After the critical success of Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System it was not long until a follow up was released... though in Japan only. This game was Super Mario Bros. 2. Not to be confused with the later american release of the same name (or Super Mario USA as it was referred to in Japan). Actually confusion is quite justified in the case...
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan) was originally released in 1986. It was built on a similar version of the Super Mario Bros. game engine. A lot of the sprites and assets from the first game were reused and gameplay remained pretty much the same. The differences came from newly designed levels and revamped difficulty. Yes this game is really really hard! Nintendo of America thought the Western audience wouldn't warm to the sequel due to the challenging nature of the game, and therefore decided not to release it to the Western countries.
Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan) |
As an alternative, nintendo adapted a popular Japanese game called Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic using Mario and friends replacing the original characters in the game. This adaption was re-released and retitled Super Mario Bros 2 (or American Super Mario Bros. 2) in America and the rest of the Western countries.
Super Mario Bros. 2 too... or is it Doki Doki Panic? |
Two Mario games, two regions, both with the same name.
Years later a famous compilation released outside of Japan called Super Mario Allstars (Featuring remade versions of Super Mario Bros 1,2 & 3) would also come complete with the japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2, though under the title Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. The game along with the other titles in Super Mario Allstars, received a graphical update as well (see the pic below).
They couldn't let America have two Super Mario Bros. 2. The Lost Levels it is then! (Gr |
Until then, happy gaming!
I love Trivia Games with Mario or nintendo! I've seen a few online recently and have been having a great time with these. Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteLike you said- happy gaming.
Glad to see Ronnie55! love myself a bit of nintendo trivia
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