Super Mario Bros. 2 (often shortened as Super Mario 2 and abbreviated SMB2) is a
platforming video game developed and published by
Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment
System video game console. It was released in North America in October
1988, in Europe on April 28, 1989 and in Japan on July 14,
1992. It was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in Europe, Australia and New Zealand on May 25,
2007, and in North America on July 2, 2007.
Super Mario Bros. 2 did not begin life as a Super Mario Bros. title; it is a remake of the Japanese
Famicom Disk System title Yume Kōjō:
Doki Doki Panic. Nintendo's own sequel to Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1986. However, because of that game's extreme difficulty
and its close similarity to the original game, Nintendo decided not to release it in the United States, instead releasing Yume
Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic with Mario characters under the title of Super Mario Bros. 2. Japan later saw the
modified release under the title of Super Mario USA (スーパーマリオUSA, Sūpā Mario
Yūesuei?).
Because it was not originally a Mario title, this game differs greatly from the original Super Mario Bros.
However, despite its status as the black sheep of the series[1], many elements from Super Mario Bros. 2 have become part of the
Mario series canon and the repertoire of recurring elements. The game also sold well in its own right and was critically
acclaimed at the time.
Gameplay
Players choose from four characters each time they start or restart a level: Mario,
Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach. Each has a special ability: Luigi can jump very high, the Princess can remain temporarily
suspended in the air as if she were levitating, Toad can pick up things quickly and is very agile, and Mario is well-balanced in
all areas. This is the only original Super Mario game where Princess Peach is not the damsel-in-distress along with being the
first playable female character in a Mario game. In future Mario games in which multiple characters were playable, with the
exception of Mario Golf, Mario would always be the most balanced character. A unique
ability in this game is the "power squat"; by holding Down on the control pad for a few seconds, players could build power for
higher jumps. One of the game's most defining aspect is the ability to pluck vegetables from the ground to throw at enemies;
these vegetables reappear in Super Smash Bros. Melee as one of Peach's
special attacks.
Most enemies are defeated by throwing vegetables and other items which the character plucks from the ground. Unlike other
Mario games, simply jumping on enemies does not accomplish anything. In fact jumping on an enemy may do more harm than good, as
with certain enemies in other games. Most enemies may also be picked up and thrown. Enemies would reappear even after being
killed; however, this gameplay aspect was changed for the Super Mario Advance
version. Many enemies which first appeared in this game, such as Shy Guy,
would appear in later sequels and related games.
This is the first Mario game to make use of a life meter, which initially has two units but can be extended to four through
the collection of Mushrooms. This allows Mario and his friends to be hit more than two times before dying.
Many power-ups and items from the original game make appearances here, often serving similar functions in slightly different
ways. For example, mushrooms collected add units to the life meter, and coins are used to play the Bonus Chance minigame after
each level which grants the player up to five extra lives at a time based on different combinations of symbols.
New power-ups and items also appear in this game. Potions, which are pulled up from the ground like vegetables, can be dropped
to make a door appear. This door leads to a non-scrolling, enemy-free, un-lit "mirror-image" version of the current screen
(called Sub-Space) in which plants contain coins when uprooted. Coins can only be collected on two visits to Sub-Space per stage,
after which plants will simply yield vegetables. For each coin collected while in Sub-Space, the player will get a chance to earn
extra lives in the Bonus Chance upon completing each level. In addition, if the door is created in specific areas within a level,
the player will discover mushrooms which will add one unit to the player's life meter. Some jars, which are this game's
equivalent to the warp pipes in Super Mario Bros., also become "warp zones" in Sub-Space, allowing the player to advance
to another world. Players can only enter Sub-Space for a limited amount of time; while in Sub-Space, the game's music changes to
a reprise of the original Super Mario Bros. theme.
