BS Super Mario USA

BS Super Mario USA is a direct sequel to Super Mario Bros. 2 (known as Super Mario USA in Japan) for the Satellaview, an add-on for the Super Famicom. It was the first Super Mario platformer game to make use of the Satellaview's Soundlink features. The gameplay and levels are essentially the same as the All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 2, but with numerous added features and a new plot, presented as a sequel to the original game.

General information
The game was released in four installments. In each one, the player is sent to a different Super Mario Bros. 2 "world". The goal is seemingly to collect the Gold Mario Statues located in each level, defeat the boss, and then find and beat Wart, who can be battled in any world when going down in any jar while the player is in Subspace. The player can select the levels in any order and return to the levels as often as desired until the "episode" ends at 50 minutes on the clock.

As the gameplay episode progressed, an audio drama would stream via St. Giga's Satellite radio, which would tell the narrative of the story.

Plot outline
After the events of Super Mario Bros. 2, Mario and friends believe Subcon is all a dream and move on. However, Wart returns and overthrows the King of Subcon in the heroes' absence. Mario and his friends must once again face the forces of Wart, including the Birdo trio, Mouser, Tryclyde, Fryguy and Clawgrip. Both the protagonists and their foes can use the power of the stars (satellites) to their advantage. In addition, Mouser has stolen the gold Mario statues, symbols of peace, and hid them throughout Subcon.

Release information
Being episodic, BS Super Mario USA was released on a weekly basis.

The four episodes were premiered during these weeks:

The timeframe in which these episodes were featured was from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM and 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM the following morning. It was rebroadcasted in June 1996 from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM and again in September 1998 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Differences and additions

 * Each broadcast takes place in a single world starting with its first level. After beating all three levels, players can change levels at any moment. This feature can be abused to cheat death, farm coins, etc.
 * The game has a built-in clock (meant to be in sync with real-time) that has the game start at :06 minutes in and end at :50 minutes in.
 * The player starts and ends the game as Mario but character changing is forced in timed events.
 * Mario Statues are included. Picking up one of these gives Mario an extra life and fills his Health Meter. There are three of these in each level, plus one obtainable from the end-of-the-world boss. They are usually out in the open, but sometimes are hidden in Subspace. Two of them only appear after backtracking to Phanto's room after using the key. Each statue can be collected only once.
 * Entering any jar in Subspace will lead to Wart's chamber. He can be defeated multiple times with each one awarding an extra life.
 * A points system was added. Points and extra lives can be gained, among other things, by defeating enemies in various ways. After defeating five enemies while invincible, the sixth will grant 1-Up and subsequent enemies 2-Up.
 * The "Today's Results Screen" can be accessed by pressing while in the level select screen. It tracks the Mushrooms, Cherries, Coins, and Mario Statues collected with the current level's stats in red. It also shows the status of the bosses and the score.
 * Key sequences in the narrative are accompanied by events that occur in-game. The most common of these are the character portraits at the top of the screen which show which character is talking. The top left is occupied by the good guys while the top right are the enemy bosses. These characters are engaged in off-screen shenanigans that can affect what happens on-screen:
 * Transformations:
 * Swap the player's character, in a few instances multiple times within a minute
 * Erase all enemies on-screen or turn them into small hearts, bombs, or other enemies
 * Slow down all enemies (same sound effect as a Stop Watch)
 * Turn all vegetables into coins
 * Grant the player invincibility
 * One minute of charge jump without need to squat
 * The player landing from a jump will have the effect of a POW Block
 * Black outs that hide everything but the player, enemies, and items
 * With a few minutes left, the locations of all mushrooms and statues that are hidden in subspace are revealed. Quicksand will also stop.
 * Enemy attacks:
 * Rain of Birdo eggs or Tryclyde fire
 * Wart blows deadly bubbles from under the screen
 * The Birdo trio dive attack like Beezos
 * Fryguy or a big Phanto will show up to hunt the player but they cannot follow to other screens. They fade away after a minute.
 * Large things that are thrown on-screen which takes out any enemy in its path including inactive Phantos but not world bosses:
 * When Peach gets angry, she will throw a trio of giant turnips which can also hurt the player. Villains can also throw a trio of giant turnips but they are black with an angry face or a trio of giant Birdo eggs.
 * Enemies throw a big bomb which explodes into smaller bombs
 * Near the end of the third and fourth episodes, allies will throw a trio of giant green or red mushrooms that refill the player's Health Meter while providing invincibility
 * Near the end of each broadcast, Peach will give out her which is a giant heart that slowly floats down. It refills the Health Meter and grants invincibility like the giant mushrooms. In the final broadcast, she will give out two of them.

When the time hits :50, gameplay switches to the Bonus Chance for three minutes. Here, players can increase the number of coins and extra lives which will add to the final score. After the credits, the "Today's Results Screen" reappears which will now include the player's extra lives. The player's score will be totaled up followed by a question of whether or not to submit the score for the Power Challenge tournament. Players must get all ten gold Mario statues to be allowed into the ranking with the top player of the week getting a real life gold Mario statue. It was also given to the player with the highest cumulative score from all four broadcasts. Along with the score from defeating regular enemies, the following are converted into points and added to the total:
 * Gold Mario statue: 50,000
 * Mushroom: 2,000
 * Coin: 100
 * Cherry: 100
 * Level boss: 5,000
 * World boss: 10,000
 * Wart: 20,000
 * Extra life: 5,000

The most efficient strategy used by contestants was to collect all the statues and then farm extra lives.

Staff
Directed by Programmed by
 * Toshiaki Suzuki
 * Shigehiru Kasamatsu
 * Yasunori Taketani
 * Nobuhito Koganezawa

Music
The Satellaview's Soundlink-capabilities allowed music to be streamed via Satellite radio. This game used this to enhance its soundtrack with songs that could not be performed via the Super Famicom's soundchips.

As the game played, music from the Super Mario World soundtrack and Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, Hop! Step! Jump! - as well as new, original compositions and jingles - would be used in place of the traditional Super Mario USA music. Surprisingly, none of the music is actually remixed or arranged from the original Super Mario USA.

Trivia

 * The cutscenes depict Mario and Luigi wearing their shirts and overalls in their original color scheme, despite that they have been swapped since 1988.