"Super Mario Bros. 2" happens to be my most favorite Mario game of all time, and this is definitely one of the most respectable reviews I've ever seen for it as well. Bravo! :D
How long have I waited for a spiritual successor with: 1) Wart as the vallain 2) Multiple exits based on unique character abilities 3) More playable Mario family characters (Daisy, Wario, Toadette, DK, Yoshi, Waluigi, etc)
5 years late. But, I'm with you there. My favorite Mario game as well. When it came out, we were mesmerized. Then shortly after the smb3 campaign started. And kinda robbed my friends attention.
I'm happy to see someone said that this game is better than Mario 1. Yes, I know, it is blasphemy, but it is so true for all of the reasons you said. .Looks better, plays different from the first game, different enemies, actual different bosses at the end of the stages (yes, some repeats, but they were learning). Also the four different character options was great and made the game a lot of fun. So many good memories of this game. I know it is Doki Doki panic, but the polish that this game got over the Doki Doki game and all of the fun stuff (including some useful glitches) made the game a lot of fun and worth playing. Thank you and yes, this game is better than Mario 1. Again, glad someone agreed to that.
The slot machine is not luck based. There is a clear timing which admittedly is hard to nail but as a kid, in my heyday I could get half a dozen to a dozen lives in a row
On the All-Stars 16-bit version, you could now get as many as 10 1-Ups at a time, which could be done if you got three sevens in a row. And this is further improved in the Super Mario Advance version for the Game Boy Advance, where you could bet as many coins as you want and hope all the threes match to really max out your lives (for example, bet 10 coins and then match three 7s for 100 lives)!
Yep. Just mash the button for the first two slots, which would 90% of the time match, then wait a beat-and-a-half and hit the button again. As long as the first two matched, the third would as well every time.
Exactly, it’s not luck based. I got so good at it, I was able to clear 99 lives. When you do, the counter changes to A1, after ten more lives, it changes to B1, and so on.
@@EdmacZ Not this one; picking up stuff fast is essential in this game, especially late game where you're being pelted with projectiles or flown into while picking up your weapons. Also the DKC series would like a word, as well as Rescue Rangers. Rescue Rangers just had picking up being as fast as possible (something you'd take for granted for that very reason) and DKC actually makes the way a character picks something up into a core gameplay mechanic. Running really fast is essential for jump momentum in many platformers; the original Super Mario Bros is really hard without the B button, and I don't care to try DKC without running. To summarise your argument as well: "the best character in the game is actually not the best character in this game because they're only useful in this game and wouldn't be useful in some other games." Think about how that argument makes zero sense.
Toad works the best in the desert levels but I don't really use him much in other levels. He can be more frustrating in ice levels and in levels where you need Peach's hover ability or Luigi's jumping.
@@cctakato3302 In 4-2 I find that his shorter and quicker hops are better at dodging that barrage of Beezos, but yeah he does suck on the other ice levels. I use Peach or Mario for those.
@@aquaarmour4924 wrong. SMB 2 started out as a mario game, developed by the same team that did SMB 1 and SMB 3, and then it was turned into Doki Doki Panic, and _then_ it was turned _back_ into a mario game. Explain how it's not a mario game when it's made by the same team and was always meant to be a mario game from the very start. Explain your reasoning, assuming you used reason at all
My favorite things about Super Mario 2. No clock and backtracking. I could take my time to explore the game without the extra pressure of completing it before time runs out. And with backtracking, I could go back and get something I missed.
The timer was such an outdated mechanic for the Mario games. There's just no reason to pressure the player into going fast. If I want to explore the levels slowly, let me do that.
Clawgrip isn’t well remembered because there were two chances to warp beyond him, shortly before finding him One in world 4 and one in 5-3 before you get to clawgrip.
I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard about this ME before, it’s not an effect for me, but I don’t doubt it is one because you never know what other people had in their version of life. I think people would remember it was misnamed clawglip in the NES version even if they never fought it. And yes, SM2 is better than the original
HardcoreGamer4Ever oh but it is. Just look at it’s dev history. When it was Doki Doki Panic, the developers- who were mostly the same team that made the original Super Mario Bros- original were making a Mario prototype. They just used what they were already doing as a base when they were asked to make Doki Doki Panic. So really, Super Mario Bros 2 as we know it in the West is less of a palette swap or romhack of DDP and more like the game being turned back into what it was originally going to be. It plays like Mario also to a T, so really it makes sense that Nintendo just localized this perfectly Mario-type game they had lying around from a Japanese gaming festival license as a proper Mario game. Perfect stopgap between Mario 1 and 3 in the US. Really the whole thing was a brilliant marketing and development move.
It is a real Mario game. Code and game templates gets reused and re-branded quite a lot, and there's nothing wrong with that. It was largely the same team anyway, so it has the perfect heritage to be a Mario game.
Mario was always my go-to in the game. I like the strengths of the others, but they all came with weaknesses too. But not Mario. Mario I always found to be the most reliable. He may not have the best jump or speed, but he still had good jump and speed. You weren't sacrificing one thing for another, you didn't need to worry about him falling short somewhere. He could tackle any challenge confidently. Really well done video, glad to see much love for a game I always enjoyed!
I want to note that Nintendo wasn't bucking convention by not having King Koopa (he wasn't Bowser yet) be the villain, or not having Toadstool (she wasn't Peach yet) be kidnapped. Those had only happened in one game at this point, so there was neither expectation nor tradition of it.
They actually were named Bowser and Peach back then, but only in Japan for some reason. Princess Peach was her Japanese name, but in the US they changed it to Toadstool to try to make it fit the Mushroom Kingdom more. So she for years was called Peach in Japan and Toadstool in the rest of the world, until Mario 64 where both names were used likely to establish they were the same and end the 2-name nonsense, because after Mario 64 they just stuck with Peach everywhere in the world. If you ever beat the 1986 Japanese-only PC game Super Mario Bros. Special by Hudson Soft, you'll see as part of the end credits where they list all the characters that it says Princess Peach instead of Toadstool, which confused me at first as well before I found this out. Anyway, I talk too much lol. Bye.
Great video, but I think you're being very short sighted when it comes to Mario... He is the balanced character and the one you want to use if you don't want any particular advantage, wanting to go for a more traditional vanilla playthrough - he is essentially the character to use for a hard more play through. 😎
Very interesting video, I loved #2 when it came out cause it looked so much more advanced than SMB1. Great times, I loved how different & "weird" it was, it all clicked years later when I heard it wasnt originally a Mario game! I still pop it in sometimes, classic game.
Super Mario Bros 2 is my favorite Mario game still to this day. Before Nintendo even intended to make Doki Doki Panic, the project was intended to be the second Mario game. But afterwards Nintendo decided to shelve the project and decided to take the first Mario game and modify it by adding more obstacles to make the games harder and released it as Super Mario Bros 2: The Lost Levels (Japan). So to me Super Mario Bros. 2 of USA is as real as any other Mario game.
