WI: The REAL Super Mario Bros. 2 is released in America

So, as any Mario fan is bound to know, Super Mario Bros. 2 as the USA knows is a copy of another game called Doki Doki Panic. The real SMB2, released only in Japan, is actually much like the first game. However, at the time, sequels were not a common thing with video games, and Nintendo of Japan thought "second game = harder game".

When Nintendo of America got a hold of this game, they deemed it too difficult and too much like the original to sell well. Therefore, they scrapped the game and copied Doki Doki Panic, giving America what we know today as Super Mario Bros. 2.

However, what if Nintendo of America had the same mindset as their Japanese counterparts and allowed the actual sequel to be released in America? Would it tank as predicted? How would this effect the future of the Mario series, as well as the future of Nintendo in general?
 
Many small children get pissed off. I honestly can't get past World 1 (I pretty much did once, only to grab an Idiot Ball during the Bowser fight and die. It was my last life.)
 
Personally, I like our SMB2. I remember playing that a lot as a kid. Therefore, I could see a Doki Doki series (or whatever we end up calling it over here) being popular over the years and systems.

Imagine Doki Doki 64. That just blew your mind.
 
Well I do not see a major change. Cause Mario is still going to rule everything once SM3 comes out.

Maybe people dislike Mario a little more, but Japan was still the driving force in development.
 
The Mario phenomenon will die as fast as it was born.
nah, i dont think so. EVERYONE knows mario, the original game was sold along with the NES. even if one installment of a series or toyline is unsuccessful, it wont stop future ones from being made (i cite the Jaws, Friday the 13th, Rocky series of movies and numerous video game systems as examples). i think, eventually, Mario 3 would be made (though it may admittedly be different from OTL) and that would bring back mario's popularity
 
The game would be a comparative failure. It would be promoted by Nintendo of America, but game reviews and word of mouth would dissuade people from picking it up. But because the games were made in Japan, where SMB2(J) was actually released, it wouldn't stop the creation of SMB3, which I think would still be a success in this timeline, because it's that good a game.

The biggest impact is that characters and gameplay elements introduced in SMB2(US) would not be associated with the Mario series, and would not be included in future Mario games.
 
SMB2 was hard, but compared to some other stuff on the NES (Ninja Gaiden, some Megaman, etc) it was still relatively easy.

But Doki Doki actually brought a lot of elements into the Mario series; going by research, it gave us Bob-ombs (the walking wind-up bombs), Birdo (transsexual dinosaur that spits eggs) and Shy Guys (people wearing masks and red coats, really common in Yoshi's Island), as well as Luigi jumping higher and Mario being the well-rounded character.
 
Actually, Luigi being faster and higher jumping at the expense of controlling much more loosely is to be found in the Japanese version of SMB2 as well.
 
Oh, and Super Mario Brothers 3 was well in development when SMB2 and Doki Doki Panic were released in Japan. The only major element to cross over was Bob-omb, who made a good addition to the Bullet Bill/Torpedo Ted set. Then came Pokey and Pidget in Super Mario World, and finally Shyguy, Snifit, and Beezo in Yoshi's Island and Birdo, Mouser, and Phanto in Super Mario RPG. Odly enough, though, Super Mario 64 lacked all those elements except for Bob-omb, and subsequent 2D efforts after Super Princess Peach purged even those.

Without Doki Doki Panic as the U.S. SMB2, I suspect that the characters and gameplay would probably evolve the way they did in New Super Mario Brothers and its Wii Sequel fifteen years early.
 
Oh, and Super Mario Brothers 3 was well in development when SMB2 and Doki Doki Panic were released in Japan. The only major element to cross over was Bob-omb, who made a good addition to the Bullet Bill/Torpedo Ted set. Then came Pokey and Pidget in Super Mario World, and finally Shyguy, Snifit, and Beezo in Yoshi's Island and Birdo, Mouser, and Phanto in Super Mario RPG. Odly enough, though, Super Mario 64 lacked all those elements except for Bob-omb, and subsequent 2D efforts after Super Princess Peach purged even those.

Without Doki Doki Panic as the U.S. SMB2, I suspect that the characters and gameplay would probably evolve the way they did in New Super Mario Brothers and its Wii Sequel fifteen years early.

I remember Pokey and Bob-omb in the newer games, and the others are still in spin-offs and the Yoshi games.
 
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