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11-19-15 03:28 PM
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The First Super Mario Advance Game

 
Game's Ratings
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Sound
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9.4
8.4
8.3
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6.6
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11-19-15 03:28 PM
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The first Super Mario Advance game is a port of the classic NES Mario game called Super Mario Bros. 2. It was released for the new handheld Gameboy Advance console in the summer of 2001. The Gameboy Advance is a system that I'm not familiar with at all. Throughout the early to mid 2000s a lot of the Mario games I grew up with would be re-released on this handheld gaming console that is pretty impressive. The GBA produced some games with nice graphics and sound, and I guess a few on the Gameboy Color weren't that bad either. However, I don't feel like the Super Mario Advance series is all that great.

These games are good in a way, but there are some things that keep them from being as memorable as the NES and SNES Mario games were for me. In the early 2000s, I was out of high school and working my first full time job. Super Mario Bros. games were just a memory from a decade earlier. I remember hearing about them, but I wasn't interested at the time. To some, this series is a big deal, but I don't care much about ports, remakes, or ROM hacks. There are a few exceptions, but this Mario Advance game and the other ones are about what I'd expect from these types of remakes.  

Graphics 9/10: The graphics of Super Mario Advance have been ported over from the Super Nintendo version of SMB2. The backgrounds and sprites look about the same, but the screen looks very faded. The colors aren't as rich and vibrant like in All-Stars, and the camera is too zoomed in so that you can't see much of what the game looks like. I would have to say, it does look better than the NES version, which wasn't a bad looking game itself.

When it comes to graphics, the GBA version wins out over the original SMB2. This is not a bad looking game even though it does have its issues. SMA does have more color and detail to it, and I do see an overall improvement over the graphics of the NES. I still prefer the All-Stars version, but the GBA port still looks pretty nice and full of life.

Music 6/10: Most of the music for Super Mario Advance has been ported over from Super Mario All-Stars as well. There are a few new tracks but not many. This version of SMB2 has a soundtrack that is lacking in originality. It's pretty much the exact same thing as All-Stars, and I felt like the tracks in that version didn't sound as good as they did in the NES version. Here, they are a downgrade from both versions. I guess the GBA hardware had some limitations to it even though it produced some games with memorable soundtracks. Super Mario Advance is not one of them, and these songs don't sound very good in this version overall. In a way, they don't sound terrible or anything, but this game has a pretty weak sound to it.     

Gameplay 8/10: Super Mario Advance plays just like Super Mario Bros. 2, but there are some differences. It is a platforming game, like the first, but you can play as either Mario, Luigi, Toad, or the Princess. Each character has their own special ability which I discussed more in depth in my SMB2 review. Enemies are now picked up and thrown at each other, and the player can also throw vegetables at their enemies. Subspace can be entered by finding a magic potion and dropping it. Here, you can find Mushrooms which give you more health and coins that can be used for the bonus games.

This port also contains 5 Ace Coins in each level that are optional but collecting all 5 will give you an extra life. These weren't necessary unless you wanted 100%, but they never unlocked in new levels or anything. Upon beating the regular game, the player unlocks the Yoshi Egg Challenge. In this game, you can go back and collect the Ace Coins that you missed. The ones you already found will be flashing which helps you keep up with them better. Anyway, Yoshi Eggs are hidden in some of the Subspace areas. This mode is more challenging than the regular game. Unlike with the Ace Coins, if you die on a level, you have to go back and get the egg again. There are 2 eggs in each level, and these are the same levels that you already played before, so basically you are replaying the game but trying to collect the 2 Yoshi Eggs in each level.

I don't find the Egg Challenge to be all that fun to play because of how you're just re-playing the same levels and aren't allowed to die. This part of the game is too time consuming for me. Super Mario Advance also contains the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. This game has been greatly updated from that version. The original game didn't even have any music in it! Mario has to hit enemies from underneath the floor as they pop out of the pipes at the top of the screen. Killing these enemies gives you points, and after killing a certain number of enemies, you advance to the next level.

I never got into this part much either and usually just skipped it. The real meat and potatoes to Super Mario Advance is Super Mario Bros. 2. This is the part of the game worth talking about. The Egg Challenge and Arcade games don't turn me away from Advance but don't draw me in to it either. In terms of gameplay and game design, SMB2 hasn't changed hardly any. The level design is the same, and all the stages have the same look and feel to them. This means that after I played Mario Advance several times, I knew what to expect, and it was just like playing SMB2 all over again.