I only ever played as Toad, I beat the whole game with him. This game receives a lot of hate because it isn't a real Mario game but what they fail to realize is Shigeru Miyamoto did not work on the Japanese version of SMB2, it was basically a rom hack, he was working on the first Zelda game at the time. He did however work on Doki Doki Panic and although they did a rom hack to make it in SMB2 he still worked on the original. I just never got the hate and is what is more frustrating are some of the haters actually are old enough to play it when it came out. I know a lot of the younger generation that didn't play this when it was new and only after finding out it isn't a 'real' Mario game can hate it but come on, every kid who was around when this came out loved it.
You crazy as hell playing as Toad. Luigi and Toadstool/Peach is where it's at! Gotta give it to you though... It's a much more difficult game with Mario and especially Toad imo.
I can beat the game easily with any character, but I still always go back to Princess. I grew up using her, and I loved playing her and Toad because them being non-playable in other games made it so satisfying to play them. I use mostly the buster in any Megaman game.
Same here. I played it as a kid and was amazed when I saw a female character that was playable. Her floating jump made it very easy to use her, so she was instantly my favorite. Toad was always the character I chose for the second (?) level in the ice world where you had to dodge all the Beezos coming at you. Toad's low jump and fast speed made navigating their formation pattern easy.
@@tossingturnips Yeah, I always loved when there was a girl option even though I'm a guy. Anything uncommon appealed and still appeals to me. I always did the Justin Bailey password for Metroid for this reason. Plus, I was girl crazy at a young age when most boys want nothing to do with girls. That had a little to do with it.
I still love this game. Don't get why some people these days call it the black sheep of the franchise. That only happened because they learned its history. Doki Doki panic is far less polished, I mean, you can't even run! Some Sprite just looked weird in it. The changed that were made were certainly welcome. Somewhere in my parents' house this is a VHS cassette if me beating this when I was like 7. I should go back and watch it. I just remember I hit pause for like 6 seconds, forgetting I was recording it. This was to prove to my dad that I beat it, 'cause he said he'd give me $50 if I did. It's a good memory. Is this one of the rare main Mario games without swimming. Huh. Anyways, great video, as usual!
It's because they learned *half* its history. Doki Doki Panic was built off the SMB2 prototype, so SMB2 started its development as SMB2. The fact that it was released as something else at some point in the process doesn't make it any less of a Mario game.
And Super Mario 3 incorporates features from SMB2. In the very first world of SMB3 you would have never knew to hit the question block on the ground by picking up the turtle shell after stomping the turtle and taking it to throw at the block.
Excellent, the narration sounded great tonally in this video. Very good 20+ minute vid on a game that's had a lot said about it already, so props for finding new things.
extremely well presented, 22 min is a long time to talk about anything especially with such a dense narration . Well done! Although im not sure its accurate to praise it in comparison to SMB when its not a true sequel. I actually found it surprising there was no mention of doki doki panic, usually its the go to factoid when talking about SMB2
I may be crazy, but this is my favorite of the NES trilogy and the one I revisit most often. SMB3 is undoubtedly the "greatest NES game" for what that's worth. I still find the world and core mechanics of SMB2 to be more vibrant, dynamic, and plain fun. Incidentally, Clawgrip is just a crab. Concept and design-wise, he has the least going on. This makes him easier to forget than the bipedal mouse in shades, the three headed snake, or the flying fireball. That's my theory, at least.
I understand why some say this is their favourite in the trilogy. As much as I love Mario 3, its really huge length for a game you have to beat in one sitting makes it a game where I have to be in a certain mood to play it. I think Mario 2 has the best length of the trilogy, a longer game than its predecessor but not too long which I like.
Keep dropping videos.....you, snes drunk and cinemassacre have the best videos bro we need you!!! You have the most in-depth perspectives though so in my opinion are the best!!
You mentioned that the fact that most players remember their copy of SMB2 not having Clawgrip as a boss was more interesting than the boss itself. It makes me think that the reason most players have that false memory is because Clawgrip was such a forgettable boss that players literally forgot he was in the game. Not to discredit the game as a whole, though. I love this game!
I think it might be the book in the Wii version of Allstars that mentions they approached this game as if it were a Mario game, and it had the same core team of developers as SMB. I'll have to play through Mario Advance, because I really don't remember some of those bosses at all.
Pfffffff this game has been already reviewed a million times before by million youtube channels under different names such as,,,, review,overview,recap,re,examen etc,, man how many times does it can it & has to be reviewed? It’s all barely the same opinion. Thing is i,ve wasted 2/3th of my life playing this game over and over and over again and i alway’s liked it,,,but eventrough it’s still good but at the otherhand i take it for grantage too becau i am waay toooo formilliar with it. Am sorry .
This game never gets the respect it deserves. They cut it out of Mario maker. I don't get it. It's a fun different engaging game that is often over looked. I loved it as a kid.
It's Nintendo. They could do it. The snes version proves it. They had to recode the entire game. Mario 2 should have given it way better homage. Thye just didn't.
Great video review. I remember when I first played it when I was a kid, I didn't like it much at first, but I kept playing it anyway because it was different. My attention shifted to SMB3. However, I recently saw another video that talked about the ending, namely Mario sleeping in bed dreaming about the ending of the game, implying the entire game was a dream. Since SMB2 was basically a rom hack of Doki Doki Panic, I think this was a cool way to do it. Mario saved the Princess in SMB1, then had a dream about going on new adventures with 3 of his best friends to rescue someone new. Of course the in-world elements of SMB2 would look different from the rest of the franchise since it's not in the actual SMB universe. SMB2 is Mario's dream, but a recurring dream that changes a bit each time it happens.
I can't believe after all the intensive coverage that game has had, no one on this vid or comments section mentioned how when you pause in Wart's room, it plays the normal boss music for the game.
Awesome review as always! I feel like playing the one on the GBA again. Fun fact about it is that it's not a, let's say, direct port of All Stars. The GBA one has a bit of differences, besides presentation, like all the playable characters or the bosses having some voice lines. There some huge Shy Guys and huge vegetables that can easily hit more enemies in succession. Also there are 5 collectable red coins in each level. After you beat the game, there's a Yoshi Challenge mode or something like that. Here you have to collect in each level 2 Yoshi eggs hidden in subspace and beat the stage without dying. I don't remember if there was a reward for doing that, but there it was.
SMB3 is my all time fav but SMB2 is definitely up there as one of my favorite games of all time. Had it on NES as a lil kid and on SNES as part of SMB All Stars as a teen. Nowadays I play both iterations on my daughter’s Switch.
Before getting to Clawgrip, there are two tempting warps, during the game, that take you either to world 6 or world 7. And one of them, is precisely, at the beggining of 5-3, Clawgrip's level. When I finally decided to explore level 5-3, I had finished the game several times, because of that. As, like me, others. I think that's probably why many people forget about him. Great review, worthy of a great game.
I get this wasn't the real SMB2 but it was what I grew up with. You absolutely nailed it with this review. This is a very underrated sequel and was unfairly labeled as the redheaded step child of the Mario franchise. Kudos on a great video!
