A playthrough of Nintendo's 1988 platformer for the NES, Super Mario Bros. 2.

The video shows the entire game without the use of warp zones.

Super Mario Bros. 2 was amazing game that completely broke away from the conventions established by the first Super Mario Bros. game. The reason it differed so much was that it is the Americanized version of Japanese disk system game that had nothing to do with Mario. Nintendo of America's Howard Phillips deemed the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 (which was eventually released in the west as "The Lost Levels" in Super Mario AllStars) likely to be both too difficult and too similar to the first game to appeal to American customers, so the company repurposed and polished up Doki Doki Panic, a disk system game also created by Nintendo's EAD team. This version of Mario 2 did make its way back to Japan years later under the name Super Mario USA, and was also later updated and rereleased as part of Super Mario AllStars on the SNES and as Super Mario Bros. Advance for on the Game Boy Advance.

The puzzle elements, character selection, and the incredibly bright graphics all made this oddity a sheer joy to play when it was new, and the game is still feels great to play these days. As a kid, I loved the exotic settings, the ability to find secrets in Subcon (the shadowy parallel dimension), and the way each level played so differently depending on who you chose to use.

It wasn't really any easier or harder than the first Super Mario Bros., but the challenge felt very different. The gameplay is much less linear, and there are some unique puzzle elements that have been thrown into the mix. I still remember as a kid how satisfied I felt when I finally figured out how to get across the huge gap at the beginning of World 12, or when I discovered the warp zone hidden in the whale stage. There was so much to find in Mario 2, and the secrets went far beyond finding hidden blocks in the background.

Mario 2 feels like a much more solid step forward than The Lost Levels was, and it's far more accessible for people of different skill levels. If felt very different from Super Mario Bros., but it was just as well made, and like its predecessor, it was a massive success.

All things said and done, I think Nintendo made the right decision. Given the choice, I'm glad that the US folks went with this instead of the first Super Mario Bros. 2. How about you guys? Which did you prefer?

Happy birthday, Mario!

You can find my video of Super Mario Bros. here:    • Super Mario Bros. (NES) Playthrough ...  

(This is a new playthrough to replace my old 480p30 video that I uploaded years ago. I played better this time, too!)
_____________
No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

NintendoComplete (http://www.nintendocomplete.com/) punches you in the face with indepth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8bit NES games!