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''Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'' is a 1986
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
developed and published by Nintendo as the sequel to ''
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'' (1985). The games are similar in style and gameplay, with players controlling
Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...
or
Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
to rescue
Princess Peach is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original '' Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the princess regnant and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides ...
from
Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. Despite the ...
. ''The Lost Levels'' adds a greater level of difficulty and Luigi controls slightly differently from Mario, with reduced ground friction and increased jump height. ''The Lost Levels'' also introduces obstacles such as poison
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
power-ups, counterproductive
level warp A warp, also known as a portal or teleporter, is an element in video game design that allows a player character instant travel between two locations or levels. Specific area that allow such travel is referred to as warp zone. A warp zone might ...
s, and mid-air wind gusts. The game has 32 levels across eight worlds and 20 bonus levels. ''Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'' was originally released in Japan for the
Famicom Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary floppy disks called "Disk Cards" for ...
as ''Super Mario Bros.2'' on June 3, 1986, following the success of its predecessor. It was developed by
Nintendo R&D4 commonly abbreviated as Nintendo EAD and formerly known as Nintendo Research & Development No.4 Department (abbreviated as Nintendo R&D4), was the largest software development division within the Japanese video game company Nintendo. It was pr ...
the team led by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamotoand designed for players who had mastered the original.
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing card ...
deemed it too difficult for its North American audience and instead chose another game as the region's '' Super Mario Bros. 2'': a retrofitted version of the Japanese ''Doki Doki Panic''. The game was renamed ''The Lost Levels'' and first released internationally in the 1993 Super Nintendo Entertainment System compilation '' Super Mario All-Stars''. It was
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
ed to the Game Boy Color,
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
,
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...
( Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U), and Nintendo Switch. Reviewers viewed ''Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'' as an extension of the previous game, especially its difficulty progression. Journalists appreciated the game's challenge when spectating speedruns and recognized the game as a precursor to the franchise's
Kaizo ''Kaizo'' (, "kaizō", meaning "modification", "rebuild" or "reconfiguration") is a philosophy of game design, specifically platforming games, distinguished by a high degree of strictness placed upon the player's intended actions and movements ...
subculture in which fans create and share
ROM hacks Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
featuring nearly impossible levels. This sequel gave Luigi his first character traits and introduced the poison mushroom item, which has since been used throughout the ''Mario'' franchise. ''The Lost Levels'' was the most popular game on the Disk System, for which it sold about 2.5million copies. It is remembered among the most difficult Nintendo games.


Gameplay

''The Lost Levels'' is a 2D side-scrolling
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
similar in style and gameplay to the original 1985 ''
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'', save for an increase in difficulty. As in the original,
Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...
(or
Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
) ventures to rescue the
Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...
from
Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. Despite the ...
. The player jumps between platforms, avoids enemy and inanimate obstacles, finds hidden secrets (such as warp zones and vertical vines), and collects power-ups like the
mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...
(which makes Mario grow), the
Fire Flower (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...
(which lets Mario throw fireballs), and the Invincibility Star. Unlike the original, there is no two-player mode, but at the
title screen A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with vi ...
the player chooses between the twin plumber characters. Their abilities are differentiated for the first time: Luigi, designed for skilled players, has less ground friction and higher jump height, while Mario is faster. The game continues the difficulty progression from the end of its predecessor. ''The Lost Levels'' introduces irritants including poison mushrooms, level warps that set the player farther back in the game, and wind gusts that redirect the player's course mid-air. The poison mushroom, in particular, works as an anti-mushroom, shrinking or killing the player-character. Some of the game's levels require "split-second" precision and others require the player to jump on invisible blocks. There were also some graphical changes from its predecessor, though their soundtracks are identical. After each boss fight,
Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...
tells Mario that "our princess is in another castle". The main game has 32 levels across eight worlds and five
bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Plac ...
worlds. A hidden World 9 is accessible if the player does not use a warp zone. Bonus worlds A through D are accessible when the player plays through the game eight times, for a total of 52 levels.


