Would You Play Another Mario Like Super Mario Bros. 2?

By tincity

Black sheep. They stand out like sore thumbs from the rest of the herd because they look different. Is being different really a bad thing? The same old same old can get boring after a while, but switching things up can also be quite risky. Nintendo took such a risk by releasing Super Mario Bros. 2, a game radically different from its predecessor, resulting in the Super Mario series first black sheep.

The history behind Super Mario Bros. 2's release is common knowledge but talking about either it or the Lost Levels is like trying to tell the history of Sonic the Hedgehog without mentioning Mario. It just doesn't work. So for information's sake, he's a quick rundown.

In Japan of 1986 the sequel to Super Mario Bros was released, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (Super Mario Bros. 2 is its original title). When it came time to get the game ready for release in America and Europe, Nintendo of America didn't think the game would sell very well due to the game's abnormally high difficulty. Instead, they chose to take an existing game, Doki Doki Panic, developed by Mario creator and guru Shigeru Miyamoto, switch out the completely unrelated Mario character's in favor of Mario protagonists and call it Super Mario Bros. 2. It was either Doki Doki Panic with Mario characters or a rom hack that would make gamers wanna kill themselves. Yeah, I realize that may sound harsh, but The Lost Levels features one of the most obnoxious surprise difficulty spikes in a video game that I've ever seen. The Lost Levels eventually gained a wider release with Super Mario All-Stars and the Famicom Disc original was released on the Virtual Console for anyone feeling sadistic enough to give it a go. I firmly believe Nintendo made the right call when giving gamers the version of Super Mario Bros. 2 that they did. It may be a black sheep, but its a very good black sheep.

In 1992 the American version of
Super Mario Bros. 2 was rleased
in Japan as Super Mario USA. In a
bit or irony, outsold The
Lost Levels.

To answer my own question that this editorial proposes, yes, I would totally play another Mario like Super Mario Bros. 2. Nintendo has expanded upon what they learned from the original Super Mario Bros. time and again. I'd love to see them come back to the Super Mario Bros. 2 formula. In 2D or 3D. And for those thinking it wouldn't make sense to revisit Subcon, remember that many of the enemies that appeared in Super Mario Bros. 2 have been making the rounds in Mario games ever sense. Shy Guys, Birdos, and Bob-ombs are Mario regulars. Besides, is Subcon any stranger than the Mushroom Kingdom or any other places Mario and Luigi have gone to? No, it isn't, at least not to me.

In what was surly a surprise to many, Miyamoto revealed that his favorite Mario game was Super Mario Bros. 2. Can you believe that? I think that's so awesome. It isn't my favorite Mario but it is one of my favorites and certainly doesn't deserve the flak it gets for not being like the rest of the Mario platformers. Yoshi's Island is vastly different from a lot of Mario platformers yet many consider it one of the greatest platformers ever made, (myself included) but then, not everyone considers that part of the Super Mario series.

Really, I would jump at the chance to play another Mario like Super Mario Bros. 2 in a heartbeat. When it seemed as if Nintendo was through with 2D Mario games, along came New Super Mario Bros. When was the last time Peach saw some action in a platformer? When has Toad not been worthless a Super Mario game? Bring on the veggies, Wart, heck even those freaky-looking Phantos, I welcome them all back. Another game like Super Mario Bros. 2 seems unlikely but hey, a guy can dream, right?