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Super Mario Bros. 2

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Title Screen

Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)/en

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
Released in AU: May 1989


GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
MusicIcon.png This game has unused music.
TextIcon.png This game has unused text.
RegionIcon.png This game has regional differences.
Carts.png This game has revisional differences.


ProtoIcon.png This game has a prototype article

The American Super Mario Bros. 2 is actually a Mario-ified version of the not-quite-completely-unrelated game Doki Doki Panic. Apparently, Nintendo thought the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 was too similar to Super Mario Bros. and too difficult for overseas 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 Mario universe.

Unused Graphics

Doki Doki Panic Leftovers

Found among the graphics used in the ending scenes.

Doesn't grant three wishes.

A magic lamp. This became the Potion, and has the same effect (creates a door to Subspace).

Love is in the air!

This heart was the equivalent to the Mushrooms found in Subspace.

So where's the key?Maybe I left it under this block?

A lock and a metal platform. These were used in the ending of Doki Doki Panic (it's where Wart held the two children he kidnapped in the prologue), and don't have any equivalent in Super Mario Bros. 2.

Prototype Leftovers

Fifteen dollars? That's it?!

Yes, money. This was used in the ending of the prototype where, instead of a display showing how many times each character was used, you received "prize money" based on the amount of times you died.

Miscellaneous Graphics

Awwwww isn't he cuuute? ...Actually, it kinda looks familiar.

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

Eighth Animation Frame

Have you seen us?

The animated tiles, such as the POW Blocks and Cherries, actually have eight frames of animation. However, due to a bug, only the first seven frames are actually displayed.

Full Subspace Music

The music track used in Subspace is actually a bit longer than what you can normally hear. Under normal circumstances, the game boots you out of Subspace after about seven seconds, which prevents you from hearing the full 14-second loop. The easiest way to hear it in-game is to pick up a Starman, enter Subspace, and then exit just before the invincibility wears off; if done correctly, the Subspace music will continue to play until the next track change.

To hear the full song at the title screen, use Game Genie code KEOOXXSE.

Unused Text

The string "ZELDA" is present at ROM address 0x1FFFB. It appears that Nintendo copied the PRG footer/vector table from The Legend of Zelda (another FDS-to-NES conversion) and simply forgot to change the title.

Revisional Differences

PRG0 PRG1
Well, that's not right. *poof!*

Normally, hitting a mini-Fryguy with a Mushroom Block will cause it to disappear in a puff of smoke. In the original release, 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, and hence the exit will never appear. This game-breaking bug was fixed in the PRG1 revision.

Regional Differences

US/Europe Japan
It's a sequel! It's a side story!

Nintendo made the somewhat odd decision to release Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan more than four years after the US release, under the title Super Mario USA (due to the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 being a completely different game, released later in the US as The Lost Levels as part of Super Mario All-Stars). Aside from the modified title screen, it is identical to the US PRG1 version.