The story of this game has been documented by a lot of people, starting originally as a prototype for a new Mario game with vertical levels and simultaneous multiplayer, to becoming Doki-Doki Panic in Japan, to becoming an actual Mario game in the West, because The Lost Levels was bullshit hard.
In hindsight, it's weird that Nintendo of America didn't allow Lost Levels to come over because of its difficulty, but allowed stuff like Zelda 2, but I digress.

Super Mario Bros. 2 plays very differently to the 1st game.
Instead of jumping on enemies, you pick up vegetables and throw them at the enemies.
Instead of saving Peach from Bowser, she's a playable character alongside Mario, Luigi & Toad, and you fight against a new villain called Wart.
Instead of defeating Goombas, Koopas and Lakitus, you defeat Shy Guys, Ostros, and Pokeys.

Of course, a lot of these changes come from its Doki-Doki Panic origin, but what I find so interesting is not only does this game expand the Mario universe ten-fold (even if this game is a dream, some of these elements carried over for future games), this game is a joy-ride from beginning to end!

I may be a bit alone on this, but I actually prefer this game over the original.
I have fun with both, and I do have some criticisms with this installment, but I just really like a lot of the stuff that Mario 2 offers.

While it may be a bit overdone nowadays, this title introduced the level themes we would see in future Mario games, like the Desert World, the Water World, the Ice World, you get it.

The characters all have their own unique attributes, and are really fun to play around with, and also add some extra replay value, and offer playstyles for either beginner players or more hardcore ones.

Yes, always fighting Birdo at the end of most levels can get tiring, and yes, some of the levels can get a bit long, but I had a lot of fun with this entry, and I'm really glad that it became a Mario game, even with many of its changes to the Mario formula.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a good game, and I had a lot of fun with it! :D

My favorite 2D Mario game in terms of atmosphere and aesthetics. Love how unique everything about this feels.

The platforming itself isn't as satisfying as found in the best of the series but it makes up for it in the depth brought in by the character variety.

Would love to see something like this again in the series as unlikely as that is.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a bizarre sequel to one of the most iconic video game mascots, but it’s a good game nonetheless. Instead of Goombas, Koopas, or Bowser himself, we have Shy Guys, birds with magic carpets, and Birdo. I think you all know the history surrounding this game, so I don't think I need to go over that.

It has aged in a few areas, and a few bosses can be quite a nuisance to beat when you're playing this for the first time (looking at you Fryguy), but it’s still a fun experience with solid gameplay and a variety of characters.

It's not my favorite 2D Mario game by a long shot, but I say this ranks above the first game for me and is miles better than The Lost Levels. I'm glad I got the chance to fully experience this game.

O melhor: Todos os conceitos e personagens criados que foram levados adiante pela série
O pior: Uns picos bizarros de dificuldade da metade pro final
Ainda assim: Melhor do que Super Mario Bros. 2 (The Lost Levels)

Super Mario Bros. 2: Doki Doki Panic Edition é responsável por vários elementos que compõem toda a série Mario até hoje, trazendo inimigos como Shy Guy e Birdo, e a possibilidade de escolher entre 4 personagens com habilidades próprias antes de cada fase. Como sequência do Super Mario Bros original, é sem dúvidas uma das mais inovadoras já feitas, e, olhando em retrospecto, foi uma decisão muito acertada da Nintendo americana, que acabou tornando todos os jogos da trilogia Mario do NES bem diferentes entre si.

Dito isso, esse com certeza é o jogo que menos gosto dessa trilogia. Os diferentes personagens jogáveis e jeito que alguns warps são distribuídos nas fases são pontos positivos, mas o level design é muito simples e os cenário são pouco variados, a ausência de power ups além da estrela de invencibilidade também é triste. A mecânica de atirar objetos e inimigos é meio desengonçada, e sinto que as fases finais tem uns picos de dificuldade com uns desafios de plataforma um tanto esquisitos (cavar areia por exemplo, bem chato).

Não que o jogo seja de todo ruim, o visual e as boss battles são bacanas. Mas sinto que esse é o Mario que eu mais aprecio por "valor histórico" do que qualquer outra coisa (tirando obviamente o Mario Bros original de Arcade), além da sempre curiosa história de sua origem.

What a weird and wonderful game. Though it looks like a Mario game, it doesn’t play like one. Instead of stamping on enemies’ heads, you now throw them at each other, and you can now play as four characters with varying jump physics, rather than just being restricted to Mario. After playing so many Mario games, this mix up to the formula was a breath of fresh air. Though it’s a shame these elements were executed with varying levels of success. There are some weird design decisions like having only three lives, leading to a lot of retries and having to repeatedly fight the same dumb bird(o) at the end of each level. However, this game did also establish some series staples with various world themes and some really creative enemy designs. Paired with some great level design, though slightly restrained by having to accommodate for the four different characters, makes for some great platforming. I had a lot of fun as well as frustration with this one, but regardless I appreciate the experiment.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is a game that gets more flack than it deserves. It has an incredibly interesting story of starting as this very bare bones potential Mario 2, only for Fuji TV to ask Nintendo to help promote their "Dream Factory" festival thing in the 80's, where Nintendo used their base Mario game but now with the mascots given by Fuji for the festival.

