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Super Mario Bros. 2 review

Game: Super Mario Bros. 2
Platform: NES
Genre: Action (Platformer)
Developer: Nintendo
AKA: Super Mario USA (JP)

Reader review by ratking

July 15, 2002

Super Mario Bros 2 is definitely a strange game. Like Castlevania, Zelda and other great series the second game differed from the methods the series has already taken, and will take from here on out. This game is definitely innovative and a major hit still today. But really is it truly a Mario game, for it differs so much from the first and the third for it is not the jump on top of goombas and kill them and where is King Koopa. Of course Mario is in a dream in this game, so who knows...

STORY (7/10): As I said Mario was in a dream, and well at the start screen if you don't hit the ''start'' button you will get the gist of it. You want to kill some guy named Wart I guess. No saving Peach, no defeating Bowser. I big difference then other Mario games, but it is nice to get a change.

GRAPHICS (14/15): Honestly the graphics are excellent in Super Mario Bros 2. They are colorful and very detailed for the NES system. You could almost believe it is a Super Nintendo game, and well it was ported to the GBA and still looked nice. Really in my mind this is one game that could've been used to show off the NES powers.

SOUND (8/10): Another marvel for the NES system is the sound capibility and they show it off in Super Mario Bros 2. There is the plopping of the vegetables as you pull them out of the soil, and the classic NES music. I mean, there is not much better than good ol' classical sound.

GAMEPLAY (36/50): Now alot of people love Super Mario Bros 2, and well they have their reasons. I do not love the gameplay at all in this game, and well I will say the truth of my feelings. First of all the good things: You can pick from four different character, and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. This is a pretty innovative thing for the NES. Luigi jumps farther, but it is harder to control. Mario runs faster, and has a high yet not long jump. Toad is also fast and he jump at a high arc. And of course for you lazy people who don't like tough jumps you can always just float with Peach. I usually use Toad, but if you are trying to win with as little difficulty as possible use Toad. Super Mario Bros 2 is a large game, and the levels are large also. There are dungeon type things were you are forced to pick up a key and run from moving faces. There are various bosses to fight like a huge Rat and a hydra. You hurt these people by throwing objects at them which is the point of Super Mario Bros 2. Instead of jumping on enemies and killing them, you have to pick things up and throw them at the enemies or pick up the enemies themselves. Also there are the egg shooting sub-bosses, who always set up their own deaths. Now to the weakness in the gameplay is it gets very repitive fast. All the levels are fairly similiar and need to use crazy jump, and at points falling long distances to avoid the faces. Also the levels of desert are very repetitive for all you do is work your way down long distances by picking up blocks of sand. However there are warp tubes to make the game move faster if you know where they are. The enemies are not to tough, and do not resemble the ones you learned to love in the original. Honestly, this is another example of a great idea changed for no reason. But it is still an ok game nonetheless.

REPLAYABILITY (5/10): I have never beaten Super Mario Bros 2, and in my mind out of all of the games created in this great series, this is the hardest. There are alot of insane jumps and such. Now if I do beat it, I probably will come back to it one day and try again, like I do with all classics. However it is not as addictives as other Mario games in my mind.

DIFFICULTY (3/5): As I said earlier this is the hardest Mario game. You have to make insane jumps off ostriches backs, and you have to time various jumps to pull things off. This game is probably the hardest in jumping timing, however the enemies are fairly easy. So it is basically a game where you die at the same place fifty or so times until you luckily pass through.

OVERALL (73/100): It sickens me when a great game is changed for really no reason. When you have a success already, you improve upon the idea that game created instead of creating a whole new experience. But that is what they did in Super Mario Bros 2, so really what can you do about it. For you vintage players out there, you obviously need to get the game but there are definitely many better NES games out there than this, and I really do not reccomend it to people just looking for a good game.

Rating: 7.3/10

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