Many of us remember Mario Bros 2 for being very different than either its prequel or its sequel. Also, its a well known fact that this game was originally not meant to be a Mario game. The real Mario Bros 2 was a more difficult rip-off of the original Super Mario Bros game with a difficulty level that bordered on unfair at times. That game wouldnt see a worldwide release until the SNES era when it was brought back as The Lost Levels. A game called Doki Doki Panic was changed into a Mario game and released as Super Mario Bros 2. A few things were changed and Id like to take a look most of them before getting into the discussion question for this thread.
In DDP you had to complete every single level using all 4 characters in order to clear the game. You could still had to go back and beat levels you skipped by warping. In SMB2 the game ended when you cleared the last level for the first time.
The playable cast had changes in graphics. The original cast was a family who got replaced by the Mario characters. The son became Mario, the mother became Luigi, the daughter became Peach, and the father became Toad. Each characters strengths/weaknesses remained unchanged as this was only a graphical change. Another interesting change they did make was that you could not run by using the B button in the original, in the Mario version you can.
There were other graphical changes such as the fact that you do not shrink in the original when you are one hit away from dying, though in the Mario version you do. Some enemies animate worse in the original and the vegetables have less impressive looking graphics when they are still stuck in the ground. The bonus game had a much less impressive screen than in the Mario version. DDP had shrunken heads instead of turtle shells . BOM written in explosions instead of BOMB . Character heads instead of Mushrooms for 1ups . Masks instead of Mushroom Blocks . Phanto enemies (the guys who chased you when you were running with a key to locked doors) looked confused instead of angry . and a Magic Lamp instead of a Potion to reach the rooms with the extra lives.
Finally . probably the oddest thing of all . Clawgrip, the crab boss from world 5, did not exist in the original. World 5s boss in the original DDP game was another rematch against Mouser. This time hes stronger than the one you face as the boss of worlds 1 and 3.
Now with that long list of trivia out of the way . I have a few questions that Id like to ask all of you.
1. If the original version of Doki Doki Panic had been released instead of the Super Mario Bros 2 version we all are familiar with, what longterm impact do you think that would have made on the gaming industry?
2. Would you have liked to play DDP in its original form, with all the changes gone? What about the original NES version of Mario 2 (now known as The Lost Levels), would you have liked to play that in its original 8 bit form back in the day?
3. Would a 4th game have replaced Mario Bros 2 in the Super Mario Allstars games collection? Would there even BE a "Super Mario Allstars" collection game?
4. What characters would have replaced guys like Birdo, Shy Guy, Mouser, or Bob-Omb, in future Mario games . since they all made their debut in Super Mario Bros 2?
5. Would Princess Peach have a different set of abilities in Smash Bros since her vegetable throw and floating are a tribute to Super Mario Bros 2, a game she wasnt supposed to be in originally?
6. Could the Doki Doki Panic cast have become popular on their own, without being a Mario novelty like they are today?
Ill give my answers first. I think that it would have made a huge difference. Part of what made Mario Bros 3 so great was that it brought the series back to its roots after the drastic departure in the 2nd game. If The Lost Levels had been the 2nd game, then I doubt that Mario Bros 3 would have been as big of a deal. I wouldnt go as far as saying that the Mario series wouldnt be around at this point, but it probably wouldnt be as big of a name as it currently is. Any game/cartoon of Mario that features characters introduced in Mario Bros 2 would be drastically different today. Super Mario World would most likely have been the 4th game in Super Mario All-stars, if that collection would even have been released. Peach would be nowhere near as useful as she is in Smash Bros today if it werent for Super Mario Bros 2. Her floating ability and vegetable throw would obviously have been taken out. I cant think of anything that they would have ended up using instead though, probably just some generic B moves like most of the characters have.
Two years ago I had the pleasure of playing Doki Doki Panic in its original form. It was honestly more fun than the Mario Bros 2 version . I would have liked to have played it back in the day in its original form, as well as the 8 bit version of The Lost Levels but I don't think DDP would have been anywhere near as popular on its own because it did not feature an already familiar cast. Probably the only character I think would have grown popular would be the daughter, who has the floating ability that Peach inherited in the Mario version. She might have ended up with a cameo in Smash Bros and other games. I believe anyone else from the game would fade into obscurity if the game had been released in its original form.
