Super Mario Bros 2 review

Super Mario Bros 2 was first released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988 (1989 in Europe). It was the long awaited sequel to the revolutionary Super Mario Bros (1985 or 1987 in Europe). It's gameplay differs quite a lot from the first game, but does different necessarily mean bad in this case?

Story

Mario dreams that he finds a staircase leading to a door, which leads him into the world of Subcon. The inhabitants have been overtaken by a giant frog dictator named Wart (who hates vegetables). After awakening the next day, Mario, along with Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad find the same door that Mario saw in his dream. Upon entering, the world of Subcon spreads before them...

It's now up to our hero's to defeat Wart and his minions, liberate Subcon and rescue it's imprisoned inhabitants.

Gameplay

Anyone who has played a side-scrolling Mario game will probably know that the gameplay is all about running, jumping and stomping on enemies. However the gameplay of Super Mario Bros 2 is quite a bit different from this standard formula. It requires you to pluck vegetables out of the ground and throw them at your enemies to defeat them, or alternatively pick up enemies by standing on top of them and then throwing them at other enemies. As well as plucking vegetables from the ground you'll also be able to pull special items such as 1-up mushrooms, koopa shells and magic potions. These potions can be used to access sub-space via the doors they create. Whist in sub-space, you can collect coins to use in a bonus game at the end of a level, and mushrooms which give you extra health. Collecting five cherries will cause a starman to appear which retains it's use of granting temporal invincibilty. Defeating lots of enemies will eventually cause a heart to float onto the screen, which can be used to replenish lost health.
This quirky style gives Mario 2 a wonderfully unique feel and while some may not like it, I personally love it.

Another unique feature of Mario 2's gameplay is the choice to play as one of four characters. Each has his or her own special attributes, which adds alot of replay value to the levels; you can experience them a different way with each character. Mario is the standard all rounder, with average jumping, strength and speed. Luigi (my personal favourite) can jump higher than anyone else, but he is a bit weaker than Mario. Princess Peach (or Toadstool as she was called at the time) can float for a few seconds, but she is slower and weaker. Toad can pull items from the ground faster than anyone else, and can also run the fastest whilst carrying items; his jump however is the worst overall. Everyone should be able to find a character that suits their play- style and the levels are designed in such a way, that you'll always be able to find the right character for the job.

The controls for Mario 2 are very simple; the d-pad controls your movement, the B button lets you run while walking and also lets you pull items from the ground and throw them, whilst the A button lets you jump. The controls are as simple as they come and have a free but responsive feel.

Audio

Mario 2's music is bright, cheerful, energetic and a joy to listen to. There aren't many songs in the game, but alot of heart and soul has been put into composing what is there. The overworld theme is fittingly happy to go with the bright outdoor environments of Subcon, whilst the catchy underground theme fits the darker, but lively action of the enemy infested caves. The starman theme has even gained a cool bongo drum beat.
Koji Kondo delivers yet another one of his many, many great soundtracks.

Visuals

The graphics are very bright and colourful and are a very nice example of what the NES can do. The animations of the four playable characters are very well done and they do a good job emphasising their personality traits, especially Luigi. The roots by which the vegetables are plucked sway in the breeze, and the whole thing feels very alive visually.

Negative

One little nitpick I have with this game, is that when you have collected your five cherries or defeated enough enemies to earn your starman or heart, it will sometimes appear in a completely inaccessible area like a solid wall, which can be annoying when you are desperately trying to survive a tough stage.

History

I'm not going to go on too much about this, as a lot of people know about it anyway, but Mario 2 was originally a Famicom Disk System title exclusive to Japan called Yume Kojo; Doki Doki Panic created by Shigeru Miyamoto. When the Japanese Mario 2 (known outside of Japan as The Lost Levels) was deemed too frustratingly difficult for Western audience, as well as not being much of a step up from the first Super Mario Bros gameplay- wise, Nintendo decided to modify Miyamoto's own Doki Doki Panic by replacing the original playable character sprites with Mario characters, changing a couple of items and music cues, and adding the abilty to run. This was then sold in the West as Super Mario Bros 2.
Despite this backstory, I don't think you should let it taint your view of this game. I personally think it was a very smart desicion, and not only did we get a great game, but many staples in the Mario series today would not be there without it, such as Birdos, Shy-guys and Bob-ombs.

Overall

Super Mario Bros 2 is a true Nintendo classic, with wonderfully unique gameplay, free but responsive controls, a lot of replay value and a catchy soundtrack to boot.
I highly reccomend you download it from the Wii Virtual Console for 500 Wii points and experience this quirky but amazingly fun game.

9.1/10