Super Mario Bros. 2

aka: Mario 2, SMB 2, Super Mario USA
Moby ID: 7299
NES Specs
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Description official descriptions

This release of Super Mario Bros. 2 is completely different from its original Japanese counterpart, originating in the West and being in fact a version of Yume Kōjō: Dokidoki Panic with a different storyline and protagonists swapped for Mario and his friends.

One night Mario has a strange dream, where he opens a door to another world filled with even stranger creatures and lands than those in his last adventure against Bowser. Amazingly, the next day, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and the Princess stumble upon a cave, which leads to the world that was in Mario's dream.

Subcon, the land of dreams, is under an evil spell thanks to Wart, so Mario and the gang must save the day. New creatures to defeat and plenty of nasty surprises await.

Choose from the four characters, each differing in speed and jumping ability, and head on through 7 levels each filled with puzzles, bosses, bonus coins, the always helpful mushroom, and invincible star, plus bombs and magic potions. After each level, depending on the coins you collect, you can use them in the bonus game to collect extra lives.

Spellings

  • Super Mario Brothers 2 - Alternate spelling
  • スーパーマリオUSA - Japanese spelling

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Credits (NES version)

15 People

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Producer
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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 86% (based on 39 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 195 ratings with 5 reviews)

Great game, but why did Nintendo keep us in the dark

The Good
A very good game, lots of sound, easy to beat. Good graphically and sounding. A good original and a good keeper.

The Bad
This game is a fake Mario game, as it is originally Doki Doki Panic in Japan, which is a totally different story and concept. The Japanese game is much harder, as you can not run and go through some of the loopholes there are in the American version. Every player has to beat the game, not just 4 beating it once.

Nintendo kept us in the dark about the fact that they released Super Mario 2 in 1986 when it was released as a Mario game. They kept it in Japan because it was too hard for us. I think it was a little too late when they compiled it in Super Mario All-Stars.

The Bottom Line
Its good, dont let my feelings towards Nintendo's Japan Vs. American marketing and their point of view that Japanese kids are smarter get in the way.

NES · by Scott G (765) · 2006

Is it Mario or Doki Doki Panic, and who really cares?

The Good
There are two different versions of Super Mario Bros. 2 that exist. The version released in Japan looks and plays like its predecessor, and new mechanics were introduced. The one for American audiences, however, was actually based on Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic for the Famicom Disk System. Nintendo's headquarters in Japan said their own SMB2 would be too difficult for American consumers, so they ordered Nintendo of America to replace all four characters of a popular show on Fuji Television with characters from the Mario universe, and leave the rest intact.

The story is already explained in the game, so I won't go into it in detail here. Four characters that made their appearances in the first game find themselves in a strange land controlled by Wart, an evil being who has placed a spell on Subcon. It is up to Mario and the gang to defeat Wart and restore Subcon to its former glory. The characters have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, and switching between them provide some variation to the game.

SMB2 introduces new gameplay mechanics that more or less get re-introduced into future games. Mario's ground-pounding attack is replaced with the ability to lift vegetables from the ground and use them to knock enemies off the screen; and during the course of the game, your character can ride magic carpets and other enemies. You can also enter Sub-space, a mirror image of what you see on screen before you enter, where you can lift plants up to get coins needed for a gambling game at the end of each stage. My favorite mechanic is throwing eggs back at Birdo after she spits them at you. (Later, it is even necessary to ride one of these eggs over a series of hazards.)

There are seven worlds that Mario and Co. must traverse through, and each of them is set in a specific location. Each of the locations brings about many challenges that you must deal with. World 4, for instance, is set in snowy areas, so your character needs to navigate icy surfaces., as well as getting onto a sprout of water from a whale that you can reach a platform. No matter which world it is, the scenery looks excellent. I like the waterfall in World 1, as well as the falling logs directly in front of it. A common occurrence in SMB2 are locked doors, but carrying a key causes an evil being called Phanto to hunt you down as long as you are carrying it.

The memorable soundtrack reflects the environment you're in, with a specific soundtrack used for indoor and outdoor areas. Every tune sounds much better than Doki Doki Panic thanks to the NES's own synthesizer. I was impressed by the short melody that plays in the caves, consisting of what sounds like drums. The sound is excellent as well, as they consist of PCM audio samples; most of them are new, while others are similar to the sound effects in the first game.

