Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA)

For the Japanese only Super Mario Bros. 2, see Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

Super Mario Bros. 2 is the sequel to Super Mario Bros. for the NES. It features new playable characters such as Princess Peach and Toad. The game is based on an unpopular game in Japan titled Doki Doki Panic, with Mario characters replacing the original characters. The game later got released in Japan under the name of Super Mario USA (スーパーマオUSA, Sūpā Mario Yūesuei).

Innovations

 * It was the first Mario game to feature Luigi as being taller and slimmer than Mario due to the character models they had to work with. It was also the first game to feature Peach and Toad as playable characters, as well as the first to feature Peach as not being the damsel in distress in this game.
 * It marked the return of the POW block from Mario Bros.
 * It introduced the jackpot feature, where three Mario-related symbols could be lined up for prizes. In this game, it resulted in a 1-up. It was continued for Super Mario Bros. 3 where at the end of each stage a block could be hit and a random card would be acquired. Acquiring three of the same cards resulted in multiple 1-Ups and a dramatic screen featuring a giant picture of the card. No matches or 2/3 simply resulted in a single 1-Up. In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the cards were occasionally used to power up health points with all Mushrooms, flower points with all flowers, star points with all starmen, and fill everything with all Shine Sprites.

Plot
Taken from the instruction manual:


 * "One evening, Mario had a strange dream. He dreamt of a long, long stairway leading up to a door. As soon as the door opened, he was confronted with a world he had never seen before spreading out as far as his eyes could see. When he strained his ears to listen, he heard a faint voice saying "Welcome to 'Subcon', the land of dreams. We have been cursed by Wart and we are completely under his evil spell. We have been awaiting your arrival. Please defeat Wart and return Subcon to its natural state. The curse Wart has put on you in the real world will not have any effect upon you here. Remember, Wart hates vegetables. Please help us!" At the same time this was heard, a bolt of lightning flashed before Mario's eyes. Stunned, Mario lost his footing and tumbled upside down. He awoke with a start to find himself sitting up in his bed. To clear his head, Mario talked to Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach about the strange dream he had."

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Toad
 * Princess Peach

Non-Playable Bosses

 * Wart
 * Birdo
 * Mouser
 * Tryclyde
 * Clawgrip
 * Fryguy

Enemies

 * Albatoss
 * Autobomb
 * Beezo
 * Bob-omb
 * Cobrat
 * Flurry
 * Hawkmouth
 * Hoopster
 * Ninji
 * Ostro
 * Panser
 * Phanto
 * Pidgit
 * Pokey
 * Porcupo
 * Shy Guy
 * Snifit
 * Sparky
 * Trouter
 * Tweeter

Oddities

 * In the instruction manual, Birdo's description is "He thinks he's a girl and shoots eggs from his mouth. He'd rather be called Birdetta". Ever since, Birdo has been depicted as female outside of Japan. Birdo/Catherine has always been male in the Japanese versions.
 * In the manual and the end credits, the names of Birdo and Ostro were switched.
 * Robirdo is the robot Birdo in Super Mario Advance. First appearance: Super Mario Advance (December 31, 2001, Nintendo). Second appearance: Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse (November 1, 2002, Walt Disney Television).

Trivia

 * This game was featured on the cover of the first issue of Nintendo Power magazine back in 1988.
 * The game won 3 awards in the 1988 Nintendo Power Awards: Best Theme/Fun, Best Play Control, Best Ending.
 * In 1989, Nintendo Power published a two-part tip book for the game: Super Mario Bros. 2 Inside Out.
 * This is a sequel to Doki Doki Panic the unpopular game
 * This was also featured in Ultimate Super Mario in Nintendo Power Vol. 278 which was listed as number 5.

Remakes/Re-releases

 * Super Mario All-Stars (1993) (VG)
 * Super Mario Advance (2001) (VG)
 * Virtual Console