Well here I am once again. I have not had many reviews well any at all for quite a while now but I decided to write one and see if I can get myself back into the writing session that I had before. If you missed me I hope that I will be around a lot more. Though if you did not too bad, I am back and hopefully here to stay. That being said during my break I played through a lot of games so I should have a lot of reviews coming up. Here is my first of the bunch and it is Super Mario Brothers 2 for the NES.

First I have to say that right of the bat this is one of the few games that I have actual nostalgia for. Being younger than most people the games I have nostalgia for are newer then the games others have nostalgia for. Well when I got this game it was new to me. So in a first I will tell you guys about a little back story into my first Mario game.

Christmas morning about 6 AM. I cannot remember the year but that does not matter I was young and I felt like I could take on the world. The Game Boy SP had come out about a year before and I had wanted the game for quite some time. I was almost sure that I would get it for Christmas and I could not wait to get it. I got all of the presents that they set aside for me and opened them. I went through all of them in a timely manner as I did not want to look like I knew what was coming. Then after opening my gifts mostly clothes and a few books I sat there. I knew that I put my hopes up for nothing. Though I was happy with what I got. Then my mom said looks like there are two more under here. I immediately perked up. I put my hands out and the second that wrapping paper touched my hands I ripped it open. I found that there was newspaper and packing tape. I ripped that open. Then there was duct tape and more newspaper. This cycle went on for a long time then finally I saw the top of the box. I saw the Nintendo symbol and flipped. I knew I had to get in that package. I had to know what it was. I ripped through and found that it was a GBA SP. I went berserk. I also got a game that was like a 2 in one that was Shrek and Shark tale. A surprising title if I say so myself but that is a different review. My brother got one too and he got Mario 2. Naturally I slipped in one day and took it and fell in love with it. Now that you know the back story on to my actual critiques of the game.

Now aside from the fact that I told all about the GBA that is not the game I am reviewing. I am reviewing the original in all of its 8 bit glory. I never played the original for a really long time actually not till last year. The game looks good in my opinion though there are a lot of stages with just black backgrounds. This is weird because even the original Super Mario Bros. had bright colorful environments behind it. So I do not see why this game does not include that much of the time. I do like how the enemies look though. They all give me a slight giggle when I look at them just because they are well done and a departure from turtles and walking mushrooms in Super Mario Bros. I like this change as Shy Guy was introduced here and he is one of the best characters in Mario in my opinion. I like how all of the people look as well. You have 4 characters to pick from and all of them look different and play different as well. Mario looks a lot better than he did in the first NES game with his name on it and his brother is now his own man not just someone who is his twin but wears different colors. Luigi as a character as far as looks goes was actually based on this game. I think that is pretty cool.

The first thing that you will notice in this game is it is a large departure from the first title. You could almost say that it is a different game series entirely. While this may turn some people off to the game I still tell you that it is fun as ever. Like I said you have four characters; Luigi, Mario, Toad and even Peach. They each have their own special abilities that make them much different than any of the other characters. Mario is well Mario, he is the guy that is reliable but not too much beyond the ordinary. He can run jump and do all that but no more or less than you expect. Toad is a different story. Toad is quick and he is also really good at picking stuff out of the ground (more on that later). But he literally sucks at jumping. He cannot make some of the pits unless you are really good or really lucky. What is there to say about Peach? I cannot say much as I did not play as her much and found that she did not fit my play style. She can float like she is sitting on some cloud or something and it looks really weird to be honest. Though she is quick and floats so that makes up for her being extremely weak. Then last but not least is Luigi. I saved him for last because this game like I already hinted on pretty much set him up as a character, except for being a coward that was brought on by the Super Mario Brothers Super Show. I digress; in this game he is fairly weak though he has a distinct advantage in the jumping area. I mean DISTINCT. He can jump higher than anyone in the game and he has a flutter kick kind of thing that keeps him off the ground. This gives him a distinct advantage over all the other players and more than makes up for his lack of strength. In a game all about running and jumping he was made for it.