Another aspect that differentiates this game from other contemporary Mario games is the fact that there is no time limit
within the stages. In addition to this, players are allowed to back track. The frame will move left and right to follow the
player, unlike this game's predecessor, Super Mario Bros., in which once the player had passed an area of the map, it
could not be returned to.
Story
The plot for Super Mario Bros. 2, according to the game's manual:
One evening, Mario had a strange dream. He dreamt of a long, long stairway leading up to a door. As soon as the door
opened, he was confronted with a world he had never seen before, spreading out as far as his eyes could see. When he strained his
ears to listen, he heard a faint voice saying "Welcome to 'Subcon', the land of dreams. We have been cursed by Wart and we are
completely under his evil spell. We have been awaiting your arrival. Please defeat Wart and return Subcon to its natural state.
The curse Wart has put on you in the real world will not have any effect upon you here. Remember, Wart hates vegetables. Please
help us!"
At the same time this was heard, a bolt of lightning flashed before Mario's eyes. Stunned, Mario lost his footing and
tumbled upside down. He awoke with a start to find himself sitting up in his bed. To clear his head, Mario talked to Luigi, Toad
and the Princess about the strange dream he had. They decide to go to a nearby mountain for a picnic. After arriving at the
picnic area and looking at the scenery, they see a small cave nearby. When they enter this cave, to their great surprise, there's
a stairway leading up, up and up. It is exactly like the one Mario saw in his dream. They all walk together up the stairs and at
the top, find a door just like the one in Mario's dream. When Mario and his friends, in fear, open the door, to their surprise,
the world that he saw in his dream spreads out before them!
In the end, Mario and his friends trounce Wart and open a secret room containing one
of Subcon's characteristic vases. After pulling a stubborn cork from the mouth of the vase, eight
red fairies spring out. The four heroes are lauded for defeating Wart, whose beaten body is passed
over the crowd and tossed aside. Immediately after, the screen shows Mario snoring, indicating that the entire adventure had been
a dream.
Setting
The game takes place in a new setting, "Subcon" (derived from Freud's 'subconscious'). This land is inhabited by many denizens that have since become regulars in the Mario
series, such as Shy Guys and Snifits. Pidgit appears on Worlds
1-2, 3-1, and 5-3. Ostro appears on Worlds 3 and 5 (except for 3-1 and 5-3). Cobrat and Pokey both appear on Worlds 2 and 6, and
Flurry appears on World 4. This game also introduces many game-exclusive bosses, such as Pink Birdo (boss of Worlds 1-1, 1-2, and 2-1, and an appearing Birdo on World 4-3), Green
Birdo (boss of Worlds 5-1, 6-1, 6-2, and 7-1), Red Birdo (boss of Worlds 2-2, 3-1, 3-2, 4-2, 5-2, 5-3, and 6-3 and an appearing
Birdo on World 7-2), Mouser (boss of Worlds 1 and 3), Fryguy (boss of World 4), Clawgrip (boss of World 5), Tryclyde (boss of Worlds 2 and 6), and most notably Wart (the final boss). The land apparently (in the game) takes its name from the
pixie-like inhabitants of this land (also called "Subcon") which have been captured by Wart.
Despite being a new, supposedly unrelated land from a game not initially intended to be a Mario game, Subcon is not all
that unlike the Mushroom Kingdom. Instead of brick castles and giant mushrooms,
however, Subcon is characterized by palm trees and red-and-white vases dotting the landscape. Though it lacks any underwater
stages, Super Mario Bros. 2 introduces other concepts to the series — like grassy platforms on Worlds 1, 3, and 5 complete
with waterfalls, desert stages on Worlds 2 and 6 complete with
quicksand and ice stages on World 4. Level 3-1 is notable for taking place against an enormous
waterfall which the heroes must ascend. Warp pipes on World 1-3 lead to World 4, World 3-1 to World 5, World 4-2 to World 6, and
World 5-3 to World 7.
