Different. I like that word, it works well for this game.
So Mario can still run and jump but you won't be seeing any Goombas this time around. Only Shyguys, Flyguys, Ladybugs, Phantos and a whole messload of new bosses. But no Bowser. Tell me, what is a Mario game without Bowser? Well this may be the only one and I sure did miss our favorite evil talking dinosaur but I got kind of tired of fighting him as every boss battle in the original. The main bad guy in SMB2 is Wart. He is an evil toad who cannot stand vegetables. In the game you use vegetables as one of the weapons. The other is jumping on your opponent and pressing the B button to left them up and then throw them into a pit or at another bad guy. There are also more boss battles such as a flame named Fryguy, a bomber mouse named Mouser and more.
The graphics have been improved. Even though this is still NES graphics and 8-bit it is much more detailed then before. Areas that weren't so detailed before were the ground and the sky which are much more improved in the sequel. Most of the environments and backgrounds look a lot better too. Like vases, trees, desert sand, pillars, the sun, clouds, etc. The game has a completely new soundtrack so sorry if you liked the main Mario Bros. theme, I did too but it's not here. Most of the new songs are still great.
Now this game is all different than before except that it's a Mario game and you can run and jump. But to put the cap on all the other differences, here is the last and main one. Well one of the main differences. You don't go alone. No I don't mean co-op but I mean that you get to choose your character. You can be Mario, Luigi, Peach or Toad. Mario goes at an average speed, pretty high jumper and moderately fast and picking up vegetables. Luigi is not as fast, rather slow actually. Not too good with vegetables either but can jump super high and falls down from his jumps slower. Peach is not very fast, can't jump high and is a slow vegestable picker but she can float in the air for about a second which is helpful for a handful of areas. And lastly, Toad is the fastest and strongest but he can't jump very high at all.
Now you know what Super Mario Bros. 2 is all about, it is a very fun game, and I highly suggest it. It may not be the best of the three Mario platformers on the NES, in fact it is the worst but it is still a great game. If you haven't played it than pick up a cart of it for NES and if you don't have a NES then pick up Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES and if you don't have a SNES than get a copy of Super Mario Advance because thats on there too. It's for Gameboy Advance and everyone has one of those right?
So bottom line, this is a great game, great graphics and sound and replay. Not quite as good as the others but still worth a look at.