Greetings ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Mario Month! Today we'll be looking at Super Mario Bros. 2. A game that is so frustrating it'll make you...wait, I'm thinking of the Japanese Mario 2 aren't I? Sorry, this is the American Mario Bros. 2...even though it wasn't originally a Mario game at all. I'm quite certain that a vast majority of people know this already, but for those who don't, Super Mario Bros. 2 (a.k.a. The Lost Levels) was released in Japan as a direct sequel to Super Mario Bros. However Nintendo of America thought the game was "too hard" for the American gamer. You know, even though they let several other "hard" games come here, like Contra, Mega Man, Battletoads, Ghosts and Goblins, but Mario Bros. 2? Forget it, way too hard. So they came up with an idea. At around the same time that Mario 2 was released in Japan, Miyamoto had developed a game called Doki Doki Panic. Nintendo of America decided to take this game, slap a Mario skin on it and BAM, new Mario game. So, is this game worthy of being a sequel to the classic of all classics? Let's find out!

Graphics
     The graphics are an improvement over the first game. You can distinguish certain characters better than the other game and the animation is pretty good by NES standards. I have to say, this is one of the best looking NES games of the time. While the backgrounds aren't exactly too detailed, they at least match their environment. The stages themselves look nice and really good by NES standards. The enemies are all distinguishable and you can tell which ones have certain abilities based on how they look. It's a good-looking game and it still somewhat holds up today, even though it has aged slightly.

Sound
     The soundtrack, while not too varied is often very catchy. Take the ground theme and the boss theme. Both are really memorable and anyone who's ever played this game knows it. They're probably the most recognizable tunes in the entire game as I tend to hear these songs quite a bit in Mario related videos. The jumping sound effect is pulled straight from the original game, go figure, and the rest fit pretty well with the effect they're trying to give.  Not the best, but very far from the worst in terms of both music and sound effects on the NES.

Addictiveness
     If you really enjoy this game, it can be a blast to come back to. It's a new direction for Mario and I think it works quite well. I know this wasn't originally a Mario game, but it does play like one in most aspects. With the addition of 3 new playable characters, well not "new", but we've never played as them like they are in this game at this point, you're probably going to want to try all 4 characters to see which one you like the most. The level designs and bosses are quite creative and unique and I don't remember seeing boss fights like these ever again. I personally think they should bring these back, even if it's just one more time, I'd like to see them again.

Story
     Ok, we all know the classic Mario story; Bowser kidnaps Peach, Mario rescues Peach and...wait, that's not this game's story? My mistake, Bowser actually isn't even in this game at all. He doesn't even have a cameo, at least as far as I know. So apparently, Wart decides to take control of a place called Subcon and Mario and friends decide to take action and pop this Wart. (Get it? No? Nobody? Aww...) At the end, we find out it was all just a dream that Mario had. Don't worry, this plot theme will never show up in any game from here on out. Right? (Looks at Sonic '06) Oh, right...

Depth
     The game has 7 Worlds, with 3 Levels in the first 6, and 2 in the last world. A pretty decent game size, but not quite as big as Super Mario Bros. However, what this game lacks in quantity of levels, it adds to the levels themselves. Sometimes, you will have to find a key located in a specific jar or other area in order to complete the level. The game has quite the number of enemies, but they are pretty spread out, so you shouldn't have too much trouble dealing with them. A pretty big game, but I can't help but think that this could've been so much bigger, but I won't judge too much on this aspect.

Controls/Gameplay
     The gameplay is very similar to the first, but it does have major differences. The D-pad is used to move and the A-button is used for jumping. The B-button is still used for running, but is now also used to pick up items like vegetables, Bob-ombs, and other enemies. You can get an even higher jump if you hold the down arrow, then when your character starts flashing, jump, it's great for reaching higher areas. One change is that instead of one character, you now have four to choose from, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Peach, each with their own unique traits. Mario is your standard all-around character with no specific emphasis on any ability, he's very "middle-of-the-road" in this game. Luigi is probably the character I use the most. I've been using him ever since I played the GBA version of the game, and it feels somewhat weird using anybody else. He has a higher jump and is slightly faster than Mario, however this does cause him to be a bit more slippery on the ground. Toad is the strongest of the characters, but his jump and speed aren't exactly on par with Mario or Luigi. Toad's perfect for large enemy clusters, whenever they appear that is. And finally, we have Peach, the weakest of the bunch, but she does have one ability that could probably immediately classify her as being "easy mode", the ability to float for a brief period of time. If you want to get through a heavy platforming level with little to no challenge, use Peach. It still controls really well and is a pretty easy game for someone to pick up and play.

Overall, while the second installment to the Super Mario Bros. franchise is still a decent game, I don't find it to be as good as the original, and to be honest, I don't consider this a true sequel, I'll save that for the next review though. With good controls, good graphics and great music, I give Super Mario Bros. 2 a 7.5 out of 10. Join me next time for Super Mario Bros. 3, and until then; Peace out!

Wow, I have to say that this review is pretty interesting right there, all in detailed, it all looks nice, it's all in order, nice work on this review.

Yes indeed, very nice review, this is exactly the way all reviews need to be, organized, interesting and detailed. This is excellent work and I am impressed with all of the detail you put into each category of this review, that is really awesome. I like detailed posts, yours is very lengthy which signifies that you put both effort and detail into your post which really makes it amazing. This is how I do most of my reviews except I give a reasoning for my score afterward and explain why I gave it that score instead of a 10. Your review is excellent quality and you sound convincing to someone and from the review you make it interesting and that is what grabs attention, keep up the good work and keep making more reviews! Nice job!