First off I have to state that I never played a lot of Super Mario 2 for the NES. For some reason I couldn’t get into it as much as 1,3 or the rest of them. Then Mario Advance was announced for the GBA, and it included an updated version of Super Mario Bros. 2 and the original Mario Bros (one of my favorites)! I knew I had to get my hands on this game. For me Super Mario Bros. 2 is a whole new game! It's a good enough excuse for me to go back and play an old school game that I never got into.

Once you turn on the game you are greeted with Mario saying “Let’s A Go!”! Ahhhh! Voices! You then hit start and you are given the option to play either Mario Bros. Classic, or Super Mario Bros. USA (which is essentially Super Mario Bros. 2). Since I am a huge Mario Bros. Fan I decided that was my first destination.

Old school Mario Bros. at it’s finest…with a few added treats! The graphics have been given a nice polishing. The Crabs, Koopas, Flys and fireballs are back to make life…well…fun! Note there are No turtles! Not that big of a deal, but I would have liked it to have included all the original enemies.

The levels now have detailed backgrounds with moving items. Things like pipes have water pouring from them, candles flicker, snow can be seen falling outside windows. It’s not a lot but it’s a nice added touch.

Overall the controls are really tight. You can run, jump, slide, and duck just like the original! It took me about 2 seconds to get used to the controls. Mario Bros. doesn’t really have too deep of a control scheme.

The sound effects are reminiscent of the original Mario Bros, yet a lot crisper. The music seems to be the same fare as well except for the stereo upgrade. When Mario dies you get an, “Ohhhh Mama Mia!!” Excellent! Oh do I wish I could play some Multiplayer! That’s going to be a total blast!

After reaching level 15 (on my first game…old school skills!), I decided it was time for the main part of Mario Advance, Super Mario Bros. USA!

I have to admit I never played a whole lot of Super Mario Bros. 2 on the NES, so for me…this is a whole new game. After sinking an hour or so into it, it looks like I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!

The game looks a lot like the original, but has lots of nice graphical upgrades. The characters and environments are extremely detailed. The backgrounds are very colorful, lush and rich. This looks so much better than the NES version it’s hardly fair to compare the two. There’s cool added things like earned points stretching and fading, and earned 1UP’s swelling and then exploding and crumbling! This is one of the best looking 2D platformers I’ve ever played!

The controls were easy enough to figure out. A=Jump, B=Pick up/Throw (run too), L=Move Screen to look up and down. R=Run. My only beef so far is that the “looking” feature only allows you to look up and down. You can’t scroll right left like you could in Super Mario World for the SNES. Overall it hasn’t been a problem.

The music in the game is exquisite. If you are a big fan of the Mario classics you’re in for a real treat. They’ve really souped up the tunes and there is plenty of noticeable stereo separation. The sound effects are done very well too. You must wear headphones to really appreciate how wonderful the sound is. Plenty of voice can be heard through out the game and the samples are very high quality! Mario’s infamous “Here we go!” and “Mama Mia!” are just the beginning. Each character has a couple different sayings! Even Birdo talked! When I reached him he said, “This is as far as you go!” After beating him with Luigi, Luigi exclaimed, ”Now I’m a Moving!” It’s amazing how much voice they crammed into this little tiny cartridge!

Another thing I have to point out is that there’s very little Japanese in this game. All the voices are in English and most of everything on screen is too. The only Japanese I’ve found is the menus. Not too bad for importers!

So far I’m only a couple levels into Super Mario USA, but from what I’ve played I would have to say it’s nice to play some Old school-esqe Mario again! Some people may have a problem with the old rehashes getting upgrades on GBA, but if they are as high quality as Mario Advance is…I don’t think anyone will complain. Well done Nintendo!