The replayability of the game is quite high. The stages can be replayed with different characters, but unless you are using an emulator that supports save states, this means restarting the game. Also, chapter seven presents several ways of reaching Wart, so it's worth playing the game again anyway. Multiple routes through the game was re-introduced in Super Mario World.

The Bad
Besides SMB2 being virtually a non-Mario game? I can't think of anything.

The Bottom Line
In conclusion, SMB2 is totally different to its predecessor. The real sequel wasn't released in America due to the high level of difficulty. What audiences got instead was a version of Doki Doki Panic, which is slightly modified so that it was suitable for American audiences. But back when it was released, people had no idea that the actual sequel was only released in Japan. Nevertheless, American SMB2 is great fun. The graphics and sound is excellent, and the use of multiple characters and routes throughout the game ensures that the game can be played more than once. If you want to play the actual sequel, you need to either use an emulator or hunt down a Famicon, along with the Disk System add-on.

NES · by Katakis | カタキス (43092) · 2015

One of the all-time greatest Mario games

The Good
I liked virtually everything about Mario 2. I honestly could not have lusted for any NES game more than I ever did for Mario 2! Everything today is still so colorful, so wacky, so fun. The Land of Dreams is a very real place to me, and this game will always have an eternal place in my heart as being "that Mario game". The one that hooked me, converted me to Mario-ism, and made me a fan for life.

The Bad
This game has no flaws. None whatsoever. People who complain about how Doki Doki Panic had its graphics change, and therefore this isn't a real Mario game, need to get a life.

Mario is what Mario is. As far as I'm concerned, there are two Super Mario Brothers 2 video games, and I love this one even more than the other. :)

The Bottom Line
Brilliant.

Mind-blowingly brilliant. If you can't have fun playing this game, do yourself a favor and quit playing video games. How miserable it would be to always be waiting for that "one game" to arrive, the game that would be the most you've ever had, when really such incredible fun could only be found in a game as simple as this one is.

NES · by Matthew Broussard (6) · 2004

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The NES version of Super Mario Bros. 2 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Bosses

Super Mario Bros. 2 replaced Doki Doki Panic's third Mouser boss with a rock-tossing giant crab called Clawgrip.

However, Clawgrip's name is spelled wrong in the SMB2 credits (it's spelled as "Clawglip"). Interestingly enough, this small flub was not fixed in Super Mario All-Stars!

Cover

The picture used on the cover incorrectly has Mario's shirt as blue and his dungarees as red! This mistake is just on the cover art as Mario's in-game color scheme is the correct blue dungarees/red shirt.

Influence

Though not originally designed as a Mario game, the further Mario games used many elements from this game, mostly enemies. Shyguy, Bob-omb, and Pokey are notable examples.

Mario and Luigi

By inheriting attributes from the Doki Doki Panic characters they replaced, the appearance of Mario and Luigi are differentiated by more than a palette swap for the first time in this game. Though they were again palette swaps in some later games, Super Mario Bros. 2 set the precedent for Mario to be the shorter brother and for Luigi to be lanky.

Release history

The Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 was an updated version of the original title, complete with harder levels and new enemies. The US SMB2 was a conversion of the Nintendo title, Dream Factory: Doki Doki Panic, simply replacing the characters in that game with character from the Mario universe.

Nintendo later released the Japanese SMB2 in the US (titled Super Mario Bros. : The Lost Levels) as part of the compilation title, Super Mario All-Stars, on the Super Nintendo (SNES).

Japan gamers would also receive the US version of Super Mario Bros. 2, released as Super Mario USA in 1992.

Awards

  • EGM
    • February 2006 (Issue #200) - #108 in the "Greatest Games of Their Time" list
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #30 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • Power Play
    • Issue 01/1990 - #2 Best Nintendo Game in 1989

Information also contributed by Big John WV and j.jones, Joshua J. Slone, MegaMegaMan, PCGamer77, WWWWolf

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Kartanym.

Arcade, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS added by Michael Cassidy. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. Wii added by gamewarrior.

Additional contributors: PCGamer77, Exodia85, gamewarrior, Andrew Shepard, MegamanX64, Patrick Bregger, TJ Liebgott, Thomas Thompson, FatherJack.

Game added September 28, 2002. Last modified March 27, 2024.