Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

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Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
International box art for Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, from Nintendo Classics
Western cover art from Nintendo Classics
For alternate box art, see the related gallery.
Developer Nintendo R&D4
Publisher Nintendo
Platforms Family Computer Disk System, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console (Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U), Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Classics
Release dates Family Computer Disk System:
Japan June 3, 1986[1][2]
Game Boy Advance:
Japan August 10, 2004[3]
Virtual Console (Wii):
Japan May 1, 2007[4]
Europe September 14, 2007[5]
Australia September 14, 2007[6]
USA October 1, 2007[7]
Virtual Console (Nintendo 3DS):
Japan July 25, 2012[8]
USA December 27, 2012[9]
Europe December 27, 2012[5]
Australia December 27, 2012[?]
South Korea July 6, 2016[?]
Virtual Console (Wii U):
Japan August 8, 2013[10]
Europe January 23, 2014[5]
Australia January 23, 2014[?]
USA March 13, 2014[11]
Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Classics:
Japan April 10, 2019[12]
USA April 10, 2019[13]
Europe April 10, 2019[?]
Australia April 10, 2019[?]
HK April 23, 2019[?]
South Korea April 23, 2019[?]
Language English
Genre 2D platformer
Ratings
ESRB:E - Everyone[?]
CERO:A - All ages[?]
PEGI:3 - Three years and older[?]
USK:0 - All ages[?]
GRAC:All - All ages[?]
ACB:G - General[?]
Mode Single player
Format
Disk Card
Digital download
Digital download
Digital download
Game Pak
Digital download
Input
Wii Remote (horizontal)
Wii Remote (horizontal)
Joy-Con (horizontal)
Serial codes FDS:
Japan FMC-SMB
Game Boy Advance:
Japan AGB-FM2J-JPN

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, also known as Super Mario Bros. 2, and alternatively Super Mario Bros. 2: For Super Players in the Japanese version of Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. for Super Players in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, is a direct sequel to the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System game Super Mario Bros. It is the second entry in the Super Mario series.[14][15]

The game was initially released in 1986 for the Family Computer Disk System. It uses a slightly altered version of Super Mario Bros.'s engine, with some new features, altered graphics and new enemy behavior, and different, significantly more challenging levels. Nintendo of America originally deemed this game too difficult and too much like the original[citation needed] to sell well in Western countries, so in order to prevent the early series from being associated with frustration and staleness, Nintendo adapted Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic and released it as Super Mario Bros. 2. This game was later released in Japan under the title Super Mario USA.

The first time this game was released outside Japan was its remake in Super Mario All-Stars, where it gained the title Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels in 1993. Then, as part of Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, it was redone and renamed Super Mario Bros. for Super Players. The original unaltered release was not available worldwide until the debut of the Virtual Console, over two decades later.

Story[edit]

The story of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is identical to the first game and is said to be set in a "parallel world" to it.[2][16] The following text is translated from the Japanese instruction booklet.[17]

One day, the Koopa, a tribe of giant turtles who wield powerful magic, came to invade the peaceful kingdom where the Mushrooms live. All of the gentle Mushroom People were transformed by this power into things like rocks, bricks, and horsetails, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin.

The only one who can lift this magic from the Mushrooms and revive them is the Mushroom Kingdom's very own Princess Peach. She is presently in the clutches of King Koopa.

Mario has risen up to defeat the Turtle Tribe, rescue Princess Peach, and rebuild the peaceful Mushroom Kingdom.

The Mario in the TV is you. Only you can bring this adventure quest (expedition) to a conclusion.

Gameplay[edit]

The title screen for Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
The title screen of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is divided into 13 new worlds of the Mushroom Kingdom, each of which have four levels like in Super Mario Bros. Mario and Luigi have to get to the end of the level by jumping over various gaps and avoiding or defeating the members of the Turtle Empire on their way. The Mario Bros. can use several platforms (some of them collapse when Mario or Luigi lands on them), stairs in the level, as well as Jumping Boards. There are also Warp Pipes along the way, some of which Mario can enter to visit various secret coin rooms before returning to the level, a bit further ahead than when he left. At the end of each level, a castle stands with a flagpole nearby. When Mario reaches the flagpole, he takes down the enemy flag and enters the castle, completing the level. The higher the spot that Mario hits the flagpole, the more points he receives.