The festival was focused around children of the future, as the children of the 80's would be adults when the new millennium came, and hence, our future. Fuji decided it would be best to represent this all with a multi-cultural dream factory theme thing (I don't know either, guess you had to be there to really get it). The mascots to best represent this worldly theme was settled with an "Arabian Nights" inspired family. This festival was apparently a really big deal as Fuji was advertising this EVERY WHERE !!! (Can't really blame them... I mean they do own a massive TV station.)

But! After all this, they still needed a Mario 2 in Japan. I mean, he's the most popular game character since... well, since Mario! So Nintendo did the good honest thing and slapped together something more similar to the original game with some extra challenge and sent it out. That should keep 'em busy.

Though for Western fans this wasn't a problem. What the hell is Dream Factory? No one in the West could give less of a shit about some festival they can't participate in. But you know what the West loved? You won't believe it, but it's that same guy in Japan. All the kids will not shut. up. about Mario. So what did Nintendo do? They just finished their base game, with now added elements inspired by the Dream Factory, as hey, why not? The levels are already finished, aren't they? Mario is already in this crazy world fighting with turtles and saving princesses. Putting him in a dream environment with some desert themes and elements shouldn't be THAT out of place. Anyways, that other Mario game we made too hardcore for Western audiences.

And now we have the beautiful creature that is Super Mario Bros. 2 - or as they call it in Japan: Super Mario USA. Cause believe it or not, people in Japan were upset they didn't get the Mario version of Doki Doki Panic. Friends in Japan told me that most people (or maybe my friend circle is a little funny, wouldn't be the first time) actually prefer Super Mario USA to what they got as Super Mario Bros. 2. I mean, it's not too hard to envision. There must have been a big enough rumble within the Japanese fanbase for Nintendo to put an effort into having the Western game on the Famicom.

And now this is where I argue my main thesis to you. What is that? My thesis? Yes, this whole time my argument I want to make to you is how Super Mario Bros. 2 is one of the best Mario games EVER made and why it deserves that title. Yes, the so called "re-skin" of Doki Doki Panic that people in the West received. Oh, woe is us. We're so dumb that instead of getting the insane not-fun Mario 1 on crack sequel to Mario Bros. we got a game much closer to Miyamoto's original vision of Mario Bros. 2, with crazy fun bosses, new action techniques, and beautiful graphics, boo hoo.

Super Mario Bros. 2 is an amazing follow-up to the first Mario Bros, a game that often came packaged with your new Nintendo Entertainment System. Three years later, we get its sequel, and Holy. Crap.

This shit rocks.

First thing you probably notice is ~graphics~, because holy shit that screen gives ya some color now. Not only are the environments insanely more varied and fun to figure out, but they were challenging. Like honest to God challenging. Something you want in an NES game. Something that frustrates you at first, but once learning its patterns, is easily now wrapped around your finger. Just compare these two maps. Partial to just me, I also enjoy the art style change they go with in SMB2 and how it's a bit more chibi, with a dark indigo color to outline the characters now too (oh my, how Osomatsu ).

I guess you can say there's controversy on the change from jumping on enemies to throwing them, which at the time I can imagine wasn't the biggest deal. Sequels to old video games experimented with the formula all the time. Just look at Zelda II and hell, even the original Super Mario Bros. and how much it differs from its original arcade game. I personally liked the change, but in the end, I guess most people didn't as moving forward it became secured as a staple for Mario to stomp. Don't get me wrong though, the game was definitely still influential with us continuing to see Birdo, Shy Guys, and Luigi's famous high jump in future Mario series games.

If you're still on the edge of what to think about Super Mario Bros. 2, I like to note that Miyamoto states it is his favorite Mario game. Not his favorite Nintendo game, but his favorite Mario game, further settling on if we should even see Super Mario Bros. 2 as a true Mario game, when it's "just a re-skin". Clearly, you can see the love that was put into it. Mario or not. 真実は、嘘偽りのないこと、本当のことを意味する。

Nighty night, Mario

Other sources not already linked

Considering this is a reskinned version of Doki-Doki Panic, I'm surprised at how many mainstays of the Mario series - Bob-ombs, Shy Guys, Birdo, the 'Toad is Gay' song - originated from here!

