Super Mario Bros. 2
Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Platform: Nintendo Entertainment System Players: 1 (Adventure), 2 (Co-Op) Release: 1988 Genre: 2D Platformer / Adventure Rating: 7.4 \ 10.0: Good
Above is a scene from the game's first stage
I wouldn't have enjoyed Super Mario Bros. 2 nearly as much if I hadn't already known so much about it before downloading it via Wii Virtual Console. You see, Super Mario Bros. 2's existence has a slightly confusing story. In Japan, the first sequel to Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, was released, and Nintendo decided not to release it in North America because Nintendo of America decided it wasn't a good idea for some stupid reason. Then Nintendo created another game-- Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic. The protagonist sprites were modified and the game was released it in America as Super Mario Bros. 2, and then it was (re)released in Japan as Super Mario USA (and I feel bad for any player of Dream Factory who bought a modified version of the game simply because it had Mario in it). But then The Lost Levels was featured in collections such as Super Mario All-Stars, and it was ported to the Wii Shop Channel in 2007. Now I'll explain the game. The plot, according to what I read from the text that appears on the title screen, says that Mario is dreaming, and opens a door in his dream after climbing up a flight of stairs and is informed that the villainous toad (the animal, not the cute mushroom guy), Wart, has cast an evil spell upon the dream realm of Subcon. Then Mario wakes up and enters a cave only to see exactly what he saw in his dream. As you start the game, you're given the option to play as one of four characters-- Mario, Luigi, Toad, and, surprise!, Peach. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages. Mario is the fastest and strongest at picking and throwing items, which I'll get to later; Luigi is the highest jumper; Toad is the fastest, but the shortest jumper; and Peach is the longest jumper, but the slowest item-picker. It all seemed like just another Mario game, until I jumped on an Shy Guy's head to find I was now riding around on it. By pressing B (or 1, if you're playing the downloadable Wii edition with the Wii Remote held sideways), you can pick up most small enemies and hurl them by pressing B (or 1) again. This is also how you pluck and hurl items, which you can uproot from red grass patches. You'll often find turnips and other vegetables in the ground, which can be tossed at foes, but sometimes you'll find bombs, which can be used to destroy otherwise indestructible chunks of land; stopwatches, which temporarily freeze enemies and can be uprooted only after you pluck four identical vegetables; red Koopa shells (one of the references to "true" Mario games) that plow through all the enemies in their path; 1-Up Mushrooms, which, as you probably know, grant you an extra life; and best (and rarest) of all, magic potions, that, when thrown, create a door that brings you to a silhouetted secret area, a mirrored version of the place you entered the door (a remix of the Super Mario Bros. ground theme even plays in these areas). You can uproot, coins that will be used in the end of stage slot-machine bonus game, collect mushrooms that add a life mark to your health display (a concept that has been carried to future games in the series), and enter underground areas via vases, some of warp you to farther worlds when a potion is used on them. Now, when it comes to enemies, there's a heck of a lot more variety than in the first Super Mario Bros., but just know they're not "true" Mario characters, because they're all from Dream Factory. The end-of-stage boss battles lack variety, however. The end-of-stage boss seems to always be the egg-spitting dinosaur, Ostro, who we now know as Birdo (not named after the enemy of the same, I don't think), while the world's final bosses have far more variety. They include Mouser, a bomb-tossing rodent, Triclyde, a three-headed snake, Clawglip, a gigantic, boulder-tossing crab, Fryguy, a massive floating fireball, and of course, Wart. And, just like most old-school Mario games, it's hard. Trust me, if you want to live through the next stage, try your hardest to win the bonus game and get five-life bonus. Although it's not truly a Mario game, I respect Super Mario Bros. 2 for what it is.
Ups
Four characters to play
Variety of power-ups
Creative bosses
Downs
Not a "true" Mario game
Very difficult
ESRB: E Content: ??? Price: $5.00 (Wii ) / $4.99 (3DS) (Download)
Above is a scene from the game's first stage
I wouldn't have enjoyed Super Mario Bros. 2 nearly as much if I hadn't already known so much about it before downloading it via Wii Virtual Console. You see, Super Mario Bros. 2's existence has a slightly confusing story. In Japan, the first sequel to Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, was released, and Nintendo decided not to release it in North America because Nintendo of America decided it wasn't a good idea for some stupid reason. Then Nintendo created another game-- Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic. The protagonist sprites were modified and the game was released it in America as Super Mario Bros. 2, and then it was (re)released in Japan as Super Mario USA (and I feel bad for any player of Dream Factory who bought a modified version of the game simply because it had Mario in it). But then The Lost Levels was featured in collections such as Super Mario All-Stars, and it was ported to the Wii Shop Channel in 2007. Now I'll explain the game. The plot, according to what I read from the text that appears on the title screen, says that Mario is dreaming, and opens a door in his dream after climbing up a flight of stairs and is informed that the villainous toad (the animal, not the cute mushroom guy), Wart, has cast an evil spell upon the dream realm of Subcon. Then Mario wakes up and enters a cave only to see exactly what he saw in his dream. As you start the game, you're given the option to play as one of four characters-- Mario, Luigi, Toad, and, surprise!, Peach. Each of them has advantages and disadvantages. Mario is the fastest and strongest at picking and throwing items, which I'll get to later; Luigi is the highest jumper; Toad is the fastest, but the shortest jumper; and Peach is the longest jumper, but the slowest item-picker. It all seemed like just another Mario game, until I jumped on an Shy Guy's head to find I was now riding around on it. By pressing B (or 1, if you're playing the downloadable Wii edition with the Wii Remote held sideways), you can pick up most small enemies and hurl them by pressing B (or 1) again. This is also how you pluck and hurl items, which you can uproot from red grass patches. You'll often find turnips and other vegetables in the ground, which can be tossed at foes, but sometimes you'll find bombs, which can be used to destroy otherwise indestructible chunks of land; stopwatches, which temporarily freeze enemies and can be uprooted only after you pluck four identical vegetables; red Koopa shells (one of the references to "true" Mario games) that plow through all the enemies in their path; 1-Up Mushrooms, which, as you probably know, grant you an extra life; and best (and rarest) of all, magic potions, that, when thrown, create a door that brings you to a silhouetted secret area, a mirrored version of the place you entered the door (a remix of the Super Mario Bros. ground theme even plays in these areas). You can uproot, coins that will be used in the end of stage slot-machine bonus game, collect mushrooms that add a life mark to your health display (a concept that has been carried to future games in the series), and enter underground areas via vases, some of warp you to farther worlds when a potion is used on them. Now, when it comes to enemies, there's a heck of a lot more variety than in the first Super Mario Bros., but just know they're not "true" Mario characters, because they're all from Dream Factory. The end-of-stage boss battles lack variety, however. The end-of-stage boss seems to always be the egg-spitting dinosaur, Ostro, who we now know as Birdo (not named after the enemy of the same, I don't think), while the world's final bosses have far more variety. They include Mouser, a bomb-tossing rodent, Triclyde, a three-headed snake, Clawglip, a gigantic, boulder-tossing crab, Fryguy, a massive floating fireball, and of course, Wart. And, just like most old-school Mario games, it's hard. Trust me, if you want to live through the next stage, try your hardest to win the bonus game and get five-life bonus. Although it's not truly a Mario game, I respect Super Mario Bros. 2 for what it is.
Ups
Four characters to play
Variety of power-ups
Creative bosses
Downs
Not a "true" Mario game
Very difficult
ESRB: E Content: ??? Price: $5.00 (Wii ) / $4.99 (3DS) (Download)
