Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Encyclopedia
, also known as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, is a platforming
video game developed and published by Nintendo
for the Family Computer Disk System. First released in Japan
on June 3, 1986, it is the direct sequel to the second best-selling video game of all time, Super Mario Bros.
Due to the game's high difficulty and similarity to its predecessor, Nintendo
of America chose not to release it in North America
until the Virtual Console
release in 2007. A full remake, entitled Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, was included as part of the Super Mario All-Stars
collection for the Super NES
. More recently, the original Disk System version was made available as a download (including North America) for the Virtual Console as of 2007. Unlike the 16-bit SNES version, the Virtual Console version is the original Disk System version with all its original subtitles (although like Super Mario Bros., the original game was already entirely in English) without the loading screen.
The premise of the game is identical to Super Mario Bros.: Bowser has abducted Princess Peach
and is holding her captive in one of his castles. Either Mario
or Luigi
must navigate through the Mushroom Kingdom, overcome Bowser's henchmen, and rescue the Princess. The game uses the same game engine
as its predecessor and is quite similar in visual style. It is intended to challenge players who have mastered the original Super Mario Bros.
mode. At the start of the game, players are given a selection between Mario or Luigi to control. It is also the first entry of the Mario
series in which Mario and Luigi exhibit differing movements: Mario retains the same movement characteristics from the original Super Mario Bros., whereas Luigi is less agile but can jump higher and farther. Minor tweaks have been made to the physics engine
, allowing Mario or Luigi to bounce higher off the backs of enemies. Aside from improved sound quality, the background music and sound effects are lifted entirely from the previous game (except for sounds added for Mario/Luigi skidding and the wind blowing). The various character sprites
are (for the most part) also unchanged, though more detail is given to the surrounding backgrounds and terrain.
The Lost Levels follows a similar style of level
progression as its predecessor: eight Worlds, having four levels each. At the end of each world, Mario or Luigi navigates through a lava
-filled castle, culminating in a battle against Bowser. The first eight Worlds are numbered 1-8, while the remaining four—earned by completing the game eight consecutive times—are lettered A-D in the original Disk System version. It is still possible to bypass parts of the game by exploiting warp zone
s, but unlike the previous game, two of The Lost Levels′s warp zones return the player to earlier levels. Completing Worlds 1-8 without using a warp zone allows the player to access "Fantasy World" (also known as World 9), a repeating bonus stage
that is similar to the "Minus World" glitch from Super Mario Bros.
The game features no new enemies, though many of them behave differently from before. Land-borne enemies such as Goomba
s, Koopa Troopas, and Lakitus now appear during underwater levels, while sea creatures such as Cheep-Cheeps and Bloopers can be found hovering in midair. Hammer Bros. are much more aggressive and will continuously advance towards Mario, far past their starting points. In addition, red Piranha Plants are more aggressive and will emerge from their pipes even if Mario or Luigi are standing directly beside them (in the original Super Mario Bros., Piranha Plants stay dormant if Mario is standing in close proximity), although they will remain dormant if Mario is standing directly on top of the pipe, as the ones in the original game do. Lastly, in Worlds 8-4 and D-4, Bowser will appear twice inside his castle. The first Bowser is a fake, and is a darker hue
of green than his counterpart. This does not happen in any level of the previous game.
The Poison Mushroom, a recurring obstacle in the Mario
series, is first introduced in The Lost Levels as a booby-trap disguised as a power-up
. While similar in shape to a Super Mushroom and 1-Up Mushroom, the poison variety will harm Mario if he touches it. The resultant damage is similar to being struck by an enemy: if Super Mario or Fire Mario touches a Poison Mushroom, he will revert to regular Mario; if regular Mario touches one, the player will lose a life. In the original release, Poison Mushrooms are distinguishable by their black spots (as opposed to the red spots of a Super Mushroom or the green spots of a 1-Up Mushroom) and their color varies depending on the environment; in later editions of the game, the mushroom sports a telltale skull
marking as well as "angry" eyes. Another new obstacle, windstorms, now appears during clifftop levels. The gusts blow intermittently from left to right, and are strong enough to push Mario or Luigi off a ledge. The direction of the wind is determined by the leaf
animations that blow across the screen. Also introduced are special green springs, which bounce Mario or Luigi extremely high. These are usually used to cross large gaps.
and Takashi Tezuka
, the creators of the original Super Mario Bros.