This is one of my favorite Mario games, the music and the changes between the other games made me feel like I was in a different universe. Which I know now it kinda was lol. Anyway loved watching this great job breaking down the differences of the characters and levels!
Super Mario 2 had a charm that is unique amongst the rest of its game. Its fun! Music is catchy, exploring was fun and theres a little difficulty in some stages! Love it. This is my first video im watching of your channel and I love how in depth you go with SMB2. Automatic subscriber.
Creativity, platforming and level design at its best. This game never fails to awe me. Nintendo should remaster this so it can reach bigger audience and everyone can cherish this greatness.
Your hitbox as Small Mario isn't even shortened it seems. Rather than having small mario be 1 block high and Super Mario 2 blocks high, it seems both are 1.5 blocks high hitbox-wise. When you crouch you're 1 block high obviously.
I was really fucked up when you talked about Clawgrip. I don't remember that one bit. Then I started thinking....a lot of kids probably used the warp pipes like I did so it must skip that boss when you do that....if that doesn't explain it...then idfk that's messed up.
You are correct. It's very easy to skip Clawgrip entirely by warping. When I played the original version as a kid, I skipped his stage far more often than I played it.
Clawgrip was definitely in the first game, and hell to fight. It's just that Mouser and Triclyde are impossible to miss (Mouser being the first boss so you'll probably fight him in casual play and at least one Triclyde fight being mandatory) and Fryguy was in the cartoon.
Mario 3 is the first game I remember beating as a kid. I may have beat Mario 2 and 1 already, but Mario 3 was so big and hard to me at the time and there was no save option. You just use to leave your NES on for days. I eventually did it though. I remember running downstairs to tell my dad. I was so excited.
One of the best games of all time it deserve more attention other than it didn't start as a Mario game it should be acknowledge as one of all time best games
Great review! I get so tired of hearing people say that this "isn't the REAL SMB2" or that it "isn't really a Mario game". I absolutely agree with you that this game took the right approach to developing a sequel, making it similar enough to feel familiar yet different enough to feel fresh! Not to mention all the mainstays that this game introduced to the series, like Shy Guys and Bob-ombs. Despite its origin story, THIS game (not SMB2(J) aka The Lost Levels) is the real SMB2!
Check you're facts. If you're in North America then yes this is your SMB2. The truth is this game is Doki Doki Panic just with Mario sprites added for a north American release. The lost levels that you know in Allstars is the real SMB2.
@@fredlamberton165 I'm aware that SMB2 is a re-skinned version of Doki Doki Panic. What I'm saying is that, the original SMB2 (aka The Lost Levels) feels more like an extension of the first game than a true sequel (more like SMB 1.1). Whereas the Western SMB2 greatly expanded the Mario formula and introduced many new elements that have been part of the series ever since. Things like vertical scrolling, carrying items, and most of the enemies. For these reasons, the Western SMB2 feels more like a true sequel
@@km_studios technically no, though. This may be more widely known than the lost levels, but because it's a reskin it means that Doki Doki Panic is originally not intended to be apart of the mario universe.
@@Skynyrd158 People seem to forget that Doki Doki Panic was only released in limited capacity as promotional game for NHK. most of Japan never got Doki Doki Panic. It wasnt until it was released as SMB 2 that it was released Commercially. Also Miyamito considers SMB 2 USA as his favorite Mario game, Now i think i would take the word of the Original Creator than a Rando on the internet playing "well actually"
I hate how many people still dismiss this game as not a true Mario game. It is, especially if you look at its development history beyond being originally Doki Doki Panic. When it was being developed as what would become Doki Doki Panic, the developers- who were mostly the same team that made the original Super Mario Bros- original were making a Mario prototype. They just used what they were already doing as a base when they were asked to make Doki Doki Panic. So really, Super Mario Bros 2 as we know it in the West is less of a palette swap or romhack of DDP and more like the game being turned back into what it was originally going to be. It plays like Mario also to a T, so really it makes sense that Nintendo just localized this perfectly Mario-type game they had lying around from a Japanese gaming festival license as a proper Mario game. Perfect stopgap between Mario 1 and 3 in the US. Really the whole thing was a brilliant marketing and development move.
I think picking Mario offers balance.....he has dead on controls....like you said, Mario is familiar so we know what to expect from him which makes him cool based on the fact we don’t have to get used to anything new with him...
Something else I bet you didn't know is that the end of level bonus rounds aren't really luck based. The items cycle at a fixed pattern and rate and then move so many spaces once you pick, so you can time your picks to get whatever you wanted with some practice. I actually got fairly good at doing so.
I too had forgotten about the crab boss, but from my memories of playing the NES original, that was also the boss I saw the least because he was easily skipable via warping.
I liked this game a lot. As for the sound channels on the NES, there were 5, not 4. SMB2 used the DPCM channel in some sound effects like picking things up, and the cave sections. I think people wrote this game off considering this was a reskin of Doki Doki Panic for the FDS, also made by Nintendo. The cave music in DDP is sped up, even though that was its original form. In the GBA remake, the Stage 3 boss is Robirdo, exclusive to that particular version. Also, there's a Challenge version where you can pick eggs up after you traversed through the game, and Ace coins are throughout each level, which acts similar to picking up the Dinosaur coins in SMW. Also in the GBA version, you have HUGE shyguys and ninjis.
Mario was meant to be the "all stats equal" character, which many experienced and expert players liked, because they had no vices. He picked up in the middle, he jumped in the middle, he ran in the middle. As a result, you had to be more strategic. As a player who thrives on strategy, he was my Jesus, because I got the hang of compensating on all fronts, and compensating on all of them at once was a joy of a challenge. If that makes sense.
I have a theory for why some players don't remember the clawgrip boss. First of all, its the boss of level 5 and many kids may not have gotten that far. More importantly though, I'd ask whether those people knew about the warp pipes as kids, and used them often. Because if you used the warp in world 1, you go to 4, and most players then would use the warp in 4-2 to go to world 6, and beat the game from there. Another route is to warp from world 3-1 to world 5, then take a warp in 5-3 (thus leaving before reaching Clawgrip) to go to world 7. Either way, both warp routes through the game skip Clawgrip. This means the only players who likely fought him were ones that were skilled enough to reach him all the way from the beginning of the game without using warps, the only exception being if someone chose to warp to 5-1 from 3-1 but either skip or didn't know about the warp in 5-3. Bottom line: Most playthrough scenarios would end up either never making it to Clawgrip, or warping past him. I think this is more than enough to explain why a lot of people don't remember encountering him as kids, without invoking silliness like the mandela effect.
Love the reference to "Mandela effect" and debunking it My friends and I argued about this for years. People don't remember him because they warped past his level
4:50 - I remember it being more difficult getting a cherry on the first slot in "All-Stars". That's because in the NES versjon I got used to pressing A at almost the exact second when the slots started to turn, giving me a cherry at surely 70-80 % of the time. And also I knew when to press to, at least with a certain probability, get a second cherry and also the third. So the blinking slots of the NES versjon had that advantage, which I lost when playing with the spinning slots in "All-Stars". But the latter versjon was probably easier in general, without me noticing...
