Super Mario Bros. 2 is a different take on the Mario platformer (for reasons everyone knows) and while it's nice to get that, it doesn't feel anything like a Mario game and this take gets old after a while. At a technical point this game is really good with great graphics for a NES game and it controls quite nicely. The game also gives us Shy Guys and other future characters for the franchise. The levels themselves are designed well enough, but the problem is this just gets old quick. The first world is fun but after a while it just gets boring with the repetitive nature of this. There isn't really anything to hook you into the game. The first didn't have a story but you have that drive to rescue Princess Peach. This takes place in a dream and the clear narrative really isn't brought out, so there isn't enough here to bring you in. Despite all of this, the game has enough redeeming qualities to keep the game enjoyable enough to play. It was impressive for an NES game but it didn't do too much for me.

This is easily the weakest of the original 4 Super Mario Bros. series. Technically, this isn't a Mario game. It's just a repackage of Doki Doki. But, it still is a Mario game. It feels way different from the other 3 in the original SMB series because to beat the enemies, you don't jump on them. You stand on them, pick them up and throw them into another enemy which takes way more time. This also doesn't have a timer, points, or Bowser! This game has a bunch of random bosses like a mouse with bombs and a crab that throws rocks, but not the most famous video game villain, Bowser. This game is still playable though. It has a lot of cool level designs and the boss fights are pretty fun. I also really like the look of the game. The mechanics are also really good. Those are really the only good things I can say about this game. It's pretty slow and boring to get through. I did play a lot of it at once, but the worlds are so short where I don't want to do just one or two per day, but it feels so long. It's tedious to get through and I hate how you kill the enemies, but it's still playable and I would say that all die hard Mario fans should give this a shot, even if it's just an American release of a different game but repackaging it for Mario.

GRADE
C+