Old Games: Encyclopedia Bombastica: Super Mario Bros. 2

Mario sure enjoys his LSD on that Nintendo Power cover.

That was fun Alex, thanks.

Hey Alex, you did a really awesome job in this QL! I don't mean at playing the game (though that was good) but at being rad and funny.

I don't mind SMB2 but I thought SMW, SMB3, and Mario 64 were a lock for "top three Mario games of all time"? I mean, objectively.

Oh god I remember playing this in all stars. Never beat it though :/

Anyway, I genuinely enjoyed SMB2. Also, Luigi was always my guy.

Triclyde has a name you know. It's Triclyde. He used to get beaten up by Princess Peach every week on the Super Show.

The SMB 2 challenges in NES Remix 2 weren't much to write home about, but at least they included my favorite part of the game, concerning a certain condoor. There were also a few challenges that let you play SMB 3 stages as Peach, floating jump and all, so that was pretty fun. Made me imagine what a world would be like if Peach could be inserted into any Mario game, Knuckles style.

Great job Alex!

I forgot how crazy the digging mechanics were in this game. So interesting, so unlike actual digging.

This and World are the best 2D Mario games. Screw SMB3, and Lost Levels.

3rd best... hmmm...

1. Super Mario World
2. Super Mario 64
3. Super Mario 2
4. Super Mario
5. Super Mario 3

Yup, it checks out.

And, yeah, games where insanely expensive back then. Dang.

Alex, you did a great job playing this game!

@alex: Snes version is worth checking out, it looks awesome. Also, thanks for a cool video! I need to go dig up my Snes now.

Oh look, that Mario skinned thing.

"Why did I touch that" Is the question I ask myself the most in life.

This game with CRT distortion gives me such a vicious pavlovian reward response it's hard to articulate. This isn't my third favorite. This one, IMO, makes Mario 3 look like a lifeless husk.

Can't hate on Birdo! Birdo was the first canonically trans character in video games. The best. <3

Alex is missing out by not playing the All-Stars version. It looks and sounds to fantastic compared to the 8-bit. It's true, take off your rose colored glasses.

Sure, it's a great game... but I can't fully support calling it a Mario game.

Could not agree more with Alex's SMB ranking. Loved Super Mario 2 a ton when it came out and still think it holds up today.

Alex, you did a very good job showcasing this game.

Third-best, eh?

I'd never even call it a Mario game. Sure people will criticize me for it, but I'll be that guy. Technically it's Doki Doki Panic that Nintendo stole and replaced with a Mario skin. Same thing I say about Stairfax Temperatures.

Besides, I'm sure I'd put a lot of Mario games ahead of this. World, 3, the original, 64, Galaxy 1 and 2... third best sidescroller? Maybe...

I never liked Mario 64.

Objectively.

I never had a N64, so I came to Mario 64 a lot later. It is a watershed moment for video games but, like nearly every other early-3D game, it ages pretty poorly. At this point, Galaxy is a much improved version over the original 64. Super Mario World is the gift that keeps on giving and has barely aged since it hit the SNES 20 years ago. I agree that SMB2 is better than 64, but for me the top 3 is:

1. Super Mario World

2. Super Mario Bros. 3

3. Super Mario Galaxy

Maybe they should reskin Phantasy Star Online 2 as a Mario game so we can finally get it released here.

Never understood the hate it got, it's a great game, even if Nintendo kind of tried to cash in on the Mario name.

Also, I genuinely like Yoshi's Island. Bring it!

Between this and the Doki Doki look on UPF, this site is really conspiring to get me to play this again.

I love Mario 2, but it's the only 2D one I've never beaten. Probably due to Phanto involvement.

You DID good showcasing this game.

I forgot about the ostriches... I hated them so much.

GBNY and GBSF should coordinate better. Glad to see this, but they just played Doki Doki Panic on UPF a few weeks ago.

I enjoyed this video!

On the topic of best Mario games are we including non-platforming Mario games? If we are than Paper Mario and Thousand Year Door occupy the top 2 slots and there's no way Mario Brothers 2 picks up the 3rd slot.

Man, what a great game. SNES version is totally worth checking out. Easier on the eyes.

Hey Alex, Great Job!...on playing the game.
I'm Quall.

Birdo IS pretty rad. BTW, Birdo is referred to as female, and apparently is in a relationship with/is good friends with Yoshi according to the Mario sports games.

Agreed. It's weird and I love it.

Why does he need a chin-strap for those earphones?

Alex! You did a really good job playing this game!

You can just sense he's played the game to death, by how he zips through the first section while talking.

Why you gotta bag on Luigi? He was the only character I could finish the game with as a kid. His jump mechanics make the game easier, not harder.

Alex, you did a really good job playing this game!

Tons of great stuff in this video. Thanks, Alex.

You can't steal something that's already yours.

I totally agree: Fuck Toad. Not even once.

Awww, Toad's the best! Better than god damn Mario! >:(

I would actually rate this above SMB 3. That's still a great game, but this not only has better memories for me (the game that sold me on video games) but is one I go back to much more regularly.

Also Alex, you're not Brad! Stop being bad at video games! :p

I just remember thinking with this game and the sequel to Zelda being so wildly different, that's how video games worked. Every one would have the same character but a totally new game. Imagine what a world that would be! I sure was wrong.

I never really thought about this until Alex pointed it out, but it's kind of crazy when you think about it that a game that wasn't even a "real" Mario game defined the gameplay traits for key Mario characters (Luigi jumps high, Toad is fast, Peach floats) in subsequent games.

Oh also, when talking about best Mario games, especially sidescrollers, people always, always forget about the Gameboy games. According to my incredibly objective, two decade old, nostalgia infused memory Super Mario Land 2 and Wario Land are both fucking fantastic. :)

Seriously though, I remember Wario Land being one of my favorite games on any platform of the pre-Playstation era. I fall on the Super Mario World side of the SMW/SM3 debate and though I'd still put SMW at #1, I might actually say that Wario Land is my #2.

@alex The reason that Nintendo decided to reskin this is they believed that the Lost levels game was too difficult for American audiences.

@alex If I recall correctly, we got a re-skinned Doki Doki Panic, as the original Super Mario Bros. 2 was deemed to hard for the American market.