Alright, now its your turn to answer my questions. I think this is a fascinating topic (I've always been a big fan of what if scenarios) so lets get some good discussion going here.
In DDP you had to complete every single level using all 4 characters in order to clear the game. You could still had to go back and beat levels you skipped by warping. In SMB2 the game ended when you cleared the last level for the first time.
The playable cast had changes in graphics. The original cast was a family who got replaced by the Mario characters. The son became Mario, the mother became Luigi, the daughter became Peach, and the father became Toad. Each characters strengths/weaknesses remained unchanged as this was only a graphical change. Another interesting change they did make was that you could not run by using the B button in the original, in the Mario version you can.
There were other graphical changes such as the fact that you do not shrink in the original when you are one hit away from dying, though in the Mario version you do. Some enemies animate worse in the original and the vegetables have less impressive looking graphics when they are still stuck in the ground. The bonus game had a much less impressive screen than in the Mario version. DDP had shrunken heads instead of turtle shells . BOM written in explosions instead of BOMB . Character heads instead of Mushrooms for 1ups . Masks instead of Mushroom Blocks . Phanto enemies (the guys who chased you when you were running with a key to locked doors) looked confused instead of angry . and a Magic Lamp instead of a Potion to reach the rooms with the extra lives.
Finally . probably the oddest thing of all . Clawgrip, the crab boss from world 5, did not exist in the original. World 5s boss in the original DDP game was another rematch against Mouser. This time hes stronger than the one you face as the boss of worlds 1 and 3.
Now with that long list of trivia out of the way . I have a few questions that Id like to ask all of you.
1. If the original version of Doki Doki Panic had been released instead of the Super Mario Bros 2 version we all are familiar with, what longterm impact do you think that would have made on the gaming industry?
2. Would you have liked to play DDP in its original form, with all the changes gone? What about the original NES version of Mario 2 (now known as The Lost Levels), would you have liked to play that in its original 8 bit form back in the day?
3. Would a 4th game have replaced Mario Bros 2 in the Super Mario Allstars games collection? Would there even BE a "Super Mario Allstars" collection game?
4. What characters would have replaced guys like Birdo, Shy Guy, Mouser, or Bob-Omb, in future Mario games . since they all made their debut in Super Mario Bros 2?
5. Would Princess Peach have a different set of abilities in Smash Bros since her vegetable throw and floating are a tribute to Super Mario Bros 2, a game she wasnt supposed to be in originally?
6. Could the Doki Doki Panic cast have become popular on their own, without being a Mario novelty like they are today?
Ill give my answers first. I think that it would have made a huge difference. Part of what made Mario Bros 3 so great was that it brought the series back to its roots after the drastic departure in the 2nd game. If The Lost Levels had been the 2nd game, then I doubt that Mario Bros 3 would have been as big of a deal. I wouldnt go as far as saying that the Mario series wouldnt be around at this point, but it probably wouldnt be as big of a name as it currently is. Any game/cartoon of Mario that features characters introduced in Mario Bros 2 would be drastically different today. Super Mario World would most likely have been the 4th game in Super Mario All-stars, if that collection would even have been released. Peach would be nowhere near as useful as she is in Smash Bros today if it werent for Super Mario Bros 2. Her floating ability and vegetable throw would obviously have been taken out. I cant think of anything that they would have ended up using instead though, probably just some generic B moves like most of the characters have.
Two years ago I had the pleasure of playing Doki Doki Panic in its original form. It was honestly more fun than the Mario Bros 2 version . I would have liked to have played it back in the day in its original form, as well as the 8 bit version of The Lost Levels but I don't think DDP would have been anywhere near as popular on its own because it did not feature an already familiar cast. Probably the only character I think would have grown popular would be the daughter, who has the floating ability that Peach inherited in the Mario version. She might have ended up with a cameo in Smash Bros and other games. I believe anyone else from the game would fade into obscurity if the game had been released in its original form.
Alright, now its your turn to answer my questions. I think this is a fascinating topic (I've always been a big fan of what if scenarios) so lets get some good discussion going here.
