One evening, Mario had a bizarre dream. He climbed up a long staircase and found himself a strange new world.

The world was called Subcon, the land of dreams. The evil toad Wart used his magic to lay a curse on the land. A bolt of lighting suddenly split across the sky and Mario woke up to find himself on the floor.

He fell off his bed! A few days later, Mario and his friends (Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool) are having a picnic. As they settled to eat their food, they found a small cave. When they entered the cave, Mario's dream had become a reality. Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool set off to free the people of Subcon of Wart's evil magic.

Super Mario Bros. 2 has an interesting history. Super Mario Bros. 2 was originally a game called "Doki Doki Panic" that was released on the Japanese Famicom Disk-System. In Japan, Super Mario Bros. 2 was an extension of Super Mario Bros. with extremely difficult levels. The Japanese version of Super Mario Bros 2 was included in Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES as "The Lost Levels".

The Lost Levels are also available in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the GameBoy Color. The North American version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in Japan in 1992. It was called Super Mario USA. Super Mario Bros. 2 allowed travel backwards through the level for the first time in Mario side-scrollers.

Game Statistics
> 7 worlds.
> 20 levels.
> 4 selectable characters.
> 1-megabit cartridge.

Game Design
Super Mario Bros. 2 has a different game play style. Instead of jumping on enemies to kill them, you must throw objects at them. Also, Super Mario Bros. 2 gives you the option of playing as Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool or Toad.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each character. Mario is the most balanced character but his statistics standout in no category. Luigi has the longest jump of any character in the game but he is not fast or strong. Princess Toadstool is the weakest character in the game but she can float for 1½ seconds while jumping. Toad is the strongest and the fastest character in the game but he has the worst jumping ability of all the characters.

Certain characters are better in certain levels. The levels in Super Mario Bros. 2 have been greatly improved. The levels in Super Mario Bros. 2 are much larger then the ones in the original. There are many more secret areas to find in this game. With all the being said, Super Mario Bros. 2 just does not fell like a Mario game. It takes place in the parallel universe of Subcon not the Mushroom Kingdom.

There are no Goombas, no Koopa Troopas no Bowser and most unusual of all there are no pipes! It just fells like there is something missing from this game.

Graphics
The graphics in this game are much better than the original. Both the characters and the environments look better then in the original. The playable characters look excellent by NES standards. Many parts of levels (vines) have animation and they look excellent. The framerate almost never takes a hit.

Sound
The sound in this game has not been improved. It is rather disappointing. There are roughly five audio tracks. The songs in this game are not as catchy as they were in SMB. The sound effects are just as good as in the original. It's a shame because Super Mario Bros. was made three years earlier. The sound in this game should be better.

Control
The controls are good but not great. Mario, Toad and Peach handle with no problems. Luigi however, might cause some frustration. His floating jump is difficult to get used to. However, over time, one will be able to use Luigi without and problems.

Satisfaction
Fans of the original will like this game. However, some might not like this game because it is not set in the traditional "Mario" universe. This game is just as difficult as the original. To beat this game, you will have to master it.

Replay Value/Game Length
Super Mario Bros. 2 has 20 levels while the original Super Mario Bros. had 36 levels. However, the levels in Super Mario Bros. 2 are much larger. All in all, the both games are equal in length. Just like the original, once this game is completed, there is little motivation to play it again.

Overall
Super Mario Bros. 2 is a solid platformer. Some Mario fans will ridicule it because it doesn't fit in the Mario universe.