Super Mario Bros. 2

One of the reasons I wanted Super Mario All-Stars was simply to play this game. Nowadays, I can breeze through any of the other Mario games with minimal difficulty (aside from Yoshi's Island, haven't played that one too many times). It retained the feel of the original classic, but with several new twists, such as poison mushrooms, wind, powerful spring boards, "maze" effects in open air levels (i.e. 7-3, C-3), and in one case, a goal that's on a different plane than the level's starting point. It took me probably over 20 times to beat level 8-4 (Mario 3 blatantly rips off the "jump off a ledge and angle yourself left into a pirahna plant to avoid falling into a pit" situation), but I managed to beat that, the "secret" world 9, and the greater challenges of levels A-D (although D-4 doesn't have the same sting as 8-4). The only problem is that the save feature on the Super Nintendo is essentially unlimited lives, as it allows you to save after each individual level. Still, very much worth playing if you like Mario games and miss the old days of 2-D sidescrolling platform games.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels isn't for the faint of heart. Originally released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2, it was deemed too difficult for Western audiences-and honestly, that label wasn't wrong. This game isn't just hard; it's borderline unforgiving. But for the right kind of player, that's exactly what makes it so fascinating.

Chapter 1: Familiar, But Meaner

At first glance, it looks like a slightly remixed version of the original Super Mario Bros. The visuals and sound are nearly identical, but the gameplay is where things take a sharp left turn. Jumps are tighter, enemies are placed more deviously, and even the power-ups can betray you (looking at you, poison mushroom). It's a sequel that seems designed not to welcome you in-but to push you back out.

The level design often feels like a gauntlet of traps, requiring pixel-perfect timing, memorization, and sometimes, pure trial-and-error. It's more about endurance than exploration.

Chapter 2: A Test of Skill and Patience

There's no doubt that The Lost Levels was made for hardcore fans of the original. It demands precision and punishes recklessness. For players who love a steep challenge and don't mind repeating the same section over and over just to master it, this is pure heaven. For everyone else, it can feel more frustrating than fun.

The introduction of Luigi as a playable character-with higher jumps but slipperier control-is a nice touch, adding some gameplay variety and difficulty options (though both are tough in their own ways).

Final Thoughts

This isn't a warm, welcoming platformer. It's a "you think you're good at Mario? Prove it" kind of game. And while that makes it divisive, it also makes it uniquely compelling in its own right. Not essential for casual fans, but for those who crave old-school challenge, The Lost Levels earns its reputation.

7/10 - A ruthless but rewarding sequel that doubles down on difficulty. Fun, if you're up for the fight.

No, I'm not saying that this is a bad game, it's just far too challenging. Yes, this is the REAL Super Mario Bros. 2, but it was released in Japan only, because Japanese people enjoy more challenging games. This is a nice follow up game, and another reason it wasn't released in the US or UK was because of repetition (it's far too similar to SMB). However, there are new features, such as the poison mushrooms, sky-rocketing trampolines and the extra worlds. We know this game as SUPER MARIO BROS: THE LOST LEVELS, and gamers got to enjoy it 7 years after its first release (which was in 1986) on SUPER MARIO ALL-STARS, and it's also a secret mode on SUPER MARIO BROS. Deluxe. But what is the problem with this game? Well, it's FAR too difficult. I can only seem to get to World 5-3 before the life-losing streak begins. I've played the original on the NES, and it's quite enjoyable although difficult (what's also confusing is that even if you are playing as Luigi it still says MARIO in the top left corner! Wierd.), but Luigi can seem to put some of this difficulty away, as he has a brand new jump technique far higher than Mario's jump, but he tends to skid around a lot. Overall I rate this game 8 out of 10.

This game originated in Japan and is much better than the sequel to the awesome game than the one released here in the states. Very similar to the original but with many new levels and challenges. I got the chance to play this game as a part of the SNES game, Super Mario All Stars. It is excellent. Way better than the other Super Mario Bros. 2 game.

This game is similar to the original Super Mario Bros. People remove points for that, but I won't. The reason why I rated it one star below the original is because they made the difficulty a bit too high. And do I need to mention I'm not good at video games? I think I do. Other than that, it's great.