This version isn't as much fun because of this and some other gameplay issues. The controls aren't very tight like they were in the NES and All-Stars versions. The players slide around too much, and I found myself dying from falling off ledges and into bottomless pits. The visibility is also a problem, and the game is too zoomed in causing a good deal of screen crunch. The Ace Coins do give the game more exploration, but the GBA version doesn't handle as well with the controls. I also don't like how everything is just the same game as the All-Stars and NES versions.

This has to be my least favorite version of SMB2 due to the lack of originality and loose controls. Then, I have to take into account: the excellent save feature, abundance of extra lives, lots of health, and the way you can always continue as long as you remember to save your game. All of these things make this version very easy to pick up and play and keep on playing without having to worry about starting all over from the beginning like in the original game. There are really a lot of extra lives, Mushrooms, and health to stock up on in this version.

Super Mario Advance is still my least favorite version, but the gameplay and design of the it isn't that bad. It is just one of those games that has more problems to it than the previous versions of SMB2 had. Nintendo did try to make up for a lot of the problems with this port by being more generous with the extra lives, health points, and continues. Some players might like this version better, but it all depends on the person. For me, the slippery controls and screen crunch keep it from being as fun as the SMB2 I played on NES and SNES in 1993 and 94.  

Story 10/10: Super Mario Advance takes place in the land of Subcon just like in SMB2. Mario had a dream one night about a voice coming from a cave pleading for someone to help them. The next day, he took his friends to this exact cave in his dream, and before their eyes was Subcon. The people of the land had been trapped in a giant vase by a frog monster named Wart. Mario, Luigi, Toad, and the Princess have to set the people free. I like the story from Super Mario Bros. 2 and how different it is from the other Mario games. It involves more characters and is still the same plot we all came to know and love growing up.

Content 8/10: Super Mario Advance, as a whole, is a very long game. Playing through the original, Egg Challenge, and Mario Bros. can take almost 5 hours. Although, I like how all of this extra content is optional and is really just there for those wanting more out of the original SMB2. I thought the 7 worlds of Super Mario Bros. 2 were enough for me. I usually spend about 2 hours on this version trying to get all the Ace Coins. However, this is mostly just a 7 world game with the same level themes from before.

Difficulty 6/10: In the old SMB2, there were only 2 continues if you got a Game Over, and after that you went back to the title screen to replay the whole game! It took me almost a year to finish that version. The All-Stars version was more forgiving, but you had to restart from the beginning of the world. In Super Mario Advance, you can continue as long as you remember to save. However, with all the extra lives and health points, how can anyone get a Game Over? It still doesn't mean this version is easy. The controls are quite slippery and this version feels too jerky for some reason.

When you scroll from top to bottom it is like the game just stops. James Rolfe called this some kind of air-suspension problem. Also, it feels like this version puts more enemies in your way to give you more chances at health, but for me, they really just get in the way and slow things down. Super Mario Advance can be a pretty time consuming game, and isn't all that easy to finish. The game isn't hard but no easier than the All-Stars version. I still think the GBA port is way more forgiving than the NES version. Like I said before, some might like the Advance version better because it is easier than the original.

Overall 8.2/10: In my opinion, Super Mario Advance isn't as good as Super Mario Bros. 2. Neither is it as good as the All-Stars version. I had some problems with the way I felt like I was just replaying SMB2 again, but it wasn't as exciting playing it on the SNES with that version's excellent graphics and tight controls. This game did not have the classic 8-bit music to it either or the music of the 16-bit SNES. The Gameboy Advance is 32-bits, but it is mainly just a port. This is the way the GBA Mario series was for me. Everything is just redone, and even though this is a decent game, I don't enjoy it as much as SMB2. The same would go for all the GBA Mario and Donkey Kong remakes.  



The first Super Mario Advance game is a port of the classic NES Mario game called Super Mario Bros. 2. It was released for the new handheld Gameboy Advance console in the summer of 2001. The Gameboy Advance is a system that I'm not familiar with at all. Throughout the early to mid 2000s a lot of the Mario games I grew up with would be re-released on this handheld gaming console that is pretty impressive. The GBA produced some games with nice graphics and sound, and I guess a few on the Gameboy Color weren't that bad either. However, I don't feel like the Super Mario Advance series is all that great.

