A take on Super Mario Bros. 2...

[Ognimod]

We all know the story of how Nintendo of America decided the Japanese SMB2 was too difficult for US gamers, so they modified Doki Doki Panic and sold it as SMB2. And we all know that this is still a point of grievance for a lot of gamers who hate that game for being different from 1 and 3 and wish we had gotten the Japanese version of 2 instead.

But you know what I think? I think, if we had gotten the Japanese version of 2 instead, the complaints would be different. They would be about how it was too much like the original and not innovative enough, how could Nintendo pass a glorified mission pack as a full sequel, we deserved better, and so on and so forth.

What do you think?

 

[Frickinfrik]

I think American Mario 2 is infinitely better than Japanese Mario 2. Japanese Mario 2 is not fun and makes me want to rip my hair out in frustration. I don’t care if American Mario 2 is a reskin of a Japan-Only game, it’s way more enjoyable. And several characters and elements from it became mainstays in the franchise.

 

[middler]

I think American Mario 2 is infinitely better than Japanese Mario 2. Japanese Mario 2 is not fun and makes me want to rip my hair out in frustration. I don’t care if American Mario 2 is a reskin of a Japan-Only game, it’s way more enjoyable. And several characters and elements from it became mainstays in the franchise.

this x 100

USA Mario 2 is my favorite of the nes Mario games by a long shot.

Shy Guy Forever!

 

[Dr.Kisaragi Dr.Kisaragi]

Yeah but it will not took off not because is difficult but because is a same game is not a sequel to be honest I prefer to get Super Mario bros USA than Super Mario 2

(Well as a kid I have Famicom have this two games so I beat them both I prefer the US because of choosing character)

 

[TruxtonTatsujin TruxtonTatsujin]

Not to mention that it would later be released in Japan as "Super Mario USA". Honestly I think they should have just released JP 2 in America as well around the same time this came out.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 3:21 AM

also nice engrish in the top left. "Mario ga USA kara come back!"

 

[Luxfin]

You know had Mario 2 USA not been made. I would probably think that most people would called Mario 2 JP as "Nintendo's Poor Disguised Rom Hack." At least from how I would think that alternate timeline would play out if the rest of it is the same as ours besides that. Similar to how Robotnik's Mean Bean is just a cut-down rom hack of Puyo-Puyo 1.

I like Mario 2 USA simply because it didn't feel like the Mario 1 team got drunk one day and made a rom hack out of the Original and Arcade version. Even-though Doki Doki was technically the original version that used a modified Mario prototype that was then repurposed for USA. Honestly, if Mario 2 JP was released at time as USA released, I would not be all surprised if they used the "LOST LEVELS" moniker that used in All-Stars onwards.

 

[Scotty Scotty]

As someone who's not a fan of Lost Levels, I think Nintendo made the right choice lol.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

I really don’t play those “sequels” for me SMB 3 is the perfect follow up to what the first game has established.

 

[Anoobis]

I didn't like Lost levels much when we finally got it. But I played a lot of SMB2, and find it to be an outright better game. Plus, it added a lot to the Mario setting. Shyguys and Bob-ombs alone are worth the detour the series took.

 

[bjork]

I think if it had dropped in late 86 or early 87, people would've been frustrated by the play changes but "they'd think it was a romhack" talk is 40 years of hindsight talking. This is the same market that accepted that arcade sequels were slight tweaks in a lot of cases (Pac Man/Ms Pac Man/Pac Man Jr/etc, Galaxian/Galaga, etc) and home consoles wouldn't have had that many sequels by that point, if any. But any later than summer 87 when Metroid and Kid Icarus dropped, and I think it would've been frowned upon because those felt like a real leap in the formula.

 

[aviaovrumvrum]

Original SMB2's difficulty becomes a problem when you realize it was achieved through horrendously cheap mechanics. Can't say it had the best execution but releasing a different mario in the west was definitely the right choice.

 

[Grumpy_Old_Man]

Judging by the cover art, this game is part of the "Mario madness series"... Remember that Mario and company enter the "other world" by sniffing chemical waste.
Also remember doing a lot of cartridge tilting on this one... Double backgrounds and fake enemies and many other unpleasantries where the norm.

