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''Super Mario Bros. 2'' is a 1988
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
developed and published by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
for the
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
. After the smash hit ''
Super Mario Bros. is a 1985 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series. It was origi ...
'' in 1985, Nintendo quickly released a minor adaptation of the original with advanced difficulty titled ''
Super Mario Bros. 2 ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' is a 1988 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. After the smash hit ''Super Mario Bros.'' in 1985, Nintendo quickly released a minor adaptation of the original with adva ...
'', for its mature market in Japan in 1986. However,
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company to p ...
found this sequel too similar to its predecessor, and its difficulty too frustrating, for the nascent American market. This prompted a second ''Super Mario Bros.'' sequel based on Nintendo's 1987
Family Computer Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer (Famicom) home video game console, released in Japan on February 21, 1986. The system uses proprietary floppy disk ...
game which had been based on a prototype platforming game and released as an
advergame An advergame (portmanteau of "advertisement" and "video game") is a form of advertising in video games, in which the video game is developed by or in close collaboration with a corporate entity for purposes of advertising a brand-name product. Whil ...
for
Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...
's Yume Kōjō '87 media technology expo. The characters, enemies, and themes in ''Doki Doki Panic'' have the mascots and theme of the festival, and were adapted into the ''Super Mario'' theme to make a
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
''Super Mario Bros.'' sequel. ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' was a resounding success, becoming the fifth-best-selling game on the NES, and was critically well-received for its design aspects and for differentiating the ''
Super Mario (also known as and is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every ma ...
'' series. It was re-released in Japan for the Famicom as (1992), and has been remade twice, first included in the ''
Super Mario All-Stars ''Super Mario All-Stars'' is a 1993 compilation of platform games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It contains remakes of Nintendo's four '' Super Mario'' games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the ...
'' (1993) collection for the
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...
, and as ''
Super Mario Advance ''Super Mario Advance'' is a series of video game ports for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance: * '' Super Mario Advance'', a 2001 port of '' Super Mario Bros. 2'' and '' Mario Bros.'' * '' Super Mario Advance 2'', a 2001 port of ''Super Mario World ...
'' (2001) for the
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
. It is included as part of the
Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...
and
Nintendo Classics Nintendo Classics is a line of Video game console emulator, emulated retro games distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch family of systems and Nintendo Switch 2. Subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service have access to games for ...
services.


Gameplay

''Super Mario Bros. 2'' is a 2D
side-scrolling A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
. The objective is to navigate the player's character through the dream world Subcon and defeat the main antagonist Wart. Before each stage, the player chooses one of four protagonists:
Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...
,
Luigi Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...
,
Toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...
, and
Princess Toadstool is a character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' game as Princess Toadstool. She is the princess regnant and head of state of the Mushroom Kingd ...
. All four characters can run, jump, and climb ladders or vines, but each character possesses a unique advantage that causes them to be controlled differently. For example, Mario has balanced speed, jumping height, and strength; Luigi can jump the highest, but moves slightly slower and has weaker strength; Princess Toadstool can float because of her dress but has the lowest speed and strength; Toad has the highest speed and strength, which allows him to pick up items quickly, but jumps the lowest. Unlike ''
Super Mario Bros. is a 1985 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series. It was origi ...
'', this game has no
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
functionality and no time limit. The original only scrolls from left to right, but this game can also scroll right to left, and even vertically in some areas. Unlike other ''Mario'' games, the characters cannot defeat enemies by jumping on them but can stand on, pick up, and throw most enemies at each other to defeat them. Other objects that can be thrown at enemies include vegetables pulled from the ground and mushroom blocks. The game consists of 20 different levels across the seven worlds comprising Subcon. Each world has three levels, except World 7, which has two. Each world has a particular theme that dictates the obstacles and enemies encountered in its levels, such as desert areas with dangerous
quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...
and snowy areas with slippery surfaces. Levels contain multiple sections or rooms that are connected via doors or ladders. Some rooms are accessible by entering certain jars. Magic potions found in each level are used to temporarily access "Sub-space", a reflected, unscrollable area where the player can collect coins and
Mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
that increase the character's maximum
health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
. In addition, certain jars, when entered in Sub-space, will
warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a D ...
the player to the later worlds, skipping levels altogether. Other items available include cherries, which are collected in order to acquire a
Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...
; the POW Block, which can be used to destroy all the enemies visible on the screen quickly; and a stopwatch that can stop enemies from moving for a short period of time. The player must defeat a boss enemy at the end of each of the first six worlds, then defeat Wart himself at the end of World 7 to complete the game. The player starts ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' with three
lives Lives may refer to: * The plural form of a ''life'' * Lives, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * The number of lives in a video game * ''Parallel Lives'', aka ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', a series of biographies of famous m ...
, one of which is lost each time the player's character loses all health from enemy or hazard damage or when the character falls off the screen, represented by hearts. The player can replenish health by collecting floating hearts that appear upon defeating a certain number of enemies. The player will receive a
Game Over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...
upon losing the last life, though the player may continue up to twice in one game. Extra lives may be obtained by collecting hidden 1-Up Mushrooms or by using the coins collected from Sub-space to play the Bonus Chance
minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements and is often smaller or more simplistic than th ...
between the levels.


