Super Mario Bros. 2

OH HO HO SUPER MARIO BROS 2 BABY!!! GAME OF THE YEAR!

I thought the graphics in this one and the overall story and feel for the game were better than the first game as that game had an arcade game look and feel to it while this one to me was in depth. Granted the ending to this one was a bit of a cop out it still provided me a lot of entertainment. The game has Mario and gang in the land of dreams to fight some strange villain that would never be seen again, or at least I do not think he ever appeared in any of the other Mario games. In this one you get to choose your character to tackle each level the players: Toad-the little dude who you constantly rescued in the first game. one of Princess' retainers. strengths-super strong can pull things out of the ground and dig super quickly. weakness-can not jump worth a flip.

Luigi-Mario's green clad brother. was in the first game when you played with two people. strengths-has a great vertical jump. weakness-not as strong as Mario or Toad.

Princess Toadstool-the princess that causes you headache after headache in the rest of the series, later becomes a Peach. strengths-when jumping has the ability to stay afloat in the air of a bit. weakness-not the highest jumper and she is the weakest character.

Mario-the hero of game most of the time. strength and weakness- really none of either, kind of an average joe.

Yes, this game progresses through levels, no fireballs in this one, you perform your attack by picking enemies or objects up and hurling them at other enemies. You fight an impressive array of villains in this one and you go through many landscapes including rather fun digging scenes in the desert. Not all is perfect though as the game sure could have used some swimming levels like in the first game. Still, for the most part I enjoyed this Mario adventure quite a lot.

The American SMB 2 is without a doubt the least popular Mario game, probably because the game-play is so different. The Japanese SMB 2 was not released in America because Nintendo was afraid it wouldn't sell well due to its high difficulty level and strong similarities to SMB 1. It was finally released in America as "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels" as a part of the Super Mario All Stars game for Super Nintendo.

I'm in the minority but I like this Mario 2 better than the lost levels. I will admit it's disappointing not to have fire power, but all in all I think it's loads of fun. In my opinion, it's quite refreshing to play a Mario game that's so different. You don't have to save Princess Toadstool from Bowser, and you can actually play as Toad or the Princess instead of Mario or Luigi. All characters have their strengths and weaknesses. Mario is the most balanced character, with decent strength and jumping ability. The Princess is the weakest physically, so it takes her the longest to lift objects. However, she has the ability to fly for a few seconds at a time, which can really come in handy. Toad is the strongest, but he can't jump very high. Luigi is the best jumper, but he's not as strong as Mario or Toad.

This time, you have to save the people of Sub Con who have been imprisoned by the evil King Wart. Other bosses include Mouser (a rat who throws bombs), a three-headed snake, a crab that throws rocks, and fryguy, a ball of flame that spits fire. I would really like to see another Mario Bros. game with these characters in the future, but it seems unlikely because Bowser and the usual bad guys are so much more popular. The only bad guys from this game that crossed over into other Mario games are Shy Guys and the bo-bombs.

Is this the best Mario Bros. game? No. But it's certainly worth playing.

Frankly it isn't. This game is good, but it's not up to the first game's (or any other SMB games standards) play whatsoever. Instead of stomping your enemies, you had to throw stuff at them, and instead of Bowser as the vilian, it's this fat ugly toad named Wart. The good feature of this game is that you can play as Princess Toadstool, and Toad instead of playing as just Mario, and Luigi. I'm not saying that this is a bad game, I'm just saying that this game doesn't measure up to the first game. The true sequel which was only released in Japan should've been released to the U.S. instead of this game. But still, it's worth a play. I'll give this game a 7/10.

This game was definitely the other side of the Mario coin. A Japanese fantasy adventure reworked as part of the Super Mario series, it's a lot more strange and cultish than its predecessor; if the original was West Side Story, this was The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It takes place in a bizarre pastel world (lime green and turquoise dominate the color palette) taken over by the evil bubble-blowing frog Wart. There are a whole bunch of weird new villains--Shyguys (masked midget ninjas), Birdos (masked hopping birds), Bob-ombs (walking bombs), Porcupos (grumpy porcupines), Triclyde (a three-headed snake), Clawgrip (a giant crab), Ostro (a bow-topped lizard that shoots eggs from his mouth)--that you fight by throwing vegetables, bombs, and various other objects.

Very different, very tricky past a certain level (I could never beat it myself--the quicksand always got me), highly original, and a great deal of fun. I loved the ability to choose between four characters--Mario (normal abilities), Luigi (high jumping power, but don't be distracted by his kicking feet or you'll fall off the cliff), Toad (accelerated speed), or Princess Toadstool (the ability to briefly float in mid-air). All are useful on different levels (Luigi in the aforementioned quicksand especially); I often chose the Princess, because I had a falling-off-cliffs problem and liked to change direction in mid air. A terrific game, topped by a cute twist ending. Just don't expect a direct continuation of the original, since this doesn't follow that formula at all. If you can find a cartridge and a machine to play it in, check it out!