Visually, it looked very similar to its predecessor, but it had a higher level of difficulty. Smooth level designs were replaced by tough obstacle courses. Koji Kondo
wrote the score for The Lost Levels. The game largely re-used the musical pieces from its predecessor, though there were also new compositions, such as the ending theme. Nintendo of America disliked The Lost Levels, which they found to be frustratingly difficult and otherwise little more than a modification of Super Mario Bros. Rather than risk the franchise's popularity, they canceled its stateside release and looked for an alternative. They found one in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic), another Nintendo game developed by Miyamoto, which he had actually spent more time developing than The Lost Levels; it was released as Super Mario Bros. 2
in North America and Europe and later as Super Mario Bros. USA in Japan.
as part of the Super Mario All-Stars
collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
. The English name of the game originates in this compilation, in which it was renamed from its original title of Super Mario Bros. 2 to avoid confusion with the game released with that name
in North America. In Japan, the game subtitle
"For Super Players" was added. Each game in the collection is given a 16-bit
graphical and sound upgrade, as well as a save
feature which enables players to restart from any level if all lives are lost, not just the beginning of the World. In addition, Luigi has the ability to jump higher than in the original Famicom version. The collection was re-released in Japan for the Wii
on October 21, 2010.
In May 1999, a handheld
port
of The Lost Levels—under the Japanese title For Super Players—appeared as an unlockable reward in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the Game Boy Color
. Similar to the All-Stars remake, this port includes a save feature. Among the many differences between the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Color versions is the exclusion of Worlds 9 and A-D. The overall difficulty has been reduced through various means, including the elimination of strong winds and the shortening of jumps. The physical differences between Mario and Luigi have been removed, allowing them to move in an identical manner, and the graphics are mostly the same as Super Mario Bros. rather than the original graphics of the FDS version.
In observance of the 2007 Japanese Hanabi Festival, the original The Lost Levels was made available as a download for the Wii
's Virtual Console
service. The title is priced at the standard 600 Wii Points
. In Europe
and Australia
, the game was released for a limited time during the latter half of September. Nintendo of Europe announced that The Lost Levels would be retired as a download at the end of the month. Contrary to that statement, however, the game was later reinstated on August 22, 2008.
A port for the Game Boy Advance was made through the Famicom Mini series.
In a review of the Virtual Console version of the game, IGN
compared the game to the original Super Mario Bros., saying that "The Lost Levels feels a lot like a fan-made hack – with platforming challenges that are just a bit too frustrating and don't flow as well as Mario 1, and graphics that seem like a downgrade as well." The IGN reviewer also claimed that Nintendo of America made the right choice keeping the game in Japan.
Several aspects of The Lost Levels have gone on to become standards in the Mario series. The appearance of the mushrooms, shorter and wider with eyes, became the standard for all subsequent games. The game mechanic of Mario and Luigi having different abilities (i.e. Luigi jumps higher but skids more) was later reused in the Super Mario Advance series of Game Boy Advance
remakes and in the Super Mario Galaxy
series. Poison mushrooms have proven to be an enduring aspect of The Lost Levels, appearing in subsequent games such as Super Mario Kart
and the Super Smash Bros. series.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game developed and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Family Computer Disk System. First released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on June 3, 1986, it is the direct sequel to the second best-selling video game of all time, Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
Due to the game's high difficulty and similarity to its predecessor, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
of America chose not to release it in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
until the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
release in 2007. A full remake, entitled Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, was included as part of the Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars, known as in Japan, is a collection of platforming video games that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It contains enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels , Super Mario Bros...
collection for the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. More recently, the original Disk System version was made available as a download (including North America) for the Virtual Console as of 2007. Unlike the 16-bit SNES version, the Virtual Console version is the original Disk System version with all its original subtitles (although like Super Mario Bros., the original game was already entirely in English) without the loading screen.
The premise of the game is identical to Super Mario Bros.: Bowser has abducted Princess Peach
Princess Peach
is a character in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. She is the Princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the adventure series. In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of...
and is holding her captive in one of his castles. Either Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
or Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
must navigate through the Mushroom Kingdom, overcome Bowser's henchmen, and rescue the Princess. The game uses the same game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
as its predecessor and is quite similar in visual style. It is intended to challenge players who have mastered the original Super Mario Bros.