Unlike Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels does not have two-player mode in the game. Mario or Luigi has to be played alone. Mario retains the same abilities as Super Mario Bros., but Luigi returns with the ability to jump higher than Mario can (which is retained in Super Mario Bros. 2 and some other Super Mario games). On the downside, Luigi has slippery traction, so he could prove to be unruly at times.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels includes the same enemies from Super Mario Bros.: Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Buzzy Beetles, Koopa Paratroopas, Bullet Bills, Hammer Brothers, and leaping Cheep Cheeps. All these enemies can be defeated when Mario jumps on them once, except for Koopa Troopas and Buzzy Beetles, which now run faster than in Super Mario Bros. and hide in their shell when jumped on, which Mario can kick to defeat other enemies and hit blocks or bricks. Koopa Paratroopas lose their wings and fall to the ground when Mario or Luigi jumps on them. Other enemies include Piranha Plants (including new red Piranha Plants, which have replaced green ones in later games) found in pipes, the Spiny-throwing Lakitus and the Hammer Brothers. There are a few levels which take place underwater. In the water, Mario can swim freely from the top to the bottom of the screen. The enemies in underwater levels are Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps, with the inclusion of Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Buzzy Beetles, Koopa Paratroopas, Hammer Brothers, Lava Bubbles, Fire-Bars, and Piranha Plants; Mario can only defeat these creatures by shooting them with fireballs. In some levels, Bloopers are found floating in the air.

Backwards Warp Zone in World 3-1 of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Fire Luigi in World 3-1's backwards Warp Zone.

Mario or Luigi can get special power-ups out of ?s or, uncommonly, bricks. Most of the ?s in which Mario can find these items are visible, but some are hidden and only become visible when hit from below. With the Super Mushroom, he turns into Super Mario. As Super Mario, he can survive the hit of an enemy one time, at the cost of turning back to Small Mario. He may also destroy empty bricks by jumping beneath them. Lost Levels introduces a harmful version of the Super Mushroom, the new Poisonous Mushrooms, which injure Mario or Luigi by simply touching one. Additionally, he can also get the Fire Flower. With the Fire Flower, Super Mario turns into Fire Mario, which allows him to shoot fireballs at enemies to defeat them from a distance. With the 1-Up Mushroom, he gains a life; he can also get an extra life by collecting 100 coins. With the rarest item of all, the Super Star (which can only be found in bricks), Mario turns invincible for short of time and can kill enemies by touching them. As with Super Mario Bros., with the exception of coins, only one item can appear on the screen, and when a new item appears, the previous one will disappear.

If Mario takes a hit or Poison Mushroom while Small, falls down a pit, or if the Time Limit runs out, he loses a life and restarts the level. The point where Mario continues depends on his progress through the level before getting defeated; either from the beginning, or at one of several invisible "checkpoints" throughout the level.

The fourth level of each world plays inside a castle. They are usually filled with Fire-Bars and Lava Bubbles. At the end of a castle level, Mario is confronted with a fake Bowser in every world except World 8, where the real Bowser is confronted. To defeat a fake Bowser or the real Bowser, Mario has to either touch the axe to destroy the bridge, causing either the fake Bowser or the real Bowser to fall into the lava, or hit Bowser with a number of fireballs, which produces the same result and reveals the true forms of the fakes.

After defeating a fake Bowser, Mario frees one of the seven Toads from the castle, at which point they say their iconic sentence: "Thank you Mario/Luigi! But our princess is in another castle!" and Mario proceeds to the next world. At the end of the castle in World 8, Mario or Luigi frees the grateful Princess Peach and completes the adventure.

Unlike the first game, there are hidden worlds to discover. Playing through the game without warping forward (or backward) takes the player to the Fantasy World. Completing the game eight times also unlocks Worlds A-D, with Princess Peach waiting to be rescued from a fake Bowser (the actual Bowser in Super Mario All-Stars version) in the last level.

Differences and additional features[edit]

Although the mechanics in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels adhere closely to those of Super Mario Bros., the game does feature some significant changes and additions.