Plot

Mario has a dream of a staircase leading to a mysterious door to a mysterious place. A voice identifies the world as the dreamland of Subcon, and asks for Mario's help in defeating the villainous frog named Wart, a tyrant who has cursed Subcon and its people. Mario suddenly awakes and decides to tell Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool, who all report experiencing the same dream. The group goes on a picnic, but discovers a cave with a long staircase. Through a door at the top, they are transported to Subcon, revealing their dreams to have been real. After defeating Wart, the people of Subcon are freed and everyone celebrates. Mario suddenly awakes in his bed, unsure if these events were a dream. He soon goes back to sleep.


Development


Background and conception

Nintendo originally released a different game called ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' on Japan's
Family Computer Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer (Famicom) home video game console, released in Japan on February 21, 1986. The system uses proprietary floppy disk ...
in 1986 (later released as '' Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'' for
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...
as part of ''
Super Mario All-Stars ''Super Mario All-Stars'' is a 1993 compilation of platform games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It contains remakes of Nintendo's four '' Super Mario'' games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the ...
''). Its engine is an enhanced ''
Super Mario Bros. is a 1985 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series. It was origi ...
'', with the same gameplay and more complex level designs, character features, and weather features. Some of the advanced level content had been culled from '' Vs. Super Mario Bros.'', a 1986 coin-operated arcade version of the original ''Super Mario Bros.'' for NES. All of these factors combined to yield an incremental game design with significantly higher difficulty. Also that year, the young subsidiary
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded the company to p ...
was just beginning its launch of the new
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
and its flagship game, ''Super Mario Bros.'' This international adaptation of the Famicom platform had been deliberately rebranded in the wake of the American
video game crash of 1983 The video game crash of 1983 (known in Japan as the Atari shock) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985 in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including market saturatio ...
, a regional market recession which had not directly affected the mature Japanese market. Nintendo of America did not want the increasingly popular ''Mario'' series to be too difficult to a recovering, transfiguring, and expanding market — nor to be stylistically outdated by the time the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' could be eventually converted to the NES's cartridge format, localized, and mass-produced for America. Utilizing its regional autonomy to avoid risking the franchise's popularity in this nascent market, Nintendo of America declined the Japanese sequel's localization to America and instead requested a newer and more player-friendly ''Super Mario Bros.'' sequel for release outside Japan.


''Doki Doki Panic''

An early prototype with vertical scrolling was developed by
Kensuke Tanabe is a Japanese video game producer and designer working for Nintendo, where he currently is Senior Officer at Nintendo EPD. After he had graduated from the Visual Concept Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, he decided to enter the ...
, designed by a team led by
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, video game producer, producer and Creative director#Video games, game director at Nintendo, where he has served as one of its representative directors as an executive since 2002. Widely regarded as one o ...
, and programmed by Nintendo's frequent partner, SRD, shortly after Tanabe was hired in April 1986. The first prototype's gameplay emphasizes vertically scrolling levels with two-player cooperative action: lifting, carrying, and throwing each other; lifting, carrying, throwing, stacking, and climbing objects; and incrementally scrolling the screen upward when reaching the top. Dissatisfied so far, Miyamoto then added the traditional horizontal scrolling, saying to "make something a little bit more Mario-like", and saying "Maybe we need to change this up ... As long as it's fun, anything goes". However, the prototype software was too complex for Famicom hardware at the time, and the gameplay was still considered lacking, especially in single-player mode. Unwilling to compromise on gameplay, Tanabe suspended development of the prototype until eventually receiving instruction to use the Yume Kōjō festival mascots in a game. He recalls, "I remember being pulled over to Fuji Television one day, being handed a sheet with game characters on it and being told, 'I want you to make a game with this'." Tanabe re-implemented that prototype's elements in his new game, and released the
advergame An advergame (portmanteau of "advertisement" and "video game") is a form of advertising in video games, in which the video game is developed by or in close collaboration with a corporate entity for purposes of advertising a brand-name product. Whil ...
-themed ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' for the
Family Computer Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer (Famicom) home video game console, released in Japan on February 21, 1986. The system uses proprietary floppy disk ...
in Japan on July 10, 1987. The title is derived from "doki doki", a Japanese
onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...
for the sound of a quickly beating heart. The title and character concept were inspired by a license cooperation between Nintendo and
Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...
to promote the broadcaster's Yume Kōjō '87 event, which showcased several of its latest TV shows and consumer products. The Yume Kōjō festival's mascots became the game's protagonists: a family consisting of the boy Imajin, his girlfriend Lina, and his parents Mama and Papa. The rest of the game's characters, including the main villain named Mamu, were created by Nintendo for the project. ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' takes place within a book with an
Arabian The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...
setting. All four characters are optionally playable, though the game is not fully completed until the player clears all levels using each protagonist.


