Super Mario Bros. 2

Super Mario Bros. 2 (known as Super Mario USA in Japan) is, outside Japan, the second game in the Super Mario series. It is a 2D platforming game originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but was subsequently ported to many other systems, including being a Virtual Console game on the Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U. The game was originally released in North America on October 9, 1988. As a result of Japan already having a Super Mario Bros. 2 (known outside of Japan as Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels), the game did not make its debut in the country until after the release of Super Mario World, on July 14, 1992 (making it Japan's fifth installment of the series), under the title Super Mario USA. One of the central game mechanics that differentiates Super Mario Bros. 2 from other Super Mario games is that players can select four characters: Mario, Luigi, Toad, or Princess Toadstool, and each of these characters have their unique gameplay mechanics, offering advantages and disadvantages in their stats. Another distinction is that players cannot defeat enemies by stomping on them: players need to either toss items at enemies or pick up and toss enemies at each other to defeat them.

Super Mario Bros. 2 came about after Nintendo of America deemed Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels too difficult for Western audiences, which led Nintendo to redevelop the Famicom Disk System game Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic into a Super Mario Bros. game for the international release. After its release, the game became a commercial success, and eventually the game became well received enough that it was also released in Japan. After performing well both critically and commercially, Super Mario Bros. 2 has been re-released as one of the Mario games featured in Super Mario All-Stars, and as well as having its own enhanced port in Super Mario Advance. Many enemies first introduced in Super Mario Bros. 2 have become common recurring enemies in the Mario which includes Bob-ombs, Pokeys, Shy Guys, and more, while the gameplay ability of picking up various items and tossing them has been reused in several later games, one of the most notable games being Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

Story
Story from Instruction Booklet One night, Mario had a strange dream. He found himself climbing a long staircase leading up to a mysterious door. Opening the door, Mario's eyes fell upon an incredible world unlike anything he'd ever seen. A quiet voice spoke to Mario, saying,

"Welcome to Subcon, the land of dreams. Our once-beautiful world now suffers at the hands of the evil Wart. Please help us! Only you can free us from his tyranny. Oh, and remember one thing: Wart hates vegetables."

However, before Mario could figure out what was happening, he suddenly awoke on his bed and realized that it was all a dream. The next day, while heading out to a picnic with his friends Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, Mario told the tale of his strange dream. Hearing this was quite a shock to his friends, who all had the very same dream the night before.

Upon arriving at their picnic spot, the group noticed a small cave. Inside was a long staircase that led up to a door. At the top, the four friends opened the door and stood shocked by what they saw. It was Subcon - the world of their dreams!

Mario discovers that Subcon has been taken over by Wart and that the events of his dream are true. Mario and co. are now on a quest to defeat Wart and restore peace to the dream world. At the end of the game, Mario, Luigi, Toadstool and Toad are seen being chanted on by the inhabitants of Subcon, who are carrying Wart across the room. Mario then wakes up and wonders about whether the events were true or just a dream. He then continues sleeping and the game ends.

Gameplay
Since the game is based on Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, it has little in common with the original Super Mario Bros. For example, in order to defeat enemies, the player needs to pluck blades of grass to receive items (such as vegetables), and then throw the vegetables at them. It's also possible to defeat enemies by jumping on them, picking them up and then throwing them to other enemies. There are a few elements in common with its predecessor, however. Many power-ups are similar to that in Super Mario Bros., such as the Mushroom, although it has a different function; the Small Heart replaces the Mushroom.

At the beginning of each level, the player can choose between the playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool. All four characters have different powers and statistics. When entering the next level or losing a life, players can select a different character.

At the end of most levels of the game, the player fights Birdo. The player has to jump on the eggs that Birdo spits, grab them and throw them back, hitting Birdo three times to gain a crystal which opens the Mask Gate at the end of the level. There are several colors of Birdos: pink, which only spits eggs; red, which spits eggs and fireballs and green, which only spits fireballs. For the green Birdos, there are Mushroom Blocks nearby for the player to use instead.