These games are good in a way, but there are some things that keep them from being as memorable as the NES and SNES Mario games were for me. In the early 2000s, I was out of high school and working my first full time job. Super Mario Bros. games were just a memory from a decade earlier. I remember hearing about them, but I wasn't interested at the time. To some, this series is a big deal, but I don't care much about ports, remakes, or ROM hacks. There are a few exceptions, but this Mario Advance game and the other ones are about what I'd expect from these types of remakes.  

Graphics 9/10: The graphics of Super Mario Advance have been ported over from the Super Nintendo version of SMB2. The backgrounds and sprites look about the same, but the screen looks very faded. The colors aren't as rich and vibrant like in All-Stars, and the camera is too zoomed in so that you can't see much of what the game looks like. I would have to say, it does look better than the NES version, which wasn't a bad looking game itself.

When it comes to graphics, the GBA version wins out over the original SMB2. This is not a bad looking game even though it does have its issues. SMA does have more color and detail to it, and I do see an overall improvement over the graphics of the NES. I still prefer the All-Stars version, but the GBA port still looks pretty nice and full of life.

Music 6/10: Most of the music for Super Mario Advance has been ported over from Super Mario All-Stars as well. There are a few new tracks but not many. This version of SMB2 has a soundtrack that is lacking in originality. It's pretty much the exact same thing as All-Stars, and I felt like the tracks in that version didn't sound as good as they did in the NES version. Here, they are a downgrade from both versions. I guess the GBA hardware had some limitations to it even though it produced some games with memorable soundtracks. Super Mario Advance is not one of them, and these songs don't sound very good in this version overall. In a way, they don't sound terrible or anything, but this game has a pretty weak sound to it.     

Gameplay 8/10: Super Mario Advance plays just like Super Mario Bros. 2, but there are some differences. It is a platforming game, like the first, but you can play as either Mario, Luigi, Toad, or the Princess. Each character has their own special ability which I discussed more in depth in my SMB2 review. Enemies are now picked up and thrown at each other, and the player can also throw vegetables at their enemies. Subspace can be entered by finding a magic potion and dropping it. Here, you can find Mushrooms which give you more health and coins that can be used for the bonus games.

This port also contains 5 Ace Coins in each level that are optional but collecting all 5 will give you an extra life. These weren't necessary unless you wanted 100%, but they never unlocked in new levels or anything. Upon beating the regular game, the player unlocks the Yoshi Egg Challenge. In this game, you can go back and collect the Ace Coins that you missed. The ones you already found will be flashing which helps you keep up with them better. Anyway, Yoshi Eggs are hidden in some of the Subspace areas. This mode is more challenging than the regular game. Unlike with the Ace Coins, if you die on a level, you have to go back and get the egg again. There are 2 eggs in each level, and these are the same levels that you already played before, so basically you are replaying the game but trying to collect the 2 Yoshi Eggs in each level.

I don't find the Egg Challenge to be all that fun to play because of how you're just re-playing the same levels and aren't allowed to die. This part of the game is too time consuming for me. Super Mario Advance also contains the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. This game has been greatly updated from that version. The original game didn't even have any music in it! Mario has to hit enemies from underneath the floor as they pop out of the pipes at the top of the screen. Killing these enemies gives you points, and after killing a certain number of enemies, you advance to the next level.

I never got into this part much either and usually just skipped it. The real meat and potatoes to Super Mario Advance is Super Mario Bros. 2. This is the part of the game worth talking about. The Egg Challenge and Arcade games don't turn me away from Advance but don't draw me in to it either. In terms of gameplay and game design, SMB2 hasn't changed hardly any. The level design is the same, and all the stages have the same look and feel to them. This means that after I played Mario Advance several times, I knew what to expect, and it was just like playing SMB2 all over again.

This version isn't as much fun because of this and some other gameplay issues. The controls aren't very tight like they were in the NES and All-Stars versions. The players slide around too much, and I found myself dying from falling off ledges and into bottomless pits. The visibility is also a problem, and the game is too zoomed in causing a good deal of screen crunch. The Ace Coins do give the game more exploration, but the GBA version doesn't handle as well with the controls. I also don't like how everything is just the same game as the All-Stars and NES versions.

This has to be my least favorite version of SMB2 due to the lack of originality and loose controls. Then, I have to take into account: the excellent save feature, abundance of extra lives, lots of health, and the way you can always continue as long as you remember to save your game. All of these things make this version very easy to pick up and play and keep on playing without having to worry about starting all over from the beginning like in the original game. There are really a lot of extra lives, Mushrooms, and health to stock up on in this version.