Graphical and sound additions and changes[edit]

  • The background graphics, block tiles, and ground tiles are different (mountains now have jagged slopes, cloud and bushes have faces, horsehair plants/trees are now segmented, fences and lifts are now mushrooms, ground is rockier, bricks have shading, etc.).
  • Mushroom sprites (including Super Mushrooms, Poison Mushrooms, and 1-Up Mushrooms) are changed to have eyes, a feature that has stuck with the franchise since.
  • The giant mushroom platforms (found in 4-3 and the 4-2 Warp Zone of Super Mario Bros.) are changed into a new cloud shape that is not found in any other port of any of the 8-bit Super Mario games, and form the level theme of World 8-3 and World A-3 (actual Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels-style mushroom platforms would appear in All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros., where they now have segmented stalks). Similarly, the grass platforms found in every other third level except for World D-4 now have a fringe-like appearance.
  • A skidding sound for Mario and Luigi's sliding is added. This would later be reused in Super Mario Bros. 3.
  • An animation when Mario comes out of a pipe into water is added.
  • Shadows are added to the text font.
  • Digits are one pixel shorter than the ones in the original game, and the "0" is shaped like the "O", rather than the rounder, slanted version seen originally. VS. Super Mario Bros. and All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros. also use the Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels font, while Super Mario Bros. Special retains the Super Mario Bros. font.
  • The "Ending" theme has a second verse in F major and a drum beat that was not in the first game, and uses the FDS's hardware capabilities to make it richer in sound. It was first composed as the ending theme of Super Mario Bros., before being shortened due to storage limitations.[18] A similar version appeared earlier in VS. Super Mario Bros.
  • Princess Peach is given a new sprite.

New game features[edit]

  • Poisonous Mushrooms are introduced. Touching one is equivalent to colliding with an enemy, except the mushroom is consumed as usual. They can be found in either ?s or invisible blocks. Their color palette matches the Goombas of that level (brown on overworlds, blue in undergrounds, gray in castles).
  • Red Piranha Plants are introduced, a more aggressive variant of the usual green Piranha Plant that attacks even if the player is standing next to their pipe. They stop attacking only if the player is anywhere above the pipe (except if on the two outermost pixels of its edges). These first appear in World 4, completely replacing green Piranha Plants which no longer appear.
  • Upside-down pipes are introduced, appearing first in World 5.
  • Red Piranha Plants may be found in upside-down pipes. They attack and retreat more frequently than those in right-side up pipes, and there is no way to stop them from attacking (since the player cannot stand on top of their pipe; they continue to attack even if the player stands directly underneath their pipe). These also appear in underwater stages.
  • A strong wind blows in certain parts of some levels. It usually blows the player forward, enabling longer jumps but making it difficult to space them.
  • While the original Super Mario Bros. had only three Warp Zone areas, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels features a total of 11, all of which have only one destination pipe. Two of them are fake, and now take Mario back to a previous world: 3-1 to 1-1 and 8-1 to 5-1. Like World 4-2 of the original game, some levels have more than one Warp Zone location.
  • Two-player mode has been removed, and the player can instead choose between Mario and Luigi on the title screen. Mario controls as in Super Mario Bros., while Luigi can jump higher than Mario, but has significantly worse traction. These characteristics would be carried over to many future Super Mario games, including Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land, and Super Mario 3D World.
  • If the player beats the game while completing all 32 of the game's standard levels without using any Warp Zones, they unlock World 9, a secret world. They have only one life to complete it with: if they fail, they are brought back to the main menu after getting a special Game Over message, and if they succeed, the world loops back on itself upon completion, meaning they can keep playing it until they die or decide to quit the game. The world features bizarre underwater landscapes not found in any other level, such as an underwater Goal Pole and castle. In the Super Mario All-Stars remake, the player may keep any lives they had left after World 8-4. All secret worlds were removed in the Super Mario Bros. Deluxe port.
  • In the original version and Virtual Console releases, the game adds a star on the title screen each time the player beats World 8-4. The number of stars the player earns is saved on the disk, and the title card can display up to 24 stars.
  • If the player earns a total of eight stars on the title card, they can unlock four more secret worlds, Worlds A through D, by holding the A Button button at the title screen (or the B Button button in the GBA version) before pressing Start. In the Super Mario All-Stars re-release, the levels may be accessed after just one successful playthrough, beginning automatically after World 8-4 (or 9-4 if the player unlocks World 9). All secret worlds were removed in the Super Mario Bros. Deluxe port.
  • Green Super Springs are introduced, appearing in Worlds 2, 3, 7, B, and C. These bounce Mario/Luigi so high that he disappears from view for several seconds, allowing the player to cover great distances without touching the ground but also making it very difficult to track his trajectory.

