Let's talk about Super Mario Bros 2

[figgler]

This game's been on my mind lately, and I finished it again on Saturday.

Part of why I love it is because it's one of Nintendo's experimental sequels, you know where part 2 is so drastically different from the first, yet just as great, like Zelda 2 and Donkey Kong Jr and 3 (not so much). Developers, it seems to me, don't try this very often any longer

 

So, I had a great time with SMB 2 for the first time in a good 6 or 7 years. I intended to play straight through, but took the warp in world 3 to 5 by mistake .

I've pretty much mastered the slot machine and was regularly cashing in coins for lots of lives. Think I finished with about 30 and I died at Wart 10 times!

It's cliche, but this is truly a fine game for a Satruday afternoon.

[rogueleader]

This game's been on my mind lately, and I finished it again on Saturday.  

Part of why I love it is because it's one of Nintendo's experimental sequels, you know where part 2 is so drastically different from the first.

 

The reason it was so different from the first is that it originally wasn't even a Mario game. What it's original title was I can't recall, but Nintendo wanted a new title in a hurry so they just took a game they were already developing and put Mario in it.

[StanJr]

yep, I love it. Don't care that its just Dokey Dokey Panic with new skins. Great game, great game play, and a great way to spend a couple of hours.

 

Yeah, I too mastered the slot machine and racked up TONS of lives. More fun to play that way, no pressure. I also try to beat Wart the backwards way, rather than the traditional way, its a bit tougher.

 

Great game!

[shep]

This game's been on my mind lately, and I finished it again on Saturday.  

Part of why I love it is because it's one of Nintendo's experimental sequels, you know where part 2 is so drastically different from the first, yet just as great, like Zelda 2 and Donkey Kong Jr and 3 (not so much).  Developers, it seems to me, don't try this very often any longer    

 

So, I had a great time with SMB 2 for the first time in a good 6 or 7 years.  I intended to play straight through, but took the warp in world 3 to 5 by mistake   .  

I've pretty much mastered the slot machine and was regularly cashing in coins for lots of lives.  Think I finished with about 30 and I died at Wart 10 times!  

It's cliche, but this is truly a fine game for a Satruday afternoon.

 

Wow Figgler, being the Nintendo fanboy you are I can't beleive you havn't played the real Mario 2...and didn't even know this is Dokey Dokey Panic.

[J.Max]

I love Super Mario 2. I wish they had made more games with that pick up and throw play mechanic. I don't think Doki Doki Panic ever got a real sequel though.

[Bratwurst]

Super Mario 2 was the reason I got a Nintendo NES back in the 80s.

[keilbaca]

I got the japanese SMB2

 

If you ever played SMB Lost Levels, its really the japanese SMB2. Its quite challenging in fact...

[+kisrael]

Wow Figgler, being the Nintendo fanboy you are I can't beleive you havn't played the real Mario 2...and didn't even know this is Dokey Dokey Panic.

Heh...and I can't believe you'd correct Figgler but get the name wrong...it's almost always given as "Doki Doki Panic" not "Dokey Dokey". Here's a interesting page on the switch (great site, btw)

 

It was the first console game since 2600 Battlezone to impress me with its graphics...Mario and company were really much more detailed than in the first SMB, it really looked like a cartoon to me.

 

I loved the ending when I finally saw it, even if it was just a "it's all a dream" thing.

 

Never did get the hang of the roulette. What's the secret?

 

I love what they did with the pause screen, how everything but the bassline stops...in fact, the pause music when fighting a boss sounds a lot like what I ended up with as the title music to JoustPong/FlapPing, though that was inspired by a badly tuned toy ukulele...

[NE146]

I had the jap SMB 2 (bootleg cart) for play on my bootleg Famicom before the U.S. SMB2 was a gleam in most peoples eyes That being said.. I was dumbfounded when I played it at it's difficulty.

 

It still being the non-information age 80's and having a bootleg cart, I didn't get any explanation as to why the heck a mushroom would kill poor mario To this day I have not beaten it in any form

 

I did love U.S. SMB2 when it came out though

[shep]

Wow Figgler, being the Nintendo fanboy you are I can't beleive you havn't played the real Mario 2...and didn't even know this is Dokey Dokey Panic.

