The Mario Brothers are back in a very wacky sequel.
THE GOOD
-Excellent level design
-Characters have unique attributes
-Epic boss fights
-Excellent music
THE BAD
-Controlling Luigi is nauseating
OVERVIEW
Forget about everything you did in the first Super Mario game because this sequel is completely different. After SMB1 Mario, being tired from his quest, falls asleep. In his dream he walks up a long staircase and enters through a door into Sub-Con, the land of dreams. The people of Sub-Con are in grave trouble because the creature known as Wart has captured the Sub-Con people and it is up to Mario and his friends (Luigi, Toad, and Princess) to free them. In Mario's dream you will explore some wacky worlds of ice, sand and grasslands. There are 7 worlds in all and each of them have 3 different levels, except for the 7th world which only has 2 levels.
GAMEPLAY
Super Mario Bros. 2's gameplay is completely different from the first Super Mario Bros. but this is not a bad thing. In fact the gameplay is quite fun. The big difference from this game and the first one is that instead of jumping on enemies to kill them you pick them up and throw them at other enemies or pick up other objects to throw at them. Another difference is the lack of a multiplayer mode. Instead if you want to play with friends you have to pass around the controller.
The controls for the game are very good for some characters and others not so good. Each of the four playable characters have unique abilities which makes the controls change per character. There are three attributes that differ between everyone and those are speed (movement), power (throwing power), and jumping (height of jump). Mario is good at everything, Luigi is average at speed and power but has the best jumping ability, Toad is the fastest and strongest but his jump is pathetic, and lastly the Princess is the slowest, weakest, and has an average jump but she can float in the air for a few seconds. Now the controls are fine for Mario, Toad and Princess but are horrible for Luigi. When he jumps he flails his legs which makes him unstable and a real chore with handling.
The level design for the game is really well done. You'll be exploring ice lands, desert places, grasslands and much more. Like SMB1 this platformer will have you jumping over pitfalls and maze crawling. Plus every level has secret power-ups like the mushroom which gives you more health (four health pieces max) or the StarMan which makes you invincible. Now if you thought the first Super Mario Brothers game had wacky enemies wait until you see the enemies in this game. Instead of koopa-troopers and goombas you'll be fighting shy guys, birdos and fry-guys. Also, instead of fighting Bowser at the end of each world you'll fight a couple of different bosses like Mouser (a giant mouse), Clawgrip (a giant crab) and Tryclyde (a three headed serpent). Of course Wart awaits you at the end of world 7 and he looks a lot like Bowser. Each boss will require different techniques and skill which makes the boss fights particularly challenging.
GRAPHICS & SOUND
The graphics are good in this game and much better than SMB1. And again the level design is top-notch.
Again the Super Mario series has put together an excellent musical score. And the goofy yet good sound effects make the game fun to listen too.
CONCLUSION
A lot has changed in this game from the first Super Mario brothers. But I will say that even though Mario 2 is completely different than Mario 1 you will still have another exciting adventure.