaced by Mario), Lina (Imajin's little sister, replaced by Princess Toadstool), Mama (who is clearly pregnant, with one of her hands clearly protecting her belly during gameplay; she was replaced by Luigi), and Papa (replaced by Toad). The family enters into the world of Subcon to beat Wart (Mamu, as he is known in Japan, as well as the 1993 gameboy Zelda title LINK'S AWAKENING, his only other appearance in a Nintendo game). Other than the family, all game characters were developed by Nintendo.

Now, what are the differences? I won't list them all here (google Doki Doki Panic and you'll find plenty of sites detailing the differences between SMB2 and Doki). Actually, other than some graphical changes, none of the changes really effects gameplay with two major exception. All four main characters are identical to their Doki counterparts. The B-button super speed run was added to SMB2. Nintendo replaced the storyline of having two kids kidnapped to Wart capturing Subcon people and Mario having to free them. Still, the replacement storyline fits in with the original dreamworld association that was associated with Doki Doki (which, after all, means Dream Factory).

The first of the two major differences between Doki Doki is that to see the end of the game, you must beat it with all four characters. The four characters have savable progress, and when you clear the game with all four then the ending displays. The second major difference is the replacement of Mouser in World 5-3 (his third appearance as the world end boss) with Clawgrip, a character exclusive too SMB2.

What does this all have to do with our perception of SMB2 today? As SMB2's origins have become common knowledge to video game enthusiasts and Nintendo fans (I found out in the late 1990s), a lot of people have put down this game due to it not being a Mario game to begin with. But back in the 1980s and 1990s, before DOKI DOKI became well known, the general critical consensus was SMB2, though a vast departure from the original, was a very fun, well-executed game on its own right. The game is among the highest selling Nintendo games of all time, with only SMB and SMB3 outselling the title on the original NES. When they reissued SMB2 in 2001 as SUPER MARIO ADVANCE, the title sold very well also, and is the highest selling title in the ADVANCED series.

There is another factor to consider. Despite what the purists say, Shigeru Miyamoto was heavily involved in the development of this game, and actually had nothing to do with the Japanese SMB2. As DOKI DOKI was to be a one-off promotional item for Fuji's Dream Factory, there has been some well-founded speculation Nintendo was planning this to be a Mario title the whole time and wanted to test the game by releasing it in Japan first. The packaging on DOKI has a picture of Mario and Imagin together.

While it is true SMB3, this game's sequel, reneged on most of SMB2 game mechanics, opting to return to the original SMB for its primary inspiration, most of SMB2's enemy characters became permanent cast members in the Mario echelon.

Overall, though not originally released as a Mario title, for all gamers outside of Japan, this is what we think of as SMB2. Playing thru the LOST LEVELS, which we finally got on the Virtual Console on October 1, 2007 (21 years after the fact), I'm glad Nintendo did what it did. And since Nintendo did release a separate SMB2, we know have four NES Mario titles. Mea culpa. Fortunate accident.

For my money, SMB2 is one of my all time favorite games. I have distinct memories of trying to get SMB2 for the NES but couldn't because it was selling out so fast. This was the big game of Christmas 1988, and you were a lucky kid indeed that had this game under their Christmas tree

For me, it is the one game, even more than SMB, that brings back the sweet incense of childhood and long bygone days I often times wish I could return too. I have played and beaten the game countless times, but every time I go thru it I just feel transported back to my childhood.

And for that mere fact, SUPER MARIO BROTHERS 2 is a truly priceless game.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonus Content: I have decided to include bonus content for this review.

The first section is additional information I have assembled for the game that is separate from the review proper.

The second is an unreleased article about "Super Mario Bros. 2" and its relation with "The Lost Levels" written back in the late 1990s.

Section 1

It has become well known that "Super Mario Bros. 2" was not originally a Mario game. According to many sources, what Nintendo employee blocked the release of Japanese version of "Super Mario Bros. 2" (known outside Japan as "The Lost Levels") due to the high challenge and gimmick-filled gameplay. This decision led to Nintendo adapting "Doki Doki Panic" into a Mario game. Howard Lincoln, president of the North American Branch of Nintendo, made that decision.