Super Mario Bros. 2 was one of my favourite NES Mario Bros games, I loved it more than the original Super Mario Bros. The SNES remake was amazing too, more colours and just plain awesome! Who cars how or where it originated, its now a Mario Bros. game, get over it!
I'm not sure about the randomness in all-stars on the extra lives, but in the original, the timing would start at the same place each time, meaning you can learn the button timing to get at least 1 cherry consistently, and semi frequently getting 2 or 3 cherries.
...Interesting how you mention the strange "phenomenon" known as the Mandela Effect too. I myself always forget about Clawgrip. He's just THAT forgettable, I guess! ...But our mind is an incredible place, as young, curious gamers. I can perhaps name several elements in games beyond Mario that were nothing more than just a figment of my subconscious! In _Super Mario World,_ for example, I kept thinking for a while that there was a secret power-up combining the Cape and Fire Flower. Ha.
Love this game and great review as usual. Appreciate it more as an adult than I did as a kid. Are you still planning on doing a review of Banjo Kazooie and some of the newer 3d platformers?
Great review. Oddly, as a kid, I of course had SMB, as well as SMB3, but my cousin had this game, so I only played it on occasion, and I think that made it seem more special. It helps that it’s such a wonderful and fun game. I don’t think it’s possible to play this game and not be happy.
I still love this game years later because of how different it was, how Bowser wasn't the villain, and Peach didn't have to be saved. It really came full circle TBH because it started as a Mario game before it became Doki Doki Panic in Japan. They've never attempted this again in modern times yet by playing it safe too much. I was hopeful that Super Mario 3D World would be a step in the right direction when it was revealed back in E3 2013, only to be let down that Bowser was the villain again. Smh
Great video. Great game. You say Mario is not a useful character because he doesn't have any unique advantages but that provides a slight increase in challenge which some players will look for especially on replays. It also makes Mario's abilities feel consistent from the first game to the second.
Never really thought about the game like that. Part of the reason people don't remember Claw Grip is by that point in a game, they hear where the warps are.
One misunderstanding I see mentioned a lot: Super Mario Bros 2's development actually started out as SMB2 before it shifted focus to Doki Doki Panic, and before going back to SMB2.
Thank you for this great review about a really fun and classic game I can't believe I didn't remember some of the levels and bosses. I think I warped too much through the game. I usually played as Luigi. I liked the idea of skip big sections with timing full-charged jumps. It helped me speedrunning. I tought, however, that I still played all of the levels. Well, it's time to play this game again!
I've never been the biggest fan of SMB2 but I do admit it's sad that people tend to forget it exists. It is extremely original and it gave a lot to the Mario legacy.
re skin of doki doki panic. because lost levels was never released in america due to its difficulty. i though this was a weird sequel but still love it because of the memories i hold of it as a child. great game
Mario would have been alright if the game stuck you with a character for an entire playthrough. He has no obvious strengths or special abilities, but he also has no glaring weaknesses or quirks. SMB2 really wants you to try all the characters though, and gives you a character select after passing every sub-level, and after losing every life. With so many opportunities to change it up, you'll gravitate toward the more interesting alternate characters especially when you know the situation suits them. If you had to play as Princess Toadstool or Luigi through the entire game start to finish their quirks would make a lot of trouble for you that you couldn't fix. If you choose Toad, you'll have to pass a lot of bonus items by because he can't easily reach them. Mario wouldn't suffer from these problems.
"Super Mario Bros. 2" happens to be my most favorite Mario game of all time, and this is definitely one of the most respectable reviews I've ever seen for it as well. Bravo! :D
Doki Doki Panic you mean
@@PsychomachineryEBM The game actually started out as a Mario prototype before turning into DDP
Mine too!! I like it better than peoples beloved SMB3! That one is way too long and tedeous. SMB2 is perfectly balanced and fun!
How long have I waited for a spiritual successor with:
1) Wart as the vallain
2) Multiple exits based on unique character abilities
3) More playable Mario family characters (Daisy, Wario, Toadette, DK, Yoshi, Waluigi, etc)
5 years late. But, I'm with you there. My favorite Mario game as well. When it came out, we were mesmerized. Then shortly after the smb3 campaign started. And kinda robbed my friends attention.
I played the GBA version of this game a lot as a kid. I'm glad I found your channel. You make great videos, man.
I'm happy to see someone said that this game is better than Mario 1. Yes, I know, it is blasphemy, but it is so true for all of the reasons you said. .Looks better, plays different from the first game, different enemies, actual different bosses at the end of the stages (yes, some repeats, but they were learning). Also the four different character options was great and made the game a lot of fun. So many good memories of this game. I know it is Doki Doki panic, but the polish that this game got over the Doki Doki game and all of the fun stuff (including some useful glitches) made the game a lot of fun and worth playing.
Thank you and yes, this game is better than Mario 1. Again, glad someone agreed to that.
It's not Blasphemy. There are no rules and no one can tell someone else what to like. Fuck the purists. SMB2 is my favourite of the series.
The slot machine is not luck based. There is a clear timing which admittedly is hard to nail but as a kid, in my heyday I could get half a dozen to a dozen lives in a row
On the All-Stars 16-bit version, you could now get as many as 10 1-Ups at a time, which could be done if you got three sevens in a row. And this is further improved in the Super Mario Advance version for the Game Boy Advance, where you could bet as many coins as you want and hope all the threes match to really max out your lives (for example, bet 10 coins and then match three 7s for 100 lives)!
Yep. Just mash the button for the first two slots, which would 90% of the time match, then wait a beat-and-a-half and hit the button again. As long as the first two matched, the third would as well every time.
I used to be able to get cherry cherry cherry 50 percent of the time
That's much more impressive than being a lawyer. U should change ur name to that
Exactly, it’s not luck based. I got so good at it, I was able to clear 99 lives. When you do, the counter changes to A1, after ten more lives, it changes to B1, and so on.
I love how most enemies in this game became staples of the series now
I can’t think of any besides the shy guys and those tall things made out of circles.
@@astroaustin516 Bob Ombs are iconic now.
@@boriszakharin3189 Birdo?
@@astroaustin516 Ninji? Pokey?
I'm gonna say it flat out: anybody who thinks Toad is the worst character doesn't know how to play this game.
No, he’s the second-worst to Luigi.
Picking up stuff fast and running really fast is useless in a platformer.
@@EdmacZ Not this one; picking up stuff fast is essential in this game, especially late game where you're being pelted with projectiles or flown into while picking up your weapons. Also the DKC series would like a word, as well as Rescue Rangers. Rescue Rangers just had picking up being as fast as possible (something you'd take for granted for that very reason) and DKC actually makes the way a character picks something up into a core gameplay mechanic.
Running really fast is essential for jump momentum in many platformers; the original Super Mario Bros is really hard without the B button, and I don't care to try DKC without running.
To summarise your argument as well: "the best character in the game is actually not the best character in this game because they're only useful in this game and wouldn't be useful in some other games." Think about how that argument makes zero sense.
