Super Mario Bros. 2 is a 1988<!-- North American release --> platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. After the smash hit Super Mario Bros. in 1985, Nintendo quickly released an adaptation of the original with advanced difficulty titled Super Mario Bros. 2 for its market in Japan in 1986. However, Nintendo of America found this sequel too similar to its predecessor, and its difficulty too frustrating, for the nascent American market. This prompted a second Super Mario Bros. sequel based on Nintendo's 1987 Family Computer Disk System game that had been based on a prototype platforming game and released as an advergame for Fuji Television's Yume Kōjō '87 media technology expo. The characters, enemies, and themes in Doki Doki Panic have the mascots and theme of the festival, and were adapted into the Super Mario theme to make a Western Super Mario Bros. sequel.
Super Mario Bros. 2 was a resounding success, becoming the fifth-best-selling game on the NES, and was critically well-received for its design aspects and for differentiating the Super Mario series. It was re-released in Japan for the Family Computer in 1992 as <!-- Placed in the notes per WP:JFN. -->, and has been remade twice, first included in the Super Mario All-Stars (1993) collection for the Super NES, and as Super Mario Advance (2001), released as a launch game for the Game Boy Advance. It is included as part of the Virtual Console and Nintendo Classics services.
Gameplay
left|frame|Super Mario Bros. 2 features some enemies and [[Item (game terminology)|items from Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. The playable characters can now also lift and throw things to defeat enemies.]]
Super Mario Bros. 2 is a 2D side-scrolling platform game. The objective is to navigate the player's character through the dream world Subcon and defeat the main antagonist Wart. Before each stage, the player chooses one of four protagonists: Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool. All four characters can run, jump, and climb ladders or vines, but each character possesses a different combination of abilities that causes them to be controlled differently. Toad has the greatest speed and strength, allowing him to pick up items quickly, but has the lowest jumping height; Luigi can jump the highest, but moves slightly slower and has weaker strength; Princess Toadstool can float for short distances but has the lowest speed and strength; and Mario has intermediate speed, jumping height, and strength. Unlike Super Mario Bros., this game has no multiplayer functionality and no time limit. The original only scrolls from left to right, but this game can also scroll right to left, and even vertically in some areas. Unlike other Mario games, the characters cannot defeat enemies by jumping on them but can stand on, pick up, and throw most enemies at each other to defeat them. Other objects that can be thrown at enemies include vegetables pulled from the ground and mushroom blocks.
The game consists of 20 different levels across the seven worlds comprising Subcon. Each world has three levels, except World 7, which has two. Each world has a particular theme that dictates the obstacles and enemies encountered in its levels, such as desert areas with dangerous quicksand and snowy areas with slippery surfaces. Levels contain multiple sections or rooms that are connected via doors or ladders. Some rooms are accessible by entering certain jars. Magic potions found in each level are used to temporarily access "Sub-space", a reflected, unscrollable area where the player can collect coins and Mushrooms that increase the character's maximum health. In addition, certain jars, when entered in Sub-space, will warp the player to the later worlds, skipping levels altogether. Other items available include cherries, which are collected in order to acquire a Star; the POW Block, which can be used to destroy all the enemies visible on the screen quickly; and a stopwatch that can stop enemies from moving for a short period of time. The player must defeat a boss enemy at the end of each of the first six worlds, then defeat Wart himself at the end of World 7 to complete the game.
The player starts Super Mario Bros. 2 with three lives, one of which is lost each time the player's character loses all health from enemy or hazard damage or when the character falls off the screen, represented by hearts. The player can replenish health by collecting floating hearts that appear upon defeating a certain number of enemies. The player will receive a Game Over upon losing the last life, though the player may continue up to twice in one game. Extra lives may be obtained by collecting hidden 1-Up Mushrooms or by using the coins collected from Sub-space to play the Bonus Chance minigame between the levels.
Plot
Mario has a dream of a staircase leading to a mysterious door to a mysterious place. A voice identifies the world as the dreamland of Subcon, and asks for Mario's help in defeating the villainous frog named Wart, a tyrant who has cursed Subcon and its people. Mario suddenly awakes and decides to tell Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool, who all report experiencing the same dream. The group goes on a picnic, but discovers a cave with a long staircase. Through a door at the top, they are transported to Subcon, revealing their dreams to have been real. After defeating Wart, the people of Subcon are freed and everyone celebrates. Mario suddenly awakes in his bed, unsure if these events were a dream. He soon goes back to sleep.