GoNintendo "End of Day" thoughts - Super Mario Bros. 2: The great divide

It’s going to be a busy weekend. I’d like to get some new podcast equipment for tonight’s show, there are things I have to get in order for E3, and there’s a family event to attend on Sunday. Let’s hope I can fit it all in! None of it will happen without sleep, so I’m going to go grab some of that right now. Have a great Saturday morning everyone. Make sure to leave a comment on this story, I really want to hear what you think!

Yesterday we posted up a release list for Japan’s upcoming Virtual Console games. Among the games was a listing for Super Mario Bros. 2. Now this title is the true Super Mario Bros. 2. We know it in the US as Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. This game was included in a collection on the Super NES that was called Super Mario All-Stars. For the first (official) time, North American gamers were introduced to what Japan had already owned for years. Back in the days of the NES, things would be a tad different for our next Super Mario Bros. game. There are a few reasons as to why Nintendo never brought the true sequel to North America until years later, one of which relates to game experience. Nintendo thought that the true Super Mario Bros. 2 was just too hard for American gamers. This lead Nintendo to convert an existing game into a new Mario game. A Japanese title called Doki Doki Panic was used, and the main characters were transformed into Mario Bros. and friends. While level designs and enemies were very slightly tweaked, Doki Doki Panic was left very much intact during the conversion. In October of 88, we finally got our hands on our first Mario Bros. sequel. Things were radically different from what we experienced in Super Mario Bros. This entry in the Mario series is still considered to be one of the strangest titles in the franchise’s history. There is a very unique division among gamers when it comes to Super Mario Bros. 2. Some of us absolutely love the game; others see it as the bastard child of the lineup. Which side of the fence do you stand on?

Rather than go all out and get into my take on the matter, I thought I would write up two paragraphs. One would praise Super Mario Bros. 2 in some way, and the next would bash it. I’m just trying to look at things from both sides. I don’t think there’s any denying that parts of the game are fun. I believe the issue is that people just don’t like this game being part of Mario’s history.

On the positive side, Super Mario Bros. 2 let you play as 4 separate characters. This was a direct result from the original Doki Doki Panic transition. Doki Doki Panic had you take on the roles of 4 family members during gameplay. This aspect was left alone when the game came to our shores. Not only did we get to have Mario and Luigi, but now we got to play as Princess Peach and Toad. The best part is that the different characters actually meant something. Instead of just letting the player pick character preference and have all 4 characters play the same, SMB2’s characters all played/handled differently. As is par for the course with all Mario games to date, Mario is the most well-rounded character. Luigi on the other hand has a super high jump, and a very floaty feel to him. This is a character trait that can be seen in the newly released in Super Paper Mario. Toad was extremely fast at both running and picking up items. Princess Peach had one of the best abilities out of the four. If you held the jump button Peach would float for a few seconds. This allowed you to bypass enemies, level portions, or anything else in your way. While Peach uses an umbrella to aid her in flight for recent games, this is once again a characteristic that has stayed with her over the years. Not only did these character traits completely change the feel and difficulty of the game, they helped to shape the characters we know and love today.

One of my favorite aspects of any Mario game is jumping on enemies. No matter how many times over I do it, it’s always enjoyable. Nintendo has perfected the spring, bounce, and handling of Mario when jumping from enemy to enemy. It’s almost like you are juggling Mario himself. This is one of the issues I have with Super Mario Bros. 2. Quite simply put, you cannot jump on enemies to kill them. No matter who they are, you will have to pick something up to kill them. You can pick up an item and throw it at them, pick the baddie up and throw them into another enemy, or pick up that enemy and throw it into a hole. Jumping was left as a method of traveling from place to place; any strategic elements from the first game were taken out. What fun is it to play a Mario game when you can’t jump on an enemy to defeat it? This is a core gameplay mechanic that we have seen in nearly all Mario games. It still feels strange to get into the game and not be able to pounce on your enemies.

How do you feel about Super Mario Bros. 2? I don’t want to hear if you like it or hate it, I want to get your answers and find out why. Argue your point, tell us what makes you feel the way you do! This is a topic that remains a very heated one, and it will continue to be talked about for years. Should Super Mario Bros. 2 be stricken from the records, or has it earned its place in franchise history?