Super Mario Bros. 2
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| Super Mario Bros. 2 | |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo EAD |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Series | Mario |
| Engine | modified Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic engine |
| Platform(s) | NES, Virtual Console |
| Release date | NES NA October, 1988 EU April 28 1989 AUS May 1989 JPN July 14 1992 Virtual Console AUS May 25, 2007 EU May 25, 2007 NA July 2, 2007 JPN August 10, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) (VC) |
| Media | 2-megabit cartridge |
Super Mario Bros. 2 (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's Virtual Console in Europe, Australia and New Zealand on May 25 2007, and in North America on July 2, 2007.
SMB2 did not begin life as a Mario title; instead, it is a remake of the Japanese Famicom Disk System title Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (DDP). 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 to the western world at that time, instead releasing DDP with Mario characters under the "Super Mario Bros. 2" label. Japan later saw the western SMB2 release in 1992 under the title of "Super Mario USA" (スーパーマリオＵＳＡ(ユーエスエー) Sūpā Mario Yū Esu Ē?). The Japanese version was released to the rest of the world as "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels" as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super NES in 1993.
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 SMB2 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.
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[edit] Gameplay
Players choose from one of the four characters each time they start or restart a level: Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach. SMB2 is the only original Mario game where Princess Peach is not the damsel-in-distress. She was also the first playable female character in a Mario game. A unique ability in this game is the "power squat"; by holding Down on the control pad for a few seconds, player characters build power for higher jumps.
One of the game's most defining aspects is the ability to pluck vegetables from the ground to throw at enemies. Unlike the other Mario games, simply jumping on enemies does not accomplish anything, outside of making the player character stand on the enemy. However, enemies can also be picked up and thrown, as well as be ridden across dangerous terrain. Enemies in SMB2 reappear even after being "killed"--this was changed in one of the remade versions of the game. Many enemies which first appeared in this game, such as Shy Guy, would also appear in later sequels and related games.
This is the first Mario game to make use of a life meter, which allows Mario and his friends to be hit as many as four times before dying. 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, and unlit "mirror-image" version of the current screen (called Sub-Space) in which the plants contain coins--used to play the slot machine-like Bonus Chance minigame at the end of each stage--rather than vegetables when uprooted. Coins can only be collected on two visits to Sub-Space per stage; on subsequent visits pulling the plants will simply yield vegetables again. The Super Mushrooms which add units to the player's life meter are also found in Sub-Space. Some vases become "warp zones" in Sub-Space, allowing the player to advance to another world (equivalent to the warp pipes in first SMB.) Players can only be in Sub-Space for a limited amount of time; while in Sub-Space, the game's music changes to a reprise of the SMB theme.
Another aspect that differentiated this game from other Mario games is that there is no time limit within the stages. In addition, this was the first Mario game where players are allowed to backtrack--in the original SMB, once the player had passed an area on screen, it could not be returned to.
[edit] Story
The plot for SMB2, according to the game's manual:
One evening, Mario had a strange dream. He dreamed 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 Sub-Con, 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 Sub-Con 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 passage containing one of Sub-Con'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, making the game itself a spin-off.
[edit] Setting
The game takes place in a new setting, Sub-Con (derived from Sigmund Freud's "subconscious"). This land is inhabited by many denizens that have since become regulars in the Mario series, such as the 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 in Worlds 2 and 6, and Flurry appears in 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 of Sub-Con apparently takes its name from the pixie-like inhabitants of this land (also called "Sub-Con") which have been captured by Wart.
Despite being a new land from a game not initially intended to be a Mario game, Sub-Con is not all that unlike the Mushroom Kingdom. Instead of brick castles and giant mushrooms, however, Sub-Con is characterized by palm trees and red-and-white vases dotting the landscape. Though it lacks any underwater stages, SMB2 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 zone vases 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.
SMB2 consists of seven "Worlds", each one containing three stages (except for World 7, 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 maze-like fortress, in contrast to the linear castles found in the first SMB.
This land has only been referenced once since SMB2; Sub-Con is the Mushroom Kingdom 2 stage in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
[edit] 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 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 - 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. Toad can also pick things up faster than anyone.
- 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 the remake Super Mario Advance, she is called "Peach" in the character selection screen and in the credits. She was referred to as "Princess" in the original version.
[edit] Development
Various Nintendo of America employees personally disliked the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, which they found to be frustratingly difficult.[citation needed] 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 western audiences.[citation needed] Although Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic was originally set in a storybook and had an Arabian theme completely unrelated to Mario, it would be modified to use sprites and music that would fit with the series.
[edit] Comparison with Doki Doki Panic
Most of the differences between DDP and SMB2 are small graphical changes, such as animation being added to the POW blocks, bomb fuses, cherries, and vegetables for the SMB2 version, Super Mushrooms replacing large hearts as life-meter increases, and the characters shrinking when reduced to only one unit of health. DDP 's save feature was also taken out of SMB2, due to the limitations of the NES compared to the Famicom Disk System (battery back-up was also very expensive at that time).
Main character switches:
- Mario → Imajin, the fearless son.
- Luigi → Mama. When depicted from the side, she almost appears to be pregnant.[citation needed]Her stomach is large, and whether she is walking or jumping, she is seen with one or both arms holding and protecting her stomach.[citation needed] 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 DDP, one must beat the entire game once with each character (i.e. four times total) to view the ending.
- The areas of the games referred to as Worlds in SMB2 are called "Chapters" in DDP.
- In DDP, players cannot change characters until they defeat an end boss of a chapter. Even if they warp to a new chapter, they remain the same character until an end boss is defeated.
