Has anyone here beaten the original SMB2? (The Lost Levels)

Have any of you beaten it? I've beaten almost every Mario game ever made but this one in particular intimidates the hell out of me.. especially after watching playthroughs. I'm all for challenge which is why I love 2D Mario games so much, but this one seems almost cruel. But for completionist purposes I do want to complete it.. I just want to know how manageable it is with enough practice.

I also have a question about reproduction cartridges. I'm thinking about picking up one of these [link removed by me cause legality] since I prefer the feel of the NES gamepad to the Wii U. If anyone has experience with these, how are they in comparison to an official famicon cartridge? Does it play alright or are there technical issues with unofficial cartridges?

I don't have any repro carts myself but haven't anything bad about them really. Might want to remove the link though, as they aren't legal.

As for the difficulty the game is really hard but not impossible with practice, just expect to die a lot. The Famicom version is ridiculous though and requires beating the game 8 times in a row or something like that to unlock the final worlds and actually beat. You don't have to do that for the SNES(or Wii) All-Stars version.

@Eikichi-Onizuka: I was mainly talking about the famicon version haha I always go for the original versions of each game I play and then do remakes at a later time.

Well christ.. this is gonna be a gruelling experience.

My wife's the Super Mario aficionado. She says no.

Get an Everdrive. The game is easier on the NES/Famicom because there isn't lag to deal with. Also, play on crt.

Yeah, and it's 8 consecutive times. With no saving that means you'll have to leave your NES on for all of that. Not worth it imo, I'd just beat the game normally and experience those worlds later. They are just remixed earlier levels made harder iirc anyway.

I'm pretty much coming to terms with the fact that I'll probably never complete any version of it. I still struggle with the original Super Mario Bros. I mean I can beat it, but not without difficulty. I have a much easier time with 3 and world given the stiffness of the original game's controls.

It's pretty much just a hard level DLC pack for the first anyway, before DLC was a thing. I like Super Mario Bros. 2 USA more myself.

I think Miyamoto would be inclined to agree with you.

Yeah, it's not my favorite in the series though like he said iirc. Either Super Mario World or Bros. 3 is my favorite. (or possibly Yoshi's Island if that counts)

Well I know Miyamoto has practically disowned it at this point. I don't think he was too impressed in retrospect with the design choices he made. I mean I agree with him.. when you look at something like Mario 3, it's tough, but it's fair. When you die, it's truly your fault. Not the case with SMB2-jp. It's deliberately designed to kill you, not challenge you.

This video seemed relevant (only came out yesterday). I guess most of us know the story behind Super Mario Bros. 2, but there were still things in this video that surprised me:

I have only played the Lost Levels on the SNES system.