I always picked Toad, and never would deviate from choosing him.
Toad works the best in the desert levels but I don't really use him much in other levels. He can be more frustrating in ice levels and in levels where you need Peach's hover ability or Luigi's jumping.
@@cctakato3302 In 4-2 I find that his shorter and quicker hops are better at dodging that barrage of Beezos, but yeah he does suck on the other ice levels. I use Peach or Mario for those.
Super Mario Bros 2 is my favorite SMB game.
This isnt a mario game.
Cool I Just Got This Game Today
@@aquaarmour4924 wrong. SMB 2 started out as a mario game, developed by the same team that did SMB 1 and SMB 3, and then it was turned into Doki Doki Panic, and _then_ it was turned _back_ into a mario game. Explain how it's not a mario game when it's made by the same team and was always meant to be a mario game from the very start. Explain your reasoning, assuming you used reason at all
It's also shigeru miyamoto's favorite mario game
I must’ve watched a dozen videos on this game-but you covered bosses and whole worlds I’ve never seen mentioned!
Nice and thorough 👌
My favorite things about Super Mario 2. No clock and backtracking. I could take my time to explore the game without the extra pressure of completing it before time runs out. And with backtracking, I could go back and get something I missed.
The timer was such an outdated mechanic for the Mario games. There's just no reason to pressure the player into going fast. If I want to explore the levels slowly, let me do that.
Clawgrip isn’t well remembered because there were two chances to warp beyond him, shortly before finding him
One in world 4 and one in 5-3 before you get to clawgrip.
Exactly! I've finished every version of this game and never encountered that enemy. I didn't know it existed until this video.
I’m surprised that I hadn’t heard about this ME before, it’s not an effect for me, but I don’t doubt it is one because you never know what other people had in their version of life. I think people would remember it was misnamed clawglip in the NES version even if they never fought it. And yes, SM2 is better than the original
Yep I didn’t know bout him until I got older and didn’t warp!
Yep. Was gonna say the same thing: everyone warped past him 😂
This is probably my favorite of the NES Mario trilogy if I'm being honest. I don't even care if it's not a real Mario game.
HardcoreGamer4Ever oh but it is. Just look at it’s dev history. When it was Doki Doki Panic, the developers- who were mostly the same team that made the original Super Mario Bros- original were making a Mario prototype. They just used what they were already doing as a base when they were asked to make Doki Doki Panic. So really, Super Mario Bros 2 as we know it in the West is less of a palette swap or romhack of DDP and more like the game being turned back into what it was originally going to be. It plays like Mario also to a T, so really it makes sense that Nintendo just localized this perfectly Mario-type game they had lying around from a Japanese gaming festival license as a proper Mario game. Perfect stopgap between Mario 1 and 3 in the US. Really the whole thing was a brilliant marketing and development move.
It is a real Mario game. Code and game templates gets reused and re-branded quite a lot, and there's nothing wrong with that. It was largely the same team anyway, so it has the perfect heritage to be a Mario game.
Quadrilogy because of The Lost Levels, although you could argue TLL was more of a side-game
The music in this game has been part of my brain since I was 7. It's my favorite NES Mario game, reskined regardless
This non-stop continuous narration is crazy! It’s like- he never stops to breath! I don’t whether to be impressed or concerned?
Mario was always my go-to in the game. I like the strengths of the others, but they all came with weaknesses too. But not Mario. Mario I always found to be the most reliable. He may not have the best jump or speed, but he still had good jump and speed. You weren't sacrificing one thing for another, you didn't need to worry about him falling short somewhere. He could tackle any challenge confidently.
Really well done video, glad to see much love for a game I always enjoyed!
I want to note that Nintendo wasn't bucking convention by not having King Koopa (he wasn't Bowser yet) be the villain, or not having Toadstool (she wasn't Peach yet) be kidnapped. Those had only happened in one game at this point, so there was neither expectation nor tradition of it.
They actually were named Bowser and Peach back then, but only in Japan for some reason. Princess Peach was her Japanese name, but in the US they changed it to Toadstool to try to make it fit the Mushroom Kingdom more. So she for years was called Peach in Japan and Toadstool in the rest of the world, until Mario 64 where both names were used likely to establish they were the same and end the 2-name nonsense, because after Mario 64 they just stuck with Peach everywhere in the world. If you ever beat the 1986 Japanese-only PC game Super Mario Bros. Special by Hudson Soft, you'll see as part of the end credits where they list all the characters that it says Princess Peach instead of Toadstool, which confused me at first as well before I found this out. Anyway, I talk too much lol. Bye.
Great video, but I think you're being very short sighted when it comes to Mario... He is the balanced character and the one you want to use if you don't want any particular advantage, wanting to go for a more traditional vanilla playthrough - he is essentially the character to use for a hard more play through. 😎
That does make sense!
Very interesting video, I loved #2 when it came out cause it looked so much more advanced than SMB1. Great times, I loved how different & "weird" it was, it all clicked years later when I heard it wasnt originally a Mario game! I still pop it in sometimes, classic game.
Super Mario Bros 2 is my favorite Mario game still to this day.
Before Nintendo even intended to make Doki Doki Panic, the project was intended to be the second Mario game. But afterwards Nintendo decided to shelve the project and decided to take the first Mario game and modify it by adding more obstacles to make the games harder and released it as Super Mario Bros 2: The Lost Levels (Japan). So to me Super Mario Bros. 2 of USA is as real as any other Mario game.
I only ever played as Toad, I beat the whole game with him. This game receives a lot of hate because it isn't a real Mario game but what they fail to realize is Shigeru Miyamoto did not work on the Japanese version of SMB2, it was basically a rom hack, he was working on the first Zelda game at the time. He did however work on Doki Doki Panic and although they did a rom hack to make it in SMB2 he still worked on the original. I just never got the hate and is what is more frustrating are some of the haters actually are old enough to play it when it came out. I know a lot of the younger generation that didn't play this when it was new and only after finding out it isn't a 'real' Mario game can hate it but come on, every kid who was around when this came out loved it.
You crazy as hell playing as Toad. Luigi and Toadstool/Peach is where it's at! Gotta give it to you though... It's a much more difficult game with Mario and especially Toad imo.
The funny thing is it actually DID start as a mario game, before being turned into Doki Doki Panic, and then being turned back into SMB2
@@TheOGNoName I played as all but Mario but the first time I passed it I played through with Toad. Mario sucked.
I used to play with Peach and Luigi.
People wanted something like super mario 3. That's all it is. Nothing complicated.
I can beat the game easily with any character, but I still always go back to Princess. I grew up using her, and I loved playing her and Toad because them being non-playable in other games made it so satisfying to play them.
I use mostly the buster in any Megaman game.
Same here. I played it as a kid and was amazed when I saw a female character that was playable. Her floating jump made it very easy to use her, so she was instantly my favorite.
Toad was always the character I chose for the second (?) level in the ice world where you had to dodge all the Beezos coming at you. Toad's low jump and fast speed made navigating their formation pattern easy.
