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| Are you ready for this? You're not. You think you're ready for this, but you're not. |
“We present Fantasy World. Let's try "9 World" with one game.”
- World 9 Intro Screen
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| Unless otherwise indicated, mariowiki.com is still the source of most images |
The Facts
Release Date: June 3, 1986 (Japan)
Original Platform: Famicom Disk System
Director: Takashi Tezuka
Producer: Unknown
Also Playable On: SNES (remake), Game Boy Color (quasi-remake), Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console (Wii, 3DS, Wii U), Nintendo Switch Online, 35th Anniversary Game & Watch
What's the Deal
In an alternate timeline from the previous game...the exact same thing happens. Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach because she's the only one who can undo the spell he's placed on her kingdom.
The only one that can rescue her is Mario OR Luigi, and the journey is a LOT more challenging this time around.
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| Source: nesmaps.com |
Background/Development
Shortly after the release of Super Mario Bros.
, work began on an arcade port, titled Vs. Super Mario Bros.
Source: aussiearcade.com
It was more than just a port, however. Some cosmetic elements, like the HUD font and the ending song, were improved, while some levels were changed, some were removed, and some new ones were added.
Vs. Super Mario Bros. debuted in March '86 at the American Coin Machine Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.
Vs. was never officially released in Japan, but about a month after the Chicago debut, some Japanese arcades had acquired the game through most likely unofficial means.
In a 2010 interview, Miyamoto stated that the development team had so much fun designing new, more difficult levels for Vs., that a true console sequel to Super Mario Bros. was created.
In fact, most of the new levels for Vs. would wind up in this sequel.
The game was designed for players that had mastered the original. The box art of the game (as well as the title screen of the Japanese All-Stars remake) has a label reading “For Super Players” to reflect this.
Famously, this game was not released outside of Japan until its inclusion in All-Stars, due to the ridiculous spike in difficulty and (to a lesser extent) its similarity to the original.
Nintendo of America's Howard Phillips was the main factor in this decision, having played the game and absolutely hating it:
“As I continued to play, I found that Super Mario Bros. 2 asked me again and again to take a leap of faith and that each of those leaps resulted in my immediate death. This was not a fun game to play. It was punishment. Undeserved punishment. I put down my controller astonished that Mr. Miyamoto has chosen to design such a painful game.”
“There were... things in the Japanese Super Mario 2 that made it not so palatable. At the time, I didn't really know if Miyamoto had driven these changes or not, and it made me question whether he just lucked out to begin with.”
Gail Tilden, former vice president of brand management at Nintendo of America and founder of Nintendo Power magazine, revealed in 2014 that an NES cartridge of the game was produced in 1991 to be used as a subscription bonus to subscribers of Nintendo Power, (which is where the “Lost Levels” name originated) but the idea was nixed, due to Nintendo wishing to avoid marketplace confusion by having two Super Mario Bros. 2s.
While the rest of the world got a different Super Mario Bros. 2 (which we'll be discussing next time), The Lost Levels never left Japan until 1993, when all four Famicom/NES Super Mario Bros. games were remade for SNES as Super Mario All-Stars.
Always thought the English logo was kinda cool, even though it never appears in All-Stars itself. Also, you know this title came about back in the NES days, because nowadays, Nintendo refers to stages in a Super Mario game exclusively as "courses", and never as levels (outside of a joke in Super Mario Maker 2)
In 1999's Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (as mentioned last time), beating Luigi's top score in the original game would unlock a For Super Players mode, which was this very game, albeit with the mechanics and graphics of the original. Still an awesome thing to hide as a bonus.
The original, 8-bit version didn't get an official non-Japanese rerelease until 2007, when it hit the Wii Virtual Console in all regions.
My History With It
- Like most Americans my age, I first encountered this game as part of Super Mario All-Stars, and
assumed it was an NES game, like the other three titles. The fact it was between the original and SMB2 wasn't something I put much thought into. Maybe I assumed it was an expansion of the original released a year later? I didn't quite understand how video games worked back then. I mean, I thought that the difference in graphics between consoles was purely an aesthetic choice. It wasn't until my family got internet access in '99 that I learned that The Lost Levels was actually known as Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan.
For several years later, I'd always refer to the game as The Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2. Luckily, it didn't come up in conversation particularly often.
I went through a lot of effort to beat Luigi's score in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe around this time in order to unlock these (lost) levels. I don't think I ever managed to actually beat it on GB Color, though.
In (if memory serves) early 2008, I bought the FDS version of the game on Wii Virtual Console.
I recall playing it the night before I broke my leg, which was in May of '08. Yeah, I know, a weird association to have, but here we are.
I didn't get seriously back into playing it until late 2012 (hey, an entire decade ago!). I recall chatting with my friends on Skype every night as I'd replay levels over and over again.
Around this time, I accidentally burned my left thumb on a fireplace by being an idiot, and thus a blister formed on it.
Ever try to play this game with a burn blister on your thumb? It physically hurt to experience it...but nevertheless, I somehow did it, in mid-January, 2013!