Another thing that was different about this game was the inclusion of a few things. First thing I would like to talk about is the inclusion of the Hyper Jump. This is where you hold down and then you charge up your jump so that when you click that jump button it is too the sky. This can be very helpful to get to secret pipes or even jump out of trouble. The other addition which seems very strange is the fact that you pick stuff out of the ground and hurl it at enemies to kill them. This is very odd because before you would just jump their heads and that was that. Though this will work no longer as jumping on them just makes it so you can pick them up like an item as well. This can come in handy during many fights and it is also an easy way to get one ups if you wish to get as many as you can. There is a one up trick in the game that is quite hard to pull off but if you can do it you can mine the 1 ups for hours. I did this all the time as a kid just because it involves bombs and explosions. I enjoy those things, as well as some extra lives. I could not find it again but I am sure someone knows what I am talking about. The game also includes what I like to call the Dark World. You find a potion (found by over tipping some plants) and this takes you to a screen just like your own to find a one up or coins. This is pretty nifty as some of these lead to a secret exit that can make the game beatable in a shorter amount of time. Though you will not have problem beating the game already as it is fairly easy depending on whom you like to play as, and it also only has hard boss fights. I like the inclusion of different bosses than just Bowser. I also like how you can get a star by collecting a few coins and you also have a life bar. This is also the first Mario to have a life bar the next being Mario 64, man this game was full of firsts. Because of that this makes the game feel very fresh and different as opposed to the Lost Levels which is the actual direct sequel to Super Mario Brothers.

One of the best parts about this game is the excellent sound design. The game takes the level of awesome music set by the first game and brings it a level higher. I can not get the menu screen tune or the start up tune or the first level tune out of my head! Not to mention many others. This game has some of the best music in any Mario game that I have ever played. The game has many upbeat anthems that make you feel happy as you are playing through the game. Even some of the hard parts (which are quite rare) have good tunes. I especially like the boss fight music for each stage; though it may be the same the music is very simple and devious at getting in your head and not getting out. I recommend playing the game if not for the game itself but just the fact that the music is so darn good. If you like 8 bit music this is the game for you, eat your ears out? Though I cannot say the same about the sound effects, many of them are not that great. I do have to say that they still give you that typical Mario feel but just the fact that it did not give me the same feel as the music made me a bit sad. Though the sounds are still excellent as far as some other games go.

Graphics: 8 – The game looks quite great though I have to say that I am not a fan of the backgrounds a lot of the time they look quite ugly just being like playing the game in a large blue hole.

Sound: 9 – The game has some of my favorite Mario tunes that are in any game. Maybe even some of my favorite 8 bit music. The game is just filled with good songs. Though some sound effects are lacking.

Addictiveness: 7 – The game is a fun little romp through the mushroom kingdom. Though you will probably not want to play it again especially after you find out the end of the story.

Story: 3 – I have to rate this because there is technically a story in the game. I literally cannot say more than that or it will spoil the ending because the story is the ending. It’s there, not more or less.

Depth: 10 – Four characters. This is pretty un heard of as far as a NES plat former goes and that makes the game really deep. Then factor in all of the different throwing stuff and jumping and you have one heckuva game. No power ups though.

Difficulty: 10 – The game is easy. Though I have to say that it is not a bad kind of easy or a good kind of easy. I can say it makes the game a bit shorter to play through and it also makes the game a little bit more approachable for the kids.

Overall: 9.7 – I have to say that going back to the original was a struggle for me purely due to the graphics sucking a bit. But graphics do not make the game game play makes the game. So for that reason I give it 9.7/10. Go play it if you have not already.

You may have noticed that I made no mention of Doki Doki Panic. That is because I honestly do not think it is as big of a deal as many make it out to be. I can understand the older gamers feeling betrayed by the fact that it is almost the same as another game but for the newer generation it should not matter for that reason alone people should let the whole flame die. I have to say that if you judge them side by side they are very similar but they are both great games, if you prefer one over the other great, if not ok. They are the same in concept and practice but it just happens that they are both great. Get off that high horse and move on!
Well that was a very nostalgia driven review that I did not really plan on writing but I actually liked the way that it felt. I may or may not write another one like this but I am not entirely sure. I will say that with the Nostalgia glasses on it affected my score a bit but even with them off I still say that you should play the game. Go out have fun and,

Thanks for Reading!

O>O this a long review
but I do enjoy the depth of this review
as for the game I loved it , I liked the throwing of enemies I thought that it was cool
I know that its just a redo of "Doki Doki panic" but I have no idea why the lost levels wasnt released in the U.S. earlyer

hnnn : I would say because they game was a shameless new level pack of the first game. Though now a days people will buy millions of a game that is essentially a map pack. Wonder what that game might be...

DOKI DOKI PANIC I say is it's own game. Sure they are the same but they are a bit different. That is why I only commented about it at the end. I did not want it to skew the review.

Thanks for reading!

What is wrong with you!?  This review is insanely long.  Anyways, the game is very fun.  I grew up playing this and it never gets old for me.  Very good review.