Super Mario Bros. 2 is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was first released in North America in September 1988, and in the PAL region in 1989.
After the smash hit Super Mario Bros. in 1985, Nintendo quickly released a minor adaptation of the original with advanced difficulty titled Super Mario Bros. 2, for its mature market in Japan in 1986. However, Nintendo of America found this sequel too similar to its predecessor, and its difficulty too frustrating, for the nascent American market. This prompted a second Super Mario Bros. sequel based on Nintendo's 1987 Family Computer Disk System game which had been based on a prototype platforming game and released as an advergame for Fuji Television's Yume Kōjō '87 media technology expo. The characters, enemies, and themes in Doki Doki Panic have the mascots and theme of the festival, and were adapted into the Super Mario theme to make a second Super Mario Bros. sequel.
Super Mario Bros. 2 was a resounding success, becoming the fifth-best-selling game on the NES, and was critically well-received for its design aspects and for differentiating the Super Mario series. It was re-released in Japan for the Famicom as (1992), and has been remade twice, first included in the Super Mario All-Stars (1993) collection for the Super NES, and as Super Mario Advance (2001) for the Game Boy Advance. It is included as part of the Nintendo Switch Online service.
Gameplay
Super Mario Bros. 2 is a 2D side-scrolling platform game. The objective is to navigate the player's character through the dream world Subcon and defeat the main antagonist Wart. Before each stage, the player chooses one of four protagonists: Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool. All four characters can run, jump, and climb ladders or vines, but each character possesses a unique strength that causes them to be controlled differently. For example, Luigi can jump the highest; Princess Toadstool can float; Toad's strength allows him to pick up items quickly; and Mario represents the best balance between jumping and strength. Unlike Super Mario Bros., this game has no multiplayer functionality, and no time limit. The original only scrolls from left to right, but this game can also scroll right to left, and even vertically in some areas. Unlike other Mario games, the characters cannot defeat enemies by jumping on them, but can stand on, pick up and throw most enemies at each other to defeat them. Other objects that can be thrown at enemies include vegetables pulled from the ground and mushroom blocks.
The game consists of 20 different levels across the seven worlds comprising Subcon. Each world has three levels, except World 7, which has two. Each world has a particular theme that dictates the obstacles and enemies encountered in its levels, such as desert areas with dangerous quicksand and snowy areas with slippery surfaces. Levels contain multiple sections or rooms that are connected via doors or ladders. Some rooms are accessible by entering certain jars. Magic potions found in each level are used to temporarily access "Sub-space", a reflected, unscrollable area where the player can collect coins and Mushrooms that increase the character's maximum health. In addition, certain jars, when entered in Sub-space, will warp the player to the later worlds, skipping levels altogether. Other items available include cherries, which are collected in order to acquire a Star; and the POW Block, which can be used to quickly destroy all the enemies visible on the screen. The player must defeat a boss enemy at the end of each of the first six worlds, then defeat Wart himself at the end of World 7 to complete the game.
The player starts Super Mario Bros. 2 with three lives, one of which is lost each time the player's character loses all health from enemy or hazard damage or when the character falls off the screen. The player can replenish health by collecting floating hearts that appear upon defeating a certain number of enemies. The player will receive a Game Over upon losing the last life, though the player may continue up to twice in one game. Extra lives may be obtained by collecting hidden 1-Up Mushrooms or by using the coins collected from Sub-space to play the Bonus Chance minigame between the levels.