Heh...and I can't believe you'd correct Figgler but get the name wrong...it's almost always given as "Doki Doki Panic" not "Dokey Dokey". Here's a interesting page on the switch (great site, btw)

 

It was the first console game since 2600 Battlezone to impress me with its graphics...Mario and company were really much more detailed than in the first SMB, it really looked like a cartoon to me.

 

I loved the ending when I finally saw it, even if it was just a "it's all a dream" thing.

 

Never did get the hang of the roulette. What's the secret?

 

I love what they did with the pause screen, how everything but the bassline stops...in fact, the pause music when fighting a boss sounds a lot like what I ended up with as the title music to JoustPong/FlapPing, though that was inspired by a badly tuned toy ukulele...

 

When I read Stan's post I just figured I'd been spelling it wrong all these years. I guess I should have just did my research.

[Xot]

 

Never did get the hang of the roulette. What's the secret?

 

 

It's all in the timing, my man. The cherries always come up first, so if you hit the button about 1/3 of a second after the wheels start spinning, you get the first cherry (1up). After that, the wheels are offset by exactly one item each, so if you hit the button a second and third time EXACTLY the same amount of time apart, you'll get the same item three times in a row. Combine the two techniques and you can get 5ups every time.

[figgler]

Wow Figgler, being the Nintendo fanboy you are I can't beleive you havn't played the real Mario 2...and didn't even know this is Dokey Dokey Panic.

 

Egg on face. Yeah I did know that mario 2 is Doki Doki (or how ever you spell it) and as for the "real" Mario 2 or Lost Levels, I actually assembled my own NES version and sold it here at AA. http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.p...ght=lost+levels

But my comments about it being a black sheep sequel hold up I think. Even if it was a Japanese title before, Nintendo sure took a risk and released something pretty different from the original, which is part of it's charm and also part of why I prefer it to LL.

 

Now that I think about it, a lot of modern Mario games showcase Birdo, Shyguys and such, so don't the Japanese gamers wonder who the hell these characters are, or what Birdo from Doki is doing in Mario Kart? hmmm...

[J.Max]

Now that I think about it, a lot of modern Mario games showcase Birdo, Shyguys and such, so don't the Japanese gamers wonder who the hell these characters are, or what Birdo from Doki is doing in Mario Kart? hmmm...

 

They released Super Mario 2 in Japan under the name "Super Mario 2 USA". Since Doki Doki Panic was a Famicom Disc Game, I have a feeling more people there have played that version than Doki Doki Panic.

[Crimefighter]

I had the jap SMB 2 (bootleg cart) for play on my bootleg Famicom before the U.S. SMB2 was a gleam in most peoples eyes  That being said.. I was dumbfounded when I played it at it's difficulty.

 

It still being the non-information age 80's and having a bootleg cart, I didn't get any explanation as to why the heck a mushroom would kill poor mario. To this day I have not beaten it in any form  

 

It was poisonous...

 

It took a while but I beat the SNES version of it the long way.

[jeepnut24]

Ive never played SMB2, but the NES is in the mail and that will be one of the first titles Ill get....

 

 

We got a PC instead of a NES....

[+kisrael]

But my comments about it being a black sheep sequel hold up I think.  Even if it was a Japanese title before, Nintendo sure took a risk and released something pretty different from the original, which is part of it's charm and also part of why I prefer it to LL.  

It's a good point. And Zelda 2 was the only Zelda I beat 'til Z:OoT -- I still like Zelda's 2 sword combat.

Now that I think about it, a lot of modern Mario games showcase Birdo, Shyguys and such, so don't the Japanese gamers wonder who the hell these characters are, or what Birdo from Doki is doing in Mario Kart?  hmmm...

Hmm. Mario must be the oldest "active" character, huh? I mean Space Invaders has been out longer and sometimes they'll churn out a derivative sequel of that, but Mario is still used in the current gen.

 

He was one of the first "little guys", really. I can't think of many small little flexible characters, and none with as much personality, around back then...Pac-Man is cool and all, but limited, "Pac-Land" not withstanding.

 

I like how Nintendo reuses its cast of characters. That's the real seal-of-approval these days I think...the game might have zilch to do with Mario itself (other than some gimmicks) but you know you're likely getting a very good game.

[joeybastard]

SMB 2 is my fav of the series. It's even better on the SNES Mario All Satrs comp with the better graphics.

[intvgene]

I love SMB 2 (US one). I think it is my favorite Mario on the NES. I love the colors, the music and the ability to play the different characters with the different abilities. SMB and SMB 3 just seem so drab compared to this game.

