Introduction:

Ahh Yes, Super Mario Bros. 2. The next of one of the greatest trilogies of all time. This is my knowledge of how the non-Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 game came to be. Nintendo had already made a Super Mario Bros. 2 game. This game was only released in Japan though. This game is probably known to most people as The Lost Levels, that you can play on Super Mario All-Stars for the Super Nintendo. If you have played the Lost levels, you can see how it is very much like Super Mario Bros., just a little updated. As far as I know, Nintendo thought this Super Mario Bros. 2 was too much like it's predecessor. So they bought a NES game that that was in the making, or already made. I think this game was called Doki Doki Panic. Nintendo just switched the characters to Mario, Luigi, Princess and Toad. This is sort of weird when you think of it, that this wasn't even originally a game made by Nintendo. But, when you think of it, Super Mario Bros. 2 is kind of a weird game, it is completely different from the other Super Mario Bros. Actually, it is different from all Mario Games. But none the less, this game turned out to be one of the best NES games made.

Story:

The story for SMB 2 is good. I will just write a summary of what it is. Mario has a dream of a long stairway leading up to a door. Then Mario Wakes up, he walks to a near by cave, and to his surprise, he sees what he saw in his dream. So Mario enters this new world with new enemies. (AND NO BOWSER!!!)

Gameplay:

The Game play in Super Mario Bros. 2 is very unique. You still run and jump, like in Super Mario Bros., but a lot has changed. First of all, forget that this is even a sequel to Super Mario Bros, because it is so much different. In this game you can jump on enemies and than pick them up and throw them at other enemies. You pick things out of the ground and use them, usually vegetables. There are a lot of new and unique enemies. Parts of the game you have to go up and down the screen. You even have to dig your way down a sand hole. You can play with 4 characters. You can play as, Mario, Luigi, Princess and of course Toad. Each character has his or her own unique style. Princess can float for a few seconds, Luigi has this crazy high jumping thing, Toad can jump well and Mario is good to play too. I myself like to play with Toad. My brother on the other hand likes Luigi. I do find some stages easier with different characters though. If you don't already know there is a flying head that would chase you when you took its key? That thing is very annoying. This game has very unique and fun game style. I find this game to have excellent game play.

I give the game play: 7.5/10

Graphics:

The graphics in this game are far better than of Super Mario Bros. In this game the characters are very well looking, they are nicely detailed. The backgrounds are ok. The enemies look great. The actual environment that your in is pretty good. I have to say that this game has very nice graphics.

I give the graphics: 7/10

Sound:

The sound in this game is excellent. The Super Mario Bros. games always have great sound. This is not a disappointment at all. The background sound is great, as well as the action sounds. The background sounds are good for the level. The action sounds are great.

I give the sound: 7.5/10

Replayability:

This game has good replayability. You can play it and beat it, and then play and beat it in a few days. This game is a great action game, and action games usually have great replayability.

I give the replay ability: 7.5/10

Challenge:

Yes, this game is a lot harder than Super Mario Bros., I actually find it harder than Super Mario Bros. 3. But this may be of the fact that I have played Super Mario Bros. 3 like 100 times more than Super Mario Bros. 2. This is not because Super Mario Bros. 2 is bad, it is a great game, it is just because Super Mario Bros. 3 is my favourite NES game. Well, getting back to the challenge of Super Mario Bros. 2, this game can give a pretty good challenge. I have played it and then died about 80% to 90% through the game. NOOOOOOOO. So this game will be a nice little challenge.

I give the challenge: 7/10

Value:

I usually find this game for about 10 to 20 dollars. I have to say that this is completely worth it. If you have a NES and want to get games for it and you don't have it, than I think you should get this. This is a must have for NES players.

Overall:

Overall this game is excellent. It has great graphics. The sound is good. The gameplay is very unique and fun. I love the gameplay in this game. This game also has good replayability and gives a pretty good challenge. I would say this is one of the best games of all time. It would have to be on the top 10.

I give Super Mario Bros. 2 : 8/10

Conclusion:

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a great game. I often wonder if this game would have been as popular if it would have stayed Doki Doki Panic, and no Nintendo characters were in it. I would like to think it would be as popular. But would it? Would people have bought this game if they weren't playing Mario? I know it would still be a great game, but would they have given it a chance? That's the thing, people don't give all games a chance. When you make a game a Super Mario game, you make it a game that people will buy and love. All I know is that this is truly a great game, I know Nintendo picked a great game to buy. We still see some of the characters in this game today, which is cool. We see Birdo, who is in Mario Kart Double Dash and others. (You will see Birdo in Super Mario RPG for the SNES) We also see Shy Guys. So I end this review by saying that Super Mario Bros. 2 is a great game, with or without Nintendo characters in the game. But, I do love to play that cool Mario.

Written by: Joey Anderson

Date Written: April 3rd, 2004