Gameplay
In contrast to its predecessor, The Lost Levels does not feature a two-playerTwo-player
A two-player video game is a video game played by just two players. This is distinct from a multiplayer video game which is played by more than two players, and from a single-player video game, in which the player has no human opponents....
mode. At the start of the game, players are given a selection between Mario or Luigi to control. It is also the first entry of the Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
series in which Mario and Luigi exhibit differing movements: Mario retains the same movement characteristics from the original Super Mario Bros., whereas Luigi is less agile but can jump higher and farther. Minor tweaks have been made to the physics engine
Physics engine
A physics engine is computer software that provides an approximate simulation of certain physical systems, such as rigid body dynamics , soft body dynamics, and fluid dynamics, of use in the domains of computer graphics, video games and film. Their main uses are in video games , in which case the...
, allowing Mario or Luigi to bounce higher off the backs of enemies. Aside from improved sound quality, the background music and sound effects are lifted entirely from the previous game (except for sounds added for Mario/Luigi skidding and the wind blowing). The various character sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
are (for the most part) also unchanged, though more detail is given to the surrounding backgrounds and terrain.
The Lost Levels follows a similar style of level
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
progression as its predecessor: eight Worlds, having four levels each. At the end of each world, Mario or Luigi navigates through a lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
-filled castle, culminating in a battle against Bowser. The first eight Worlds are numbered 1-8, while the remaining four—earned by completing the game eight consecutive times—are lettered A-D in the original Disk System version. It is still possible to bypass parts of the game by exploiting warp zone
Warp zone
A warp zone is usually an area in a video game where players can go from one place or level to another. They are sometimes used as cheats and sometimes as ways to avoid too much walking...
s, but unlike the previous game, two of The Lost Levels′s warp zones return the player to earlier levels. Completing Worlds 1-8 without using a warp zone allows the player to access "Fantasy World" (also known as World 9), a repeating bonus stage
Bonus stage
A bonus stage is a special level within a video game designed to reward the player or players, and typically allows the player to collect extra points or power-ups. Often a bonus stage will have no enemies or hazards, or may contain them but the player character is invulnerable to attack from them...
that is similar to the "Minus World" glitch from Super Mario Bros.
The game features no new enemies, though many of them behave differently from before. Land-borne enemies such as Goomba
Goomba
Goombas, known in Japan as , are fictional species from Nintendo's series of Mario video games. They first appeared in the NES video game Super Mario Bros. as the first enemy players encounter. They have appeared outside of video games, including in film, television, and other media...
s, Koopa Troopas, and Lakitus now appear during underwater levels, while sea creatures such as Cheep-Cheeps and Bloopers can be found hovering in midair. Hammer Bros. are much more aggressive and will continuously advance towards Mario, far past their starting points. In addition, red Piranha Plants are more aggressive and will emerge from their pipes even if Mario or Luigi are standing directly beside them (in the original Super Mario Bros., Piranha Plants stay dormant if Mario is standing in close proximity), although they will remain dormant if Mario is standing directly on top of the pipe, as the ones in the original game do. Lastly, in Worlds 8-4 and D-4, Bowser will appear twice inside his castle. The first Bowser is a fake, and is a darker hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
of green than his counterpart. This does not happen in any level of the previous game.
The Poison Mushroom, a recurring obstacle in the Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
series, is first introduced in The Lost Levels as a booby-trap disguised as a power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
. While similar in shape to a Super Mushroom and 1-Up Mushroom, the poison variety will harm Mario if he touches it. The resultant damage is similar to being struck by an enemy: if Super Mario or Fire Mario touches a Poison Mushroom, he will revert to regular Mario; if regular Mario touches one, the player will lose a life. In the original release, Poison Mushrooms are distinguishable by their black spots (as opposed to the red spots of a Super Mushroom or the green spots of a 1-Up Mushroom) and their color varies depending on the environment; in later editions of the game, the mushroom sports a telltale skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
marking as well as "angry" eyes. Another new obstacle, windstorms, now appears during clifftop levels. The gusts blow intermittently from left to right, and are strong enough to push Mario or Luigi off a ledge. The direction of the wind is determined by the leaf
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
animations that blow across the screen. Also introduced are special green springs, which bounce Mario or Luigi extremely high. These are usually used to cross large gaps.
