Super Mario Bros. 2 on NES: Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach in a dream world with different rules. Uproot vegetables, throw them at enemies. Original and surprising gameplay. A classic in its own right.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player3+
Description
Platformer in which Mario and allies battle Wart's minions in dream lands. Published by Nintendo, released in Europe in 1988. Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach in side-scrolling view pulling vegetables to attack and varied Subcon levels. European version of the Super Mario Bros. 2 masterpiece on NES.
Super Mario Bros. 2 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Dreamlike and playful, Koji Kondo's music accompanies this journey into dreamland with a skipping main theme turned unforgettable. Between lightness and whimsy, every tune sticks to the singular mood of this entry apart. This melodic freshness, full of charm, remains one of the most endearing of the Mario era on NES.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Yanking vegetables to throw them, choosing among four heroes with distinct abilities and exploring a dreamlike world of vivid colours: this adventure joyfully bucks its predecessor. The variety of approaches and the inventiveness of the levels keep the surprise alive. Strange, generous and hugely endearing, a unique platformer that has lost none of its charm.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Lifting vegetables, choosing among four heroes with distinct abilities and searching every set frankly renews the plumber's formula. Tracking down potions, hidden coins and secret passages sustains a constant curiosity. The rhythm differs from the original and sometimes throws you off, but this inventiveness and variety keep an appeal that pushes you to continue.
The European PAL NES edition of the Western SMB2 (based on 'Doki Doki Panic'), distinct from the Japanese SMB2 'The Lost Levels'. The PAL cart is rarer than the US version and stands as an identity piece for Nintendo PAL collectors. PAL boxed CIB in the original cardboard box with multilingual manual climbs hard, sustained by physical scarcity and by the historical singularity of a Western SMB derived from a non-Mario Yume Kojo licence.
Is Super Mario Bros. 2 still worth playing in 2026?
Super Mario Bros. 2 on NES, also Super Mario USA in Japan, is a Mario apart in the lineage: Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach in a dream world with different rules, where you uproot vegetables to throw at enemies. Adapted from Doki Doki Panic, Nintendo's title offers original, surprising gameplay with four playable characters of distinct abilities and wonderfully eccentric art direction. A genuine classic, more accessible and experimental than its neighbours. A genuinely excellent detour today.