Tweaked game features[edit]

  • A significant physics modification is added: Mario now bounces much higher after stomping on an enemy, and Luigi bounces even higher than Mario now does. This extra height is sometimes critical to clearing large gaps. If Mario or Luigi manages to stomp the top of an enemy while moving upwards at the right trajectory, the changed physics cause them to soar very high, sometimes off the top of the screen. This "Super Jump" would later be properly introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3.
  • Invisible blocks may now hold any kind of power-up (instead of solely 1-Up Mushrooms, like in Super Mario Bros.), including Poison Mushrooms. These are either put in secret areas to aid the player, or (in the case of Poison Mushrooms) sometimes placed in locations easy to accidentally hit in order to obstruct the player.
  • Bloopers can float above water. They behave the same way they do underwater and can be stomped for 1000 points.
  • Koopa Troopas (and more rarely, a few other enemies) can be found in the water in some levels, such as World 3-2. They walk more slowly than usual and like other underwater enemies, cannot be stomped (Mario/Luigi instead take damage; they cannot be defeated without a Fire Flower or Super Star). Due to the palettes assigned to the underwater stages, the green enemies appear gray (they are instead colored normally in the Super Mario All-Stars version). Additionally, this also renders underwater Buzzy Beetles invincible, as Buzzy Beetles cannot be defeated with fireballs, and cannot be stomped underwater.
  • The "right path, wrong path" system now occurs in some non-castle levels, looping the level until the correct path is chosen. These levels include World 5-3 and World 7-2.
  • In Worlds 7 through 9, Hammer Brothers now continuously charge forward while still throwing hammers, making them extremely difficult to dodge. If Mario passes over them, they turn around and then behave normally (they continue to jump and throw hammers, but no longer run). In Super Mario All-Stars, this behavior also occurs in Worlds A-D. Hammer Brothers also occasionally appear underwater.
  • Lakitus now sometimes appear underwater, along with Spinies. In certain levels, they also appear at lower altitudes, making them easier to stomp.
  • An unusually-colored version of Bowser can be found in the corridors of two castles. He has a darker, greenish blue coloration, similar to Koopa Troopas and Piranha Plants found in cave or castle levels, and does not stand on a bridge over lava. The player can avoid this Bowser without defeating him. In the Super Mario All-Stars version, encountering this enemy cues the SNES-exclusive boss music until finishing the level. These palette changes are due to not being close to the axe, where the overworld green palette is used instead. Unlike the fake Bowsers in Worlds 1-7 and Worlds A-C, these do not change into generic enemies when defeated (with five Fireballs as usual); they will still look like the real Bowser.
  • Vines can lead to not only a Coin Heaven or a Warp Zone, but even to the flagpole.
  • Luigi's increased jump height sometimes enables him to jump over the Goal Pole. In a few cases, this leads to a Warp Zone beyond the pole; in most other cases, the screen simply stops scrolling after the pole. It is no longer possible to get stuck behind the Goal Pole like it was in the original Super Mario Bros.
  • Fireworks are no longer triggered by having the last digit of the timer be 1, 3, or 6, but rather by having the last digit of the timer match the last digit of the coin counter. Additionally, if both digits of the coin counter match the last digit of the timer, Mario/Luigi receives a 1-Up.
  • In overworld and underground levels, some Piranha Plant pipes are now flush with the floor rather than extending above it, making them more difficult to notice and avoid.
  • In addition to the obvious Poison Mushrooms, many actual power-ups are now traps: in castles with ceilings, a Super Mushroom may make Mario too tall to make some long jumps (as his head hits the ceiling and causes him to fall into a pit or lava); and in athletic levels, a Super Star may prevent Mario from stomping atop Koopa Paratroopas in midair to complete some extra long jumps (causing him to fall into the pit below).
  • Holding A+Start on the title screen is no longer a continue code; instead, the player is directly given the option to Continue on the Game Over screen, and cannot return to the title screen without being forced to restart from World 1-1. (As the secret World 9's Game Over screen features a special message in place of any options, the player effectively cannot use any continues at all in that world; this does not hold true in Super Mario All-Stars.)
    • In the GBA version, holding A+Start on the title screen once again allows the player to continue, but only from Worlds 1 to 8. This is saved (along with their high score) even when the game is powered off, if the player saves their high score beforehand. This change also makes it possible to switch between Mario or Luigi without having to restart on World 1, which was not possible in the FDS version.
  • After beating the game, pressing B on the title screen no longer allows the player to start from any world, and there is no "new quest" where the player travels through the same levels but with tougher enemies. (The latter is essentially replaced by the secret worlds A-D.)
    • The Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. version of the game restores the world selection feature, allowing the player to access the highest world achieved in gameplay and all prior ones. Unlocking World A only does not unlock World 9 on the world select feature.
  • A new ending cutscene, reused from VS. Super Mario Bros., is included: After Bowser (or fake Bowser in World D) is defeated, Mario/Luigi finds Peach inside a separate room instead of simply being in the area behind the Bowser battle bridge, who then thanks him by reciting a poem, followed by the sky lighting up and turning blue and the seven Toads Mario/Luigi rescued earlier on reappearing and circling him and Peach (five of them are depicted floating in mid-air, each of their sprites rhythmically flickering) and exclaiming "Thank you[sic] Mario/Luigi!" Much like the case with Bowser's wristbands, the ending cutscene confirms the fact that Peach and the Toads' eyes appearing as black pixels is due to them actually being transparent and formed from the background color due to the NES' color palette being limited to having just three colors each. The ending is also reused after completing World D-4, despite Mario/Luigi only rescuing just three Toads there, as well as in All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros., where all of the Toads are replaced with caricatures of celebrities (again, even in World D-4) and Peach dressed as a geisha. In Super Mario All-Stars version, however, the ending is the same as the altered ending in the All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros., which instead features Mario rescuing Peach from a cage suspended over lava.