Development

The original ''Super Mario Bros.'' was released in North America in October 1985. When developing a version of the game for Nintendo's coin-operated arcade machine, the
VS. System Vs. System (short for Versus System), also written as VS System and abbreviated as VS, is a collectible card game designed by Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE). In the game, players build and play a deck of Vs. System cards in an attempt to win a g ...
, the team experimented with new, challenging level designs. They enjoyed these new levels, and thought that ''Super Mario'' devotees would too. Shigeru Miyamoto, who created the ''Mario'' franchise and directed ''Super Mario Bros.'', no longer had time to design games by himself, given his responsibilities leading Nintendo's R&D4 division and their work on ''
The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
''. The ''Super Mario'' sequel was delegated to its predecessor's assistant director,
Takashi Tezuka is a Japanese video game designer, director, and video game producer, producer. He is a senior officer of Nintendo EPD and executive at Nintendo. Career Upon graduating the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined Nintendo in A ...
, as his directorial debut. He worked with Miyamoto and the R&D4 team to develop a sequel based on the same underlying technology, including some levels directly from '' Vs. Super Mario Bros.'' ''The Lost Levels'', originally released in Japan as ''Super Mario Bros.2'' on June 3, 1986, was similar in style to ''Super Mario Bros.'' but much more difficult in gameplay"nails-from-diamonds hard", as Jon Irwin described it in his book on the sequels. Tezuka felt that Japanese players had mastered the original game, and so needed a more challenging sequel. Recognizing that the game might be too difficult for newcomers, the team labeled the game's packaging: "For Super Players". They also added a trick to earn
infinite lives This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...
as preparation for the game's difficulty. Commercials for ''The Lost Levels'' in Japan featured players failing at the game and screaming in frustration at their television. After ''Zelda'', ''The Lost Levels'' was the second release for the
Famicom Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary floppy disks called "Disk Cards" for ...
, an add-on external disk drive with more spacious and less expensive disks than the Famicom cartridges. When evaluated for release outside of Japan,
Nintendo of America is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing card ...
believed ''The Lost Levels'' was too difficult and frustrating for the recovering American market and declined its release. Howard Phillips, who evaluated games for Nintendo of America President
Minoru Arakawa is a Japanese businessman best known as the founder and former president of Nintendo of America, and the co-founder of Tetris Online, Inc. Biography Minoru Arakawa was born on 3 September 1946 in Kyoto, Japan, the second son of Waichiro Arakaw ...
, felt that the game was unfairly difficult, even beyond the unofficial moniker of " Nintendo Hard" that the company's other games sometimes garnered. His opinion was that ''The Lost Levels'' would not sell well in the American market. "Few games were more stymieing", he later recalled of the game. "Not having fun is bad when you're a company selling fun." Nintendo instead released a retrofitted version of ''Doki Doki Panic'' as the region's '' Super Mario Bros. 2'' in October 1988. ''Doki Doki Panic'' had originally been developed by
Kensuke Tanabe is a Japanese video game producer and designer working for Nintendo, where he currently is Senior Officer at Nintendo EPD. After he had graduated from the Visual Concept Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, he decided to enter the ...
. Tanabe was instructed to use characters from Yūme Kojo ‘87 and it was released in Japan as a standalone game on July 10, 1987. ''Doki Doki Panic''s characters and artwork were modified to match ''Super Mario Bros.'' before being released in America, and the re-skinned release became known as the "big aberration" in the ''Super Mario'' series. The American ''Super Mario Bros.2'' was later released in Japan as ''Super Mario USA''.


Rereleases

Nintendo "cleaned up" parts of the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros.2'' and released it in later ''Super Mario'' collections as ''The Lost Levels''. Its North American debut in the 1993 '' Super Mario All-Stars'' collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System featured updated graphics (including increased visibility for the poison mushroom) and more frequent checkpoints to save player progress. According to ''All-Stars'' developers, the compilation was created because Miyamoto felt ''The Lost Levels'' had not reached a wide audience and wanted more players to experience it. ''All-Stars'' was rereleased as a Limited Edition for the Nintendo Wii console in remembrance of ''Super Mario Bros.'' 25th anniversary in 2010. ''The Lost Levels'' was edited to fit the handheld Game Boy Color screen as an unlockable bonus in the 1999 '' Super Mario Bros. Deluxe'': the visible screen is cropped and some features are omitted, such as the wind and five bonus worlds. ''The Lost Levels'' was rereleased in 2004 for the
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
on the third volume of Nintendo's Japan-only Famicom Mini compilation cartridges. Nintendo's
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...
digital platform introduced North America to the unedited 1986 Japanese release. ''The Lost Levels'' was released for multiple Nintendo platforms: the Wii's Virtual Console in 2007 (partially in support of Nintendo's Hanabi Festival), the 3DS's in 2012, the Wii U's in 2013, and the
Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
's NES catalog in 2019. Nintendo's 2014 classic game compilations '' NES Remix 2'' (WiiU) and '' Ultimate NES Remix'' (3DS) included selections from ''The Lost Levels''. For the series' 35th anniversary, in late 2020, Nintendo included ''The Lost Levels'' in a limited edition Game & Watch device.