Super Mario Bros. 2 consists of seven "worlds", each one containing three stages except for the last, which only has
two. Levels progress in a linear fashion, though the ability to
backtrack (as mentioned above) plays a big part in some stages, including vertically-scrolling areas. Thus, many levels have
sequences involving climbing or descending long distances, and the final level in particular is a large and mazelike fortress, in
contrast to the linear Castles in Super Mario Bros.
This land has never made an appearance since Super Mario Bros. 2, but several enemies appear in other games, such as Birdos
and Pidgits. The most recent reference to Subcon was the Super Smash Bros. Melee stage Mushroom Kingdom II.
Playable characters
There are four playable characters in the game, each with a score of 1-5 stars for speed, jump and power.
- Mario - Mario is the balanced character, and is thus the most user friendly of the four
characters. All three stats (jump, speed and power) are at four stars.
- Luigi - Luigi has the best jump of the lot, with a five in that category, while his speed and
power are only a three. The movement control of Luigi is also very touchy.
- Toad - Both Toad's speed and power are higher than anyone's, with a
five in both categories. However, he is the worst jumper of the four, with only a two in that category.
- Princess Peach - The Princess does not excel in speed or power, with a two for both,
while her jump is only a three. However, she has the ability to float in the air for a couple of seconds, making her jumping
skills superior for horizontal jumps. In "Super Mario Advance," she is named Peach in the character selection screen, when she
was referred to as "Princess" on the Contributor Screen and in the Credits in the NES standalone and in Super Mario
All-Stars.
Development
The reason that the Japanese and English versions of Super Mario Bros. 2 are so unusual is that it was created by
making small changes to a Japanese game called Dream Factory: Yume Kōjō: Doki
Doki Panic. Various Nintendo of America employees personally disliked the original Japanese Super Mario Bros.
2, which they found to be frustratingly difficult. Believing such a game would likely sell poorly in the United States, they
wanted to release a different sequel they thought would be friendlier to English audiences. Although Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki
Panic was originally set in a storybook and had an Arabian theme completely unrelated to Mario, it was modified to use
sprites and music that would fit with the series.
The NTSC/PAL version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was eventually released in Japan for the Nintendo Family Computer under the name Super Mario USA. It was also released as
part of the Super Mario Collection in Japan, while outside of Japan it was known as Super Mario All-Stars.
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic comparison
Equivalent scene in Super Mario Bros. 2.
Papa fighting the third version of Mouser.
Most of the other differences between Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2 are small graphical
changes, such as animation being added to the POW blocks, bomb fuses, cherries, and
vegetables for the localized version, mushrooms replacing hearts as health boosters, and the
characters shrinking when reduced to only one unit of health. The save feature was also taken out of the NES version of Super
Mario Bros. 2, due to the limitations of the NES compared to the Famicom Disk System (battery-backup was also very
expensive). It was restored in the Super Mario Collection/Super Mario
All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 2.
Main character switches:
- Mario → Imajin, the fearless son.
- Luigi → Mama. When depicted from the side, she is seen as pregnant. Her stomach is large, and whether she is walking or
jumping, she is seen with one or both arms holding and protecting her stomach. She doesn't, however, kick her feet when jumping
as Luigi does.
- Toad → Papa.
- Princess → Lina, the little sister.
All abilities of the characters remain the same.
Other changes include:
- In Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, one must beat the entire game once with each character (four times, that is) to view
the ending.
- In Doki Doki Panic, you cannot change characters until you defeat an end boss of a chapter. Even if you warp to a new
chapter, you remain the same character until an end boss is defeated.
- In the manual that comes with the original NES cartridge for Super
Mario Bros. 2, Phanto (the head that chases the player's character around when holding a key) looks a little different.
Nintendo inadvertently placed a screenshot of its appearance in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. Originally, he was a passive,
expressionless mask, whereas in Super Mario Bros. 2, he has slanted eyes with an evil, mischievous grin.
