1987 was the year where things come and go. Sega released Alex Kidd in Miracle World for their Sega Master System, Nintendo managed to release their FDS games into cartridge for their ANAVS, and of course, new gaming IPs from other companies have been unleashed, such as Mega Man, Contra, Final Fantasy, and Metal Gear.
Now in Japan, there’s also a sequel to The Legend of Zelda known as Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It’s different from the first game, even if it’s a sequel, it wasn’t really equal. There’s also Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic! In a collaboration between Nintendo and Fuji TV, this game was made to promote the broadcaster's Yume Kōjō '87 event, which showcased several of its latest TV shows and consumer products. The Yume Kōjō festival's mascots became the game's protagonists: a family consisting of the boy Imajin, his girlfriend Lina, and his parents Mama and Papa. The rest of the game's characters, including the main villain named Mamu, were created by Nintendo for the project. Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic takes place within a book with an Arabian setting. All four characters are optionally playable, though the game is not fully completed until the player clears all levels using each protagonist. It’s also notable for the first appearance of the Shy Guys, Pokeys, Bob-Ombs, Birdos, Ninjis, Mouser, Tryclyde, and of course, the Great Wart! And surprisingly ITTL, the Nintendo & Fuji TV collaboration is still going strong after the releases of All Night Nippon Super Mario Bros. and Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic.
Outside of Japan, things are going quite interesting for Atari and Nintendo. Atari released their own games to the ANAVS. The following games Atari released for the ANAVS include Crystal Castles, Tower Toppler, Midnight Mutants, Barnyard Blaster, and bafflingly, an E.T. game which plays like a 2D side-scroller (and it’s actually quite decent). Yeah, Atari knows what they’re doing. Also, companies such as Acclaim, Konami, Capcom, and other companies also release games for the ANAVS (including LJN).
Have you ever wanted to play a Super Mario game where you play as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach (then known as Princess Toadstool), and Toad, where it’s about the legend of the Warp Zone, where one of the power-ups includes a leaf that transforms you into a raccoon, and some of the bosses include a living tree being that throws bombs at you and you have to pick them up to throw it at him? Well here’s the game for you!
This, folks, is “Super Mario Bros. 2: The Legend of the Warp Zone”. What’s the story like? Read this.
The gameplay will be like OTL’s Super Mario Bros. 3 gameplay with some gameplay elements from the American version Super Mario Bros. 2 in it as well. It’s the same as OTL’s Super Mario Bros. 3, except with a different storyline, an Ice Flower power-up, more enemies, and a different set of bosses. The playable characters are Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool (that’s the name Princess Peach used to have back in the late 1980s and early 1990s). Also, here’s what the worlds look like.:
- World 1: Grass Land (Contains six levels, one castle stage, and one boss stage)
- World 2: Desert Hill (Contains eight levels, one airship stage, and one boss stage)
- World 3: Ocean Side (Contains seven levels, one castle stage, and one boss stage)
- World 4: Gigantic Jungle (Contains six levels, one airship stage, one boss stage, and one Prince Haru encounter)
- World 5: Sky World (Contains ten levels, one castle stage, and one boss stage)
- World 6: Iced Country (Contains nine levels, one airship stage, one boss stage, and one Prince Haru encounter)
- World 7: Pipe Mountains (which is where the Warp Zone is located) (Contains nine levels, one castle stage, and one boss stage)
- World 8: Trials of Darkness (Contains eight levels, one castle stage, one airship stage, one Prince Haru encounter, one boss stage, and one final stage)
And here’s a list of bosses for this game.:
From left to right include the following.
- Heat-Beast (Recurring boss of the castle stages of Worlds 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8)
- Boom-Boom (Recurring boss of the airship stages of Worlds 2, 4, 6, and 8)
- Prince Haru (Recurring boss of the Prince Haru encounters of Worlds 4, 6, and 8)
- T-Ent-T (Boss of World 1: Grass Land)
- Dijimity the Genie of the Item Box (Boss of World 2: Desert Hill)
- The Aqua Twins (Bosses of World 3: Ocean Side)
- Talos 2.0 (controlled by Ursus the Eagle) (Boss of World 4: Gigantic Jungle) (Also, while Talos 2.0 is gigantic, Mario/Luigi/Toad/Princess Peach has to use a Mega Mushroom in order to fight Talos 2.0.)
- Lakithunder (Boss of World 5: Sky World) (Lakithunder debuted in New Super Mario Bros. IOTL)
- Cold-lossal (Boss of World 6: Iced Country)
- The Fake Warp Zone (Boss of World 7: Pipe Mountains (which is where the Warp Zone is located))
- Bowser (First Boss of World 8: Trials of Darkness)
- Lord Vengeance (Second and Final Boss of World 8: Trials of Darkness) (The mastermind behind Bowser and the Koopa Troop) (The last two sprites are his two phases, BTW.)
Funnily enough, this is Prince Haru’s first time being in a Super Mario game, and he’s got a different personality where he was once Princess Peach’s fiancee, but after Mario rescued her, Prince Haru got infuriated because of that, and he’s one of the recurring bosses of this game. Why did I come up with that idea? You really don’t wanna know.
Also, as for the enemies of this game, it has the enemy roster from OTL’s Super Mario Bros. 3, as well as the ones that appeared in Doki-Doki Panic and even some enemies that made their debut earlier than IOTL (such as Goombrats, Thunder Lakitus, Ice Bros., the Ant enemies from Super Mario Land 2, Monty Moles, Bulbers, Clampys, some enemies from Super Mario Land, Pinwheels, and Mr. Blizzards), Fighter Flies, Sidesteppers, and some original enemies (such as Koopa Scubatroopas (Underwater versions of Koopa Troopas), Scarabbys (Scarab beetle-like enemies that act like Hoopsters), and Split-Urchins (Urchin-like enemies that split into four)).
Overall, just like OTL’s Super Mario Bros. 3, SMB2: The Legend of the Warp Zone is the turning point, the watershed moment, and the game changer for the Super Mario series. It’s notable for its brand of challenge, storylines, and more! This is the first time to feature a far more powerful villain (namely Lord Vengeance) and the first time where Bowser starts becoming an anti-hero, and next year, he’ll be starring in his own spin-off game next year, so wait and see.
Also, when did Super Mario Bros. 2: The Legend of the Warp Zone came out? It’s simple. October 23, 1987.
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