This review is for a rare ROM hack of Super Mario Bros. 2 called SMB2 Master Quest. It has been modified somewhat from the original game, but it has the same amount of content. My ratings for each category will be about identical to Super Mario Bros. 2 with exception to a few parts. I don't like this game as much as I did the original, and the level design of this hack is pretty bad. It goes on longer than it should and feels overly complicated. Other than that, it is the same SMB2, but it is clearly not the game I came to know and love as a kid.

Graphics 8/10: Just like with SMB2, the graphics in Master Quest are pretty decent looking. The sprites are well detailed, and this game looks pretty colorful. The backgrounds look kind of dated, but Master Quest and SMB2 are both nice looking games.

Music 9/10: Master Quest uses the same soundtrack from Super Mario Bros. 2 which is an almost perfect collection of songs. The only thing I didn't like is the way the underground theme is used so much. It is used for the castle levels too. The boss themes are pretty cool, especially the final boss battle with Wart. Other than the repetitive underground theme, this soundtrack is about as good as it gets when it comes to classic 8-bit NES music.

Gameplay 3/10: Not a whole lot has changed with the gameplay of Master Quest either. You can still choose to play as either: Mario, Luigi, Toad, or the Princess. Once you select your player, you can't go back. Each player has their own unique abilities, and after playing this game several times, you learn which player is best suited for the level you are about to play. The other gameplay mechanics are still there as well such as: the plucking ability, bonus games, mini-bosses, subspace zones, etc. The level themes are also the same as well with: palm trees, stars, ice levels, desert levels, and cloud levels.

For the most part, SMB2 plays exactly the same way Super Mario Bros. 2 did. However, the layout and design of these stages are terrible!! The enemy placement sucks bad, and will always get you killed. What's worse this hack is stingy with extra lives just like in the original, and you really need them a lot in this game because you'll find yourself dying more than you should because of the bad enemy placement and hard platforming. Players will also encounter the main world bosses such as: Mouser, Tryclyde, Clawgrip, and Wart in the levels themselves.

Birdo also gets in the way a lot too, and this just slows down the whole game! Why was this hack designed this way?! All of this just makes things long, frustrating, and hard. It never gets any easier! I forgot to mention the horror that is world 4-3 with 3 Fryguys!!! None of this would be so bad, but Master Quest has the same problem with earning extra lives that the original SMB2 game had and the bad continue system! Anyone who plays this game is in for a long haul that never seems to get much easier.

SMB2 Master Quest is similar in layout and design to SMB2, but the enemies are next to impossible to avoid. It is also hard to get health on these parts as well, which means one hit and you're dead! You get a hack that is hard in a way that is long and frustrating instead of being challenging. I don't like the layout of Master Quest. The only thing I like are the world themes, but I hate how this game is hard/complicated just for the sake of making something hard to frustrate players. Alex No ruined what was a fun game from my childhood and just made it overly complicated and long!    

Story 10/10: The storyline of SMB2 Master Quest is exactly identical to that of Super Mario Bros. 2. It takes place in Subcon where Wart has trapped the Subcon people in a giant vase. It is a cool story and includes other playable characters such as: Luigi, Toad, and the Princess. The ideas for the Super Mario Bros. Super Show came from this game. Everything was kept true to the original as far as the plot goes.

Content 8/10: As mentioned before, SMB2 Master Quest still only contains the same 20 levels from the original game, but they take longer than they should because of the ridiculous barrage of bosses and mini-bosses. The world themes are still the same, and this game still is broken up into 7 worlds with the same amount of levels in each. 

Difficulty 10/10: SMB2 Master Quest is just plain ridiculous!! The enemy placement is God-awful, and why did Alex No put so many bosses and mini-bosses in the stages themselves instead of having them at the end of each level and world like in the original game? I could deal with all of this if you were able to earn more lives and health, but Master Quest only gives you lives on those crap-shoot bonus games at the end of each level. Those bonus games are just pure luck! If you're not careful, you'll just find yourself back at the start screen before you know it!

Players will really have to dig in if they want to beat this game. It feels complicated and hard just for the sake of it being complicated. What should only be a game that takes a little more than an hour can take 2 and 1/2 hours to beat because of the crumby/complicated design of this game! And this is only if you are able to get this far without using up your 2 (that's right only 2!) continues and having to play again from the beginning!! SMB2 Master Quest is very unbalanced with its difficulty, and this just ruins the whole experience for me!