- Furthermore, Phanto begins its pursuit only after the character leaves Phanto's chamber, unlike Super Mario Bros. 2,
in which it chases the character once the character retrieves the key from the chamber. The "shuddering to life" sound and
animation is unique to Super Mario Bros. 2
- Waterfalls, especially the enormous one in level 3-1, move much more quickly in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic.
- Extra lives were originally representations of the character's face; 1-Up mushrooms are a
feature specific to the Mario series. The traditional "1-UP sound" was originally the short tune played when you pick up a
crystal ball or earn an extra life playing the slot machine.
- The large hawk head at level entrances and exits was originally a large African tribal mask.
- The mushroom blocks were originally small tribal masks which closely resembled the painted faces of the band members of
Kiss (band).
- The character select and overworld music is much shorter in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. Super Mario Bros. 2 has
a new section added to where the music would originally loop.
- In Super Mario Bros. 2, the underworld music is slowed down and has an added drum sample.
- Invincibility and sub-space music is different, and there are some minor differences in other songs (the Yume Kōjō: Doki
Doki Panic songs give an Arabian feel).
- Most sounds featured in Super Mario Bros. 2 use the NES' synthesizer, and a number of PCM audio samples, rather than
the Famicom Disk System's synthesizer, which is used prominently in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. The changed audio includes
the sound effects for picking up and throwing objects, grabbing hearts, receiving damage, defeating enemies, bombs exploding, the
ticking of the stop watch, damaging a boss, Catherine (Birdo) shooting
eggs, and the rocket. In Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, the sound effects were mainly a combination of synthesized beeps,
tones, and screeches.
- The potions (for entering sub-space) were originally Arabian lamps. The unused sprites for the lamp were not completely
removed during the conversion and can be found in the Super Mario Bros. 2 cartridge memory.
- In Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, the boss of level 5-3 is a third Mouser, which requires
7 hits to defeat him. In Super Mario Bros. 2, the boss is replaced by the rock throwing crab Clawgrip. During the credit sequence after the game is beaten, Clawgrip is listed as ClawGlip. Likewise, the names of both Birdo and Ostro are mistakenly
switched. They are also switched in the manual.
- The Albatoss's animation has seven frames, in comparison to the two in
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic.
- Holding down "B" to run is a feature specific to the Mario series.
- When a bomb explodes, it says "BOM", as opposed to "BOMB" in Super Mario Bros. 2
- In Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, cherries, grass, vines, POW blocks, bomb fuses, spikes, seas, clouds, and crystal balls
are not animated.
- The slot machine minigame (which appears after you collect coins) is the same in both versions, but has a green background in
DDP, as opposed to the title screen variant in SMB2.
- The shell used in Super Mario Bros. 2 to kill enemies was a decapitated head in DDP.
- The story was changed for the U.S./PAL localization.
- Wart is only 6 hits instead of 7.
- One of the vegetables in Level 7 is different. On Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, there is a long, slender grouchy
vegetable, while on Super Mario Bros. 2, it was a heart shaped feminine vegetable.
- Birdo has more color variations on Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, such as greens, greys, pinks, and reds.
- Recently, the prototype was leaked into the internet. More info and this can be found here. and downloaded here[1]
- An interesting note on the Super Mario Bros. 2 prototype is that in the released version, the underground music is a
slowed down version of the underground music in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic with drumbeats added. In the prototype, the
underground music is an early rendition of the underground music from Super Mario Bros. 3. It seems they composed a new
piece for Super Mario Bros. 2, didn't like it, and went back and remixed the original. Then, when making Super Mario
Bros. 3, they remixed the unreleased track they wrote for Super Mario Bros. 2.