Development
The game was designed by Shigeru MiyamotoShigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
and Takashi Tezuka
Takashi Tezuka
, sometimes credited under his nickname Ten Ten, is a video game designer working for Nintendo. A graduate of the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined the company in April 1984 and was involved with some of the most critically acclaimed Nintendo series, including Mario and The...
, the creators of the original Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
is a 1985 platform video game developed by Nintendo, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1983 game Mario Bros. In Super Mario Bros., the player controls Mario as he travels through the Mushroom Kingdom in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the antagonist...
Visually, it looked very similar to its predecessor, but it had a higher level of difficulty. Smooth level designs were replaced by tough obstacle courses. Koji Kondo
Koji Kondo
is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who has been employed at Nintendo since 1984. He is best known for scoring numerous titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series.-Early life:...
wrote the score for The Lost Levels. The game largely re-used the musical pieces from its predecessor, though there were also new compositions, such as the ending theme. Nintendo of America disliked The Lost Levels, which they found to be frustratingly difficult and otherwise little more than a modification of Super Mario Bros. Rather than risk the franchise's popularity, they canceled its stateside release and looked for an alternative. They found one in Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic (Dream Factory: Heart-Pounding Panic), another Nintendo game developed by Miyamoto, which he had actually spent more time developing than The Lost Levels; it was released as Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
in North America and Europe and later as Super Mario Bros. USA in Japan.
Re-releases
A remake of The Lost Levels was released in 19931993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
as part of the Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario All-Stars, known as in Japan, is a collection of platforming video games that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. It contains enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels , Super Mario Bros...
collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. The English name of the game originates in this compilation, in which it was renamed from its original title of Super Mario Bros. 2 to avoid confusion with the game released with that name
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
in North America. In Japan, the game subtitle
Subtitle (titling)
In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, an alternate title to give a hint of the theme. In library cataloging the subtitle does not include an...
"For Super Players" was added. Each game in the collection is given a 16-bit
History of video game consoles (fourth generation)
In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company's PC Engine...
graphical and sound upgrade, as well as a save
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
feature which enables players to restart from any level if all lives are lost, not just the beginning of the World. In addition, Luigi has the ability to jump higher than in the original Famicom version. The collection was re-released in Japan for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
on October 21, 2010.
In May 1999, a handheld
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
port
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
of The Lost Levels—under the Japanese title For Super Players—appeared as an unlockable reward in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
. Similar to the All-Stars remake, this port includes a save feature. Among the many differences between the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Color versions is the exclusion of Worlds 9 and A-D. The overall difficulty has been reduced through various means, including the elimination of strong winds and the shortening of jumps. The physical differences between Mario and Luigi have been removed, allowing them to move in an identical manner, and the graphics are mostly the same as Super Mario Bros. rather than the original graphics of the FDS version.
In observance of the 2007 Japanese Hanabi Festival, the original The Lost Levels was made available as a download for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service. The title is priced at the standard 600 Wii Points
Wii Points
Nintendo Points are a currency that Nintendo uses for its Wii and Nintendo DSi systems through the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop respectively...
. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the game was released for a limited time during the latter half of September. Nintendo of Europe announced that The Lost Levels would be retired as a download at the end of the month. Contrary to that statement, however, the game was later reinstated on August 22, 2008.
A port for the Game Boy Advance was made through the Famicom Mini series.
Reception and legacy
The Lost Levels sold 2.5 million units in Japan, easily becoming the best-selling game of all time on the Famicom Disk System.In a review of the Virtual Console version of the game, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
compared the game to the original Super Mario Bros., saying that "The Lost Levels feels a lot like a fan-made hack – with platforming challenges that are just a bit too frustrating and don't flow as well as Mario 1, and graphics that seem like a downgrade as well." The IGN reviewer also claimed that Nintendo of America made the right choice keeping the game in Japan.
Several aspects of The Lost Levels have gone on to become standards in the Mario series. The appearance of the mushrooms, shorter and wider with eyes, became the standard for all subsequent games. The game mechanic of Mario and Luigi having different abilities (i.e. Luigi jumps higher but skids more) was later reused in the Super Mario Advance series of Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
remakes and in the Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...
series. Poison mushrooms have proven to be an enduring aspect of The Lost Levels, appearing in subsequent games such as Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
and the Super Smash Bros. series.
External links
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels at Virtual Console Reviews
- Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels at the Mario Wiki
- Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels at NinDB