 |
Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in the US for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. The game is extremely unique in comparison to the rest of the Super Mario Bros. series, and it is beloved by Nintendo fans the world over, some who’s first experience with Mario came by Mario 2. Super Mario Bros. 2 absolutely tips the 2D Mario gameplay from the original on it’s head; by changing the run-and-jump nature of the first Mario game into the run, jump and pick-up and throw gameplay of this sequel. Read my full review for all the details on the game and my personal opinion of how it stacks up nearly 18 years later. Super Mario Bros. 2 System: NES Also On: SNES - Super Mario All-Stars, GBA - Super Mario Advance, Wii - As a Virtual Console $5 download Originally Released: October 1988 Genre: Side-Scrolling Platformer, 2D Players: 1 Save: NES - None, All-Stars - 4 Files Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Origin: Japan There is only one way to describe Super Mario Bros. 2 . . . . And that word is: Odd. As the second game in the series, Mario Bros. 2 does exactly everything that you WOULDN’T expect from a sequel to the first game. It takes the characters in the Mario universe, adds them to a strange and quirky world, and then takes the gameplay of the first game and absolutely tips it on it’s head. There are several design changes that factor in to making Super Mario Bros. 2 so different from the first game in the way it plays. First off is the elimination of the timer. Since there is no timer on any of the levels, you are no longer racing to try and finish the game as fast as you can. The second difference is the fact that you can go backwards in a level. In the original game, when the level scrolled, you could no longer go back in that direction (which made sense in Mario 1 because you are always racing to reach the end of the level before the timer runs out and you die, so there is no reason to go back). . . . As this video demonstrates to well Thirdly . . . while Super Mario Bros. 1 popularized the aspect of a side-scrolling game, meaning that the screen scrolls to reveal a bigger playfield (instead of being confined to a single-screen as in games like Pac-Man or Galaga) it was still a game that was confined in the sense that you could only go forwards, you were forced to go forwards (even though you scrolled the screen yourself). Super Mario Bros. 2 changed all that by letting the scrolling of the level, either forwards or backwards, be completely up to the player. However the biggest change did not come from the aforementioned improvements, but rather from another improvement . . . one that you didn’t really see much of in the first Super Mario Bros. This sequel let the player explore the world in a whole new way . . . a new dimension. And that dimension was vertically. Mario 2 opens up the whole notion of vertical gameplay to the player. Whether it’s jumping onto platform after platform that are suspended in the air, or climbing vines or ladders, Super Mario Bros. 2 sends the player vertically just as often as you scroll left or right, which is a dramatic change. The combination of the lack of a timer, the ability to go backwards and the insistence of the levels in pushing you upwards, gives Super Mario Bros. 2 a COMPLETELY different feel as far as level design goes. Overall Rating (For beaing a classic Favorite): 10/10!!!Read full review
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Video Games
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Video Games
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- You may also like
