Super Mario Bros. 2

From The Cutting Room Floor

Super Mario Bros. 2
Also known as: Super Mario USA (JP) Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Platform: NES Released in JP: September 16, 1992 Released in US: September 1, 1988 Released in EU: April 28, 1989 This game has unused graphics. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a prototype article

Super Mario Bros. 2, as it's known outside of Japan, is actually a Mario-ified version of a completely unrelated game called Doki Doki Panic. Depending on who you ask, Nintendo thought the original version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was either too similar to Super Mario Bros., or too difficult for non-Japanese players to handle.

Fortunately, the game was a smash hit, and is considered by many to be superior to the "real" sequel. Many characters introduced in this game were quickly adopted into the official Mario universe.

Unused Graphics

"Doki Doki Panic" Leftovers

A few graphics from Doki Doki Panic can be found amongst the graphics used in the ending scenes.

A magic lamp. This became the Magic Potion, and has the same effect (access to Subspace).

A heart. This became the Mushroom, and has the same effect (an extra unit of life).

A lock and metal platform. These were used in the ending of Doki Doki Panic (a cage which contained the children Wart kidnapped during the intro), and don't have any equivalent graphics/objects in SMB2.

Prototype Leftovers

These were used in the ending of the prototype. Instead of a display showing how many times each character was used, you received "prize money" based on how few times you died.

Miscellaneous Graphics

Hidden in the tileset for the desert stages is a little smiley face that isn't used anywhere, not even in the prototype. It appears to just be a placeholder.

Eighth Animation Frame

The animated tiles in the game (like the POW Blocks and Cherries) actually have eight frames of animation. However, due to a bug, only the first seven frames are actually displayed.

Version Differences

Fryguy Glitch

PRG0	PRG1

Normally, hitting a mini-Fryguy with a Mushroom Block will cause it to disappear in a puff of smoke. In the PRG0 version, however, if you manage to hit one while your character is shrinking, it will flip upside-down and fall off the screen instead. This somehow confuses the game into thinking there are mini-Fryguys left even after the rest are extinguished, which causes the exit door not to appear. This game-breaking bug was fixed in the PRG1 version.

Regional Differences

Title Screen

USA/Europe	Japan

Nintendo made the somewhat odd decision to release Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan under the somewhat odd title Super Mario USA more than four years after its original US release. Aside from the new title screen (based on the Bonus Chance screen, which is itself based on the prototype title screen), it is identical to the US PRG1 version.