Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels

I am going to do this review from the perspective as if you have already read my original review or played on the original game as I don't want to rexplain the same concept

I recently downloaded "The Lost Levels" to my Wii of the shop. These levels were orginally only released in Japan as they were deemed to hard for the Western market. However, for a limited time only, they have been released on the Wii Store. So are they really much harder, and are they worth paying 600pts for?

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
Platform: Wii Virtual Console
Type: Platformer
Graphics: 7/10
Story: 4/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Multiplayer: N/A
Sound: 10/10
Overall: 8/10


The graphics, although still running in 8bit, have a little bit more detail, most notably in the ground. However, as I have said, the graphics are basically the same. It is nice to see Nintendo put a little bit more attention to their home market thought.

The gameplay has been marked up from the original when it comes to difficulty. Right from the offset you are presented with paratroopa koopas (the bouncing turtles for all you non-nintendo fan boys), chomping plants and a item that was never included in the original; poisoned mushrooms, which do the same as a normal enemy. You will quickly realise that the game is much harder than the original. Once in world 1-2, the jumps start to become a lot more challenging. There is one jump where you have to take a running jump and jump at the absolute last pixel. A few moments later, their is a jump which once again requires this same precision, then you must then instantly jump on to the next platform, where you must sprint and jump on to the next platform and do that one last time before you can even breathe. This because all these platforms start falling the second you land on them. This kind of difficulty continues throughout out where I have got up to and I presume continues through the rest of the game, with jumps that require you to raise a platform to the exact right amount to make the jump possible and others involving jumping not to high or else hitting other structures that will send you to the ground. I consider my self quite good at Mario, having got to world 4-3 on 6 lives and I found this very difficult and still haven't completed it. Occasionally, the game can become quite repetitive because you will keep restarting the game and because of the way the game operates, you have to clear four (very tricky) stages to get to a point where you can restart after you have lost all your lives. This however, is unimportant when compared to the sense of success when you beat a really hard section.

The game, fortunately, does not continue with the charade that was multiplayer. Instead it introduces a different character. Luigi, although can jump much further and higher, slows down much quicker, meaning if you are running fast, you will find your self falling of cliffs etc. He allows you to reach parts of the map which were previously impossible and the harder control makes him more for pros.

The sound has been changed from the original, with a slightly more techno feel. The sound isn't quite as classic as the original, however it stands up and you won't want to mute it. Other than that, the sound track is the same.

In conclusion, if you enjoyed Mario, but have just about finished it, this game is fantastic. If you found Mario too hard, you will find this just annoying. Due to the raised difficultly level, if you found Mario frustrating, this game is still going to be frustrating. Ultimately, if you enjoyed Mario, you will enjoy this, but nothing has changed enough to change peoples minds. I recommend downloading this, even though it is more expensive, because the game is still good value for money and will keep you playing for ages.