The US finally sees the REAL Super Mario Bros 2! Hard, but worth it.

User Rating: 8.5 | Super Mario Bros. 2 FDS
By visualdeity | Review Date:
Although many players are endeared to the US game known as Super Mario Bros 2, I will admit, up-front, that I never liked it. Even before I knew the game's origins, I couldn't understand why Nintendo chose to abandon the forumla that worked so well in the original Super Mario Bros for their sequel. When I found out that Nintendo decided that the real game was too hard for us (a bit condescending, no?), I was outraged. Including the game as "The Lost Levels" in Super Mario All-Stars was a great move, but I always itched for an opportunity to purchase the original, in all its 8-bit glory.

Now, that day has at last arrived. The game is essentially Super Mario Bros on crack. Be warned, it's much harder. Remember the original Super Mario Bros, where the staircases became single blocks suspended in midair towards the end of the game? Super Mario Bros 2 STARTS at that difficulty level. They also added gusts of wind which can help or hinder you, depending on which direction they come from (gusts of wind are strong enough to move Mario even while standing still, and can either make your jumps longer or shorter). My personal favorite addition is the poison mushroom (eating it is equivalent to getting hit by an enemy), which isn't that big of a threat, but still provides a nice twist to things.

In the end, whether this game is worth the $6 to you depends on whether you can stomach a game which will probably spend a lot of time kicking your ass (then again, all Mario games do that to an extent). It's fun, that's for sure... but sometimes, after cheap death #15264, it can be frustrating. Whatever you do, don't listen to the Gamespot review, which knocks the game for being "essentially a level hack". It's a Mario game, what more can you expect?

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