https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVfn2pUd4zo

Fun fact: this is not the real Super Mario Bros. 2. The actual one, which came under the name “Lost Levels” in Super Mario All-Star, was deemed too difficult to be released in North America. I agree with that statement: too many poisonous mushrooms, impossibly long jumps pushed by high drafted and too many jumps requiring perfect timing would have been too frustrating. Instead Mario, Peach, Luigi and Toad were swapped with characters from Doki Doki Panic and renamed Super Mario Bros. 2. While not as classical as Super Mario Bros 1, the soundtrack is still pretty interesting. Here is my review of it.

1-Title Theme

When you turn on the NES. The track is fairly short and has a strange waltzy beat in the background. It almost sounds like a circus, which is fairly appropriate with the curtains surrounding the characters.

2- Character Select

When you choose whoever you want. This is one of my favorite tracks. It is very upbeat and joyful, and the 8-bit track sounds better than its All-Star version.

3- Overworld

The theme when you are above the ground. Not as marking in the popular imagination as the Mario 1 theme, but it is still very enjoyable. The main track is very joyful and upbeat – and its high tempo is much better than the All-Star version – while the 8-bit track in the background adds a kind of mystery (it was used for the bonus card game in Super Mario Bros. 3). If you think you are an expert whistler, try it .

4- Underworld

Whenever you enter a jar of a door. It has an interesting “Arabic” beat to it since these underground places often imply digging in the sand. However the loop is short so it gets a little annoying with time. Also the “drum” beat is just bland. Fortunately the 8-bit track help making both parts stick together.

5- Starman

When you pick up enough cherries you can get the invincibility star. The theme sounds much better than in Mario 1. Although the constant drum gets annoying, at least the main track sounds more upbeat and really feels invincible.

6- Sub-Space

I guess the creators knew that Super Mario Bros. 1 was a huge classic, so they decided to incorporate it! You hear it whenever you enter the secret doors with which you break your beaker. It is only the first part of the loop, but since you do not spend that much time in sub-space anyway you do not have time to get annoyed by it. It also sounds more modern; three years in gaming makes such a difference!

7- Boss

Be it Birdo or the various bosses at the end of each zone. Notwithstanding the nostalgia factor, I found that theme to be annoying. The main track (is it piano?) is simply the 2 or 3 same notes played in a quick tempo that I found annoying. And the 8-bit track does not add much to the theme.

8- Bonus Game

If you were so lucky to pick up coins in sub-space. It is very brief but does have a casino feel to it.

9- Fanfare

If you are able to win a 1-up. Technological limitations keep it from sounding triumphant enough. The notes are all stuck together instead.

10- Miss

When you die or fail at getting a 1-up in the slots. It sounds less dramatic than in Mario 1, and yet has a good dramatic feel to it.

11- Wart

The final boss. It is more elaborate than the regular boss theme so it is more tolerable. The main “trumpet” sounds very dramatic and upbeat while the 8-bit track adds just enough drama to make it sound like a final boss fight.

12- Boss Victory

When the “door” to the next zone appears after you finish an end-of-zone boss. It does sound triumphant but the tempo is much too quick to translate the triumph enough. And it is too short. Oh well…

13- Game Over

However brief it is, it does not sound like the game is over. It uses excerpts from Boss Victory and plays them backwards. Weird.

14- Ending

Ah, THAT does sounds like the end of a long game. The first part sounds really triumphant with the best trumpet arrangements for 1988, and the background drum almost makes it a military victory. The second part is slower and lighter, since Mario is waking up from his dream. It is high-pitch, but fortunately it does not play too much on your nerves.

Final diagnosis: probably because of my age (!) I definitely prefer the original NES tracks to their All-Star version. I highly recommend it.