The first thing you try to do, of course, is eliminate them, because that’s what you’ve done up to this point.

Why are we seeing them so early in the level? (You miss out on a lot of cool stages if you warp!) As you exit outside, you see Birdo, who has been a sub-boss up to this point. You can see that there are enemies and collectible cherries below, so there must be some way to proceed downwards - perhaps, by using your pulling skills, you can dig through the sand? When you try it an it works, it feels really cool and interesting: a familiar mechanic is suddenly completely recontextualized.Īnother good example of SMB2’s brilliance in building on its simple mechanics can be seen on stage 4-3, which a good chunk of players usually skip via warp zones. There’s only the door back out, a few enemies milling around, and no blocks or veggies in sight. Along with the new backdrop, you get a few interesting new hazards: snakes in jars, Pokey the cactus, stationery plants that belch fire in waves, and so on…īut then you’re forced to enter a door leading inside a pyramid, and you’re trapped at what looks like a dead end. So, World 2-1, right? The setting shifts to a desert area (going along with the vague Middle-Eastern theming Doki Doki Panic had). (Admit it: when you were a kid, you jumped a little when you saw the final gate come to life and start attacking you!)Īctually, let me digress a bit give a few examples of just how well this game builds on itself, because I love talking about game design and mechanics! SMB2 constantly builds upon its core mechanics in intuitive and imaginative ways up until the very end. I was particularly impressed by how the game mixes vertical and horizontal progression (and, smartly, drops you down a long shaft at the beginning to demonstrate the game’s vertical portions from the onset), but what struck me was just how amazingly well the game constantly builds on its relatively simple platforming and grab-n-toss mechanics up until the very end through natural gameplay progression. In light of the Mario Maker speculation, I recently went back and played SMB2 again, just to make absolutely sure I wasn’t wearing any sort of retro goggles, and everything about it still holds up. (You have no idea how valuable the B button run is until you don’t have it.)

When Nintendo brought their Famicom Disk System games over to the West on cartridges, they often took the time to make significant improvements, and SMB2 has a lot of them: significant graphical overhauls, more frames of animation, expanded and rearranged musical compositions, and gameplay enhancements. (“THE ORIGINAL NAME IS DOKI DOKI PANIC” is a meme at this point.) Most people aren’t aware, however, of how much SMB2 is a tremendous improvement over its original incarnation. Of course, we all know now that SMB2 was originally a Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic that got a Mario reskin for its voyage overseas.

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