There are seven worlds in this game. The first six has three levels apiece, and the seventh has two. At the end of each world, the player encounters one boss. Mouser is encountered at the end of World 1, Tryclyde in World 2, Mouser again in World 3, Fryguy in World 4, Clawgrip in World 5, Tryclyde again in World 6, and Wart himself at the end of World 7.

Controls

 * - Jumps; the longer the button press, the higher the jump.
 * - Dashes, picks up objects, throws objects, plucks vegetables, stops slots at the Bonus Chance.
 * - Pauses the game and picks options.
 * - Confirms choices after a Game Over.
 * (left/right) - Moves character.
 * (up) - Enters doors and other openings. Also used to climb up vines.
 * (down) - Crouches, enters vases, climbs down vines. If players duck long enough, they can do a Power Squat Jump.

List of levels
Enemies that first appeared in this game are marked with an asterisk.

Development
Super Mario Bros. 2 started out as a prototype Mario-style platform game developed by Kensuke Tanabe, a developer for Nintendo. The prototype game emphasized vertically scrolling levels and throwing blocks. It was originally intended to be a two player co-op game, allowing players to toss each other around. However, the technical limitations of the NES system made it difficult to produce a polished game with these elements. It was decided to add more Mario-like elements, such as horizontal levels (although many vertically oriented levels were retained in the final project). Some time later, the Fuji Television Company requested that Nintendo create a video game using Yume Kojo mascots, and Tanabe developed the prototype into Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, which became one of the best-selling games for the Famicom Disk System.

In 1987, Nintendo of America got its first look at the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2. Nintendo of America believed that Super Mario Bros. 2, which was a slightly altered version of the first Super Mario Bros. game with an increased difficulty level, would not be a commercial success in the United States and elsewhere in the world. To deal with this, Nintendo took the finished Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and reverted the licensing changes to once again feature Mario and his friends as playable characters. The game would later be released in Japan under the name "Super Mario USA" in 1992.

Many characters and abilities from Super Mario Bros. 2 later reappeared in the Super Mario series. Princess Peach's occasional ability to hover in midair and pull vegetables from the ground (Super Smash Bros. Melee), for example, originates from this game. Toad's nimbleness (as seen in the Mario Kart series, where he is a light driver with good acceleration, and from his running speed in Mario Sports Mix) could also have been influenced from his uprooting speed first introduced in Super Mario Bros. 2. Shy Guys, Snifits, Bob-ombs, Pokeys, and Birdo were also introduced and would later be incorporated into later Mario games. Some of the enemies (most notably Bob-ombs and Pokeys) have made countless reappearances as enemies within many of the later Super Mario titles. Wart, the main villain, never reappeared in a Mario game after Super Mario Bros. 2, but he appeared in the Nintendo Comics System, and was mentioned in later games. He also appeared as an ally in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening under his Japanese name, "Mamu".

Remakes and ports

 * In Japan, the American Super Mario Bros. 2 was eventually re-released under the name Super Mario USA. It was marketed as the American Super Mario Bros. 2, and the game is unaltered save for the title screen. As such, the cast uses the characters' English names (in the manual, their Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic names are also included). Super Mario USA is also the name of the game in the Korean Virtual Console version.
 * The game was ported to the American arcade machine, the Nintendo PlayChoice-10.
 * It was later ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, and it was also included in the Wii re-release of the compilation game, Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition. The All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros. 2 possessed updated graphics and music.
 * The NES version of the game was released on the Wii Virtual Console for 500 points in 2007.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl features masterpieces, short demos of games. One unlockable Masterpiece is Super Mario Bros. 2. Here, the player starts out with Peach immediately (however, it is possible to switch to a different character if the player gets a Game Over before they are forced to quit the game). To unlock it, one must win five brawls with Peach.
 * The game is one of the 30 titles included in the NES Classic Edition and Nintendo Classic Mini: Family Computer.