"Super Mario Bros. 2" has long been one of my favorite NES titles from childhood. It is well known now (though not back in the 1980s and early 1990s) that "Super Mario Bros. 2" began life originally as a game called "Doki Doki Panic" for the Famicom Disk System. The Japanese FDS version of "Super Mario Bros. 2" is pretty much a clone of the original, only with slightly modified graphics and a much more difficult game.

Nintendo would not publish the original Famicom Disk System outside of Japan for over twenty one years. The game first appeared in 1986 in Japan, and America and the PAL region did not get the original 8-Bit version until 2007 for the Virtual Console.

Another famous Howard in Nintendo lore is Howard Phillips who appears in the early issues of "Nintendo Power" in the comic strip "Howard and Nestor". There is also a photograph of Phillips next to a TV that has the main title screen of the (American-European) "Super Mario Bros. 2".

Published in 1987 for the Famicom Disk System, Nintendo published "Doki Doki Panic" for Fuji Television. The game was to promote Yume Kôjô '87 (translates Dream Factory '87), and included Fuji's mascots. Overall, the levels from Doki Doki Panic were left alone. The majority of the changes were swapping out sprites and cosmetic changes.

When Nintendo released "Super Mario Bros. 2" in Japan as a Mario game rather than the non Mario "Yume K'j': Doki Doki Panic", they marketed the game as the American "Super Mario Bros. 2" and released the game as "Super Mario Bros. USA". The only difference between the American version and this version is a different title screen.

There is a slight level change in one level. In 7-2, in the cloud section there is a portion of the stage where you must go back and forth on stationary cloud platforms that are stacked on top of one another in order to get to a ladder that has a column blocking access. In "Doki Doki Panic", there is an additional cloud platform, with a small column with a Snifit sitting on top. The most probable reason Nintendo removed this platform was even with the Mario and Toad character a super jump could completely bypass the cloud section and the player could simply jump over the column to get to the blocked off ladder.

The original characters are a family, with two parents with one son and one daughter. Mario replaced Imajin, the average skilled brother. Luigi replaced Mama. The Princess replaced Lina, the sister. Toad replaced Papa. There is speculation that Mama appears to be pregnant.

When Nintendo adapted "Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic" into "Super Mario Bros. 2", they replaced the third Mouser with a new boss character, Clawgrip. Mouser appears the same as World 1-3, though his chamber is shaped differently and there are two sections with spikes on the floor.

I remember my parents buying this game for me and being puzzled why Phanto looked different in the manual than he actually appears in the game. The reason is Nintendo published the "Doki Doki Panic" sprite in the manual, rather than the sprite that actually appears in the game. Phanto in "Doki Doki Panic" has small eyes and he is frowning. He does not look nearly as menacing as he does in "Super Mario Bros. 2". The game manual also includes pictures of the Magic Jar and the Heart sprite from "Doki Doki Panic".

According to the manual, Clawgrip "grows suddenly and is surprisingly skilled at throwing rocks". It is possible this refers to some gameplay concept of Clawgrip that never got into the final game, as Clawgrip does not change sizes in the actual game.

There were numerous errors in the Cast of Characters section of "Super Mario Bros. 2". Ostro, an ostrich that Shyguys ride, are given the name Birdo, and Birdo is labeled Ostro. Personally I believe this was a localization error, as the error was repeated in the game manual itself. Strangely enough, when Nintendo released "Super Mario Allstars" for the Super Nintendo, they did not correct this error, though they did correct it in the "Super Mario Advance" release. I remember back in the late 1980s all us gamers thought Birdo had two names, Birdo and Ostro, as Nintendo Power referred to Birdo as Birdo, not Ostro.

The Albatros, the only flying bird in "Super Mario Bros. 2", appears to be Subcon's natural resident before the Wart invaded.

Here is the game manual entry related to the Albatros. "He used to be the only resident in the world of dreams. Now, by order of Wart, he works as a carrier of Bob-Ombs."

In "Doki Doki Panic" he only has two frames of animation, making him appear to fly much faster. For the "Super Mario Bros. 2" conversion Nintendo added three more frames of animation, bring the total to five.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 2

Super Mario Brothers 2: The Next Adventure.