 

[petran79]

that game made me forget smb1, while SMB3 made me forget smb2.

but yes, it was the easiest of the bunch. Perhaps the easiest Mario ever

 

[Dyne]

I love Super Mario Bros 2 USA!
I also think our version of SMB2 was way more popular than the Japanese "Lost Levels" version would have been, at the time. They made the right call! Its not because "it was too hard for Americans" or whatever. Its just a better game.

Copy/Paste iterations were not really the way sequels were being done at the time (for the most part). Look at Castlevania 2, Zelda 2, SMB 2, etc. Nintendo was not afraid to experiment and I love all those games

 

[Ikagura]

Doom II is basically a Megawad with new enemies and one new weapon yet people also liked it.

Megaman 2 and Sonic 2 were also very similar to their counterpart.

I think if it had dropped in late 86 or early 87, people would've been frustrated by the play changes but "they'd think it was a romhack" talk is 40 years of hindsight talking. This is the same market that accepted that arcade sequels were slight tweaks in a lot of cases (Pac Man/Ms Pac Man/Pac Man Jr/etc, Galaxian/Galaga, etc) and home consoles wouldn't have had that many sequels by that point, if any. But any later than summer 87 when Metroid and Kid Icarus dropped, and I think it would've been frowned upon because those felt like a real leap in the formula.

Yeah, a tiny bit disingenuous in this kind of comment when romhacking wasn't even a thing.

 

[.xxxevious]

Agree with you. I don't loooove american SMB2 but I feel this way it just works better due to the sheer difficulty of Lost Levels. It feels more like a romhack sometimes I'm ngl

 

[zacharinolongpants]

I have fond memories growing up loving the Mario All Stars version of SMB USA.

That being said, my brother and I had a blast battling our way through Lost Levels.

I'm pretty decent at sidescrolling platformers - I'm not a master speedrunner/kaizo type of player but I've beaten most of Castlevanias, all the DKCs, the Mega Man and X series, Ninja Gaiden...etc. Again I died a lot but I DID beat em all and holy shit Lost Levels is REALLY tough to me lol. I think it's tougher than most of if not all the games I've mentioned. But also I haven't really played it as much as the others. I never got too deeply sucked in to Mario games as a whole save for a couple titles. Anybody else feel it's exceptionally difficult even in the time it was made or is it just a case of me not having my Mario skills maxed out? Lol

 

[bjork]

Yeah, a tiny bit disingenuous in this kind of comment when romhacking wasn't even a thing.

We never had a NES at the house when I was a kid, partially because I received a Commodore 64 about a year before the NES launch, but also because "how do you make copies of those games? They aren't on disks." So the idea of hacking a game you couldn't even copy?

 

[BrawlMan]

I much prefer Super Mario Bros. 2/USA over JP2/Lost Levels. Give me any of the Super Mario Land games over that. My favorite version of SMB2/USA will always be the GBA port. It was my first GBA game.

 

[petran79]

I have fond memories growing up loving the Mario All Stars version of SMB USA.

That being said, my brother and I had a blast battling our way through Lost Levels.

I'm pretty decent at sidescrolling platformers - I'm not a master speedrunner/kaizo type of player but I've beaten most of Castlevanias, all the DKCs, the Mega Man and X series, Ninja Gaiden...etc. Again I died a lot but I DID beat em all and holy shit Lost Levels is REALLY tough to me lol. I think it's tougher than most of if not all the games I've mentioned. But also I haven't really played it as much as the others. I never got too deeply sucked in to Mario games as a whole save for a couple titles. Anybody else feel it's exceptionally difficult even in the time it was made or is it just a case of me not having my Mario skills maxed out? Lol

I remember I only finished Mario 1-3 from world 1-1 to 8-3 only 2-3 times. It felt more like a chore as it took hours.

I much preferred the warp route shortcuts, as it was the final world that was the real challenge

 

[Badseed Badseed]

SMB2 is my fav. I've (GASP!!!!) never played #3, I think the last Mario thing I played was GC Paper Mario. I've moved on from Mario (and especially from the evil empire of Nintendo) to bigger and much better things years ago. I also think (DOUBLE GASP!!!) Mario64 is junk. At least people are finally realizing as the big N bricks peoples Switch 2s over and over that it really is only good for an expensive doorstop