- Phanto (the head that chases the player's character around when holding a key) was a passive, expressionless mask in DDP, whereas in SMB2, he has slanted eyes with an evil, mischievous grin. Furthermore, Phanto begins his pursuit only after the player character leaves Phanto's chamber in DDP, while in SMB2 he chases the character as soon as the character retrieves the key from the chamber. The "shuddering to life" sound and animation is also unique to SMB2.
- Waterfalls, especially the enormous one in level 3-1, move much more quickly in DDP. The animation was slowed down in SMB2 to reduce the risk of seizures.
- Extra lives were originally representations of the character's face in DDP as 1-Up Mushrooms are a feature specific to the Mario series. Also, in DDP, a victory jingle played when an extra life was obtained, while the "1-Up" sound was played in SMB2.
- The large hawk head at level entrances and exits in SMB2 was a large African tribal mask in DDP.
- The mushroom blocks in SMB2 were small tribal masks in DDP.
- The character select and overworld music is much shorter in DDP. SMB2 has a new section added to where the music would originally loop. The invincibility and Sub-Space music is different, and there are some minor differences in other songs (the DDP songs give an Arabian feel).
- Most sounds featured in SMB2 use the NES' synthesizer, and a number of PCM audio samples, rather than the Famicom Disk System's synthesizer used prominently in DDP. 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, Birdo shooting eggs, and the rocket.
- The potions in SMB2 were Arabian lamps in DDP. The unused sprites for the lamp were not completely removed during the conversion and can still be found in the SMB2 cartridge's memory.
- In DDP, the boss of level 5-3 is a third Mouser, who requires 7 hits to defeat. In SMB2, he is replaced by the rock throwing Clawgrip (whose name, incidentally, is misspelled as Clawglip in the game's credits).
- Albatoss's animation has seven frames in SMB2, but only two frames--making his flight appear much jerkier--in DDP.
- As holding down the "B" button to run is a feature specific to the Mario series, there is no running in DDP.
- When a bomb explodes, it says "BOM" in DDP, as opposed to "BOMB" in SMB2.
- The Bonus Chance minigame is similar in both versions, but has a much plainer green background in DDP.
- The Koopa Troopa shell used in SMB2 to kill enemies was a decapitated head in DDP.
- In SMB2, Wart requires 6 hits to defeat instead of the 4 required in DDP.
- One of the vegetables in World 7 is different. In DDP, it's a long, slender, grouchy vegetable, while on SMB2, it's a heart-shaped feminine vegetable.
- Birdo has more color variations in DDP.
[edit] Enhanced remakes
[edit] Super Mario All-Stars
SMB2 received a graphical, audio, and gameplay upgrade when it was re-released in Super Mario All-Stars for the Super NES.
Notable changes between the original NES version and the Super Mario All-Stars version include:
- In the NES version of SMB2, after losing their last life, the player can only continue twice, while in the Super Mario All-Stars version, a player can continue any number of times, because it's possible to continue from a saved game.
- In Super Mario All-Stars, the screen splits into two after the Title, Player Select, Bonus Chance, and Warp screens.
- In the Super Mario All-Stars version of the Bonus Chance game, the icons are bigger and the player can get up to 10 extra lives (as opposed to 5 in the NES version)
- In the NES version of SMB2, after the player selects a character, they must play as that character until the end of that level, while in Super Mario All-Stars, 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 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.
- Super Mario Bros. USA, together with Super Mario Bros. 2, and its Super Mario All Stars counterpart reverts Birdo as Ostro, and Ostro as Birdo (This can be evidenced in the ending, where all characters appears). However, this was corrected in future versions of the games, like Super Mario Advance.
[edit] BS Super Mario USA
There was also a remake similar to the Super Mario All-Stars version for the Satellaview in 1997 titled BS Super Mario USA. The game was released in five parts (or chapters). Like most other games released for this peripheral, this one uses a "Live Voice" feature, in which a narrator occasionally appears to give some comments and hints. This feature, as well as the game's music, could only be heard during the Satellaview's broadcasting hours.
While the game itself is largely the same, there were some new and arranged content. For instance, there is now a score. Also, at first, only Mario is playable, and depending on the time, some specific event will trigger, including the possibility to play with the other characters. Another feature is the inclusion of gold statues (ten in total for each chapter), which are hidden in several locations (including Sub-Space) that grant the player an extra life and refills the life meter. After clearing a level, the player could press "Select" to see some statistics, such as statues, coins, cherries and mushrooms collected, as well as display which bosses were defeated.
[edit] Super Mario Advance
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SMB2 received another enhanced remake as Super Mario Advance, the first Mario title for the Game Boy Advance, which also contained a remake of Mario Bros. This version was developed by Nintendo R&D2. 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).
[edit] Voice Cast
- Charles Martinet - Mario, Luigi, Mouser, Fryguy, Clawgrip, Tryclyde, Wart
- Jen Taylor - Toad, Princess Peach, Pink/Red/Green Birdo, Robirdo
[edit] Reception
Upon release, the game was 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.
[edit] Impact on popular culture
Because SMB2 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 Mario games.[4]
Even so, due to its unique style of gameplay and set in a completely different world, SMB2 has made a continuous impact on the entire Mario series. Notable examples include:
- Mouser and Wart were referenced in Super Paper Mario.
- Wart makes an appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening under his Japanese name, Mamu.
- SMB2 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, King Koopa's character looked similar to him, and 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.
- The theme song was sampled by the Ambassadors of Funk for the song Supermario USA, included on the album Super Mario Compact Disco.
- In both Animal Crossing games, a possible resident in player's villages is Wart Jr, a likely reference to Wart, one of the Bosses in SMB2.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic-The strange truth behind Super Mario Bros. 2
- Screenshot Gallery (German)
- Super Mario Bros. 2 Transmogrificator, a GPL'ed level editor for Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Nintendo Entertainment System
- BS Super Mario US
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