SMB2 is held as a classic in most video gaming circles. And yet, it depends on what you are talking about, and, precisely, where you are doing the talking. If you are in Japan, you are talking about a game that plays almost identical to the original, but much, much, more difficult. If you are in the States, you are talking about a Japaness game that originally had nothing to do with the SMB saga.

If I had to pick, I'd pick the States version any day. In this game, you get to choose from four different characters, and make your way thru 7 worlds. Very fun, although not incredibly challenging. I grew up playing this game (Lugi is still the best). We bought it when it first came out, and boy did it take forever to get it. That game literally sold like hot cakes. It was one of the most anticipated games that year, along side the ranks of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. However, public reaction to this game was very favourable, whereas to Zelda II it was not. It was totally different from its prequel, and, honestly, that's what made that game so great. Because of its differences from the rest of the Mario cannon, it stands alone. I remember my brother, his best friend Nick, and I (and another boy Rammy) took turns playing it, and we watched as he tried to get past that wiley Wart. In the end, of course, Mario triumphed, and it turned into nothing save a dream .... (Is that the story line of some Zelda game?) Anyway, it is still a classic game.

In Japan, however, SMB 2 is totally different. Imagine this: Super Mario Brothers, after beating the original game, a Second Quest, much like one of the more popular titles also had. And this Second Quest, just like Nintendo's corresponding cash cow, was increased in difficulty. Now we have SMB 2. Basically, SMB 2 plays just like SMB 1. Actually, I tend to think of these worlds as worlds 9-18. Basically, they correspond in that difficulty. If you think level 7 or 8 was hard on the original, just imagine what world 17 or 18 is!! It truly is that difficult.

Indeed, it was so difficult that it was damned to stay unreleased forever in the States on the original NES. Also, they didn't htink the market could support it. However, I have beat this game, and I can easily say that is the most difficult game I've ever beaten. The whole thing is a total nightmare. The difficulty level is totally absurd. Its like Miyamoto and his team got together, and said "Let's make a sequel to SMB, and its make it so frustratingly hard that the players will destroy their Famicoms in sheer rage." It is truly that difficult. Yet, if you do actually beat the game, you can stand in pride. On Super Mario Allstars, five new worlds were added. If you went thru the first eight without warping, Level Nine opened up (which is totally an anomoly. All water stages, save for the third). Then, after that, worlds A-D can be transversed. As I understand it (I didn't know this until just last night), these worlds were added to the Super NES version. I beat them too.

We have finally got as close to the original version as we'll ever see. They released it with Super Mario Brothers Deluxe, and called it Super Mario Brothers for Super Players (you just have to get over 300,000 points. I thought you had to get that and beat the game, so I was trying to do that, and didn't realize it was already opened). I'd be really interested in buying a Japaness cart and play it on the Famicom.

While many consider this the black sheep of the Super Mario Bros series on the NES, this game is actually my favorite on the bunch. The world is nothing like the world of the other Mario games, and the enemies and bosses and goal is different. This is a quest to defeat Boss Wart (instead of Bowser) and you have the options of playing as one of four characters (with the ability to switch every level): Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad. Each of these characters have different play characteristics. Toad can pick up any object with no difficulty but is the worst jumper. Princess is the opposite (no strength, but can float). Luigi has the best jump (no float), but that becomes its own problem. Mario is perfectly average. These strengths and weaknesses come into play in choosing who to use for each level and some are clearly better than others on any given level. Even though I found this game to be the easiest of the bunch, for me it was also the most fun. This is still a side-scrolling game, but some levels scroll up and down on the screen (keeping the side-scrolling viewpoint, though) depending on if you are climbing or dropping down. There are shortcuts in many levels and different ways to warp, get extra lives (including an odd cheat for extra lives), or to shorten the game. In the end, there are a couple of difficult levels, but this may be the easiest of the three on the NES. Even so, this is my favorite of all of the Super Mario games on the NES.

Super Mario Bros 2 has been ridiculed and criticized since its release for being so "different" and "un-Mario". I never understood that, is the game not fantastic? So what if it's different, when did different become bad?

The actual Super Mario Bros 2 that was released in Japan was a straight sequel to Super Mario Bros. Basically the same game but with different levels, Mario and Luigi having different traits, and it was much harder (in America this game is commonly known as the "lost levels" found on Super Mario All Stars on the SNES). Nintendo of America wisely decided this wouldn't fly in America, it was just too similiar to the original. So instead they took another Japanese game, Doki Doki Panic, threw Mario and the gang into it and called it Super Mario Bros 2.