Super Mario Advance
The most notable port of Super Mario Bros. 2 is Super Mario Advance for the Game Boy Advance. This port featured the enhanced graphics and sound effects of the Super Mario All-Stars edition, as well as voice acting and various other slight changes. It was bundled with a remake of the original Mario Bros. game.

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong: Clawgrip tosses rocks in a very similar manner to the way Donkey Kong tossed barrels. Also, Clawgrip frequently bangs his chest like a gorilla. In the 16-bit versions, some of the indoor areas look like warehouses with familiar-looking girders in the background.
 * Donkey Kong Jr.: Sparks reappear in Super Mario Bros. 2. This makes them the only returning enemies to appear.
 * Mario Bros.: POW Blocks appear as usable items.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The Starman power-up appears in the game, as well as a remix of the overworld theme from Super Mario Bros. played in Subspace. Also, the Super Mushroom item, which originated from this game, appears in Super Mario Bros. 2, as well as the ability to shrink once the player is down to one heart point. Also, the ability to run by holding down the button is exclusive to the Mario series, and wasn't present in Doki Doki Panic. The title theme is a rearrangement of the underwater theme from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels: Players can choose which character to play as (though this is likely a coincidence given it was based off Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic). Luigi being a higher jumper than Mario is re-established when he replaced Mama in the game.

References in later games

 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Bob-ombs return here and act similarly as in Super Mario Bros. 2. Also, Mario can pick up shells or Ice Blocks to throw them. Desert, sky, and snow themes of levels and doors returned. Players can earn lives on slot minigame entering Spade panel.
 * Super Mario World: Pokeys, Ninjis and Pidgits first reappear here.
 * Wario's Woods: Toad's large strength returns in this game. Additionally, he picks up, carries, and throws his enemies in a similar fashion to the style presented in Super Mario Bros. 2. Some enemies such as the Spud also vaguely resemble the vegetables from Super Mario Bros. 2. Birdo also makes her first reappearance in the Mario series through this game.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee: A Super Mario Bros. 2-themed stage called Mushroom Kingdom II is selectable, and Birdo frequently appears at the sides of the stage, spitting eggs at the player. This stage also plays the theme song that is played throughout all the overworld stages in the NES game, as well as the boss music (during Sudden Death matches). Also, Princess Peach's moveset (floating and picking vegetables) was directly inspired by this game. There are also trophies of Birdo, Pidgit, and the vegetables.
 * Super Mario 64 DS: Luigi's scuttle jump appears to have been influenced by his jumping style from Super Mario Bros. 2.
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: Pidgits reappear and their attack in this game is heavily based on their way to move by flying carpets in Super Mario Bros. 2.
 * Mario Hoops 3-on-3: The final victory theme is a rearrangement of the ending theme of Super Mario Bros. 2.
 * Super Paper Mario: Francis mentioned having a comic called, "Cyborg Wart", which is clearly a reference to Wart. Also, there were Sammer Guys by the names of "Squatting Birdo", "Pidget on Wind's Breath", "Sleeping Turnip", "Upward Leaping Ninji", "Plugged Snifit" and "Guy Who Fry", references to Birdo, Pidgit, Turnip, Ninji, Snifit and Fryguy, respectively.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl: As with Melee, Peach contained the same moveset, and there's another trophy of Birdo. Also, Wart and Birdo's names appear in the random name selection. Finally, the game is available as trial game, or Masterpiece, to play. The character the trial starts out with is Peach, (but it is possible to play as another character if one gets a Game Over before the trial ends).
 * Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: In this game, Wiggler sometimes attack by pulling out vegetables, which are the same ones that are seen in Super Mario Bros. 2. Also, one of Bowser's brainwashed minions states that he forgot what Bowser's Castle was originally called (before it was turned into "Fawful Theater"), and mistakenly referred to it as "Mouser's Castle".
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: The way the characters are able to pick up the items, such as the POW Block, returns. This game also marks the first Super Mario platformer since Super Mario Bros. 2 to feature a playable Toad.
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2: Luigi's triple jump may be based on his jumps from Super Mario Bros. 2.
 * Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!: Arrangements of the Overworld Theme, Life Lost Theme, Boss Theme, and Boss Victory Theme are heard in World 1.
 * Mario Sports Mix: Toad's throwing animations appear to be influenced from this game. Additionally, Toad's high running speed returns in Mario Sports Mix.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: Mario and Luigi's chargeable jumps while crouching resemble the Power Squat Jump ability that the playable characters can perform in Super Mario Bros. 2 while crouching. The back flip addition works in the same way as in Super Mario Advance.
 * Mario Kart 7: The Shy Guy Bazaar course makes references to the elements from Super Mario Bros. 2 such as the addition of Magic Carpets and vases in their original color schemes. Aside from namesake, Shy Guys also appear to be the dominate audience members throughout the course.
 * New Super Mario Bros. 2: A night level in the game has platforms that resemble the overworld from this game.
 * Paper Mario: Sticker Star: Pokeys based on their appearance in Super Mario Bros. 2 return. Also, the main theme is a jazzy version of the credits theme from this game.
 * Super Mario 3D World: Princess Peach and Toad are once again playable characters, and everybody has the same abilities as in Super Mario Bros. 2. A remix of Super Mario Bros. 2's "character select" screen is used as the music for the Lucky House's music.
 * Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: The ability to pluck items out of the ground (using Item Handles) and the ability to carry specific enemies were brought over from Super Mario Bros. 2, according to Kensuke Tanabe.
 * Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker: Turnips return, alongside various roof structures that resemble Wart's castle.
 * Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS: The door sprite from Super Mario Bros. 2 is used in the Super Mario Bros. 3 game style from these two games.
 * Paper Mario: Color Splash: A remix of the overworld theme from Super Mario Bros. 2 is used in a slot machine bonus room. Vases make an appearance in Château Chanterelle. Wart is mentioned in the game by a yellow Toad.
 * Super Mario Run: Ninjis return in this game, retaining their appearance from the NES version. A remixed version of the underground theme from Super Mario Bros. 2 is featured in the background music for Remix 10.
 * Super Mario Odyssey: Mario can carry and throw Turnips, similar to Super Mario Bros. 2.

