Developer: Nintendo EAD Publisher: Fuji Television (DDP), Nintendo (SMB2)

Designer:Shigeru Miyamoto Release Date: 7/10/1987 (DDP, Japan), 10/10/1988 (SMB2, US)

I’m sure by now that a many of you know SMB2s dark little secret (though probably less so these days..damned information age). In 1988 the release of the newest Mario game was in fact not a Mario game at all. But a conversion by Nintendo of a game called Yume Kōjō:Doki Doki Panic (“Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic”)- a game based on a story of a family - Papa, Imajin, Lina, and Mama - go out on in adventure in an Arabian novel (known as ‘Subcon’ in SMB2). And of course people feel two ways about this: those who believe that because of the characters were Mario based that it was a true Mario Game. Then there are those who believe that because the game was not designed to be a Mario game from the ground up, it didn’t warrant a ‘real’ Mario label. I suppose both sides have a point. Although Miyamoto did have a heavier involvement in DDP than the actual SMB2 in Japan (the lost levels here).

As for myself -  I hate to say it, but I lean towards the ‘not a Mario game’ slot. For me it has to do with the initial intent (but hey, that’s me).

Anyways.

I almost don’t know where to go from here. The Mario series will always be bigger than anything I could type here - that’s the beauty of it. There were some small differences between the games that had only a slight effect in the gameplay. The most noticeable being that you had to finish the game with all four characters in DDP in order to view the games ending - whereas in SMB2 you could see the ending after completing with just one character. The other being that once you select a character you had that character until you got a game over. Minor differences were the lack of a sprint button (oi!), and being chased by Phanto - in DDP he waited until you left his chamber, SMB2 he began as soon as a key was picked up. Everything else was cosmetic (characters, certain bosses, hearts to mushrooms, POW animations and the like). So there’s that.

Oh and a female character named Catherine was changed to a cross dressing confused male now forever known as Birdo. Wait, isn’t it the Japanese who are supposed to be a little freaky? How is it that we got the cross dressing sub-boss?

As it was DDP had already borrowed elements from the Mario series - the starman, coins and POW had all been folded in to the mix. An influence of Miyamoto to be sure.

All that aside I’ll refer to the game from here on in from a Mario perspective since it’s most relevant to this side of the pond.

Super Mario Bros. 2 was a step outside the then new but still uber popular Mario universe (probably just a galaxy back then - I know I am a dork). The hardest thing for players was the lack of a proper jump attack - the player had to jump on top of the enemies and throw them at or off things. If I recall correctly I thought the game was glitching for the first half hour before I bothered to pick up the manual. But the prospect of playing as all the characters was exciting - each with their own abilities no less!! Hot damn.

After you got used to the throwing concept the game was a blast. Especially after the first Birdo battle. And the game kept picking up momentum as you played through. DDP had already possessed the fundamentals of a great Mario game - tight controls, interesting baddies and a compelling storyline. But it was the emphasis on vertical stages and the varied and challenging bosses that were a welcome change. Also I believe a lot of it was the environments you were placed into. They were unfamiliar yet fitting for what we had come to expect from Mario’s usual stomping grounds. It’s still a tad odd to not see a Koopa or Goomba anywhere.

I supposed it was a good idea to convert DDP - after SMB2 release you got the feeling that Mario could go anywhere and do anything. Let’s not forget the impressive number of now classic Mario baddies that was given to us (Shy Guys still kinda freak me the F*** out - creepy little shits - who holds that many rocks in their mouths, seriously).

Overall DDP/SMB2 will always be one of the games everyone should play. It is still the most odd and unfamiliar Mario game - and we love it for that. But ‘real’ Mario game or not - people should stop debating and start playing.

No seriously, like now.

THEN: 9.5 out of 10 NOW: 9 out of 10