Super Mario Advance is still my least favorite version, but the gameplay and design of the it isn't that bad. It is just one of those games that has more problems to it than the previous versions of SMB2 had. Nintendo did try to make up for a lot of the problems with this port by being more generous with the extra lives, health points, and continues. Some players might like this version better, but it all depends on the person. For me, the slippery controls and screen crunch keep it from being as fun as the SMB2 I played on NES and SNES in 1993 and 94.  

Story 10/10: Super Mario Advance takes place in the land of Subcon just like in SMB2. Mario had a dream one night about a voice coming from a cave pleading for someone to help them. The next day, he took his friends to this exact cave in his dream, and before their eyes was Subcon. The people of the land had been trapped in a giant vase by a frog monster named Wart. Mario, Luigi, Toad, and the Princess have to set the people free. I like the story from Super Mario Bros. 2 and how different it is from the other Mario games. It involves more characters and is still the same plot we all came to know and love growing up.

Content 8/10: Super Mario Advance, as a whole, is a very long game. Playing through the original, Egg Challenge, and Mario Bros. can take almost 5 hours. Although, I like how all of this extra content is optional and is really just there for those wanting more out of the original SMB2. I thought the 7 worlds of Super Mario Bros. 2 were enough for me. I usually spend about 2 hours on this version trying to get all the Ace Coins. However, this is mostly just a 7 world game with the same level themes from before.

Difficulty 6/10: In the old SMB2, there were only 2 continues if you got a Game Over, and after that you went back to the title screen to replay the whole game! It took me almost a year to finish that version. The All-Stars version was more forgiving, but you had to restart from the beginning of the world. In Super Mario Advance, you can continue as long as you remember to save. However, with all the extra lives and health points, how can anyone get a Game Over? It still doesn't mean this version is easy. The controls are quite slippery and this version feels too jerky for some reason.

When you scroll from top to bottom it is like the game just stops. James Rolfe called this some kind of air-suspension problem. Also, it feels like this version puts more enemies in your way to give you more chances at health, but for me, they really just get in the way and slow things down. Super Mario Advance can be a pretty time consuming game, and isn't all that easy to finish. The game isn't hard but no easier than the All-Stars version. I still think the GBA port is way more forgiving than the NES version. Like I said before, some might like the Advance version better because it is easier than the original.

Overall 8.2/10: In my opinion, Super Mario Advance isn't as good as Super Mario Bros. 2. Neither is it as good as the All-Stars version. I had some problems with the way I felt like I was just replaying SMB2 again, but it wasn't as exciting playing it on the SNES with that version's excellent graphics and tight controls. This game did not have the classic 8-bit music to it either or the music of the 16-bit SNES. The Gameboy Advance is 32-bits, but it is mainly just a port. This is the way the GBA Mario series was for me. Everything is just redone, and even though this is a decent game, I don't enjoy it as much as SMB2. The same would go for all the GBA Mario and Donkey Kong remakes.  


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(edited by luigi25 on 02-09-19 08:32 PM)    

11-19-15 09:00 PM
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luigi25 : im gonna stick to the NES version. mainly cause thats the only version i ever played and i really dont like the GBA or the SNES that much. also the NES version is the only mario game i have ever played
luigi25 : im gonna stick to the NES version. mainly cause thats the only version i ever played and i really dont like the GBA or the SNES that much. also the NES version is the only mario game i have ever played
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11-20-15 01:20 PM
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Nice work on this review. Parts of it make me want to play the game, and parts of it make me want to avoid it.

When you say they have voices, do you mean they actually speak audibly (real voice acting), or that they have printed dialogue? Or maybe that they say things like "Yippee" and "Wahoo" (why are Mario and Luigi always so happy about risking their lives to fight bad guys)?
Nice work on this review. Parts of it make me want to play the game, and parts of it make me want to avoid it.

When you say they have voices, do you mean they actually speak audibly (real voice acting), or that they have printed dialogue? Or maybe that they say things like "Yippee" and "Wahoo" (why are Mario and Luigi always so happy about risking their lives to fight bad guys)?
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Eirinn : Mario and the other characters usually just say things like, "Just what I needed" or "Lucky" whenever they grab an item. The enemies can speak too. Birdo and Wart have their own phrases as well.
Eirinn : Mario and the other characters usually just say things like, "Just what I needed" or "Lucky" whenever they grab an item. The enemies can speak too. Birdo and Wart have their own phrases as well.
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