Notable mistakes and errors
Some errors can be found in the credits of the game:
 * Ostro and Birdo have their names swapped.
 * Hoopster is spelled "Hoopstar".
 * Clawgrip is spelled "Clawglip".
 * Tryclyde is spelled "Triclyde".

These errors remain in Super Mario All-Stars, but are fixed in Super Mario Advance. However, all Japanese releases (dubbed Super Mario USA) do not change the names in the credits, instead keeping the Western localizations.

Another mistake which was never fixed for the remakes is the color of the vegetable tufts – in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, the grass is consistently black, while in Super Mario Bros. 2 they are red but keep the black coloring after being picked up. Remakes maintain the red coloring for the tufts, though they turn green when dug out.

Additionally, at least three versions of the North American manual exist. One version provides the full description of Birdo ("Ostro") as "He thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He'd rather be called "birdetta."", while another version omits the second sentence. The full "Birdetta" version is more true to the original Japanese version, which explains that Birdo, known as "Catherine" in Japan, would rather be called "Cathy." A third version of the manual is known to exist which properly labels Birdo and Ostro, keeps the full Birdo bio, and shows artwork of the unusual pink Beezo as gray and misnamed. This matches its depiction in the game and the Doki Doki Panic manual.

The NES Super Mario Bros. 2 manual reuses enemy sprites and artwork from the Doki Doki Panic manual (with the notable exception of the Pokey artwork, as well as the omission of a grey Shy Guy and addition of Tweeter, Flurry, Spark and Clawgrip ). Thus, it uses the designs of Albatoss and Phanto from Doki Doki Panic.