Reception and legacy

At the time of its release, ''The Lost Levels'' topped ''
Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' charts. The game was the most popular game on the Disk System, for which it sold about 2.5million copies. Retrospective critics viewed ''The Lost Levels'' as an expansion of the original, akin to extra challenge levels tacked on its end. Despite their similarities, the sequel is distinguished by its notorious difficulty. ''
1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die ''1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die'' is a video game reference book first published in October 2010. It consists of a list of video games released between 1970 and 2013, arranged chronologically by release date. Each entry in the list ...
'' summarized the game as both "familiar and mysterious" and "simply rather unfair". ''The Lost Levels'' replaced the original's accessible level designs with "insanely tough obstacle courses" as if designed to intentionally frustrate and punish players beginning with its first poison mushroom. Retrospective reviewers recommended the game for those who mastered the original, or those who would appreciate a painful challenge. Casual ''Mario'' fans, ''GameZone'' wrote, would not find much to enjoy. ''
Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
'' reviewer felt that while the original was designed for recklessness, its sequel taught patience, and despite its difficulty, remained both "fiendishly clever" and fun. On the other hand, '' GamesRadar'' felt that the game was an unoriginal, boring retread, and apart from its "pointlessly cruel" difficulty, not worthy of the player's time. ''GamesRadar'' and ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' agreed with Nintendo of America's choice against releasing the harder game in the 1980s, though ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
'' thought that ''The Lost Levels'' was "technically a much better game" than the ''Doki Doki Panic''-based ''Super Mario Bros.2'' the American market received instead. ''The Lost Levels'' is remembered among the most difficult games by Nintendo and in the video game medium. Three decades after the game's release, ''Kotaku'' wrote that the demanding player precision required in ''The Lost Levels'' made fast playthroughs ( speedruns) "remarkably fun" to spectate. ''NES Remix 2'' (2014), a compilation for the WiiU, similarly segmented ''The Lost Levels'' into speedrun challenges, which made the challenging gameplay more palatable. Many years after the release of ''The Lost Levels'', fans of the series would modify ''Mario'' games to challenge each other with nearly impossible levels. The challenges of ''The Lost Levels'' presaged this
Kaizo ''Kaizo'' (, "kaizō", meaning "modification", "rebuild" or "reconfiguration") is a philosophy of game design, specifically platforming games, distinguished by a high degree of strictness placed upon the player's intended actions and movements ...
community, and according to ''IGN'', ''The Lost Levels'' shares more in common with this subculture than with the Mario series itself. Indeed, the sequel is remembered as a black sheep in the franchise and a reminder of imbalanced gameplay in Nintendo's history. Luigi received his first distinctive character traits in ''The Lost Levels'': less ground friction, and the ability to jump farther. ''IGN'' considered this change to be the game's most significant, though the controls remained "cramped" and "crippled" with either character. The game's poison mushroom item, with its character-impairing effects, became a staple of the ''Mario'' franchise. Some of the ''Lost Levels'' appeared in a 1986 promotional release of ''Super Mario Bros.'', in which Nintendo modified in-game assets to fit themes from the Japanese radio show ''
All Night Nippon is a Japanese radio program broadcast by Nippon Broadcasting System and other radio stations from 1–5 am (JST). It preempts broadcasts from TBS Radio's programming heard on stations under both JRN and NRN (TBC Radio, CBC Radio, etc.). ...
''. Journalists have ranked ''The Lost Levels'' among the least important in the ''Mario'' series and of Nintendo's top games.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1986 video games Famicom Disk System games Game Boy Advance games Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development games Nintendo Switch Online NES games Side-scrolling platform games Single-player video games
The Lost Levels ''Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'' is a 1986 platform game developed and published by Nintendo as the sequel to '' Super Mario Bros.'' (1985). The games are similar in style and gameplay, with players controlling Mario or Luigi to rescu ...
Video games designed by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games developed in Japan Video games directed by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games directed by Takashi Tezuka Video game sequels Video games scored by Koji Kondo Virtual Console games for Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console games for Wii Virtual Console games for Wii U