Conversion to ''Super Mario Bros. 2''

Nintendo of America's Gail Tilden recalls that president
Minoru Arakawa is a Japanese businessman best known as the founder and former president of Nintendo of America, and the co-founder of Tetris Online, Inc. Biography Minoru Arakawa was born on 3 September 1946 in Kyoto, Japan, the second son of Waichiro Araka ...
's request to convert the thematically unrelated ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' into a ''Mario'' sequel was "odd" at first but not unusual for Nintendo, which had already converted a canceled ''
Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the List of Don ...
'' and reconceived that into '' Donkey Kong Jr.'' and ''
Donkey Kong 3 is a 1983 shoot 'em up game developed and published by Nintendo. It is the third installment in the ''Donkey Kong'' series and was released for arcades worldwide in 1983, the Family Computer in 1984, then in North America for the Nintendo Ent ...
''. Summarizing Tanabe's recollections within a 2011 interview, ''Wired'' said "Although the initial concept for the game had been scrapped, the development of that original two-player cooperative prototype inspired all the innovative gameplay of ''Super Mario Bros. 2''". For the international conversion into ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', many graphical changes were made to the scenery and characters' look, animation, and identity. The R&D4 staff modified the character likenesses of Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, building them over their respective counterpart models of Imajin, Mama, Lina, and Papa. This marked the first time that Mario and Luigi had noticeably different heights, and Miyamoto originated the scuttling animation of Luigi's legs, to justify the enhanced jumping ability seen in the corresponding Mama character. ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' needed only a few alterations for its conversion into the ''Mario'' series because its gameplay elements were already so heavily rooted in it: Starman for invincibility, the sound effects of coins and jumps, POW blocks, warp zones, and a soundtrack by ''Super Mario Bros.'' composer
Koji Kondo is a Japanese composer and senior executive at the video game company Nintendo. He is best known for his contributions for the '' Super Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series, with his ''Super Mario Bros.'' theme being the first piece of mu ...
. To reduce the game's overall difficulty, the designers made minor technical changes. They opted not to retain ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic''s ultimate requirement to complete each level using each protagonist; therefore, this new ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' can be completed in only one pass by any combination of characters. A late prototype of the game covering these changes was exhibited in the first issue of
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
, dated July/August 1988. In the tradition of the ''Mario'' series, they added the ability to run by holding the B button. ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' was first released in North America in September 1988. In
PAL region Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25& ...
s, the game released the following year. It was such a commercial success and its contributions so substantial over ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'', that it was eventually re-released in Japan in 1992 with the title ''Super Mario USA''. Likewise, Nintendo later re-released the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' in America in the form of ''Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'', a part of the 1993 re-release compilation ''
Super Mario All-Stars ''Super Mario All-Stars'' is a 1993 compilation of platform games for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It contains remakes of Nintendo's four '' Super Mario'' games released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the ...
'' on the Super NES. Nintendo has continued to re-release both games, each with the official sequel title of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' in their respective regions.


Re-releases


''Super Mario All-Stars''

In 1993, Nintendo released an enhanced
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
compilation titled ''Super Mario All-Stars''. It includes the ''Super Mario Bros.'' games released for the Famicom/NES. The version of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' included in the compilation has modernized graphics and sound to match the Super NES's 16-bit capabilities, as well as minor alterations in some collision mechanics. It is possible to change the character after losing a single life, while the original version allows changing it only after completing a level or when the player loses all their lives and chooses "Continue", making the game more forgiving when choosing a character not adept at some specific level. The player begins with five lives instead of three, and the slot game gains an additional bonus: if the player obtains three sevens, the player wins 10 lives which is something that was not featured in the original NES version of the game. However, the game has a 99-life limit.


''BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge''

In March–April 1996, Nintendo's partnership with the St.GIGA satellite radio station released an '' ura'' or '' gaiden'' version of the game for the
Satellaview The is a satellite modem peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Famicom in 1995. Containing 1 megabyte of ROM space and an additional 512 kB of RAM, Satellaview allowed players to download games, maga ...
system, titled . Like all Satellaview games, it was released episodically in a number of weekly volumes, only in Japan, and only in this format. It features 16-bit audiovisual enhancements to the 8-bit original in the fashion of ''Super Mario All-Stars'', plus "
SoundLink The is a satellite modem peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom in 1995. Containing 1 megabyte of ROM space and an additional 512 kB of RAM, Satellaview allowed players to download games, magazines, and other media through satel ...
" narration (
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...
-style streaming voice data intended to guide players through the game and give helpful hints and advice) and broadcast CD-quality music. Due to the nature of SoundLink broadcasts, these games were only broadcast to players between 6:00 and 7:00 PM on broadcast dates, at which times players could download the game from the Events Plaza on the ''BS-X'' application cartridge. A single rerun of the broadcasts was conducted in the same weekly format from June 3, 1996, to June 29, 1996, at 5:00 to 6:00 PM. The ''BS-X'' download location for the rerun changed to Bagupotamia Temple. While the underlying gameplay itself is largely similar, new and arranged content has been added. For instance, the BS version newly featured a score counter. Furthermore, at the beginning of the game, Mario is the only playable character. Later in the game, time-dependent events occur triggering, among other things, the possibility of using other characters. Another feature unique to the game is the inclusion of gold Mario statues (ten in total for each chapter) that are hidden in various locations (including Sub-Space). Collection of the statues in-game grants the player an extra life and refills the life meter. After clearing a level, the player could press "Select" to see some statistics such as the number of statues, coins, cherries, and mushrooms collected, as well as displaying which bosses had been defeated. As a 4-volume broadcast, each week bore a different subtitle. These are the names of the volumes: * * * *


''Super Mario Advance''

On March 21, 2001, ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' received another release, based on the ''All-Stars'' remake, as part of ''Super Mario Advance'', which also contains a remake of '' Mario Bros.'' ''Super Mario Advance'' was developed by
Nintendo Research & Development 2 commonly abbreviated as Nintendo R&D2, was a Japanese team within Nintendo that developed software and peripherals. While usually occupied in system operating software and technical support, the team would come back to early development in the 1 ...
, and was a launch title for the
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...
. The ''Super Mario Advance'' version of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' includes several new features such as the addition of the enemy Robirdo, a robotic Birdo, replacing Mouser as the boss of World 3; the addition of the ''
Yoshi Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in '' Super Mario World'' (1990) on the SNES as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Throughout the mainline '' Super Mario'' series, Yoshi typically serves ...
Challenge'', in which players may revisit stages to search for Yoshi Eggs; and a new point-scoring system, similar to that used in the aforementioned ''BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge''. Graphical and audio enhancements appear in the form of enlarged sprites, multiple hit combos, digital voice acting, and such minor stylistic and aesthetic changes as an altered default health-meter level, boss-order, backgrounds, the size of hearts, Princess Toadstool being renamed to the now-standard "Princess Peach", and the inclusion of a chime to announce Stars. The game was released for the
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...
on July 16, 2014, in Japan and later in North America on November 6, 2014. It was released for the
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
as a part of the
Nintendo Classics Nintendo Classics is a line of Video game console emulator, emulated retro games distributed by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch family of systems and Nintendo Switch 2. Subscribers of the Nintendo Switch Online service have access to games for ...
service on May 26, 2023. ''Super Mario Advance'' received a "Gold" sales award from the
Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) is a non-profit trade association for the video game industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Ukie was founded in 1989 as the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), then chang ...
(ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.