Enhanced remakes
The game experienced an enhanced remake on the SNES in
Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario Bros. 2 received a graphical, audio, and gameplay upgrade in Super Mario All-Stars, which in Japan is known as Super Mario Collection on the
Super NES and the Super Famicom. In the NES version, in the case of losing the last life, the player
can only continue twice. In the Super NES/Super Famicom version, a player can continue any number of times, because it was
possible to continue from a saved game. In Super Mario All-Stars, the screen splits into two after the Title Screen,
Player Select Screen, Bonus Chance Screen, and WARP WORLD 4/5/6/7 Screen. As for that slot-machine type game, the icons are
bigger in the Super NES/Super Famicom version. The player can get up to 10 extra lives in the Super NES version of Super Mario
Bros. 2, compared to getting up to 5 extra lives in the NES/Famicom version. In the NES/Famicom version of Super Mario
Bros. 2, the player can select a character and must play as that character until the end of that level. In the Super
NES/Super Famicom version, the player can select a character at the beginning of each level and after losing a life. When you
warp to another world, in the NES/Famicom version, the screen changes abruptly (due to graphical restrictions), but in Super
Mario All-Stars, the door to exit Subspace disappears and the screen blurs, fades to
the next screen, and then refocuses.
There was also a remake similar to the All-Star version for the Satellaview in 1997
titled BS Super Mario USA. There is a fan translation patch available that converts the small amount of Japanese text in
the game into English.
Super Mario Advance
Super Mario Advance box art.
Super Mario Bros. 2 received another enhanced remake as Super Mario
Advance, the first Super Mario title for the Game Boy Advance. It included several
graphic and sound enhancements in the form of enlarged sprites, multiple hit combos, and digital voice acting. Two notable
additions are the new character, Robirdo, a robotic Birdo who acts as the boss of the third world, and the Yoshi Challenge, which encourages players to revisit stages and search for Yoshi eggs.
Nintendo's decision to choose it as the Game Boy Advance launch game was seen by some as misguided; GameSpot in particular
thought that Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World would have been a far better choice for a launch title considering their
popularity.[2] (Both of those titles would eventually be
remade as part of the Advance series.) However, IGN praised the choice, calling it "one of the most polished and creative
platformers of the era." [3] Nonetheless, it was a
best-selling launch game, showing that the game still appealed to Nintendo fans. Recently, the
game has become part of the Player's Choice lineup for Game Boy Advance as one of the
system's first 3 Player's Choice games (along with Mario & Luigi:
Superstar Saga and Super Mario Advance 3).
Reception
Upon release, the game was very highly successful, and currently stands as the third highest selling game ever released on the
Nintendo Entertainment System, with over 10 million copies sold. Only the original Super Mario Bros, at 40 million, and Super
Mario Brothers 3, at 18 million, sold more on the original NES.
Impact on popular culture
This homage to
Super Mario Bros. 2 appeared in
Super Smash Bros. Melee in the form of a playable stage.
The game is highly unusual in the Mario canon, mostly because of its roots as a separately released non-Mario title. Because
it differed so much in the game mechanics and overall feel of the Mario series, some gamers and professional critics have come to
regard SMB2 as the "black sheep" of the three Super Mario Bros. games[4]
Even so, due to its unique style of gameplay and set in a completely different world, Super Mario Bros. 2 has made a
continuous impact on the entire Super Mario Bros. series. Notable examples include:
Super Mario Bros. 2 has also been referenced in a variety of non-video-game media featuring Mario:
- Many elements, enemies, and sounds from the game showed up regularly on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show cartoon episodes. Although Wart did not make an
appearance, it must be noted that King Koopa's character looked surprisingly similar to him. It is also noted that Princess
Toadstool's (Peach) red hair color and lack of white gloves in the game sprites may have influenced her cartoon design.
- The game's elements were utilized generously in the Super Mario Bros. comic books, published as part of the Nintendo Comics System by Valiant Comics
- Snifits and a Bob-omb were featured in the Super Mario Bros. movie.
References to other creatures originating from Super Mario Bros. 2, such as Ostro and Fryguy, can also be found in the
film.
See also
References
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
