Super Mario Advance on GBA, remake of western Super Mario Bros. 2 with arcade Mario Bros. included. Colorful, playful and well-crafted. An excellent accessible Mario on the handheld.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player3+
Description
Compilation published by Nintendo in the USA and Europe in June 2001. Contains the American Super Mario Bros. 2 - the reworked version of Doki Doki Panic with Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach with distinct abilities - and the original arcade Mario Bros. Four playable characters with different speeds and abilities, Wart boss to defeat and vegetable-picking levels. Western GBA launch title, first episode of the Super Mario Advance series.
Super Mario Advance review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
This western compilation foregrounds the visual oddity of its main game: a world of desert, flying carpets and doors set straight into the sand, unrelated to the series' usual imagery. The four playable characters are told apart by silhouette and running style, and the vegetables pulled from the ground remain a unique graphic motif.
The original themes are re-recorded with rounder timbres and completed by sampled voices: the characters now comment on their jumps and their efforts, which clearly changes the perception of a soundtrack otherwise faithful to the source. The melodies, short and highly identifiable, hold up under the repetition this kind of game demands.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Lifting vegetables to hurl at enemies, riding clouds and exploring a dreamlike world: this remake of Super Mario USA keeps all its joyful strangeness. Four characters with distinct feels vary the approach, and the polished handling makes every jump crisp. Colourful, exotic and accessible, an atypical platformer whose charm is intact.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Plucking up vegetables, choosing among four heroes with distinct abilities and combing every set revives the plumber's formula in a colorful, accessible version. Hidden coins, potions and secret passages sustain a constant curiosity, and the Mario Bros mode extends the fun with several players. The particular pace sometimes disorients, but the invention keeps a tenacious appeal.
Complete: box, manual and disc/cart very clean. Lightly handled.
Q1 damagedQ6 completeQ10 new
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Collector interest
Worldwide English edition of Super Mario Advance, distributed by Nintendo in the US and Europe in June 2001 as a GBA launch title, port of Super Mario USA augmented with the Mario Brothers arcade playable four player via Link cable. European cardboard box is fragile, but the platform launch slot makes an EN identified complete copy with intact manual a notable archive piece. Nintendo USA and Europe run was broad, the object circulates loose in quantity but a clean complete copy sets the GBA collection standard.
Is Super Mario Advance still worth playing in 2026?
Super Mario Advance reworks Super Mario Bros 2 USA, namely the most singular platformer of the saga, and enriches it with new enemies, fresh voices, a progression map and the Mario Bros arcade game as a bonus. The choice of four characters with distinct abilities remains a strong argument for anyone wanting varied approaches. The color and readability translate beautifully to a handheld screen. A fine Mario entry point on the GBA, not to be skipped under the pretext of having already tried the NES original.