Reception

Upon release, ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' was the top-selling video game in the United States for fourteen consecutive months, from October 1988 through late 1988, into 1989 through spring and summer, to November 1989. By early 1990, copies were sold in the United States, eventually totaling million copies worldwide, making it the fourth highest-selling game ever released on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Although only the fourth highest-selling NES game overall, it is the best-selling standalone NES game which was never a
pack-in game Since the origin of video games in the early 1970s, the video game industry, the players, and surrounding culture have spawned a wide range of technical and slang terms. 0–9 A ...
. Although '' The Lost Levels'' was considered too difficult to play, ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' received critical acclaim. ''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
'' listed it as the eighth best
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
video game, mentioning that regardless of its predecessor not being in the ''Super Mario'' franchise, it was distinguished on its own merits and its unique takes on the franchise's signature format. ''
GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and ''Computer ...
'' ranked it the 6th best NES game ever made. The staff complimented it and other third-generation games for being a greater improvement than sequels around 2012, which they thought had seen only small improvements. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' picked the game as the #6 greatest game available in 1991, saying: "The second and still the best of the ''Super Mario'' franchise". In 1997 ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...
'' ranked the ''All-Stars'' edition as the 14th best console video game of all time, calling the level designs "unlike anything you've seen before" and highly praising the boss challenges. In the ''Pak Source'' edition of ''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninte ...
'', which rated all NES games released in North America from October 1985 to March 1990, ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' was among the only three games (aside ''
Metroid is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic M ...
'' and ''
Mega Man 2 ''Mega Man 2'' (stylized as ''Mega Man II'') is a 1988 action game, action-platformer, platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL region ...
'') to receive the maximum score of 5 in at least one of the categories evaluated, which was not awarded to either ''
Super Mario Bros. is a 1985 Platformer, platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game ''Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series. It was origi ...
'' nor '' Super Mario Bros. 3''. It was awarded the score of 5 for both "Challenge" and "Theme Fun". The re-release as ''Super Mario Advance'' in 2001 received generally positive reviews, garnering an aggregate score of 84/100 on
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. One reviewer concluded "all nostalgia and historical influence aside, ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' is still a game worth playing on the merits of its gameplay alone", and that "the only reason you may not want to pick it up is if ... you already own it in another form." However, ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' thought that ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' or ''Super Mario World'' would have been a better choice for a launch game considering their respective popularity; both games were eventually also remade as part of the ''Super Mario Advance'' series. Conversely, ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' praised the choice, calling it "one of the most polished and creative platformers of the era". The game was named one of the best NES games ever by ''IGN'', saying that the game offers greater diversity in graphics and gameplay than the original, making it a great bridge game between the other NES ''Mario'' games. ''
ScrewAttack ''Death Battle'' (stylized as ''DEATH BATTLE!'') is an American animated web series about battleboarding. Originally published by the website ScrewAttack in 2010, the show has changed considerably over its history. It is the longest-running web ...
'' named Wart's battle theme in a list of the top ten best 8-Bit Final Boss Themes. ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'' placed the game 30th on their top 100 video games of all time in 2001. In 2009, ''
Official Nintendo Magazine ''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British Video game journalism, video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally p ...
'' ranked the game 27th on a list of greatest Nintendo games. ''
Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' reviewed the Game Boy Advance version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "This classic probably shouldn't have been brought back. It's well translated but hasn't aged gracefully."


Legacy

Many elements in ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' have endured in subsequent sequels and in related franchise. The ability to lift and toss enemies and objects—a defining feature of its earliest prototype—has become part of the permanent repertoire of the ''Super Mario'' franchise, appearing in numerous subsequent ''Super Mario'' games. The
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
game ''
Super Mario 3D World is a 2013 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the ''Super Mario'' series and the sequel to '' Super Mario 3D Land'', a 2011 title for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was re- ...
'' features the same playable characters with the same basic physical abilities from ''Super Mario Bros. 2''. Many characters and features of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' have been assimilated into the greater ''Mario'' universe, such as
Birdo Birdo, known in Japanese as is a character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise. Her first appearance was as a boss character in ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' (1987), which was localized for English-language audiences as '' Super Mario Bros ...
, Pokey, Bob-omb, and Shy Guy. This is the first game in which Princess Toadstool and Toad are playable characters. Princess Toadstool established a floating jump and stars in later ''Mario'' games such as ''
Super Princess Peach is a 2005 platform game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in October 2005 and worldwide the following year. ''Super Princess Peach'' is the first game to feature Princess Peach as the mai ...
''. Toad stars in later ''Mario'' games like ''
Wario's Woods ''Wario's Woods'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo. It was released in Japan and North America in 1994 and Europe in 1995 for both the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. A spin-off ...
'', ''
New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a 2009 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. A follow-up to '' New Super Mario Bros.'', it was first released in Australia, North America, and Europe in November 2009, followed by Japan a month later. It was released ...
'', and '' Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker''. In ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', Luigi became distinguished from Mario's form, especially his tall stature and scuttle jump. The ''
Super Smash Bros. is a series of platform fighting video games published by Nintendo. Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series is a crossover featuring many characters from other video game series created by Nintendo and other develope ...
'' series gained many direct homages to this game. The 1989 cartoon television show '' The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' is based on characters, settings, and music from ''Super Mario Bros. 2''.


Notes


References


Sources

*


External links

*
''Super Mario USA''
on the
Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...
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