Super Mario Bros 2 Review

Let’s review a video game today. I will get back to other objectives later, but for now, I just wanted to take you through my thoughts on one of my favorite video games of all time. I am of course talking about the blacksheep of the Super Mario Bros. series, Super Mario Bros. 2.

Before I begin, I will give you a little back story for the game. Would you believe that this game isn’t even a Mario game at all? It was originally a game released in Japan called Yume Kojo Dokki Doki Panic, a game about four characters, Papa Imajin, Lina and Mama going into a storybook to rescue the children from the evil Mamu. Because Shigeru Miyamoto spent so much time with this game than the original Super Mario Bros. 2 (Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels from All Stars), which was only released in Japan, he decided to redesign the game into a Mario game, retitled in America as Super Mario Bros. 2.  So, in a matter of speaking, Super Mario Bros. 2 isn’t even a Mario game, and not even the real Super Mario Bros. 2. But what difference does it make? Absolutely nothing, because fans enjoy the game anyway.

So to start off, we do not only play as Mario and Luigi, we can play as Princess Toadstool and Toad as well. What also makes this game different is that there is no King Bowser, or any of minions, like Koopa Troopas, Goombas, or Lakitu. Instead we get new enemies like Shy Guys, Birdos, Hawkmouths, and a new arch-nemesis, Wart. The object of the game is to jump on your enemies and lift them up and proceed to throwing them at other enemies. Sometimes you must jump on other enemies to proceed to the next level. Unlike the other Mario games, you do not collect coins or get power up mushrooms, you instead must collect items such as cherries and door potions in order to get material that will help you throughout the game. Sometimes you must use bombs and POW bricks in order to get to one area to the other.

At the end of each world, you must confront a boss. The bosses include Mouser, Tryclyde and Fryguy. You will also confront a Birdo at the end of each level. Each end level you play, the Birdos get harder and harder, and I had to battle a couple of Birdos a number of times in order to knock them son of a guns into oblivion. But an enemy that really ticks me off are the Hoopsters. Everytime you climb up a wire or a beanstalk, you will run into many of these nuisance of creatures. But hey, I am a guy that likes challenge so I’m not really complaining much. The final boss, Wart is pretty simple. All you must do is throw vegetables into Wart’s open mouth, so he can turn to stone and fall to his demise. I guess that’s why most kids these days won’t eat their vegetables.

Despite all of it’s differences with enemies and gameplay, Super Mario Bros. 2 also has differences with graphics. This is the first Mario game that really distinguishes Luigi from Mario, making him taller and leaner. The characters also have different powers. Mario basically has the same powers he had in Super Mario Bros., Luigi can jump the highest,  Princess Peach can hover in the air for several moments, and Toad is the fastest of the four. And from my perspective, it seems that you need a certain character for certain levels, or you may not suceed. The best character to use in digging levels is Toad because he can dig much faster and quicker than any other character. But despite their differences, any of the characters are fine when it comes to avoid rivals.

In conclusion, Super Mario Bros. 2 is a great game, and perhaps one of the best Mario games of all time. People may say

Oooh, this game stinks, I don’t like it, It’s stupid! I wanna play Zelda!

Well, all I can say is screw that! This game is excellent, something unique and divergent from all the other Mario games. If you are tired of stomping on Goombas and Koopa Troopas and collecting coins in the hard core Mario games, play this one. It’s the most challenging, the most different, and the most fun of the series in my opinion. The first one is the best, the third one is right up there, and this game stands out as joyride and the most chromatic of the whole series. If you want a game that is 100% different than it’s companions, Super Mario Bros. 2 is the game to play. It will blow you away!