Super Mario Bros. 2

This game took Super Mario Bros into intriguing new territory, and did so very successfully.

User Rating: 8.5 | Super Mario USA NES

By J-Man2244 | Review Date: April 7, 2012

The follow-up to the classic Super Mario Bros for the NES was probably shocking to a lot of players when it first came out because, characters aside, Super Mario Bros 2 bears very little resemblance to its predecessor. The levels are a lot more massive than ever before, the entire combat system was re-imagined, and the game itself plays a lot more like a puzzle-based game than your typical 'obstacle course' Super Mario game. While many gamers tend to cry foul that this doesn't stick to the famed series' roots, I think Super Mario Bros 2 is an excellent game in all regards. To go a step further, I even prefer this (by a large margin, actually) over the first Super Mario Bros game. Definitely don't overlook this NES title because it feels different from the rest - it's every bit as good.

Super Mario Bros 2's base concept is still in platforming, but rather than jumping on enemies to eliminate them, this time jumping on enemies can only be used for transportation. It adds an intriguing new level of depth to the game, and while it was removed in Super Mario Bros 3, I like this style of gameplay quite a bit. The level design is also very non-linear at times, and I get a greater feeling of exploration from this game than I do from the original Super Mario Bros. Graphics-wise, this game is also excellent for an 8-bit machine - everything is sleek and colorful, and the music is every bit as good you'd expect from a Mario title.

This 1988 2-D platformer is one of my absolute favorite NES titles, and although the second half of the game occasionally gets too tough (for me, at least - I'm horrible at platforming games), this is a near-flawless NES adventure. This is an under-appreciated game for sure, and anyone who enjoys platformers that challenge your fingers and your brains owes it to themselves to play this awesome NES title.

Other Helpful Reviews for Super Mario USA

• Rating:8.3

  Different from other games in the series.

  By judog1 | Review Date: Jul 20, 2006 | NES

  Super Mario Bros. 2 is the sequel to Super Mario Bros. This game is a remake of the Famicom game Doki Doki Panic except the characters from that game are replaced with Mario characters. The Japanese version of this g... Read Full Review

  16 of 17 users found the following review helpful
• Rating:9.1

  Under rated! the second Mario Bros. game was largely different from Mario's other games. Different dosn't mean bad.

  By FrostyGoat | Review Date: Jun 12, 2006 | NES

  Ok as a little kid when I played this game I didn't really understand it much. I started out on Super Mario Bros 3, which was far far different from the likes of this game. Here you control four charcters opposed to cont... Read Full Review

  5 of 5 users found the following review helpful