The other surprising thing is that despite being a reskin, Super Mario Bros 2 is a perfectly good game! If SMB1 was the pure vanilla platforming experience, SMB2 adds a dash of flavor by adding the ability to throw, and plays around with the mechanic really well. Mario can chuck vegetables (?) at enemies, chuck enemies at each other or just chuck them off ledges like the genocidal maniac he is, and enemies have different movement patterns, different throwing arcs, and are quite intuitive to deal with - it's pretty obvious that trying to pick up a hedgehog will hurt you, for example. The game also has several 'upgrades' over the original, in the form of vertically scrolling sections, slight puzzle elements, variety in boss fights, and functionally-different characters instead of palette-swaps. One thing it has in common with the first game is an extremely forgiving early-game, which helps the player acclimatize to the new mechanics and is a refreshing change from many 80s games which overwhelm you from the start.

I do have to say that not everything sticks the landing; SMB2 is a more interesting flavor but the platforming fundamentals and controls don't quite match up to the original. The momentum and physics generally feel worse than in SMB1, but digging and climbing stand out as feeling particularly bad. The potions - which open a door to a kind of 'mirror world' - are in interesting idea but in practice are a needlessly roundabout way of obtaining powerups, and reliant on trial-and-error.

In the end, this more than stands the test of time - the influence this had on later "pure" Mario games is testament to this. And considering cases such as the West getting FF Mystic Quest while Japan kept FFV to itself, this is probably one of the very rare cases where the international gamers got the better deal.

As the "fake" Mario 2, it does a surprisingly good job at following up the original game, and providing a fun, unique experience. Sure, it may be different from every other Mario game released before and after this, but it still manages to be memorable and influential to the series after all this time.

The story is different, yet still simple, the gameplay is fun, the controls are tight, the choice of characters is nice and varied, the different abilities they have make you wanna experiment with each one, the music is catchy and iconic, the boss fights are varied and challenging, and the difficulty gives you a good, fair curve throughout.

Overall, despite not being a "true" Mario game, it still provides a pretty fun experience, and I would definitely recommend for any Mario fan to try out at least once.

Also, no, I've never played Doki Doki Panic, in case you were wondering, and I probably never will.

Game #5

There are two wolves inside of me. One says "A ROCKET. A ROCKET???! WHAT DID WE SAY ABOUT AESTHETIC CONSISTENCY TIMMY!!" and the other says "it actually brought almost as many series staples as Super Mario Bros. while the elements that did not return really sully the game" and both wolves are right actually I'm not picking any political wing today.

Atleast the ending is accurate. I wish this game was a dream too! Alas... Birdo (which was supposed to be the ostrich enemy's name apparently) turned out to be mad annoying before she transed her gender and i never got used to dealing with the eggs. Or the fireworks coming out that mouth.... yo wtf Birdo eat lmao

Was surprised how much I ended up enjoying playing through this, and unlike most NES games from this era I found myself not really wanting to use savestates or rewind much unless thrown into something explicitly pretty bullshit (the bomb in the room on 7-1 lol)

It's hard to imagine what the trajectory of Mario games would be like without this honestly, considering the very strong emphasis on item play and pickups, something that Super Mario Bros 3. and later Super Mario World would both use in their level designs; almost exclusively in a linear fashion however unlike 2's challenging routine of guiding a magic bottle over to urns to find warps. There's also a lot of clever skips reliant on the player experimenting with enemies and using them as platforms; something the series effectively never comes back to experiment with unfortunately. The gauntlets on 7-1 and 7-2 are pretty messed up and the final boss mostly amounted to waiting on the left platform but overall this was significantly more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

I feel like this is mandatory playing with or without savestates for any 2D Mario fan, if for no other reason than to act as a palette cleanser as being the most unique entry by a mile.

depending on the day i might be pressed to call this my favorite of the 8-bit super mario bros. tetralogy, it's really either this or 3, but life is good and we can have both. i think it's a real shame this game never got a true follow-up because the early, formative years of this franchise allowed for some really fascinating ideas. it's fun to really get a grasp on all four characters and figure out who works best for you where (i tend to stick to toad for most action-oriented levels, and luigi or princess for the wider, platforming-centric ones), and it's equally fun to explore the world of subcon; truly a unique locale in the mario franchise, a series which through its own rise to success would doom itself to a plethora of repeated world concepts and enemy types.

the music here is great, too! the overworld theme is an all-time classic and i've always enjoy the militant lower tones of birdo's theme. the color scheme on the nes version is really dreamy too, i like all the bright, stark primary colors and the cool pinks and blues of the ice levels a lot. just like the first super mario bros., it's also really fun to zip through this game in a matter of the, what, six necessary levels to complete it? - just as much as a full 1-1 to 7-2 playthrough nets you.

sometimes it pays to be the odd one out; there's really no other mario game like this and the only nes platformer i can say gives me a similar feeling of unique, dreamy wonder and timeless replayability is gimmick! - another personal favorite.

I actually prefer this over the first game

While I wasn't initially a fan of the new gameplay style it grew on me as it not only is it fun but it made every level more varied and unique, but its just fun to throw stuff at enemies. I like the bosses, more varied level themes and the choice of Playable characters which feel well balanced and equally fun to play.

Overall I had fun with this game though I hate the dream ending lol.