During the ending celebration sequence in the NES version, there are common mistakes in the number of levels each hero completes.

Staff
A number of people involved in the game include the composer Koji Kondo, known for composing the main Super Mario Bros. theme. Kensuke Tanabe is the director of the game with Shigeru Miyamoto and Hiroshi Yamauchi as producers.

Pre-release and unused content
A prototype build was purchased in 2005. There is a different color palette, which includes tans and oranges, which contrasts with the final version's reds and blues. Princess Peach is shown to have more hair. Characters needed to use a Magic Lamp to access Subspace, similar to Doki Doki Panic.

Vase-entering glitch
This is a major glitch. It requires precise timing; the character must be small and must enter a vase at the same time he or she is hit by a Phanto. If this is done correctly, the defeat fanfare will play as usual. However, the character will still go through the vase. When he or she exits, the character will have no health sections left, yet will still be alive. This glitch remains in the All-Stars remake.

Disappearing Mushroom Blocks
If the player throws a Mushroom Block offscreen and does not see it land, even to a place where it should safely land, it disappears until the player leaves through a door and comes back.

Critical reception
Super Mario Bros. 2 has been received positively, with IGN editor Lucas Thomas praising the graphics, sound and replay value, although he insisted that Western gamers could have gotten into the Japanese version of the game. GameSpot critic Alex Navarro agreed, and commented that the game "...shows that veering from the beaten path of a franchise's standard game design isn't always a bad idea".

The game placed 47th in the 100th issue of Nintendo Power's "100 best Nintendo games of all time" in 1997. . It also placed 81st in the 200th Issue of GameInformer's "Top 200 Games of All Times" and placed 18th on IGN's Top 100 NES Games list. As for sales, it's the fourth best-selling NES game, with 10 million copies sold worldwide.

Television
Super Mario Bros. 2 was represented heavily in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! along with the original Super Mario Bros. Nearly all of the characters (notably excepting Wart) and game play props appeared in the stories, and were in fact often more prominent than the original game's features.

Quotes

 * "Uprooting and lifting things as you played gave the game a new feel. It was released in Japan as Super Mario USA." — Shigeru Miyamoto, ''Super Mario History 1985-2010 Booklet
 * "The basic controls have a very free, silly feeling to them that I absolutely love." — Takashi Tezuka, Super Mario History 1985-2010 Booklet
 * "I adjusted the sounds of the NES to make it sound like a lot of different instruments were being played." — Koji Kondo, Super Mario History 1985-2010 Booklet

Trivia

 * This is the first Mario platformer to feature Princess Toadstool and Toad as playable characters.
 * This is the first game in the Super Mario series not to feature Bowser with the second one being Super Mario Land and the third one being Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.
 * The Mario picture that appears in the box art is a flipped and modified version of the picture that appears on the Super Mario Bros. box art.
 * According to the official artwork, this is the last game where Mario wears a blue shirt and red overalls. For Super Mario Land onward, the colors of his shirt and overalls are swapped. This is the only game with artwork that shows Luigi wearing a blue shirt and green overalls. For Super Mario Bros. 3 onward, the colors of his shirt and overalls are swapped. Future ports of the game corrected the artwork depicting Mario and Luigi's shirt and overall colors to match their appearance in the games.
 * If the player takes the shortest route possible, the only bosses the player needs to fight are Birdo, Tryclyde, Mask Gate and Wart.
 * Defeated enemies and Birdo can re-spawn if the player runs one screen away from the area where they normally appear and return, which may allow the player to defeat the enemies again in order to regain health if necessary. This still occurs in later releases including Super Mario Advance, but a defeated Birdo will not reappear unless the player completely leaves and re-enters the areas where Birdo is fought.
 * The South Korean Virtual Console release on Wii is the Japanese version, Super Mario USA, whereas the 3DS uses the English version, Super Mario Bros. 2.