@@tossingturnips Yeah, I always loved when there was a girl option even though I'm a guy. Anything uncommon appealed and still appeals to me. I always did the Justin Bailey password for Metroid for this reason. Plus, I was girl crazy at a young age when most boys want nothing to do with girls. That had a little to do with it.
I still love this game. Don't get why some people these days call it the black sheep of the franchise. That only happened because they learned its history. Doki Doki panic is far less polished, I mean, you can't even run! Some Sprite just looked weird in it. The changed that were made were certainly welcome.
Somewhere in my parents' house this is a VHS cassette if me beating this when I was like 7. I should go back and watch it. I just remember I hit pause for like 6 seconds, forgetting I was recording it. This was to prove to my dad that I beat it, 'cause he said he'd give me $50 if I did. It's a good memory.
Is this one of the rare main Mario games without swimming. Huh.
Anyways, great video, as usual!
It's a black sheep because it's nothing like Mario 1 or 3, or Super Mario World. That's it. Nothing complicated.
It's because they learned *half* its history. Doki Doki Panic was built off the SMB2 prototype, so SMB2 started its development as SMB2. The fact that it was released as something else at some point in the process doesn't make it any less of a Mario game.
Something Similar Happened With Star Fox Adventures
It’s literally the Zelda 2 of the Mario series
And Super Mario 3 incorporates features from SMB2. In the very first world of SMB3 you would have never knew to hit the question block on the ground by picking up the turtle shell after stomping the turtle and taking it to throw at the block.
Reminds me that I still haven't gotten around to finishing this game on GBA.
Fabulous review!!! So clear, analytical, and straightforward!!!
Excellent, the narration sounded great tonally in this video. Very good 20+ minute vid on a game that's had a lot said about it already, so props for finding new things.
I wonder if he even knew about Doki Doki Panic, or the real reason this was made into Super Mario 2 instead of the lost levels.
@@K.Adamsan I mean he briefly alluded to it a couple times, so I assume he knows.
Man I miss this channel
extremely well presented, 22 min is a long time to talk about anything especially with such a dense narration . Well done!
Although im not sure its accurate to praise it in comparison to SMB when its not a true sequel. I actually found it surprising there was no mention of doki doki panic, usually its the go to factoid when talking about SMB2
Blew my mind that he just glossed over the whole fact that this isn't actually a Mario game.
I may be crazy, but this is my favorite of the NES trilogy and the one I revisit most often. SMB3 is undoubtedly the "greatest NES game" for what that's worth. I still find the world and core mechanics of SMB2 to be more vibrant, dynamic, and plain fun.
Incidentally, Clawgrip is just a crab. Concept and design-wise, he has the least going on. This makes him easier to forget than the bipedal mouse in shades, the three headed snake, or the flying fireball. That's my theory, at least.
I understand why some say this is their favourite in the trilogy. As much as I love Mario 3, its really huge length for a game you have to beat in one sitting makes it a game where I have to be in a certain mood to play it. I think Mario 2 has the best length of the trilogy, a longer game than its predecessor but not too long which I like.
Also the first NES game I ever beat
Keep dropping videos.....you, snes drunk and cinemassacre have the best videos bro we need you!!! You have the most in-depth perspectives though so in my opinion are the best!!
You mentioned that the fact that most players remember their copy of SMB2 not having Clawgrip as a boss was more interesting than the boss itself. It makes me think that the reason most players have that false memory is because Clawgrip was such a forgettable boss that players literally forgot he was in the game.
Not to discredit the game as a whole, though. I love this game!
I think it might be the book in the Wii version of Allstars that mentions they approached this game as if it were a Mario game, and it had the same core team of developers as SMB. I'll have to play through Mario Advance, because I really don't remember some of those bosses at all.
I loved this game growing up. I remember getting it as a gift for getting good grades in first grade.
Good review, I always enjoyed this game.
How could you!
Pfffffff this game has been already reviewed a million times before by million youtube channels under different names such as,,,, review,overview,recap,re,examen etc,, man how many times does it can it & has to be reviewed?
It’s all barely the same opinion.
Thing is i,ve wasted 2/3th of my life playing this game over and over and over again and i alway’s liked it,,,but eventrough it’s still good but at the otherhand i take it for grantage too becau i am waay toooo formilliar with it.
Am sorry .
It was my first game ever back when I was 3.
Fantastic review, honestly...but not a single clear mention of its original via Doki Doki Panic?
if there's no mention about the original Doki Doki Panic it's because everybody already knows the story.
This game never gets the respect it deserves. They cut it out of Mario maker. I don't get it. It's a fun different engaging game that is often over looked. I loved it as a kid.
Uh, it would've been pretty hard to implement it in Mario Maker, since its mechanics are totally different from the other four modes.
Giving the fact that it was a reskinned into a Mario game makes it next to impossible to include it into Mario Maker.
It's Nintendo. They could do it. The snes version proves it. They had to recode the entire game. Mario 2 should have given it way better homage. Thye just didn't.
Porting a game is one thing. Having to write code for people to make their own stages is whole other can of worms.
Maybe buy you could use any excuse to not put in one of the most popular Mario games we love. It's just silly.
Not a single Dunkey reference yet. Damn, that sure is something.
Game of the YEAR baby. :D
Even though I truly dislike this game and could never play it even back in the day, it was a pleasure to come here and watch the video about it
Great video review. I remember when I first played it when I was a kid, I didn't like it much at first, but I kept playing it anyway because it was different. My attention shifted to SMB3.
However, I recently saw another video that talked about the ending, namely Mario sleeping in bed dreaming about the ending of the game, implying the entire game was a dream. Since SMB2 was basically a rom hack of Doki Doki Panic, I think this was a cool way to do it. Mario saved the Princess in SMB1, then had a dream about going on new adventures with 3 of his best friends to rescue someone new. Of course the in-world elements of SMB2 would look different from the rest of the franchise since it's not in the actual SMB universe.
SMB2 is Mario's dream, but a recurring dream that changes a bit each time it happens.
I can't believe after all the intensive coverage that game has had, no one on this vid or comments section mentioned how when you pause in Wart's room, it plays the normal boss music for the game.
Awesome review as always! I feel like playing the one on the GBA again. Fun fact about it is that it's not a, let's say, direct port of All Stars. The GBA one has a bit of differences, besides presentation, like all the playable characters or the bosses having some voice lines. There some huge Shy Guys and huge vegetables that can easily hit more enemies in succession. Also there are 5 collectable red coins in each level.
After you beat the game, there's a Yoshi Challenge mode or something like that. Here you have to collect in each level 2 Yoshi eggs hidden in subspace and beat the stage without dying. I don't remember if there was a reward for doing that, but there it was.
I love Mario 1+3 dynamics, but equally love 2, and wish that Nintendo would revisit this style of play.
I'm 37 and I remember my dad bringing this home one day when it first came out when I was little. Always was a favorite
SMB3 is my all time fav but SMB2 is definitely up there as one of my favorite games of all time. Had it on NES as a lil kid and on SNES as part of SMB All Stars as a teen. Nowadays I play both iterations on my daughter’s Switch.