Thank you Nintendo, because Doki Doki Panic/SMB2 is a great game! One of the best platformers ever. The game revolves entirely around the idea you can pick things up, either pulling vegetables out of the ground, enemies, or various other objects. This is all put to good use throughout the game providing interesting obstacles and tasks to complete. Things like having to throw the eggs back at the bird that just launched at you, having to lift creatures off their flying carpets so you can go for a ride, lift keys protected by magic masks, etc etc. Not to mention one of the best final boss encounters on the NES. It's all really cool.

So get over how "different" this game is and just play it! All pretty amazing considering this was all the work of Fuji TV (developer of DDP). Weird, eh?

It is action-packed with hard to beat obstacles yet easy when you know the little secrets and tricks. The enviorment is a 2- dimensional platform adventure. There is not much to say beside the fact it is the greatest of the great!

This game was way ahead of its time. I would recommend owning this game. The graphics and the flow of this game work really well.

This particular run of the Super Mario series was probably the most hated because it went in a totally different way than all the others (and notice how after this was released, a year or so later, Super Mario 3 had gone back to that original gameplay and became the new platform for the Mario Series).

I admit I liked that this one was different, but I didn't like that it wasn't as interesting as it prequel or the continuing sequels after it. No hopping on enemy after enemy, no fireballs, now we throw things at everything. Getting Super Stars was pretty random. All in all, Mario was on a different tip with this one.

But we still love this game, why? Because it's MARIO and let's face it we've all been this loyal for how long?? Me personally, I was a teen when the Nintendo came out and I still play my original NES (Yes it's still in perfect condition somehow after 10+ years). Anyway, if you're looking for nostalgia, you might want to consider this one or Super Mario 3.

this game is one of the best games ever.when i was a kid my brother and uncle used to tease me because i liked to play as the princess but to my defence she could fly and thats pretty cool. luigi sucks in this game

I have the game on down load section at nintendo wii......an also I played the game 100 times in the past, all thought growing up too...Anyway a little history of this game.

Back in the 1980's it original came out as Doki Doki Panic at japan...but unfortunately the us mario 2 isn't really the real mario 2 game....the amerian people edit the game into mario 2 and which is because...

The real super mario bros. 2 game never got release in USA an was reject, because it was almost the same as mario bros. 1 and except a few minor changes like poison mushroom, etc....an plus the JAPAN: Super mario bros. 2 was very difficult too.

Overall if you back to USA mario 2 where its the game that takes place in subcon, an you can use 4 characters an thorw turnips are bad guys like shy guys, bob-ombs and ninji's, etc...instead of bowser koopa the have wart on the game.

But the real mario 2, did got rerelease in the game called super mario all stars, known as the super mario bros. lost levels.

ok if you are a true mario fan like I am then get USA mario 2 an download the japan super mario 2 on nintendo wii too....just type super mario lost levels....anyway the japan mario 2 is very frusterating/difficult too, but if you like the game that almost impossible to beat then get japan one.


Any way I think the least favorite mario game ever is the 1st one, the original super mario bros 1. because right now I think the game is way too easy.

Mario 3 isn't a bad game, same with mario world...but mario 64 is a terrible game because they only have 15 course in it...I don't know too much bout mario sunshine, but super mario galaxy turned out to be a big imporvment compare to the last 2 games(mario 64 and mario sunshine.)

But still compare to 2D games...I like the USA mario 2 because it's different, an japan one because it's hard, ok done talking.

This game worked at first but then kept turning off. I was very pleased with the service I got and was reimbursed for the game. Thanks

I don't care if this game is a "fraud"...which it's really NOT! Everyone knows the back story and scandal with this game, but if you don't just look up "Doki Doki Mario" on youtube. You'll be given a full explanation. I grew up playing this game as a true Mario title. And that's what it'll always be to me. Very different from other games in the series when it was still a simple 2-d platformer. But a very satisfying game. Even now 20 years after i first played it, I can go back to it and truly enjoy it. And unlike a lot of the purest's out there, i actually prefer the Mario all stars version! :-X