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| Super Mario Bros. 2 was a radical departure for the series. |
Super Mario Bros. 2 launched in North America in October 1988. This game had several new additions to the series including a save feature, multiple characters, new enemies and items and a different look and feel from the original game that included a more vertical nature to the level design (due mainly to the original game it was based upon).
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| Japan received a very different Super Mario Bros. 2 |
The Super Mario Bros. 2 that was released in North America was not the same Super Mario Bros. 2 that Japan got. In Japan Super Mario Bros. 2 was a continuation of the original game, designed to be more challenging and engaging for veteran Super Mario Bros. players, but Nintendo of America was afraid that this game would be too difficult for their North American audience and turn people off of what was quickly becoming their flagship franchise. So another Super Mario Bros. 2 was created for the non-Japanese world based upon the prototype game: Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic. Later the original Super Mario Bros. 2 would be released as Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels as part of Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES (and has since been released several times via these remake channels, virtual console, etc.)
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| A screenshot from Super Mario Bros. 2 (NA) showing Mario carrying an item, in this case a POW block. |
Super Mario Bros. 2 differentiated from the original in a few key aspects. 1) Jumping on an enemy no longer killed them, you could stand on top of most enemies and even pick them up and fling them (as weapons or down pits, etc.), also the character's ability to throw things were key parts of the gameplay. 2) The four characters had different playing styles (Mario was balanced, Luigi had the highest jump, Peach could jump and float, Toad was the strongest) and some secrets could only be attained (or at least much more easily attained) by certain characters.
Super Mario Bros. 2 was a great game and a unique followup to Super Mario Bros. this pattern of reinventing games (Donkey Kong 3, Zelda 2, SMB 2, etc.) was very successful for Nintendo in the first half of the NES's timeline. The game was popular enough (and financially successful enough) that it was eventually released in Japan as Super Mario USA and has been rereleased in compilation games (Super Mario All-Stars), on the Virtual Console and on the Game Boy Advance (Super Mario Advance) - it was also influential in many of the gameplay elements in the Wii U's Super Mario 3D World.
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