[chrisbid]

i love SMB 2 as well, it has variety, plenty of challenge and has a unique twist. a lot of sequels in the day changed up gameplay, Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, TMNT, Track and Field, 1943 just to mention a few. Mega Man was the first deliberate sequel i can think of on the NES, but they way it ramped up the graphics and sound was admirable.

 

If you want some help on SMB LL, you can do the infinite lives trick on level 1-1 with the red turtle on the first structure you come upon. That makes the rest of the game a bit more bearable.

 

for another SMB challenge, check out Vs Super Mario Bros on MAME. This is a remix of the original with much more difficult levles, and a faster timer.

[Jasoco]

I love SMB2 because it's different. I busted it out one day a few months ago and popped it in my NES. After numerous tries to get it to be a clear picture, I settled on a garbled looking picture and played away.

 

I got to the last Birdo before Wart and promptly died.

 

...

 

 

Still, I love it. I wish wish WISH they'd make an NES Classic version for the GBA. The Super Mario Advance version does not cut it! It's too advanced. I want the first three games in their original form. Japan gets a Famicom Mini version of their SMB2 (Lost Levels which I will be importing as soon as I can.), why can't the US? I pray Nintendo doesn't give up on the NES Classic series at least until we have SMB2 and SMB3. (I mean Super Mario Advance 4 was so screwed up. They tried to force that eReader thing down our throats and it killed what would have been the best GBA game ever. Damn them. I want the original SMB3! And SMB2's GBA port was too different. Even more than the original was of the first game. They added too much. I want the original NES version!)

 

I remember the day we got it. I was at my grandmothers and my parents and sister came to pick me up and she brought with her SMB2. I was excited. Funny thing is the first thing I asked her was "Is there a timer?" Back then I was so bad at the original I would run out of time before I got to the end of many long levels. These days I can whiz through even world 8, but back then I was unpracticed.

 

We hurried home and plugged it in. I loved the opening tune (A song sadly missing from Super Mario Advance, replaced by a stupid "Oh look, the GBA screen's so much bigger than the GBC's screen. Let's pull the title out of the ground!" animation. They could have done so much with the story there.) and the story would show on screen. It was different, but I didn't care. Mario was back and better than ever. I promptly learned Princess Toadstool was THE character to use. So I would use her every time I played. Floating kicks ass.

[+kisrael]

What's updated besides sound and graphics in the GBA ports you don't like?

 

Feh, before I want yet ANOTHER port of an old NES game that's been done, I went them to bring over their puzzle pack for GameCube from Japan, including 4 player Tetris Attack and a few others...I can't believe it's not worth their while to just bring over a cheap port.

[figgler]

(I mean Super Mario Advance 4 was so screwed up. They tried to force that eReader thing down our throats and it killed what would have been the best GBA game ever. Damn them.

 

I'll agree with you about the NES versions being better. But I do also enjoy the All Stars versions, and thus the GBA ones. The e-reader connectivity with SMB3 was one of the greatest ideas ever IMO. Shame it didn't take off though

[Brad2600]

I love Super Mario Bros 2.

 

The music is addictive and I get it stuck in my head whenever I play it.

 

One of the reasons I love it, would be that it's not like any other Mario game released on the NES.

[Jasoco]

(I mean Super Mario Advance 4 was so screwed up. They tried to force that eReader thing down our throats and it killed what would have been the best GBA game ever. Damn them.

 

I'll agree with you about the NES versions being better. But I do also enjoy the All Stars versions, and thus the GBA ones. The e-reader connectivity with SMB3 was one of the greatest ideas ever IMO. Shame it didn't take off though

It would have taken off had they not screwed it up. A) Make it smaller. (It's to frickin' huge, and obviously made before the Cube was finalized and the SP was released or even designed.) B) Allow GBA PASSTHROUGH GODDAMMIT! Making you have to buy a second GBA and cord to use it is the dumbest thing and an obvious money-making scheme. Screw the eReader and the potentially good games it ruined during its short run. Sadly, SMB3 had to be one of the casualties.

[Stingray]

SMB2 is one of my favorite NES titels. I also like the GBA version (Mario Advance or whatever it's called). Other than the addition of some new stuff I don't see how it's graphicly all that different from the original. In any case I think it's great that I have a portable version of one of my favorite NES titles.

 

-S