Before getting to Clawgrip, there are two tempting warps, during the game, that take you either to world 6 or world 7. And one of them, is precisely, at the beggining of 5-3, Clawgrip's level. When I finally decided to explore level 5-3, I had finished the game several times, because of that. As, like me, others. I think that's probably why many people forget about him. Great review, worthy of a great game.
Real great review that was one of my favorite games I also found that toad was best used on the ice levels
Very interesting and thorough review, one of, if not the best I've heard on youtube.
This summarizes my thoughts basically perfectly
Congratulations
You said what needed to be said
I get this wasn't the real SMB2 but it was what I grew up with. You absolutely nailed it with this review. This is a very underrated sequel and was unfairly labeled as the redheaded step child of the Mario franchise. Kudos on a great video!
This is one of my favorite Mario games, the music and the changes between the other games made me feel like I was in a different universe. Which I know now it kinda was lol. Anyway loved watching this great job breaking down the differences of the characters and levels!
Super Mario 2 had a charm that is unique amongst the rest of its game. Its fun! Music is catchy, exploring was fun and theres a little difficulty in some stages! Love it. This is my first video im watching of your channel and I love how in depth you go with SMB2. Automatic subscriber.
Creativity, platforming and level design at its best. This game never fails to awe me. Nintendo should remaster this so it can reach bigger audience and everyone can cherish this greatness.
by far my favorite mario game... close second is Mario 64 and then mario 3
said it before and i will say it again, when having 1 hit left on nes mario 2, gotta love that head to rest of body size ratio
Your hitbox as Small Mario isn't even shortened it seems. Rather than having small mario be 1 block high and Super Mario 2 blocks high, it seems both are 1.5 blocks high hitbox-wise. When you crouch you're 1 block high obviously.
I was really fucked up when you talked about Clawgrip. I don't remember that one bit. Then I started thinking....a lot of kids probably used the warp pipes like I did so it must skip that boss when you do that....if that doesn't explain it...then idfk that's messed up.
You are correct. It's very easy to skip Clawgrip entirely by warping. When I played the original version as a kid, I skipped his stage far more often than I played it.
I've even read several articles that say clawgrip was not included in the game, and was a removed enemy. I'm not sure I believe the video...
Clawgrip was definitely in the first game, and hell to fight.
It's just that Mouser and Triclyde are impossible to miss (Mouser being the first boss so you'll probably fight him in casual play and at least one Triclyde fight being mandatory) and Fryguy was in the cartoon.
Also, folks may have gotten Clawgrip confused with the crab enemies in the arcade Mario Bros.
@@pokepress I find that difficult to believe. Those horrible rocks and his insanely high health are very memorable to me.
Mario 3 is the first game I remember beating as a kid. I may have beat Mario 2 and 1 already, but Mario 3 was so big and hard to me at the time and there was no save option. You just use to leave your NES on for days. I eventually did it though. I remember running downstairs to tell my dad. I was so excited.
Never seen such a thorough analysis of SMB2
My mangy mustache grows in quite quick anymore and today I was told I look like Mario
Whatever the origins of this game, it's my favorite of the NES Mario games. I would love to see a proper sequel to this game.
Great review of one of my most favourite Mario games.
I always thought this game was just ok. But your look back at it makes me have a whole new appreciation for it. Im gonna give it another chance.
One of the best games of all time it deserve more attention other than it didn't start as a Mario game it should be acknowledge as one of all time best games
Great review! I get so tired of hearing people say that this "isn't the REAL SMB2" or that it "isn't really a Mario game". I absolutely agree with you that this game took the right approach to developing a sequel, making it similar enough to feel familiar yet different enough to feel fresh! Not to mention all the mainstays that this game introduced to the series, like Shy Guys and Bob-ombs. Despite its origin story, THIS game (not SMB2(J) aka The Lost Levels) is the real SMB2!
Check you're facts. If you're in North America then yes this is your SMB2. The truth is this game is Doki Doki Panic just with Mario sprites added for a north American release. The lost levels that you know in Allstars is the real SMB2.
@@fredlamberton165
I'm aware that SMB2 is a re-skinned version of Doki Doki Panic. What I'm saying is that, the original SMB2 (aka The Lost Levels) feels more like an extension of the first game than a true sequel (more like SMB 1.1). Whereas the Western SMB2 greatly expanded the Mario formula and introduced many new elements that have been part of the series ever since. Things like vertical scrolling, carrying items, and most of the enemies. For these reasons, the Western SMB2 feels more like a true sequel
@@km_studios technically no, though. This may be more widely known than the lost levels, but because it's a reskin it means that Doki Doki Panic is originally not intended to be apart of the mario universe.
@@Skynyrd158 People seem to forget that Doki Doki Panic was only released in limited capacity as promotional game for NHK. most of Japan never got Doki Doki Panic. It wasnt until it was released as SMB 2 that it was released Commercially.
Also Miyamito considers SMB 2 USA as his favorite Mario game, Now i think i would take the word of the Original Creator than a Rando on the internet playing "well actually"
I hate how many people still dismiss this game as not a true Mario game. It is, especially if you look at its development history beyond being originally Doki Doki Panic. When it was being developed as what would become Doki Doki Panic, the developers- who were mostly the same team that made the original Super Mario Bros- original were making a Mario prototype. They just used what they were already doing as a base when they were asked to make Doki Doki Panic. So really, Super Mario Bros 2 as we know it in the West is less of a palette swap or romhack of DDP and more like the game being turned back into what it was originally going to be. It plays like Mario also to a T, so really it makes sense that Nintendo just localized this perfectly Mario-type game they had lying around from a Japanese gaming festival license as a proper Mario game. Perfect stopgap between Mario 1 and 3 in the US. Really the whole thing was a brilliant marketing and development move.
I think picking Mario offers balance.....he has dead on controls....like you said, Mario is familiar so we know what to expect from him which makes him cool based on the fact we don’t have to get used to anything new with him...
I distinctly remember Clawgrip as a kid. I remember since I was pissed off you couldn't catch his rocks like with Mouser's bombs.
Now, I'm requesting that you do a review "is... underrated" on Super Princess Peach next time; I'd appreciate that.
Something else I bet you didn't know is that the end of level bonus rounds aren't really luck based. The items cycle at a fixed pattern and rate and then move so many spaces once you pick, so you can time your picks to get whatever you wanted with some practice. I actually got fairly good at doing so.
I too had forgotten about the crab boss, but from my memories of playing the NES original, that was also the boss I saw the least because he was easily skipable via warping.
I liked this game a lot. As for the sound channels on the NES, there were 5, not 4. SMB2 used the DPCM channel in some sound effects like picking things up, and the cave sections.
I think people wrote this game off considering this was a reskin of Doki Doki Panic for the FDS, also made by Nintendo. The cave music in DDP is sped up, even though that was its original form.