Played the Lost Levels games in NES Remix 2 when it released, and that's pretty much been my experience with it til now!
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| I took a photo of my TV to commemorate the occasion. |
Playthrough
Played On: Nintendo Entertainment System – Nintendo Switch Online (yes, mainly for the rewind feature)
And yes, I will be playing as Mario, despite Luigi's abilities.
While the first game is definitely more iconic, I think it's interesting how a lot of the Super Mario iconography and mechanics first appeared here, like mushrooms and clouds having eyes, Luigi's higher jump/worse traction, and being able to bounce off enemies for more airtime.
The Poison Mushroom is pretty iconic, too. I remember as a teenager, seeing t-shirts with images of mushrooms on 'em, like one with a Super Mushroom that said “Power Up”, and ones with a Poison Mushroom that said “Game Over”. What was really neat was that it used the All-Stars design, with the purple cap and jolly roger. Which makes sense, because the 8-bit version of the game wasn't available yet over here.
Also, World 1-1 has three Poison Mushrooms in it. One of which is even hidden in an underground bonus area!
Starting from 1-2, the game hits you with the difficulty increase, with its huge jumps, and that narrow passageway near the start.
Also, three Warp Zones, taking Mario/Luigi to Worlds 2, 3, or 4!
The flying Bloopers in 1-3 are programmed into the original game, too! They just weren't used.
World 1-4 is taken straight from the arcade game.
The Super Springs are kinda fun, but too imprecise. Which I suppose is the point.
Is this the first level where it's possible to go over the Goal Pole?
World 2-2 is where the first real puzzle in the series comes in, with having to hit hidden blocks in order to ascend to a pipe located up high. Took me a while to figure it out.
I remember only finding one hidden block at first, and thinking “this was definitely designed with Luigi's higher jump in mind”.
World 2-4 is kinda claustrophobic, with its narrow passages at the start.
The Warp Zone in World 3-1 taking the player back to World 1-1, the very first level, is where I first found myself getting angry at this game.
That's just rude. Kinda cool that the first underwater stage has Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas. Less cool that Mario/Luigi can't stomp on 'em.
Had to look up a guide for 3-4, I admit. Especially since, unlike the All-Stars version, there's no chimes indicating when you've taken the correct path.
4-1 has the first instance of Red Piranha Plants. Unlike the green variants we'd seen up til now, the red ones will still emerge despite your Mario Bro standing up against the pipe.
A website I read as a kid claimed the red ones would emerge from the pipe even if Mario/Luigi is standing on it, but fortunately, that's not true.
I recorded part of my playthrough of 4-3. I thought it was kinda funny how I pulled off a cool jump, and accidentally had Mario look behind him, as though he was saying “...did I just do that?”
World 5-1 is interesting because of the massive wall that appears near the end of the stage, and the only way to get past it is by hitting invisible blocks and using them as platforms. I like it when the game does this kinda stuff. Breaks the formula, and introduces some very light puzzle-solving.
There's also a vine nearby that takes your Mario Bro to Coin Heaven...but drops him off at a Warp Zone, which is a problem if you're trying to get to World 9. I don't like it when the game does this kinda stuff.
I made a mistake in 7-4, jumping onto the ceiling, and thus being unable to defeat the Fake Bowser and complete the level, since I couldn't turn around.
World 8-1 is one I got VERY familiar with back in 2012-13, since I had to keep replaying it every time I'd get a Game Over in World 8...which was a lot.
8-2 brings the castle walls from the first game's 8-3 back, but the Goal Pole and small castle are located in the clouds, accessible from a vine, which is a cool touch.
This game's 8-3, however, is located entirely in the clouds, which is a neat bucking of the formula.
World 8-4 features a midboss that's a bluish recolor of Bowser. Defeating him with fireballs reveals that he's not a regular enemy disguised as a Fake Bowser, but it's obviously not the real one. Who is this guy?
Official guidebooks in the 90s refer to him as “Bowser's Brother”, but recent media, such as Smash Bros., which mentions this midboss as the inspiration for Bowser's blue color scheme, implies that this bluish Bowser's identity is unknown.
I still remember where I was when I first beat 8-4. I was sitting in my bedroom in my aunt's apartment, talking to my friends over Skype as I played the game on Wii. I even broke out a digital camera to photograph my TV and capture my triumph.
I posted it to Imgur, and one of the comments deduced that, due to Peach's poem, that Mario got “friendzoned”.
World 9 is based on the infamous “Minus World” glitch from the FDS version of Super Mario Bros.
The North American version of the glitch just put Mario into an infinitely-looping World 2-2, while the FDS version has Mario in an underwater version of 7-3, with random Princess Peaches and headless Bowsers floating around, and a weird color pallete.
There was a contest in Nintendo Power magazine in the early 90s, wherein any player that sends in photographic proof that they made it to World 9 would get a “Certified Mario Maniac-World 9-No Warping!” iron-on patch.
