Format: Advance
Genre: 2d platformer
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

Using the "Super Mario All-Stars" Super NES version of "Super Mario Bros. 2" as its base, this Game Boy Advance port adds a ton of flourishes such as lots of sprite scaling plus rotation effects, which are used on objects such as enemies and heart pickups. The vase interiors and parts of the stages have had parts re-worked to make them more aesthetically pleasing. And of course, that All-Stars foundation is a great place to start, with its highly detailed characters and tile sets. Overall this title looks sharp.

Although the music is muffled compared to the Super NES renditions, they still sound sharp with some nice samples and ever-catchy compositions. This release adds voice acting: the player characters have spoken lines when triggering a hit combo, picking up a heart, getting an extra life, and so forth. The bosses also taunt the player as approached. At first this all sounds like it would be irritating, but it really does contribute to the proceedings-- especially since the lines are hilariously tough to make out sometimes, such as when Luigi says "Now, I'm a booby!"

"Super Mario Bros. 2" is a beloved title, with its weird twist on the Mario formula versus the original title. This rendition plays just like the "Super Mario All-Stars" one, but with some important changes: heart pickups are more frequent, and can be created by juggling hits on multiple enemies; five collectible coins can be found in each stage, and it's super fun to locate them then see that progress reflected on the stage interstitial; finally, once the whole game is completed, each stage can be re-selected and even ground for extra lives, as the player seeks two Yoshi eggs within each stage-- adding a whole new layer of replayability, and opening up the entire game world.

Super Mario Advance is the best way to play "Super Mario Bros. 2". It has everything about the All-Stars version, but with even sharper graphics, lots of added sound effects plus voice acting, collectibles which are never a chore to locate, and of course the classic replayability of having four selectable characters. All-in-all and as a launch-day Game Boy Advance title, this is a great game to pick up and undoubtedly provided a lot of fun for those hardware early adopters. It even comes bundled with a phenomenally-playing version of the original "Mario Bros.", which is one of the best arcade games ever made!