In the GBA remake, the Stage 3 boss is Robirdo, exclusive to that particular version. Also, there's a Challenge version where you can pick eggs up after you traversed through the game, and Ace coins are throughout each level, which acts similar to picking up the Dinosaur coins in SMW. Also in the GBA version, you have HUGE shyguys and ninjis.
This and Super Mario World are my favorite 2 in the series.
Mario was meant to be the "all stats equal" character, which many experienced and expert players liked, because they had no vices. He picked up in the middle, he jumped in the middle, he ran in the middle. As a result, you had to be more strategic. As a player who thrives on strategy, he was my Jesus, because I got the hang of compensating on all fronts, and compensating on all of them at once was a joy of a challenge. If that makes sense.
I have a theory for why some players don't remember the clawgrip boss. First of all, its the boss of level 5 and many kids may not have gotten that far. More importantly though, I'd ask whether those people knew about the warp pipes as kids, and used them often. Because if you used the warp in world 1, you go to 4, and most players then would use the warp in 4-2 to go to world 6, and beat the game from there. Another route is to warp from world 3-1 to world 5, then take a warp in 5-3 (thus leaving before reaching Clawgrip) to go to world 7. Either way, both warp routes through the game skip Clawgrip. This means the only players who likely fought him were ones that were skilled enough to reach him all the way from the beginning of the game without using warps, the only exception being if someone chose to warp to 5-1 from 3-1 but either skip or didn't know about the warp in 5-3.
Bottom line: Most playthrough scenarios would end up either never making it to Clawgrip, or warping past him. I think this is more than enough to explain why a lot of people don't remember encountering him as kids, without invoking silliness like the mandela effect.
I'd love for the big N to make a Mario/Zelda dream related franchise (both had games in a dream world, SMB 2 and LINKS AWAKENING).
Love the reference to "Mandela effect" and debunking it
My friends and I argued about this for years. People don't remember him because they warped past his level
4:50 - I remember it being more difficult getting a cherry on the first slot in "All-Stars". That's because in the NES versjon I got used to pressing A at almost the exact second when the slots started to turn, giving me a cherry at surely 70-80 % of the time. And also I knew when to press to, at least with a certain probability, get a second cherry and also the third. So the blinking slots of the NES versjon had that advantage, which I lost when playing with the spinning slots in "All-Stars". But the latter versjon was probably easier in general, without me noticing...
I've always loved SMB2. Great video!
Super Mario Bros. 2 was one of my favourite NES Mario Bros games, I loved it more than the original Super Mario Bros. The SNES remake was amazing too, more colours and just plain awesome! Who cars how or where it originated, its now a Mario Bros. game, get over it!
Your smooth friendly voice made it easy for me to sub, implantgames.
I'm not sure about the randomness in all-stars on the extra lives, but in the original, the timing would start at the same place each time, meaning you can learn the button timing to get at least 1 cherry consistently, and semi frequently getting 2 or 3 cherries.
I always appreciate your videos and was waiting for this!
My dad took me to the store opening early in the a.m. on the day the game was released to buy it. I will never forget that. Fun game.
Mine still hasn't come back from the store after 18 years :(
...Interesting how you mention the strange "phenomenon" known as the Mandela Effect too. I myself always forget about Clawgrip. He's just THAT forgettable, I guess! ...But our mind is an incredible place, as young, curious gamers. I can perhaps name several elements in games beyond Mario that were nothing more than just a figment of my subconscious! In _Super Mario World,_ for example, I kept thinking for a while that there was a secret power-up combining the Cape and Fire Flower. Ha.
I forgot about him too. Havnt played all the way through but I remember the other bosses. Maybe he was from a level that I warped past usually?
man this was a great game... so many memories from 1989/1990.....
Love this game and great review as usual. Appreciate it more as an adult than I did as a kid. Are you still planning on doing a review of Banjo Kazooie and some of the newer 3d platformers?
BK was a perfect example of "How to take an established formula and improve on it in nearly every way". I hope this is covered.
Phenomenal video, really fun to watch. Subscribed!
Great review. Oddly, as a kid, I of course had SMB, as well as SMB3, but my cousin had this game, so I only played it on occasion, and I think that made it seem more special. It helps that it’s such a wonderful and fun game. I don’t think it’s possible to play this game and not be happy.
That was an awesome video. Subscribed!!
I still love this game years later because of how different it was, how Bowser wasn't the villain, and Peach didn't have to be saved. It really came full circle TBH because it started as a Mario game before it became Doki Doki Panic in Japan. They've never attempted this again in modern times yet by playing it safe too much. I was hopeful that Super Mario 3D World would be a step in the right direction when it was revealed back in E3 2013, only to be let down that Bowser was the villain again. Smh
Great video. Great game. You say Mario is not a useful character because he doesn't have any unique advantages but that provides a slight increase in challenge which some players will look for especially on replays. It also makes Mario's abilities feel consistent from the first game to the second.
Never really thought about the game like that.
Part of the reason people don't remember Claw Grip is by that point in a game, they hear where the warps are.
One misunderstanding I see mentioned a lot: Super Mario Bros 2's development actually started out as SMB2 before it shifted focus to Doki Doki Panic, and before going back to SMB2.
Thank you for this great review about a really fun and classic game
I can't believe I didn't remember some of the levels and bosses. I think I warped too much through the game.
I usually played as Luigi. I liked the idea of skip big sections with timing full-charged jumps. It helped me speedrunning. I tought, however, that I still played all of the levels.
Well, it's time to play this game again!
I've never been the biggest fan of SMB2 but I do admit it's sad that people tend to forget it exists. It is extremely original and it gave a lot to the Mario legacy.
This game remind me my grand parents,now...I have this with a ton of others in my tablet with a sf30pro is a really great..and sweet sensation.
This was the first game I beat as well. And its my favorite Mario Game.
This game I played the shit out of as a kid and loved every second of it. Still a fun time, dare I say better than the original SMB.
U1GX well it did had waaaaay better graphics then the original, i remember how i really wanted this game because of the extra ability’s of it.
re skin of doki doki panic. because lost levels was never released in america due to its difficulty. i though this was a weird sequel but still love it because of the memories i hold of it as a child. great game
I’ve never gotten passed half way through this one but I loved playing it lol
Thank you for the fun and alive review! It has amazing ballance of theory and memories. Good luck with the creative activity!
Mario would have been alright if the game stuck you with a character for an entire playthrough. He has no obvious strengths or special abilities, but he also has no glaring weaknesses or quirks. SMB2 really wants you to try all the characters though, and gives you a character select after passing every sub-level, and after losing every life. With so many opportunities to change it up, you'll gravitate toward the more interesting alternate characters especially when you know the situation suits them. If you had to play as Princess Toadstool or Luigi through the entire game start to finish their quirks would make a lot of trouble for you that you couldn't fix. If you choose Toad, you'll have to pass a lot of bonus items by because he can't easily reach them. Mario wouldn't suffer from these problems.
Anyone:*says Mario 2 isn't a real Mario game*
Me:*Hugs Shy Guy* "YOU SPEAK BLASPHEMY!"