I considered sending in my photo when I got there in 2013, maybe with a message joking that I was “a little late” to the contest, and asking if the offer is still valid.
However, the magazine had actually published its final issue the month before...so much for that plan.
World 9 is cool, but very weird, due to its glitch inspiration. They're overworld levels that are also underwater (aside from 9-3, which is a castle...that's also an outdoors overworld level and features a return of “Bowser's Brother”)
World 9 is the only World in the game that doesn't end with a castle. Instead, World 9-4 is a nighttime, underwater level with various enemies on the ground, and "アリガトウ!" (“Thank you!”) spelled out in blocks, which is cute.
In order to access Worlds A, B, C, and D...I have to complete World 8-4 seven more times.
I'm not doing that.
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| Y'know, I think the biggest legacy of Super Mario Bros. is Miyamoto's drawing of Mario jumping for the cover. It was everywhere. It's even used here, a promotional flyer for the sequel, surrounded by new Yoichi Kotabe art. |
Power-Ups
Returning:
Super Mushroom
Fire Flower
Super Star
1-Up Mushroom
New:
Poison Mushroom (well, sorta. It's more of a Power-DOWN, in that Mario/Luigi takes damage upon collecting it)
Milestones
First actual console sequel to Super Mario Bros.
Luigi is playable as Player 1 for the first time
Debut of Luigi's unique physics and mechanics (higher jump, worse traction)
First time Mario is portrayed, stat-wise, as a jack-of-all-trades.
Again, Mario's stats are all straight down the middle...in a game where there's only one other playable character.
Mario/Luigi are able to get more height by bouncing off of enemies for the first time
Red Piranha Plants and Poison Mushrooms make their debut
First possible relative of Bowser appears
Worlds 9, A, B, C, and D mark the first bonus Worlds in the series.
Only mainline Super Mario game to not be released outside Japan.
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| Super Mario All-Stars artwork |
Trivia
In addition to several levels, a lot of this game's aesthetic is taken from Vs. Super Mario Bros., such as the redesigned Mushrooms, the font of the UI and dialogue (such as it is), and the full version of the fanfare that plays when Princess Peach is rescued.
Two months after this game's release in Japan, Nintendo licensed Super Mario Bros. to Hudson Soft (best known for creating Bomberman) to make a sequel for PC. This game, titled Super Mario Bros. Special, lacked the smooth scrolling of the NES/Famicom games, instead moving Mario from screen-to-screen. However, the level layouts were very unusual and (in my opinion) fascinating.
Super Mario Bros. Special included enemies and obstacles from the arcade games Donkey Kong (such as barrels and the oil can fireballs) and Mario Bros. (Sidesteppers, Fighter Flies, Icicles)
It also featured new power-ups in a Wing, which allowed Mario to swim through the air, a Clock that adds extra seconds to the timer, a screen-clearing Lucky Star, Hu-Bee (Hudson Soft's mascot) for extra points, and the Hammer from Donkey Kong.
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| Super Mario Bros. Special, Sharp X1 |
Conclusion
So, uh...hmm.
This is a somewhat controversial game in the Super Mario canon, and kind of a difficult one for me to review.
I can totally understand why Nintendo of America didn't wanna release it.
For starters, while it does do some new things with the aesthetic and gameplay mechanics...it doesn't really do enough, and feels very much like an expansion pack for the original game.
It really is just more Super Mario Bros. for people that had mastered that game and wanted a new challenge. Stuff like Poison Mushrooms, strong winds, and a playable Luigi (who controls differently) do add a bit of variety,
So, I suppose I should address the Koopa in the room and confirm that yes, the game is very difficult.
Fan-made ROM hacks and levels in the Super Mario Maker duology certainly surpass Lost Levels in difficulty and frustration, but for an official, Nintendo-developed followup to Super Mario Bros., it's surprising how hard it can be.
In fact, it gets downright mean at times. I've had a few jumps ruined because of hidden blocks, took a path that made a level unbeatable, and ended up at both types of Warp Zones without any warning (which is something to be avoided if you're trying to reach World 9)
Yeah, both types of Warp Zones. In addition to the ones that take you to a later World like in the first game, Lost Levels includes Warp Zones that take the player backwards in the game. And using either will void the progress to World 9.
But, as someone who has played the original game inside and out, revisiting Lost Levels now was, I admit, a fun experience. In a way, it allowed me to stay in the world of that first game a little while longer, while adding new experiences and challenges.
That said, there were several points where the game got too frustrating to be fun, however, and the rewind feature on Nintendo Switch Online was VERY much appreciated there. It served to remind me why I don't revisit this game very often.
As a whole, I'd say it's a neat novelty in the Super Mario series and might be worth checking out, though you won't miss much if you skip it.
“You're a super player! We hope we'll see you again. Mario and staff.”
-World 9 Game Over screen
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| Princess Peach: wonderful ruler, terrible poet. |
Next time: You want a new, different direction for Super Mario outside of Japan? Dream on! Join us next time for Super Mario Bros. 2!
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