Super Mario Brothers was the amazingly successful platformer from Nintendo that almost single-handedly saved the gaming industry from the disaster known as Custer's Revenge and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. People simply fell in love with it.

A bit of backstory to this game is that this wasn't supposed to be played by us non-Japanese. The Nintendo of America overlord disliked this game being just 'more levels' to the original and re-textured Doki Doki Panic to release the wild, wacky Mario 2 that the rest of the world got, known as Super Mario USA in Japan.

Enough history, let's get into the gameplay.

GRAPHICS
I think it's clear by now that Super Mario Bros. 2 is no remake. It simply takes the original's graphics and adds eyes to everything. The clouds have eyes, the bushes have eyes, and everything is just looking at Mario as he jumps by. To be completely fair, there are a few new sprites, including the Poison Shroom and the new Mushroom Platforms, because Bowser ran out of metal to build courses.

SOUND
It is the same as the original's, and just as addicting. But for some reason the SFX seems to bug out for me. Either way, it's golden.

STORY
Mario games have been known for their poor stories, especially the platformers. While the RPGs might have good stories, most games don't and it is almost PAINFUL to go through. For the sake of a review, I have to write this:

Mario goes through 32 levels to save Princess Peach from the evil clutches of Bowser and restore peace to the land, while unintentionally rescuing 7 annoying Toad Retainers along the way.

DEPTH
This game actually has 52 levels accessible normally instead of 32, which expands the range of levels to play. You have the regular Worlds 1 to 8, a garbage world 9 Miyamoto left in the code as an experiment, and secret Letter Worlds A to D. Hey, you even get a star each time you clear Worlds 1-8 or Worlds A-D! We all know that's the most important.

DIFFICULTY
Are you kidding?! I barely have to talk about how difficult this game is! Start the the first level as an example. The game intentionally hides the Super Mushroom and hitting the Question Blocks gets you a new mushroom. Let's collect it! And... oh... I just died?

You'll quickly learn that the game is made to kill your soul. Dying is now a huge penalty, as you now have to redo incredibly unforgiving levels. The Starman is now not always welcome, struggling with looping  mazes is tough, Super Mario is sometimes a nuisance than a blessing as he is too tall, and you must get used to not swearing at hearing the musical notes B-F-F-F-E-D-C-E-E-C.

ADDICTIVENESS
I have beat this game three separate times, all three times using save states. I really doubt I would play it again. The pressure of playing through the entire game is too much, and I rarely have long periods of free time.

Nice review I liked reading it. Always thought it was a remake.