Controls[edit]

Due to the game having the same style of gameplay as Super Mario Bros., the controls remain the same.

Action(s) Famicom Controller / Famicom Mini Controller / Nintendo Switch Online NES Controller Game Boy Advance Nintendo GameCube Controller Wii Remote Wii Classic Controller Nintendo 3DS Wii U GamePad / Wii U Pro Controller (default) Nintendo Switch (Dual Joy-Con / Pro Controller) Nintendo Switch (Single Joy-Con)
Move; change position on a vine +Control Pad (left and right) +Control Pad left or right Control Stick (left and right) or +Control Pad Left-Right +Control Pad left or right Classic Controller Left Stick (left and right) or +Control Pad left or right Circle Pad (left and right) or +Control Pad left or right Left Stick (left and right) or +Control Pad left or right Left Stick (left and right) or Left or Right Buttons / +Control Pad left or right Control Stick (left and right)
Duck; enter Warp Pipe +Control Pad (down) +Control Pad (down) Control Stick (down) or +Control Pad Down +Control Pad down Classic Controller Left Stick (down) or +Control Pad down Circle Pad (down) or +Control Pad down Left Stick (down) or +Control Pad down Left Stick (down) or Down Button / +Control Pad down Control Stick (down)
Climb beanstalk +Control Pad (up and down) +Control Pad (up and down) Control Stick (up and down) or +Control Pad Up-Down +Control Pad up or down Classic Controller Left Stick (up and down) or +Control Pad up or down Circle Pad (up and down) or +Control Pad up or down Left Stick (up and down) or +Control Pad up or down Left Stick (up and down) or Up or Down Buttons / +Control Pad up or down Control Stick (up and down)
Jump; swim upwards A Button A Button A Button Two Button Classic Controller a Button A Button A Button A Button Single Joy-Con Right Button
Dash; throw fireball B Button B Button B Button One Button Classic Controller b Button B Button B Button B Button Single Joy-Con Bottom Button or Single Joy-Con Top Button
Pause; confirm selected option on title or Game Over screens Start Button Start Button START/PAUSE Button Plus Button Start Button Plus Button Plus Button Plus Button or Minus Button + SR Button
Select options on title or Game Over screens Select Button Select Button Z Button Minus Button Select Button Minus Button Minus Button Plus Button or Minus Button + SL Button
Start World A from title screen (after earning at least 8 stars) Press Start Button while holding down A Button Press Start Button while holding down B Button Press START/PAUSE Button while holding down A Button Press Plus Button while holding down Two Button Press Plus Button while holding down Classic Controller a Button Press Start Button while holding down A Button Press Plus Button while holding down A Button Press Plus Button while holding down A Button Press Plus Button or Minus Button while holding down Single Joy-Con Right Button
Continue in the same world after the Game Over screen N/A Press Start Button while holding down A Button N/A

Worlds and levels[edit]

Six levels in the game are reused from VS. Super Mario Bros. Additionally, 22 levels from the game appear in